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The Faith of Moses Hebrews 11:23–29

Moses was a gifted leader whom God used to bring about His plan for Israel and the world. He was blessed with good looks, intelligence, opportunities, eloquence, and leadership ability (Ex. 2:2; Acts 7:20, 22). The Bible describes him as “the man of God” and “the servant of the Lᴏʀᴅ” (Dt. 33:1; 34:5). In fact, his relationship with God was so intimate that “the Lᴏʀᴅ spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend” (Ex. 33:11).

His Parents’ Faith “By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s command” (Heb. 11:23).

Moses’ parents, Amram and Jochebed from the tribe of Levi, were people of faith (Num. 26:59). Moses was born in Egypt in an era when the midwives were under orders to kill all Jewish newborn males (Ex. 1:15–17).

Moses is described as a “beautiful [i.e., good] child” (Heb. 11:23; cf. Ex. 2:2; Acts 7:20). Perhaps his parents were aware that Israel’s 400-year captivity in Egypt (Gen. 15:13–14) was soon to end and that their son might play a role in Israel’s deliverance. Whatever the reason, they demonstrated faith in God and hid Moses for three months.

When Jochebed could no longer hide him, by faith she made an ark of bulrushes, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, and laid Moses in it by the river-bank. Pharaoh’s daughter (possibly Hatshepsut, the young daughter of Thothmes I) discovered the infant and asked Moses’ sister, Miriam, waiting nearby, to summon a Hebrew nurse.

In God’s sovereignty, Jochebed became his nurse. Pharaoh’s daughter gave Moses to his mother and even paid her wages until he became Pharaoh’s daughter’s adopted son (Ex. 2:1–10; Acts 7:21).

Thus Jochebed had a number of years to implant in Moses a sense of his Jewish identity. This is a beautiful example of how God honored the faith of a humble, God-fearing couple. He answered their prayer, spared Moses’ life, and fulfilled His purpose for him.

His Personal Faith Moses’ life is divided into three major sections of 40 years each. The first 40 years were spent in Pharaoh’s court; the second 40, in the desert of Midian; and the last 40, in the desert of Sinai.

History provides some insight concerning the royal court at that time:

Scholars tell us that this Pharaoh had a son, who because he was physically and mentally handicapped, was considered incapable of assuming the royal prerogatives to which he had been born. When he ascended the throne as Thothmes II, his sister Hatshepsut became regent and actually ruled the country. Thothmes II eventually died without a legitimate heir, but because both his father and sister had foreseen this lack of a successor, they probably had determined long beforehand that Moses would be the eventual heir. So from earliest years Moses had been educated with this in mind, as Stephen declares: “Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds” (Acts 7:22). When her brother died, it appears that Hatshepsut retained supreme authority as regent in Egypt and indicated her intention of placing Moses, her adopted son, on the throne as her successor. To legitimize this, she had planned to marry Moses to her elder daughter, Nepherus. Moses, however, apparently both refused the throne and the bride, and thus sacrificed his position in the kingdom and the honor and the wealth that went with it. 1

A number of steps were involved in Moses’ journey of faith.

Rejection. First, Moses rejected his royal position: “By faith Moses, when he became of age [40 years old, Acts 7:23], refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter” (Heb. 11:24). This decision was an act of faith. He chose to leave his royal privilege in Egypt and identify with the Israelite slaves (Ex. 1:8–14).

Reevaluation. Moses chose “rather to suffer affliction with the people of God” (Heb. 11:25). He viewed Israel not as slaves, but as God’s people. He knew the Lord had called him to be part of his people’s divine destiny and was willing to suffer affliction with them.

Refusal. Moses refused to “enjoy the passing pleasures of sin” (v. 25). His royal position offered him all the enjoyment and experiences of prestige and power that most men want. However, Moses shunned them all. For him to remain in Egypt’s court would have been the sin of disobedience because he knew God was calling him to a divine mission among the Israelites.

As the text says, sin is a “passing pleasure”; it provides only momentary satisfaction that is deceptive and fleeting. The patriarch Joseph had a royal position in Egypt for many years and remained a godly man, serving God in total commitment. The same could be said of the prophet Daniel, who enjoyed royal privileges in Babylon.

Reflection. Moses was well aware of the reproach he would suffer. He did not jump quickly to leave the royal court but carefully reflected on what it would cost him before making his life-changing decision. He was willing to suffer “reproach” (v. 26)—to be derided, laughed at, and persecuted for his choice.

Scripture puts Moses’ decision into a Christian context: “esteeming [considering] the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt” (v. 26). The word Christ is the same as Messiah and means “Anointed One.” Some believe the phrase means Moses experienced the same type of rejection and persecution as Christ, but such was not the case. Others believe it means Christ was with Israel and Moses during their suffering and that He suffered along with them (cf. Isa. 63:9).

Still others believe the phrase refers to the reproach Moses bore because of his relationship to the promised Messiah and, by faith, anticipated it would come.

What we do know is that God revealed much to Moses about a coming prophet who would later be identified as Jesus Christ. (See Deuteronomy 18:15–19 and John 5:46.) Thus he probably knew more about Christ than Abraham before him (Jn. 8:56). It is not unreasonable to believe that Moses, being a deliverer of God’s people, suffered the same type of rejection and reproach from his people as would Jesus, the coming Messiah.

Moses considered what he had in the Messiah (Christ) to be “greater riches than the treasures in Egypt” (Heb. 11:26). Wrote Bible expositor Homer Kent: “The wealth and opulence of the Eighteenth Dynasty is well known from the remains of tombs and temples. The fabulous treasures discovered in the tomb of Tutankhamen, a later pharaoh in this dynasty, speak eloquently of the luxuries available to royalty in Egypt.” 2 Moses gave up great wealth for the greater wealth he had in Christ.

Reward. Moses knew he would be rewarded for his faith, and “he looked to the reward” (v. 26). He did not look for earthly wealth and opulence but, rather, for spiritual wealth that was eternal and would be granted in the life to come.

His Public Faith Moses exhibited persevering faith: “By faith he forsook [abandoned] Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king” (v. 27). Moses left Egypt twice: when he fled to Midian and when he led Israel out of Egypt. Many commentators believe Hebrews 11:27 refers to Moses fleeing Midian because the word he seems to fit that occasion better. But the verse states that Moses left not fearing the king’s wrath. When Moses fled to Midian, he did so in fear, not in faith (Ex. 2:14–15).

In the Exodus, Moses “forsook” or permanently departed from Egypt, totally renouncing it. This was not the case in going to Midian. So it seems best to interpret the passage as referring to when Moses left in the Exodus.

Moses departed Egypt strong in faith because “he endured [held fast and persevered] as seeing Him who is invisible” (Heb. 11:27). With no means to defend Israel against Pharaoh, Moses persevered, keeping his eyes fixed on the invisible God who enabled him to stand boldly against the exceedingly great power of Pharaoh, who was determined to destroy him and keep the Israelites in slavery.

