Well, if you had to be honest this morning, what is it that you have put your trust in? I mean functionally, practically, not theologically. It would be very easy for you to say, "Oh ... God." Perhaps you're a single woman and, growingly, your trust is in the hope that that man that you've put your eyes on will come to know you, come to like you, come to love you, want to spend his life with you. You've sort of attached your meaning and purpose and happiness to that. Maybe you put your trust in your retirement, and you're watching your pensions shrink, growing in fear.
What Could You Not Live Without?
Or what is the most valuable thing in your life? What thing in your life could you not imagine living without? Maybe you're in a career that you just love, and you couldn't imagine being without that career. Maybe you're in a relationship with a person that you love, and you just couldn't imagine ever living beyond the other side of that. Why are those questions important? Because the gospel of health and wealth is wrong. Faith in God does not give you a ticket out of hardship. The stories of the people of God recorded in Scripture, the stories of the saints throughout history, are stories of suffering and hardship.
Faith in God doesn't give me a ticket out of that. But faith in God gives me a remarkably different way of facing the hardship that comes my way. Turn in your Bibles to Hebrews 11, page 1008 in your church Bible. The history in Scripture is a selective history. If God recorded everything in the plan of redemption, you couldn't carry your Bible to church with you. It would have to be brought to you in several eighteen-wheelers. And there's a purpose to the selectivity of history. The central purpose is that all of the history of Scripture would point us to the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The history of redemption is to point to us the glory of God's plan of redemption. And the history of Scripture has an instructive quality as well, it's meant to teach us what it's like to live a life that's based on faith in God. Verse 23: 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. By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them. (ESV) There's a very interesting connection in this passage between faith and fear, and that connection is depicted to us in two phrases that really do unpack this passage of Scripture.
The first one is in verse 23: "And they were not afraid of the king's edict." There is a connection being made between fear and trust. Now, you know this is true; you tend to experience fear when the thing in which you've placed your trust is being compromised. That's when you get afraid. And then there is a second phrase, it's in verse 27: "...not being afraid of the anger of the King." There's another connection being made here; it's the connection between fear and what you value. You tend to experience fear when the things that you value most are slipping from your fingers, or being taken from your hand, or you think that you will never experience.
And so again, this is selective history meant to make connections for us that are very, very important in understanding this life of faith. Let's look at verse 23: "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." You know the story. This is one of the most horrific moments recorded in Scripture, only mirrored by the events that accompanied the coming of the Lord Jesus to earth.
Pharaoh, in a murderous lust for power, in fear out of the blessing that God was bringing upon the children of Israel; it's really an amazing thing - here were these slave people who were growing and growing and growing as a nation, Pharaoh was afraid of the slaves. Why were they being blessed? Because they were the people of God. And so in an act of ugly murderess power, this man decreed that all the Jewish baby boys should be put to death. I don't think that I can characterize in words the horror that must have spread across the company of the Israelites.
The Slaughter of the Innocent
It makes you shudder; it makes you weep as these innocent ones are slaughtered, hundreds of them were slaughtered. And we are reminded in this passage that this world that we live in is a dramatically broken place. Don't have unrealistic expectations, brothers and sisters. You live in a radically fallen world; shalom has been shattered by sin. And some of us are facing things right now that are unthinkable. Around the world, there's suffering that is hard to put in your brain. I recently saw a picture of maybe fifty men from Rwanda who had no hands just because of the same kind of murderous wrath.
This world is a broken place; and yet, faith in God alters the way that I interact with and face that brokenness. Look at what it says here in verse 23: "And they were not afraid of the king's edict." This couple, Amram and Jochebed, the parents of Moses, did not follow the king's edict. Their son was not killed. They hid him for three months, probably only for three months, because after three months, he was too active and too alive to hide that way anymore, so they made a basket for him out of bulrushes, and put him in that basket, and floated him in the river in the reeds along the shore.
Now, it's very interesting; you would think the passage would say, "Because of fear of the king, they hid the son." But that's not what it says. It says that they hid Moses because they were not afraid of the king. Now, in order to understand that, you actually have to understand that there were two edicts. The first edict was that every Jewish baby boy should be killed. The second edict was that the people responsible for those baby boys should do the killing. And so, here's this powerless, impoverished slave couple who are self-consciously disobeying the order of the most powerful man on earth at that moment.
