By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel. Hebrews11:24-28
Before we can profile Moses' faith, we need to resolve a problem.
The Hebrews Hall of Faith tells us that Moses left Egypt but not because he was afraid of Pharaoh. The account in Exodus is ambiguous in this regard... It reads:
"The man said, 'Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?' Then Moses was afraid and thought, 'What I did must have become known.'
When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian, where he sat down by a well."(Ex.2:14-15)
Some would argue that the Exodus passage implies that Moses was afraid of Pharaoh, others would argue that it does not specifically say that Moses afraid of Pharaoh and that his fear may have been more generic and that he fled to preserve his life and not for fear of Pharaoh.
That's an argument that can go around and around and around. But I think the real solution is found in Moses' return to Egypt... Although it is a different Pharaoh on the throne, Moses is fearless in approaching him repeatedly over the sequence of the the plagues. He is not afraid of Pharaoh at all.
There is a helpful lesson in all of this.
I think we all suffer from generic fear from time to time.
What Hebrews wants to say about Moses is that he didn't fear a person - He didn't let a person eclipse God.
There are times that our fears become personified in a person. This happened to an entire Israelite army when Goliath taunted them. It took a kid with a sling to break the hold he had on them.
The Hebrews writer, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wants to emphasise that Moses wasn't caught up in the fear of a person.
Is there a person you are afraid of at the moment??
Are you in a shadow of a person and is that person blocking your view of God?
End the eclipse! Take some time to remember that God is greater...
Have a blessed weekend!
---
--------------------------
Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