Moses exhibited faith by instituting the Passover: “By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them” (v. 28). In obedience to God’s command, Moses instructed each Israelite household to kill a lamb and apply some of its blood to the lintels and doorposts of their houses to protect them from physical death. For God was to pass through Egypt, killing the firstborn of man and beast in each house not protected by the blood (Ex. 11:4; 12:12–13, 23, 27, 29). Moses’ faith in God’s provision of blood protection was great indeed because neither he nor Israel nor the world had ever seen such deliverance.

Moses exhibited faith in God’s protection: “By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned” (Heb. 11:29).

The Red Sea crossing is recorded in Exodus 14. Pharaoh pursued Israel hoping to recapture his slaves. The Israelites, struck with terror, were trapped by the sea in front and Pharaoh’s army at the rear. Frightened and angry, they blamed Moses for their predicament. In a step of great faith, Moses declared, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lᴏʀᴅ….For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lᴏʀᴅ will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace” (Ex. 14:13–14).

As the children of Israel walked into the sea, the waters parted; and they walked on dry land with the water walled up on both sides. The Egyptians tried to follow and drowned in the sea (vv. 27–28). God had promised to protect and deliver Israel, but both Moses and Israel had to step out in faith.

Moses stands as a giant when it comes to faith, character, and resolve to serve the Lord. The lessons we can learn from his faith should strengthen our faith as well.

• J. Dwight Pentecost and Kenneth M. Durham, Faith That Endures, rev. ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 2000), 188–189.
• Homer A. Kent, Jr., The Epistle to the Hebrews (Winona Lake, IN: BMH Books, 2002), 239.

David M. Levy is a Bible teacher, author, former pastor, and the retired director of International Ministries for The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry.

8 thoughts on “ The Faith of Moses Hebrews 11:23–29 ”

Thank you for this insightful presentation about Moses’ faith. It is evident that Moses established a deep foundation of faith in his own heart and mind. Moses understood his own history. Moses most certainly felt God’s calling on his life. He chose to pay the price to accept this calling. Moses could have declined, could have lived a royal life in a palace. But he accepted the call. He earned the trust of God. Moses earned a place in the history of God’s Providence for Salvation.

Heart Touching. Deep Insights

It’s been a pleasure to read such words as God chose people to teach them about him and how to live holy

I have learnt alot out of this, have just realized that there were still many things I needed to know about Moses

All glory to our lord and saver Jesus christ we are very much bless with an inspiration message may God almight contiue to bless you

I enjoyed reading your article. Pls would want to study more..

All glory to jesus. we are so blessed

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Life of Moses Timeline From Exodus to His Death

The Bible divides Moses' life into three major sections that each last roughly forty years. The first is from his birth in Egypt to his fleeing the country for the safety of Midian (Acts 7:20 - 29). The second encompasses his living in Midianite territory until God commissions him, through a burning bush, to free Israel (Acts 7:30 - 34).

The third and last part of Moses' life is from the Exodus to his death at the age of 120 (Acts 7:36). This timeline begins with the Israelites crossing the Red Sea. It then covers all the major events in his life during the time he wandered the wilderness for forty years. Moses' secret death at the hands of God is also covered along with a rather odd incident that took place after he perished.

April 1445 B.C.

God, through Moses and Aaron, frees the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage. The people officially leave the country starting on Nisan 15 (sunset on April 11), a "night to be much observed" (Exodus 12:37 - 42, HBFV throughout).

The shortest route from Egypt to the Promised Land was by hugging the Mediterranean coast and passing through Philistine territory. The Bible reveals, however, that the Lord chose not to use this route, "lest the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt" (Exodus 13:17). God knew that the powerful war-loving Philistines would almost certainly fiercely attack his people and would fight to the last man to defend their territory!

God, instead, decides to take the Israelites roughly southeast from Egypt through the wilderness of the Red Sea (Exodus 13:18).

Further Study

Why Were the Philistines the Greatest Enemy?

Who Were the Philistines?

Pharaoh's Failed Pursuit

Pharaoh, as the Lord predicted to Moses, regretted freeing the Israelites and decides to forcibly bring his former slaves back home. He amasses all the chariots he can muster on a short notice, 600 of them, along with troops and officers, and begins to pursue God's people (Exodus 14:1 - 9).

Pharaoh's army catches up with the Israelites as they are camping near the sea. The people see Egypt's army approaching and begin to panic. Moses then encourages the people by saying, "Fear not! Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord . . . !" (Exodus 14:13).

God first stops the Egyptian advance by placing a cloudy pillar between his people and Pharaoh's army. He then has Moses miraculously part the sea, after which the Lord dries the sea floor to allow his people to cross on dry ground (Exodus 14:19 - 20)!

The Egyptians are then allowed to pursue the Israelites to the middle of the sea where the Lord causes them to become confused and their chariot wheels to loosen. He then has Moses return the sea to normal, causing Pharaoh's army to drown without survivors (Exodus 14:21 - 28).

Where Did Israel Cross the Sea?

The Journey Continues

The Israelites continue their journey by traveling south to Marah whose waters are undrinkable. The Lord has Moses miraculously heal the waters by having him throw a tree into it (Exodus 15:23 - 25). The people then travel to Elim.

May 1445 B.C.

Manna from heaven.

Moses leads the Israelites from Elim to the wilderness of Sin. They arrive in the wilderness on the 15th day of the second month (Exodus 16:1), or Iyar 15 (May 12).

The children of Israel, because of their lack of faith (Hebrews 4:2), continue a pattern of whining, complaining and condemning. They cried out to God when they were slaves in Egypt (see Exodus 2:23 - 24, 3:7, 9) and continue to do so even after they see countless miracles!

O that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots, when we ate bread to the full, for you (Moses and Aaron) have brought us forth into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger! (Exodus 16:3).

God response to the complaints is to provide, after sunset, quail to eat (Exodus 16:8, 12 - 15). He also graciously provides manna six mornings each week which the people must gather. This miracle will continue to occur for the next forty years (Exodus 16:35)!

The Lord uses the miracle of manna, which includes a double portion on the sixth day each week, to teach his people about his holy Sabbath day (Exodus 16:4, 25 - 26).

It should be noted that Israel is taught about the Bible Sabbath (sunset Friday to sunset Saturday), and punished for not keeping it (see Exodus 16:27 - 30), BEFORE they receive the Ten Commandments!

Where Is the Wilderness of Sin?

What Is Manna?

What Does Bread Symbolize?

Why Keep the Sabbath?

No Water in Meribah

Israel then journeys to a place named Rephidim (Exodus 17:1) which is also called Meribah (verse 7). They then cry to Moses that there is no water to the point where he believes they want to stone him to death (verses 4)! The Lord has Moses strike a certain rock with his rod which then produces a supernatural stream of water for the thirsty people (Exodus 17:5 - 7).

A Surprise Attack!

The Israelites, while staying in Rephidim, experience a surprise attack by the Amalekites. Moses, in response, has Joshua gather and lead an army against the enemy. As the battle rages Moses is taken to a hill overlooking the battle. His outstretched arms over the battle ensures Joshua's forces are victorious.

