[24] By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;
[25] Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
[26] Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.
[27] By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.
[28] Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.
[29] By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.
(Hebrews 11:24-29)
JESUS CHRIST IS LORD!
By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; (Hebrews 11:24)
When he was come to years…
Moses was considered to be an Egyptian Prince with all the education and benefits of being a son in the house of Pharaoh. Moses gave all of that up because of his faith in God and a conviction of whose people he really was.
[22] And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds. [23] And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel. (Acts 7:22-23)
The American political story is always about rags to riches but the story of Moses is one of Riches to rags for the cause of God and his people.
He started a revolt by defending a Hebrew slave from being beaten by an Egyptian guard but instead of rallying around him the people were fearful. They did not believe Moses was really one of them. The Pharaoh wanted Moses arrested and executed so Moses fled to Midian. The seven daughters of Reuel who the Bible calls a “Priest of Midian” came to the well to water their flocks. The men with flocks drove them away but Moses stood up to the men and let the ladies water their flocks. Reuel was impressed and gave Moses his daughter Zipporah and for the next 40 years Moses worked with this family tending their flocks.
Egyptian Pharaohs were often named after Egyptian Gods and called their sons.
The Egyptian word mose means “son of”, so Thutmose meant son of the god thoth or Ramose, the son of the god Ra, the sun god. So the name of Moses is peculiar as it has no father’s name or gods name attached so his name simply means born of or son of. The Egyptian word mose also means to “draw out” such as Ramose would mean one drawn out of Ra. The suffix of the name Moses relates to water or the Nile river. This is the reason the princess named him Moses…
And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water. (Exodus 2:10
Choosing the Way of Christ
[25] Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
[26] Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.
(Hebrews 11:25-26)
Notice that the Scripture says that Moses “esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches”.
True Judaism is to know Christ and follow Christ. What the book of Hebrews is alluding to here is that all of these heroes of the faith were followers of Christ, their faith was in Christ. This is a strong statement for the divinity of Jesus.
The Old Testament heroes of the faith may not have known or understood the Son of God and how He would come but their faith was in the right place. Moses came and spoke to the Savior on the Mount of Transfiguration.
These men and women are Christians.
There is so much that we do not know about Christ Jesus in the Future. Does that mean we are not Christians because we don’t know of his mighty acts to come? We believe and because our faith is in the right place we will continue to believe as we come to know Jesus more and more.
By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible. (Hebrews 11:27
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)
Faith gives substance to things we cannot see with our eyes. We cannot see God and yet we believe on Him and we do so by faith.
He calls faith the hypostasis, the substance of things hoped for. We indeed know that what we hope for is not what we have as it were in hand, but what is as yet hid from us, or at least the enjoyment of which is delayed to another time. The Apostle now teaches us the same thing with what we find in Romans 8:24; where it is said that what is hoped for is not seen, and hence the inference is drawn, that it is to be waited for in patience. So the Apostle here reminds us, that faith regards not present things, but such as are waited for. Nor is this kind of contradiction without its force and beauty: Faith, he says, is the hypostasis, the prop, or the foundation on which we plant our foot, — the prop of what? Of things absent, which are so far from being really possessed by us, that they are far beyond the reach of our understanding. - John Calvin
Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them. (Hebrews 11:28)
Moses believed God and led his people to have belief in the blood of the Lamb and that by the sprinkling of that sacrifice the angel of death would pass over their home.
We too have faith in the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ and that through His sacrifice and according to God’s promises the angel of eternal death will pass over us.
Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. (I Peter 1:2)
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