Scripture: Hebrews 11:23-27 (ESV)
“By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.”
We have been looking at what faith is and what faith does for quite some time now, however Hebrews 11 still has hidden treasures for us to uncover. Today we will focus on how faith changes past actions. Because faith has a way of reframing our choices. Because we are people of faith, our actions, are reframed in the story God is telling. Faith has a way of zooming out from the immediate circumstances and actions, to seeing the bigger picture.
Notice how the author of Hebrews talks about Moses’ life. The actions taken by his parents are recast through the eyes of faith. Faith adds a layer of depth to the story that original story in Exodus lacks. Exodus tells us for example that Moses’ parents hid him because they saw he “was a fine child” (Exodus 2:2). It also tells us that Moses fled from Egypt after he killed an Egyptian in Exodus 2:15. When we read these stories, in Exodus it seems that the actions of Moses’ parents and Moses himself are simply things that happened because of real human fear. His parents hid him, simply because they didn’t want him to die. He fled from Egypt simply because he didn’t want to die. That’s how it reads in the Exodus narrative.
But when you read Hebrews 11, you see how these, very human reactions, are recast through the eyes of faith. Not that the story in Exodus is wrong, but there is an additional layer to the story that Hebrews adds. Faith changes the nature of these actions from just human reactions to difficult circumstances into events that play a much bigger role in salvation history.
Moses was hidden, not just because his parents thought him beautiful, but because they did not recognise the legitimacy of Pharoah’s decree that called for the death of newborn boys. This was an act of faith in a higher authority.
So too Moses’ choice to reject all the pleasures he had as a “prince of Egypt” in order to suffer with Israel is seen, through the lens of faith, as a deliberate choice to side with Christ. Even though Moses could not have known about the suffering saviour who would come, by faith he nevertheless played the same role in the story of Israel.
This makes me wonder about our actions. What seemingly very human things will have a kingdom impact beyond our lives? Now obviously we aren’t the great heroes of faith like Moses who actually led Israel out of Egypt. My point is not “be like Moses and change the world”. Rather this is a question to ponder: How will God, by faith, weave our actions into the salvation story? Hebrews reminds us that even the fearful, and some might say cowardly, actions of people like Moses, will be used by God to propel his purposes.
How much more so the actions and decisions we take to deliberately show Christ to the world?
Prayer:
Dear Lord, thank you for your wonderful gift of faith. Thank you that through faith you use our actions and decisions for your own good purposes. Help us to choose to act in ways that honour and reflect Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Spiritual Challenge:
Make a decision one day that deliberately chooses to honour Christ. Then watch and see how God will use it.
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