Grace be with you all (He 13:25). Amen.
We can say it now—whether it is tomorrow or soon. It is a different kind of great Minnesota get-together. Back to school. That may cause one’s heart to speed up or stomach to sink down. Either way, it doesn’t change the fact. It is time for classes to resume within days or weeks.
That means that there was probably the annual pilgrimage to the store. A student needs new sweats and nice shoes as well as eight spiral notebooks and twelve #2 pencils.
It could also include an appointment with the doctor. He may test your reflexes. Or she may check your ears. But there is also the eye chart. A student has to be able to see the blackboard or whiteboard (whatever color they come in now). If there is a problem, maybe the recommendation is for glasses to have 20/20 vision. (Hopefully not too many will need bifocals. Save that for later in life.)
Moses didn’t need frames for his eyes. He had faith in his heart. And faith’s eyes see Christ clearly.
Moses was born at a dangerous time. At least, for boys. The children of Israel were no longer welcomed guests in Egypt, but oppressed slaves—baking bricks and building cities (Ex 1:11,14). The memory of what Joseph did for them during the huge famine was long gone (Ex 1:8). The Pharaoh went so far as to declare an edict that every baby boy was to be thrown into the Nile River (Ex 1:22).
Then along came Moses. “He was a fine child” (Ex 2:2), “no ordinary child” (He 11:23). So his parents hid him for three months by faith (He 11:23). When they couldn’t keep him concealed any longer, his mom made a basket and set him in the river. It was Pharaoh’s daughter who found him, drawing him out of the water, and adopted him, calling him her own. Moses didn’t just have it good. He had it great. An excellent education in an elite culture (Acts 7:21,22). (I wonder if he ever complained about learning his hieroglyphics.)
But when Moses was older, he made a decision. It was “by faith” (He 11:24). “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter” (He 11:24). He declined the certain position and the special privileges that he had in the palace and the perks that accompanied it. And it cost him. You know how that it is. When you say “no” to something, you are saying “yes” to another thing. Shutting off YouTube (“no” to a funny clip) translates into doing homework (“yes” to a math assignment).
How did that look for Moses? He turned down his royal place and turned to his real people. “He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time” (He 11:25). He suffered with God’s nation rather than satisfy his sinful nature. And there was a price. Whatever abuse fell to them fell on him.
That doesn’t make pleasant things wrong. Those are gifts from our heavenly Father (Ja 1:17). But not at the expense of our relationship with God. The enjoyment of earthly amusements only lasts a short time. Think of a present at Christmas. Toys break for a child. Jeans fade for an adult. What God has in store for us is eternal (2 Co 4:18). That is why Joshua encouraged the tribes of Israel at Shechem to get rid of the false gods/idols. We add our voice to his in announcing: “We will serve the LORD” (Josh 24:15). He is worthy of our undivided loyalty to him in response to his undeserved love to us.
It came down to Moses’ mindset: “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” (He 11:16). Whatever abuse there was didn’t matter. Moses knew about the coming Messiah. Later he even wrote about him in the first five books of the Bible (Jn 5:46). He urged the people to watch for and wait for the One who would crush Satan’s head (Ge 33:15) and proclaim God’s Word (Dt 18:15). That is because faith’s eyes see Christ clearly. We might compare it to an artist painting an individual (or perhaps a butter sculpture like at the Minnesota Fair). He will stare at that one so that he can reproduce her accurately. (You don’t need that same concentration when drawing a stickman.) Moses kept his attention fixed on and focused on Christ.
We do the same as we gather in God’s house publically or as we grow in God’s grace privately (He 10:25; 2 Pe 3:18). It is valuable for us to not do that annually as optometrists suggest, but daily as God speaks. The eyes of faith view the future, not just the present. Our God holds out the “reward” of heaven, not because we have produced it by ourselves, but because he has provided it through Jesus. He gave up everything to give us everything (2 Co 8:9). We join Peter in asserting when so many were walking away from Jesus: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God” (Jn 6:68,69). Jesus is the One who makes us right with God, dying on the cross for our sin and delivering his perfection to us.
Moses was God’s man to rescue Israel from Egypt (Acts 7:25). That also was “by faith” (He 11:27). (That is the second time the unknown writer highlights that quality.) “By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger” (He 11:27). Moses could lead an estimated 2 million people from their captivity without any concern for the king’s rage boiling over. Why? “He [that is, Moses] persevered because he saw him who is invisible” (He 11:27). That is God. The Lord would guide and guard. That was very evident at the Red Sea. The situation was serious. The dry desert to the sides of them, the deep water in front of them, and the determined Egyptian army behind them. But God walled up the water so that they could walk through without getting their sandals wet and then washing over the enemy.
Our eyes of faith see the Invisible One protecting us and providing for us (He 11:1; 1 Pe 1:8). We can sing to the Lord with the psalmist: “Be my rock of refuge to which I can always go; for you are my rock and my fortress” (Ps 71:3). In him we are safe and secure.
But we need to backtrack a bit. Pharaoh was not so excited to let the free labor go free. The Lord had to convince him. There was plague after plague—9 in all. But still Pharaoh would not budge. God decided that there would be one more to break his iron grip—the death of the firstborn of both man and animal. But not of Israel. The Lord made that possible. They were to take the blood of a one-year-old lamb and paint it on the doorframes of their houses. They were to eat the meat of that animal, ready to head out quickly. That evening, the Lord would pass over those places and spare the oldest. That blood saved them. And Moses inaugurated that annual celebration. That was “by faith” (He 11:28). (That is the third time that the unnamed author emphasizes that characteristic.) “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” (He 11:28).
Year after year lamb after lamb lost its life as the children of Israel commemorated that critical night. But that paschal slaughter only pointed ahead to the perfect sacrifice of the Lamb of God, Jesus, “who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29). He has lifted up and carried off our guilt. It is no more. He redeemed us, paid the price necessary to set us free, not with gold or silver, but with his holy, precious blood (1 Pe 1:18,19). Faith’s eyes see Christ clearly. He gave up his life to grant us life. He has cleansed us from all sin (1 Jn 1:7).
Back to school. That could be significant or insignificant depending on who you are. That may or may not bring new clothes, supplies, or glasses. We can be grateful for a checkup today. Faith’s eyes see Christ clearly. By faith, we live with him right now, even when there is pain. By faith, we live with him forever in Paradise. Thank you, Lord, for the same eyesight of faith as Moses.
We read from Hebrews 11:24-28:
24 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.
May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen (He 13:20,21).
August 26, 2018
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