And it came to pass when Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed. And when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands became heavy. And they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur held up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side . . . (Exodus 17:11 - 12).

While Israel is camping at Rephidim, which is close to Mount Sinai, Moses' father-in-law Jethro comes for a visit. He brings Moses' wife Zipporah and their two sons with him. During the visit Jethro suggests selecting wise, capable Israelite men to help judge the people (Exodus 18).

Timeline of Israel's Wars

June 1445 B.C.

Preparation for the commandments.

On the sixth day of the third Hebrew month or Sivan 6 (June 1, Exodus 19:1), Moses goes up Mount Sinai to talk with God. He is instructed to ask the Israelites if they are willing to enter into a covenant with him (verses 3 - 6). After coming down off the mount he tells Israel's elders what God said and they convey it to the people. Moses, after the people agree to the covenant, the next day (likely June 2) he goes back up the mount to convey their answer to God (verses 7 - 8).

The Lord then instructs Moses to tell the people to consecrate themselves for the next two days as on the third day he will come down on Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:10 - 11, 15 - 16).

The Giving of the Law

On the morning of Pentecost, a Sunday, Moses brings the people out of their camp to the base of Mount Sinai. At the foot of the mount they witness thunder and lightning as a thick cloud covers the mountain. The Lord then descends upon it with fire which causes Sinai to smoke like a furnace (Exodus 19:16 - 19). After descending He gives the Ten Commandments, as well as many judgments, to the children of Israel (Exodus 20 - 23).

Moses, Aaron, Aaron's two sons and seventy of Israel's elders are then invited to a covenant meal before God on Sinai!

And they saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the heavens in clearness. And upon the nobles of the children of Israel He did not lay his hands. Also they saw God, and ate and drank (Exodus 24:10 - 11).

Was Jesus the God of the Israelites?

Sapphires in the Bible

Mid-June to July 1445

The written law.

Moses, after partaking of the covenant meal, is commanded by God to go up Mount Sinai to receive a written copy of the law. He goes up the mount, with Joshua in tow, and waits six days. On the seventh day the Lord, from a cloud that covers the mountain, calls him to come up still further by himself (Exodus 24:12 - 17).

Moses spends another 39 days communing with God (for 40 total), without eating or drinking, in order to receive further instructions and a written version of the law (Exodus 24:18 - 31:18).

Are the Ten Commandments Still Relevant?

Ten Commandments in the New Testament

The Golden Calf

While Moses is on the mount, the Israelites have Aaron make them a golden pagan calf they can worship after which they indulge themselves in sexual perversions (Exodus 32:1 - 6). After receiving God's law, written by his own finger (Exodus 31:18), Moses is warned to hurry off the mount as the people have corrupted themselves.

God's anger at Israel's rebellion is such that he wants to destroy them completely and fulfill his promises through Moses! The patriarch intervenes, however, and has the nation spared (Exodus 32:9 - 14). When he personally sees the immorality for himself, however, he breaks the law's stone tablets to punish the people. He also has those who instigated the idolatry killed (verses 15 - 28). The Lord will ultimately create two more tablets of stone with his commandments (Exodus 34).

How Did Aaron Humorously Hide His Sin?

What Does God Hate?

July 1445 to March 1444

Tabernacle in the wilderness.

Moses, sometime after the above events, begins to accept offerings of gold, silver, cloth and so on for the building of the tabernacle in the wilderness (Exodus 35:4 - 19). The tabernacle is a temporary structure whose purpose is to facilitate the worship of God (Exodus 25:8).

Work for the tabernacle, and all its furniture and implements, takes place under the supervision of a man named Bezaleel (Exodus 35:30 - 35).

Why Was Acacia Wood Used for Tabernacle?

March 18, 1444

Tabernacle anointed.

The tabernacle is anointed by Moses, in service to the Eternal, on the first day of the first month of the second year after leaving Egypt (Exodus 40:1 - 2, 17). This date, Nisan 1 in Hebrew civil year 2317, corresponds to Saturday (the Sabbath) on March 18.

Who Made the Ark of the Covenant?

Taking a Census

Moses is commanded, "on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt," or Iyar 1 (April 17) to take a census of Israel (Numbers 1).

The Book of Numbers

Leaving Sinai

On Iyar 20 (May 6), the cloud over the Ark of the Covenant that symbolized God's presence lifted high above it (Numbers 10:11). This signaled that Moses, and the Israelites, were to move from the wilderness of Sinai to the wilderness of Paran (verses 12 - 13).

More Whining

After traveling for three days (Numbers 10:33) the Israelites begin, again, to complain about their situation. The Lord's response was swift.

And the people complained about their distress, speaking evil in the ears of the Lord. And the Lord heard it, and His anger was kindled. And the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some in the outermost parts of the camp (Numbers 11:1).

Some of the Israelites, even after the above incident, begin to whine that they want more than manna to eat.

Who shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic (Numbers 11:4 - 5).

Moses Wants to Die!

Moses then complains to God about his workload and the constant complaining from his brethren he has to endure. The burden of leading the people is so great that he wishes he were dead (Numbers 11:11 - 17). God decides to alleviate some of Moses' burden by placing his spirit in seventy elders to help him govern.

The Lord, in order to teach his people a lesson, provides them with a month's worth of meat at one time (Numbers 11:18 - 23)! Their lusting after flesh to eat so angers God that when they begin to consume it, he unleashes a great plague upon the people that kills many (verses 33 - 34). The Israelites then travel to Hazeroth (verse 35).

Israel's Wilderness Camp

May to August 1444

Disrespecting moses.

Aaron and Miriam, after the Israelites settle in Hazeroth, begin to criticize their brother Moses for a woman he married. Their real disagreement, however, was based on their envy of his authority.

"Has the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? Has He not also spoken by us?" (Numbers 12:2).

Their disagreement with Moses seems even more bizarre when one realizes he was about 81 at the time with Aaron being 84 and Miriam being between 91 and 93 years old!

God's solution to the criticism was to confront Aaron and Miriam and then turn Miriam white with leprosy! Moses quickly intervenes for his sister and has her healed, but she is confined to live outside the camp for seven days (Numbers 12:4 - 15). After she comes back to the camp the Israelites leave for the wilderness of Paran.

What Was the Race of Moses' Wife?

Does the Bible Condemn Interracial Marriage?

August 1444

Spies sent to promised land.

Moses, in August (when the first ripe grapes appear on vines, Numbers 13:20), sends twelve spies into the Promised Land. He sends the men on their special expedition to get answers to the following questions.

And see the land, what it is, and the people that live in it, whether it is strong or weak, few or many. And see what the land is that they live in, whether it is good or bad; and what cities they dwell in, whether in tents or in strongholds; And what the land is, whether fat or lean, whether there is wood in it or not . . . (Numbers 13:18 - 20).

September 1444

The faithless report.

The twelve spies spend forty days spying out the Promised Land (Numbers 13:25). On their return they give Moses, Aaron and all Israel a report of what they found.