Now you ought to be saying, "How does that happen? Where do I get that?" This passage actually points you to that; it says. "...because they saw the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king's edict." What does it mean when it says, "...they saw the child was beautiful"? Well, there are commentators that get quite creative here, and they imagine that somehow, someway, God must have come by special revelation and told the parents of Moses that somehow this child was destined for greatness.
Well it's just baloney, no matter how thin you slice it. That's not what happened. Here's what's being said: they looked into the face of this baby, and they saw the image of God. They looked at this child, and they saw the creative glory of God. They saw the majesty of the glory of what you see when you hold an infant in your hands, and all of a sudden, all the systems turned on at once. And all of a sudden, you realize this is a human being with a never dying soul created by the hands of God, and you're gripped by the holiness and wonder of that moment.
That's what is in their hearts, and they know that this one is a creature of God and carries God's image. But they know something else. That that God, who is their Creator, is the God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob; He's the God of the covenant; He's the God who has made promises to His people. Here's the promise: "I will be your God, and you will be my people, and I will bless those who bless you, and he who curses you (can you finish it?) I will curse." And so, these weak, impoverished slaves hold with both hands on what they know of God.
They trust Him as Creator; they trust Him as Covenant Keeper, and because of that, they are not afraid of the power of this evil king. I would ask you this morning: where does fear grip you? Perhaps you're timid and fearful about standing for your faith at your workplace because you're afraid of what people will think of you. You're afraid of what that will mean for your job. Perhaps you're afraid of an angry neighbor who has made your life troublesome and rather than being an agent of peace and reconciliation, standing in courage, you've built big privacy fences that you hide behind.
The Fences of Your Security
But the fences of your security preclude ever having relationship with that person. Perhaps you're afraid this morning that you'll live your life alone, never knowing marriage and family, and it crushes you to think about it. Do you embrace this morning the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, who is faithful to every one of His promises; who will meet every one of your needs no matter what? The circumstances do not alter His character; the circumstances do not alter His promises.
What would you have done if Moses had been your son? I will be honest with you. That question rattled in my heart this week. I prayed again and again, "God, I want to be a man of this kind of faith. I want to believe in Your creative glory. I want to believe in Your covenant promises. That means for me rI will not live in fear even though I don't understand what's going on, even though it's hard, even though I face the unthinkable; I will not be afraid because You and You alone are my rest.'" Oh, sometimes I'm there, but I think I'm like you; I'm not there always.
And then there's Moses. The connection here is between fear and what you value, and the values of Moses are preached to us here in four powerful verbs. Yes, a bit of a grammar lesson here. Verse 24, first verb: "Refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter." Second verb: "Considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth." Third verb: "Looking to the reward." Fourth verb: "Endured as seeing Him who is invisible." Those four verbs paint an awesome picture for us. You know the story, Moses was found by Pharaoh's daughter.
Moses became an adopted prince in the house of Pharaoh. That means he was connected to unbelievable power and remarkable wealth. We've heard of the wealth of the pharaohs of Egypt, and yet those were not the riches that claimed the heart of this man. There's a way in which you could say that Moses had it all. He had the Egyptian dream. He could have had a house that would've been on the Egyptian "Cribs"; you don't know what that is if you're over 35. He could have been on the lifestyle of the Egyptian rich and famous.
I mean, it really is in front of him, the materialistic dream. It's there. And this passage is remarkable in its telling because it doesn't just say, "It was of greater value to him to be connected to the Messiah, Christ, and his people." No it doesn't say that. It says that reproach for the sake of the people of God, reproach for the sake of the Messiah, was of greater riches, greater value to him than all of the treasures of Egypt. Now get the contrast. The contrast is not between riches, physical, and riches in Christ.
That would be an amazing contrast. That would be getting it right. But the contrast here is actually between riches, physical, and reproach. There is tremendous honor in, by grace, being connected to the Messiah, the Lord Jesus. But it is the highest of honors to suffer for His sake. Listen, you don't understand the life of Moses unless you understand this: Moses didn't just fall into hardship because he lived in a fallen world. Moses self-consciously walked into hardship because he considered that to be a thing of beautiful honor.