The spies relay that the Promised Land is indeed flowing with milk and honey (Numbers 13:27). Ten of the spies, however, focus the majority of their report on why the Israelites (from a human standpoint) would be incapable of taking possession of their inheritance.

The land, according to the ten spies, has large and fortified cities populated by powerful people whose men are huge in stature such as the Amalekites, Hittites and Amorites. Even bigger people, giants known as the Anak, also dwell in Canaan (Numbers 13:28 - 29, 32 - 33). Their conclusion is the following.

We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we (Numbers 13:31).

In spite of the efforts of Caleb and Joshua who also are spies (Numbers 13:30, 14:6 - 9), the Israelites believe in the faithless (and somewhat exaggerated) report they hear from ten of the spies. The people then begin to whine against Moses and even discuss stoning him to death (Numbers 14:2 - 4, 10)!

Punished to Wander

The Lord's initial response to Israel's rejection is to destroy his people with pestilence (Numbers 14:12). Moses intervenes for the people, however, and has their lives spared (verses 13 - 20).

God's punishment on his people for refusing to enter that land he swore he would give them is that all those 20 years old or older will not enter the Promised Land (except Joshua and Caleb). The Israelites, he declares, will wander in the wilderness a total of 40 years until a new generation can enter Canaan.

And your children shall feed in the wilderness forty years and bear your whoredoms until your dead carcasses have been consumed in the wilderness (Numbers 14:33, HBFV).

God also causes a plague that kills the ten faithless spies sent by Moses (Numbers 14:36 - 37).

Israel, rather surprisingly, is shocked by the punishment they received and the judgment against the ten spies. Their hard hearts foolishly attempt, in spite of being warned not to do so, to take the land of Canaan on their own. They are, as predicted, beaten back by those in the land (Numbers 14:40 - 45).

Giants in the Bible!

Map of Division of Promised Land

October 1444 to March 1406

Korah's rebellion.

A Levite named Korah and several other prominent Israelite leaders question the authority of Moses and Aaron over the people (Numbers 16). God's judgment of this unrighteous group is in two parts. Korah, as well as three Reubenites and their families, are swallowed up when the earth under their feet splits in two!

And the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men who were for Korah, and all their goods (Numbers 16:32).

250 other Israelite leaders who supported Korah's rebellion are burned alive with fire that proceeded from the Lord (Numbers 16:35).

March to April 1406

The death of miriam.

The children of Israel travel to the desert of Zin and camp at Kadesh in the first month (Nisan) of their 40th year of wandering (Numbers 20:1). This month corresponds to the period between March 20 and April 18. Miriam, Moses' older sister, dies during the month and is buried.

Forfeiting the Promised Land

In Kadesh the people discover there is no water available (Numbers 20). They, as they have done in the past, complain and argue with both Moses and Aaron about their situation.

And why have you made us to come up out of Egypt to bring us into this evil place? It is not a place of seed or of figs or of vines or of pomegranates. And there is no water to drink (Numbers 20:5).

The Lord instructs Moses and Aaron to take Moses' staff and speak to a certain rock which will then produce water. Moses tells the Israelites at the rock, "Hear now, you rebels. Must we bring water for you out of this rock?" (Numbers 20:10). He then, no doubt out of frustration with the people, hastily uses his staff to strike the rock twice (Numbers 20:7 - 11). His error of drawing attention to himself and Aaron, and away from God, brings a penalty.

And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not believe Me, to sanctify Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them" (Numbers 20:12).

Why Couldn't Moses Enter the Promised Land?

June to July 1406

Rejected by edom, aaron's death.

Moses requests, from Edom's king, permission to travel through his land. He promises the Israelites will stick to the King's Highway and will not take anything in his territory. The king flatly refuses the request and backs up his answer by amassing a large and powerful army. The Israelites then decide to take another route (Numbers 20:14 - 21).

Israel leaves Kadesh and camps near Mount Hor. It is at the mount that Aaron dies and is buried at the age of 123 (Numbers 20:22 - 29, 33:38 - 39). He dies on Ab 1 (July 16), a few months after his sister Miriam perished. The children of Israel mourn his death for 30 days.

Map of the King's Highway

Where Is Mount Hor Located?

Which Biblical Patriarchs Lived the Longest?

Autumn 1406 B.C.

At war with the canaanites.

King Arad the Canaanite, in the autumn of 1406, decides to go to war with Moses and the Israelites near Hormah. Arad strikes first and takes some of the people as prisoners (Numbers 21:1). The Israelites then vow that if they are given victory over Arad, they will destroy his Canaanite cities. God grants them the victory they request which leads to the destruction of his cities (Numbers 21:1 - 3).

Fiery Serpents!

From Mount Hor the Israelites travel around Edomite territory. The people not only begin to complain that they have no bread or water, they also let it be known that they detest the miraculously manna they have been receiving! God responds by sending fiery serpents among his people which kill many.

Moses, after praying for the people, is instructed to make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole. Anyone who is then bitten by a serpent, if they look at the one placed on the pole, will live (Numbers 21:6 - 9).

Jesus will, years later, use the serpent on the pole to symbolize that he must also be lifted up off the ground (crucified). His "lifting" will make it possible for those who recognize his sacrifice and believe in him to receive eternal life (John 3:14 - 15).

What Are Vows?

What Is a Nazarite Vow?

Two Major Conflicts

The Israelites then travel and camp at several places (Numbers 21:10 - 20) until they pass through Moabite territory to its border with the Amorites. As they are camping near the Arnon River Moses asks Amorite King Sihon if he can pass through his land.

Sihon not only refuses to allow safe passage, he also initiates a war with Israel at Jahaz (Numbers 21:23)! The Israelites, with God's blessing, decimate the Amorites and take control of their land and possessions (Numbers 21:24 - 31, Deuteronomy 2:30 - 36). Moses then has Israel drive out the Amorites from their last remaining stronghold in Jaazer (Numbers 21:32).

The Israelites travel north after their victory. They journey to the land of Bashan and are attacked, at Edrei, by King Og and his army (Numbers 21:33 - 35, Deuteronomy 3:1 - 7, 11). God's people, however, soundly defeat him and claim his territory as their own.

Who Were the Moabites?

Who Were the Amorites?

What Land Did the King of Bashan Control?

Sex Sins and Idolatry

The Israelites travel to the plains of Moab and camp on the eastern side of the Jordan River across from Jericho (Numbers 22:1). While the people are camping some of Israel's men are enticed by Moabite women to not only commit sexual sins but also to indulge in open idolatry.

God's wrath is kindled against these sinful men, leading him to command those who are guilty be put to death. God then causes a plague (sickness) to spread among the people. The plague is stopped only when Aaron's grandson kills a man and woman who sinned but not before 24,000 Israelites had perished (Numbers 25:1 - 9).

The Death Penalty and the Bible

Can We Cheat Death?

What Is Idolatry?

End of 1406

The last battle.

The last war God wants Moses to execute, before his death, is against the Midianites.

Attack the Midianites and strike them. For they trouble you with their lies, with which they have deceived you in the matter of Peor . . . (Numbers 25:17 - 18).

This battle is meant to punish Midian for its role in leading the Israelites astray by encouraging them to have relationships with pagan women (Numbers 25:1 - 9). The Midianite who spearheaded this campaign to tempt Israel was the prophet Balaam.

Moses gathers 12,000 fighting men and sends them against Midian. The Israelites proceed to completely destroy the enemy. They kill all the men of war, put to death all five Midianite rulers, take all the women and children captive, and burn their cities to the ground. They also kill Balaam who was willing to curse God's people for a fee (Numbers 31:1 - 10). Amazingly, not one Israelite soldier is lost during the battle!

God then commands Moses to take a census and count all the men 20 years old or older (Numbers 26).

January to February 1405 B.C.

Moses' final message, death.

Deuteronomy 1:3 begins Moses' final recorded teachings to Israel before his death. His teachings begin on the first day of the 11th Hebrew month (Shebat 1 or January 8, 1405 B.C.).

Moses dies on Mount Nebo, at the age of 120, around February 5 (Deuteronomy 34:1 - 8). He loses his life by God's hand and is buried in an undisclosed location. The Israelites mourn for him for one month before making their preparations to enter the Promised Land.

Where Are Old Testament People Buried?

Final Notes

Moses writes the first five books of the Bible during Israel's forty years of wandering the desert (1445 to 1405 B.C.).

Although the Israelites did not know where Moses was buried after his death, the Lord's enemy, Satan the devil, certainly did! Sometime after he lost his life, in what seems to be a rather macabre and weird event, the devil sought to get his body. It took the intervention of an archangel to stop the evil thief!

But Michael the archangel, when he was personally taking issue with the devil, disputing about the body of Moses, did not presume to pronounce a reviling judgment against him, but said, "The Lord Himself rebuke you!" (Jude 1:9).

Why Did the Devil Want Moses' Body?

Part 1 of Timeline Moses' Life from Birth to Exodus

References The Christian Passover by F. Coulter Online Holy Day Calendar at cbcg.org Willmington's Complete Guide to Bible Knowledge

The Story of Moses in the Bible: What His Life Teaches Us

A baby on death row, an outcast prince, a humble shepherd, and an unlikely deliverer. All these titles describe the individual that led Israel out of slavery in Egypt to the borders of the Promised Land.

This was the story of Moses in the Bible—a man who wasn’t even supposed to be alive, who allowed God to use him in mighty ways.

To understand him better and know why God fought so hard for him, we’re going to discuss:

• Who was Moses ?
• What kind of relationship did he have with God?
• What was his legacy?

You’ll learn about an incredible man—who may not be as different from you as you’d think!

Let’s dive in.

Who was Moses?

Moses is one of the most prominent figures in the Old Testament of the Bible. Scholars believe he lived during the 15th century BC. 1 Best known for leading the Hebrew nation, or the Israelites , from Egypt to Canaan. Though he is also credited as the primary author of the first five books of the Bible, also called by the Jewish people as the Torah or Pentateuch. His story is one of God fighting for him and his people, and molding him into a patient, self-sacrificing, faithful leader.

Here are some of the important highlights from his unique life.

Escaping death as an infant

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Moses’ life started in hiding from the ruler of Egypt, who declared that all Hebrew baby boys be killed. But through the ingenuity of Moses’ mother, he survived and became part of the royal family.

Here’s how it happened.

A few hundred years before, the Pharaoh at the time allowed the Israelites to settle in Goshen, Egypt during a famine (Exodus 12:40). As time passed, they remained there as sheepherders and grew into a nation.

The next Pharaoh, however, felt threatened by this growth. So he found a way to enslave the people (Exodus 1:7–11).

But they continued to increase (verse 12).

Fearful of a revolt, Pharaoh turned to drastic measures. That’s when he commanded the murder of all male Israelite babies.

It was under this death threat that a Levite woman—named Jochebed—gave birth to a son and was determined to hide him (Exodus 2:1–2; 6:20).

She was successful for three months. But as her baby grew, she knew she’d have to do something else. So she weaved a little basket, placed her son in it, and hid the basket in the reeds by the Nile river bank (Exodus 2:3).

Who would discover the baby?

None other than the Egyptian princess (verse 4)! She recognized that the baby was “one of the Hebrews’ children” (verse 6, NKJV) and decided to adopt him, paying his mother to nurse him until he was older (verses 7–9).

The Egyptian princess “named him Moses, ‘because,’ she said, ‘I drew him out of the water’” (verse 10, ESV).

An outcast prince

Moses grew up in the Egyptian royal family with access to life’s best—a university education, the finest cuisine, and all the honor attributed to royalty (Acts 7:22). Above all, he was in line to the throne of Egypt. 2

But this was not to be.

Hebrews 11:24–25 recounts:

“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” (ESV).

He wanted to share the sufferings of his people and free them from slavery. Perhaps he could use his position to do so.

One day, enraged over the poor treatment of a Hebrew slave, he murdered an Egyptian taskmaster and buried him in the sand. 3

Since Moses had taken matters into his own hands, he soon had to hide from Pharaoh again (Exodus 2:15).

A humble shepherd

Photo by Patrick Schneider on Unsplash

At this point, Moses’ life had taken a different turn than he intended. A fugitive in the wilderness of Midian, he married Zipporah the daughter of Jethro, and spent 40 long years tending sheep (Exodus 2:15–21; 3:1). God knew that he needed those quiet years to prepare him to be an effective leader.

And it was as a shepherd that he would receive His special calling and mission.

An unlikely deliverer

God had big plans to redeem the Israelites from their wrongful enslavement. When the next Pharaoh was instated, God called Moses as the deliverer of His people (Exodus 2:23–25).

While tending sheep near a mountain called Horeb, Moses noticed something strange: a bush that was on fire but wasn’t burning up.

God spoke to him out of this burning bush, instructing him to lead the Israelites out of the land of Egypt and promising to be with him and guide him (Exodus 3:4–12).

Little did he know what that would entail. He accepted the position with great humility and even self-distrust.

A leader of Israel

At 80 years of age, Moses accepted God’s call to lead the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage. It would be no small feat, considering that Pharaoh was not going to easily give up his nation’s workforce. But God promised to use Moses and work miracles on behalf of the Hebrew people.

He worked through Moses in many ways, including:

• To confront Pharaoh and perform miracles through God’s power ( Exodus 5:1–3; 7:10–13)
• To declare ten different plagues that God would bring on the Egyptians ( Exodus 7–11)
• To part the Red Sea and lead the Israelites across ( Exodus 14:13–22) 
• To guide the Israelites in their wilderness wanderings and mediate between them and God ( Exodus 16–17; 19:9; 20:19; 32:30–35)
• To act as a judge when disputes came up among the people ( Exodus 18:13–16)
• To relay the Ten Commandments and God’s other instructions ( Exodus 20–31)
• To direct the building and set-up of the sanctuary/tabernacle (Exodus 40; Leviticus 9)

They were tasks that required Moses to be intimately connected with God.

What kind of relationship did Moses have with God?