That's faith! And the reason he could do that, the reason he could make those remarkable choices, stand against this powerful man not being afraid of his anger, is because what was most dear in the heart of Moses was not to be found in the palace. What was most dear in the heart of Moses was what could only be found in relationship to the Messiah. What's most dear in your heart? What are you scared to death of letting go of? The loss of what kind of thing would make you question God's goodness, His love, His faithfulness, His grace?
Perhaps the level of our anxiety, the level of our fear, the level of our doubt would reveal that maybe there are treasures in our hearts that compete with the Lord Jesus Himself. It's so hard to hold life with an open hand, isn't it? It's hard to hold your career with an open hand. It's hard to hold your friendships with an open hand. It's hard to hold your financial well being with an open hand. It's hard to hold your physical health with an open hand. It's hard to hold the love of another person with an open hand.
Holding Life With an Open Hand
It's hard as a parent to hold your children with an open hand. It's hard as a husband and wife to hold your spouse with an open hand. It's hard to hold the everyday circumstances of life with an open hand. It's very easy to close your hand and say, "I must have this. I have to have this. This somehow, someway, defines the good life." Listen, the good life is one thing: Jesus, being connected by undeserved grace to the King of kings and Lord of lords to His messianic purpose! And Moses gets that. It says, "He was looking for his reward."
He knew the importance of delayed gratification. Grace calls you to wait. You can't assess the goodness of God's plan by what's happening right here, right now, but the promises of the covenant guarantee that you are marching toward awesome glory; you're marching toward awesome reward. The suffering will end; the toil will be over, and you'll experience eternal glory, glory that never ends, glory that lasts forever, and ever, and ever, and ever. And you live today as if you actually believe in 'then.' And then is says, "He had his eyes on the one who is invisible."
Brothers and sisters, if all you see is the circumstances, you're a person in trouble. What faith does is give you eyes to see beyond the circumstances, and you see in the midst of your circumstances a glorious God, a God of power and grace who is true to every promise He ever makes. And when He is my highest value, I can rest even though important things in my life are slipping through my hands because He is such a treasure to me; I would rather be named a fool than have the temporary treasures of the created world.
I love the words of the hymn, "Jesus Priceless Treasure"-- Jesus priceless treasure Source of purest pleasure Truest friend to me Hence all fear and sadness For the Lord of gladness Jesus enters in Those who love the Father (Hear this!) Though the storms may gather Still have peace within Yeah what'er I here must bear. (Oh, brothers and sisters, some of you are bearing things you never thought you'd bear) Yeah what'er I here must bear Thou art still my purest pleasure Jesus priceless treasure. But there's one other thing that must be said about this passage.
It's captured in the last verse, verse 28: "Faith in God connected Moses to the redemptive power of God." In an act of faith, he led God's people to put the blood of the sacrificed Lamb on the doorpost of the house so when that angel of judgment passed over Egypt, killing all the first born sons in Egypt, as a final act of judgment and redemption, the angels passed over the houses of Israel. What should I fear the most? I shouldn't fear the most the loss of human relationship; I shouldn't fear the most the loss of physical treasures; I should fear the most the judgment of God because I'm a sinner, and I'm deserving of His wrath, but I need not fear that because the Passover Lamb came, the Lord Jesus Christ, to institute the final Passover, to be the final Lamb, who by His perfect life, and His shed blood, and His resurrection, to make me now able to stand as broken as I am before a holy God and be unafraid of His judgment.
I would say to you, "Believer, bask in that redemption this morning." And I would say to you, "If you have never trusted in that grace, do that now." What holds your trust? What is the thing of highest value to you? When your trust is in the Lord and Jesus is your dearest treasure, you can rest in hardship; you can stand in hardship; you can act with courage; because what you've placed your life in is not challenged, but remains the same. Let's pray: Lord, thank you for the striking and radical words of this passage.
We do shift our trust to things that are not reliable: the affection of a friend, the size of a bank account, the health of the body, the order of circumstances. Oh, may we rest in You and You alone. There are things in our lives that rise in value until they do rule our hearts, till we hold onto them with both hands, and we're scared to death that somehow they will be taken from us. May there be no treasure greater than You, so much so that we would feel richer being named as fools because of You, than we would if we had unimaginable wealth. Work that in our hearts by the grace of the Passover Lamb, we pray, in Jesus's name, Amen.