Moses had a very close relationship with God—one that he developed over his lifetime as he learned to trust God more and to trust himself less. He had to let go of pride in his own ideas so that he could depend completely on God’s plan.

The following are three facets of his relationship with God:

Communication with God

Photo by Ali fekri on Unsplash

As Moses came to know God better, he approached God in a way that showed he was in harmony with Him. He longed to know God and was willing to put himself on the line for the people of Israel. His communication with God reflected this attitude.

The first communication between him and God that is mentioned in the Bible takes place at the burning bush. Moses was caring for a flock of sheep when he encountered a bush on fire that wasn’t burning up. As he pondered the strange phenomena, God spoke to him from the burning bush, calling him to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt (Exodus 3:1–7).

But there’s more.

Exodus 33:11 tells us that “the LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend” (ESV).

Moses had the opportunity to approach God on Mount Sinai—the “mountain of God”—and spend 40 days there communing with Him (Exodus 20:21; 24:1–2, 18). He even made a bold request to be able to see God’s glory (33:15–23).

Speaking of boldness, we can’t forget how Moses interceded on behalf of the Israelites when they rebelled against God (Exodus 32:30–34; Numbers 7:89):

He even went so far as to beg God to let him take on the consequences Israel deserved. And God preserved both Moses and the Israelites (Psalm 106:23).

Trust in God

Photo by Ezra Jeffrey-Comeau on Unsplash

Trusting God wasn’t easy for Moses, especially in the beginning. But his faith grew over time , and through many challenging circumstances.

At the burning bush, Moses questioned his own ability to speak and lead, even though God had promised to go with him and had given him miraculous signs to prove it (Exodus 4:1–9). Moses went so far as to say:

“Please send someone else” (verse 13, ESV).

But God was patient with his lack of faith and gave him his brother Aaron as a spokesperson (verses 10–17).

And his faith grew as he:

• Went before Pharaoh , demanding the release of the Israelites and declaring the plagues that would come ( Exodus 7:19–20; 8:1)
• Parted the Red Sea with his rod when it seemed like the Egyptians would capture the Israelites ( Exodus 14:13, 21)
• Cried out to Him in moments of distress ( Exodus 15:25)
• Dealt with the people’s complaints and struggles ( Exodus 15:22–26; 16–17)
• Lifted his rod in faith to God so that the Israelites would be victorious over the Amalekites (Exodus 17:11–12)

Even so, Moses was human. He struggled too. One of the biggest examples of this is the way he distrusted and disobeyed God in a moment of anger (Numbers 20:2–13).

The Israelites had been complaining about not having water, so God told Moses to speak to a rock and water would come out. Instead, he angrily struck the rock and “spoke rashly with his lips” (Psalm 106:33, ESV).

Because of his lack of faith, God didn’t allow Moses to enter the Promised Land (Numbers 20:12). But He had something greater in store for Moses: After his death, He resurrected him and took him to heaven—to the ultimate Promised Land (Matthew 17:1–3).

Despite Moses’ shortcomings, God helped him overcome many obstacles to become the man of faith that he was. We’ll look at those next.

Obstacles Moses overcame

Pride, impatience, and self-reliance were persistent obstacles Moses had to face during his lifetime.

When he was 40 years old, he thought God was going to use his military might and royal position to deliver the people of Israel (Acts 7:23–25).

Little did he realize how much he had to learn! He would have to wait 40 years in the wilderness as a shepherd, learning to trust God’s plans more than his own.

Those 40 years did their work. When God appeared to him at the burning bush (Acts 7:30), he recognized his smallness and incapability without God (Exodus 4:10).

He also became a servant leader—one who was willing to give his very life for those he was leading (Numbers 14:13; Exodus 32:30–34). He came to care about the people and God’s honor more than about himself.

This change in his attitude may be the very reason that the Bible says he “was a very humble man, more so than anyone on the face of the earth” (Numbers 12:3, CSB).

The legacy of Moses

Moses left behind a great legacy for the nation of Israel by leading them to the Promised Land. But he also left us a legacy in the many lessons we can learn from his experiences and relationship with God.

These lessons include:

• God has a plan for our lives from the very start. 
• Delay and apparent failure aren’t necessarily the end of the story. They can be God’s ways of preparing us for greater things. 
• God needs humble people.
• A true leader is a servant. 
• Leaders need support.

And above all, his life pointed forward to the greatest servant-leader— Jesus Christ —who would come and sacrifice Himself for His people.

God has a plan for our lives from the very start

God was watching over Moses from babyhood, giving his mother wisdom to hide her son so that he could be preserved for God’s purpose.

Similarly, God has a purpose and calling for each one of our lives (Isaiah 43:1). And as we trust Him, He will guide us into that purpose.

Delay and failure aren’t obstacles for God. He can use every situation to strengthen us

Photo by Joshua Earle on Unsplash

Moses may have thought he was a failure when it came to delivering Israel. Even his own people didn’t support his attempts at first (Exodus 2:11–14). It wouldn’t be until after 40 years of herding sheep in the wilderness that God would call him to be Israel’s leader (Acts 7:30).

But in God’s eyes, that failure was not a dead end. And those 40 years were certainly not wasted.

If you find yourself at a point of failure, wondering why it’s taking so long to reach success, be encouraged by Moses’ experience. God hasn’t given up on you. In fact, He may be using the current circumstances to make you into the person the situation calls for.

God needs humble people

God used Moses’ 40 years in the wilderness to teach him the important lesson of humility. As he cared for sheep, he learned to trust in God’s plans instead of trusting his way of doing things. He also learned the importance of being teachable and taking advice from others (Exodus 18:14, 17).

God is likewise looking for us to be humble and teachable. James 4:10 promises:

“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you” (CSB).

When we’re humble, then God can help and empower us.

A true leader is a servant

Moses learned that true leadership is not about force and power; it’s about service and sacrifice. This lesson became so real in his life that he was willing to sacrifice himself when God had to confront the Israelites’ rebellion and disobedience.

When we seek leadership positions, do we have the same attitude of self-sacrifice?

Leaders need support

Leading a nation of people through the wilderness was a heavy burden for Moses to carry. But he didn’t do it alone. God provided him with people to support and counsel him in his work.

His brother Aaron was one of those individuals.

For example, when the Israelites fought against the Amalekites, Moses stood on a hill above the battle and held up his rod. As he kept his rod up, the Israelites were victorious. But as he would begin to grow tired, Aaron and another man named Hur “supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other so that his hands remained steady until the sun went down” (Exodus 17:12, CSB). Together, they were victorious.

Another support to Moses was his father-in-law, Jethro. When Jethro saw the burdens Moses had taken upon himself, he encouraged Moses to delegate his work to save his strength (Exodus 18:14–23).

The moral of these stories?

We were not meant to face life’s challenges alone. And so, God places us in communities where we can support one another—and be even more effective than if we tried to handle everything solo.

Moses’ life pointed to Jesus Christ

Photo by Pro Church Media on Unsplash

The greatest legacy Moses left behind was the way his life and character pointed to Christ . Notice what he said about the coming Messiah:

“The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you” (Acts 3:22, NKJV, see also Deuteronomy 18:15).

As a faithful servant of God in caring for the Israelites, he exemplified how Christ would be a faithful servant over all God’s people. An author of the New Testament reflects on this symbolism:

“Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s household, as a testimony to what would be said in the future. But Christ was faithful as a Son over His household” (Hebrews 3:5–6, CSB).

Continuing the legacy of Moses

After hearing of near-death scenarios, the parting of the Red Sea, and encounters with God, you may think that Moses’ experience is far from your day-to-day.

Yet it’s not.

He was a human being—just like any of us—who struggled with doubts, fears, and failure . If God could use him, then God can use us!

The key is complete humility and trust in God. When we choose to depend completely on Him, He will:

• Bring us into that ever-deepening connection with Him 
• Part the seas of impossibility in our lives
• Gain victories over the sins that attack us
• Use us to lead others out of the bondage in their lives

So take some time to get to know Moses in the Bible.

Immerse yourself in the lessons he learned.

Because you can continue the legacy he started.

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1. DeCanio, Frank, “2. Analysis and Synthesis of Exodus,” Bible.org, March 27, 2012. [ ↵ ] 2. Ritenbaugh, Richard T., “What the Bible says about Moses as Part of Royal Family,” Forerunner Commentary, BibleTools.org. [ ↵ ]   3. Magonet, Jonathan, “Raised as an Egyptian, How Does Moses Come to Identify as a Hebrew?” TheTorah.com, 2021; Nelson, Ryan, “Moses: The Old Testament’s Greatest Prophet,” OverviewBible, July 27, 2020. [ ↵ ]

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Moses: His Faith and Decision

Charles Haddon Spurgeon June 24, 1888 Scripture: Hebrews 11:24-26 From: Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Volume 34

“By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to he called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.”— Hebrews xi. 24— 26.

WE generally picture Moses with, beams of glory rising from his brow, and the two tables of the law in his hand; a stern man holding forth a sterner law. But we must correct our idea. Moses is as much an example of faith as he is a representative of law. What he did was as much due to his faith as were the acts of Paul or John. In describing Moses, the summary must begin “By faith,” as much as if we were describing Abraham. Continue to regard Moses as a representative of the law, but also view him as a man of wonderful and powerful faith.

     I need scarcely remind you that the faith of Moses was peculiarly active and operative. I might apply the words of James to him, and say, “Likewise also was not Moses justified by works when he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, and chose to endure affliction with the people of God?” The faith of Moses was what ours must be, a faith which worked by love— even love to God, and love to his people. It was no mere belief of a fact; but that fact had an overpowering influence upon his life. Moses believed, believed firmly and intensely, believed for himself, so that he took fast hold of that which is invisible. Moses showed the reality of his faith in his life, by what he refused to do, and by what he chose to do. Both the negative and the positive poles were made right by his faith. Everything about Moses proved the truth and the vigour of his faith in God. He was second to none among those “who believed God, and it was accounted unto them for righteousness.” He was king in Jeshurun, and he was the greatest of law-givers; but yet he happily takes his place among believers who find their all in God. On the Arc de Triomphe which is raised in this eleventh chapter of Hebrews the name of Moses is written among the very greatest of those who lived by faith in God. I pray that while I am speaking this morning, faith may be wrought in some here present who have it not as yet; and I pray also that others who have true faith, but have not yet avowed it, may find themselves drawn to take a decided step, and take their place on the side of God and his people. The question, “Who is on the Lord’s side?” is the one I would press upon you this morning, in the hope that, like Moses, many of you may be willing to suffer the reproach of Christ, which has not ceased.

     Our first remark shall be, Moses had faith; the second shall be, Moses exhibited clear decision as the result of his faith; and then, thirdly, we will say, Moses should be imitated by us.

     I. First, then, MOSES HAD FAITH. I am not going through the whole life of Moses, that were much too large a theme for one discourse; but I shall very much keep to my text.

     It is very clear that Moses believed in God. He was learned in all the learning of the Egyptians, he had been brought up in the very best academies of the period; but he had not been seduced from faith in his God. There were gods many in Egypt; but Moses worshipped the one God, the God of his fathers; and though he may have known comparatively little of him, he knew enough to have no other God but the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I suppose that his mother and father could tell him but little of the family faith; but as they were God-fearing, believing people, they taught him what they knew. He believed in the living God, Creator of heaven and earth; he worshipped one God, the ruler of providence; one God, who is to be obeyed and adored; and to this God he adhered. I would that all of you believed in the living, personal, working, ever-present God! In these days many do not believe in a personal God, but in some sort of force or mystic energy, they know not what. This is virtually to have no God at all. To Moses the existence and ruling power of God were the greatest facts of life. He believed in the one living and true God, bowed before him, desired to be found serving him, and to have him as his friend, even though this should put him into opposition with all the world. Although the pomp, and power, and glory, and wisdom of the ruling nation were all on the side of idols, Moses worshipped the one God; for in his power and Godhead he solemnly believed.

     In the next place, Moses believed that the Israelites were the chosen people of God. This, of course, he had learned from his parents, and he heartily believed it, though it certainly did not look to be true. If the seed of Jacob were the people of God, why were they left under oppression? Why were they enslaved by Pharaoh? Why were their children doomed to die? Could the elect of God be left in so evil a plight? If God be the God of this people, why are they made to endure affliction? Peradventure they told him that God had revealed unto their fathers, that they were to go down into Egypt, and to be strangers in a strange land; but whether or not, it was the solemn conviction of Moses that the living and true God had chosen the seed of Abraham to be his people, and had taken them into covenant with himself. They were the election of grace. For this cause Moses loved them, and desired to be numbered with them. Certainly, they were not in themselves a very lovable people: there was much about them that must have saddened the heart of Moses. They were ignorant, while he was educated: they had been debased by slavery, while he was of that brave disposition which is nourished in freedom. When he himself attempted to be their champion, they did not receive him. He found two of them striving together, and when, with gentle words he would have made peace between them, one of them replied, “Who made thee a prince and a judge over us?” Yet Moses said to himself, “Whatever they may be, they are the people of God, and I will be one of them.”

     Even to this day the Lord has a chosen people, a remnant according to the election of grace. Looking critically at the church of God, we soon detect much that is faulty, many shortcomings and many grievous evils; yet the church of God is God’s choice, and we may not. despise it. I can say of God’s people—

“These are the company I keep; These are the choicest friends I know.”

     If they are good enough for God, they are good enough for me. If you never join a church till you find a perfect church, you must wait till you get to heaven; and if you could go there as you are, they would not receive you into fellowship. Consider who are the people that acknowledge God in their lives, who hold the truth as it is revealed, who believe the Holy Scriptures, and worship God in the Spirit, having no confidence in the flesh. Cast in your lot with these people, however poor and common-place they may be. If they are not all you would like them to be, neither are you yourself all you would like to be; but simply, because you believe them to be the people of God, cast in your lot with them, begging the Lord to have mercy upon you, and deal with you as he is wont to do to those who fear his name.

     Moses further believed that the reproach which fell upon his people was the reproach of Christ. It is said that he “esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt.” But Christ was not there. Christ as yet had not been born into the world. How could the reproach of Israel in Egypt be the reproach of Christ? This shows us that the Christ was always one with his people. Even as the church is the body of Christ now, so were the Lord’s people the body of Christ of old. The Lord Christ so sympathized with Israel in Egypt, that what they bore he bore. “In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them.” Jesus is that “angel of his presence.” Brethren, it is a grand thing to discover and know by faith that the reproach which falls upon the people of God is the reproach of Christ. When Stephen was killed, it was Stephen, was it not, that died? Ay, but the Christ stood up from his throne that day. When Christ spoke to Saul on the road to Damascus he did not say, “Saul, Saul, why dost thou persecute the church?” but, “why persecutest thou me?” Christ suffers in the least of his people. The poorest and the most obscure of them, when ridiculed and put to scorn for his sake, is not alone in his grief: the head suffers in the members. The reproach of believers is really the reproach of him in whom they believe. The reproach of Israel is the reproach of Christ, and Moses believed this. “Ah!” said he, “whatever they say against these people, and whatever they do against them, they are really saying and doing against the Lord’s anointed.”

     Furthermore, Moses believed it to be wisest to be upon the side of God. “He had respect unto the recompence of the reward.” Adding all things up and making a deliberate calculation of the whole business, he believed that it must be right and wise to stand on that side which was in agreement with the living God. He made up his mind that he would be where the Lord was. Now, dear friends, that is a wise conclusion to come to: is it not? Should we not be on the side of God? We are his creatures, should we contend with our Creator? He has been infinitely good to us, ought we not to side with our Benefactor? All that he does is right, all that he permits is just, all that he advocates is pure; should we not be on that side? The other side is the side of evil and darkness, the side of the devil: should we be found there? I trow not. O young man, it will be your glory to be upon the side of God. O young woman, it will be your beauty to espouse the cause of Christ. What can become of us if we are opposed to God, the good and true? Shall the tow contend with the flame, or the wax with the fire? If we are on the side of God, we are on the right side; and being on the right side, we shall have peace of conscience, and rest of heart. The right must ultimately win the day; but even if it were not so, a brave heart is content with being right. Is it just? Is it true? Then put down my name as a soldier in that army.

     It must be well to be upon the side of God, because God’s worst is better than the world’s best. Did you notice how Moses put it? He brings forth affliction, and he esteems it to be better than the “pleasures of sin.” Now, pleasures are certainly better than afflictions, according to any ordinary judgment; but Moses came to this conclusion, that although affliction might be God’s worst, it was better than the pleasure of sin, which is evil’s best. He mentions reproach, which is one of the bitterest kinds of affliction, for many a man can bear pain, but cannot bear ridicule. Moses set down reproach, and he counted it to be better than the treasures in Egypt. Yet the treasures in Egypt were the best things in Egypt— its gold, its horses, its fine linen, and the many things that made Egypt famous. I say he put all these down in the schedule, and then preferred the reproach of Christ to them all. God’s fast is better than Egypt’s feast. Thus he calmly and deliberately made his decision, and said, “I throw in my lot with the people of God. I take their God to be my God, and where my duty to God may call me, there will I go.”

     Next, dear friends, note this— Moses had faith in a future judgment. He looked beyond the present; for he “had respect to the recompence of the reward.” It is dangerous to be always looking at things from one point of view. If we could go quite round, and see things from the future, looking back upon them rather than forward to them, how different they would appear! “Oh!” said a lady to her minister, “I find great pleasure in going to the play. There is the pleasure of anticipation, there is the pleasure of enjoying it, and there is the pleasure of thinking it over afterwards.” “Yes,” said her minister, “I know all that, madam; but there is one pleasure you have forgotten, namely, the pleasure of meditating upon it on a dying bed.” She shrugged her shoulders, she could see no pleasure there. I wish that men would estimate their pleasures by that rule. How will they look when we lie dying? How will they appear when we stand before the judgment seat of God? When I have once come into eternity, and have to spend it according to the final sentence, how shall I look back upon what I have done? As a Christian man, how shall I look back upon wasted opportunities and idleness in my master’s vineyard? As an unbeliever, how shall I regard wasted Sabbaths, rejected entreaties, a neglected Bible, a disregarded mercy-seat? If we could only view things in that clear light which beats about the eternal future we should avoid a thousand mistakes. View the course of life as Moses did, in connection with the recompence of the reward, and a resolve will be taken which will make you commence a life for God and holiness.

     Let me not quit this point till I have said that Moses had a personal faith by which he realized the whole business for himself. He did not say, “Yes, there is a God undoubtedly, and these are God’s people, and there is an end of it;” but he said, “There is a God for me to worship, for me to trust, for me to obey. Here are God’s people; I resolve to be numbered with them. Their God shall be my God. I will be one of the sheep of his pasture, and take my part with his flock; if they suffer, I will suffer with them; if they rejoice, I will wait to rejoice till they rejoice.”

     His faith led him on to personal action. He did not say, “I am placed by providence in the palace of Pharaoh, and so I am not called upon to suffer like the rest of my race.” No, no, but he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He did not say, “I am so circumstanced that I need not suffer, and therefore I will keep out of the general trouble as well as I can.” You know how men feel, that there is nothing like keeping on the warm side of the hedge. Moses resolved that he would suffer affliction with the people of God. Moses would be on a level with his brethren. He declared himself to be one of the despised nation. The reproaches of them that reproached Christ in his people fell upon him.

     This was the faith of Moses, a real personal faith. Come, dear friends, ask yourselves, have you all such a personal faith in God? I tell you, if your faith is not personal and practical faith, it is not worth twopence. It will do you no good, either here or hereafter. It will leave you lost to God if it leaves you still a friend to the world, and an alien from the people of God. Oh, that you may say from your heart, “This God is my God for ever and ever. He shall be my Guide even unto death.”

     Faith in Moses was the foundation of the whole building of his life. Hast thou faith? then every good thing will come of it. Hast thou no faith? then thou hast no beginning from which a happy end can come. How canst thou read thy title clear to mansions in the skies, when thou dost not, as yet, know the first letters of the alphabet of grace? Thou canst never build up a character such as God will approve; for thou hast not even laid the first corner-stone of faith.

     II. Our second point is this: MOSES EXHIBITED A CLEAR DECISION. Oh, that the Spirit of God would work the like in all of us!

     Note, first, the time of his choice: “When he was come to years.” We do not know the exact time to which this refers. When he was forty years of age he visited his brethren, but his mind may have been made up long before. It was “when he was come to years.” I suppose that means early in life, so soon as he was of full age. Why not earlier still? He was in Pharaoh’s court under many influences, which may have prevented an earlier confession. We are not sure that God had yet spoken to his heart, so as to make him feel the importance of following the Lord fully. Anyhow, it was in early life that he declined the world and chose his God. It is a grand thing for young people to decide for God soon: it will save them from a thousand mistakes, and bring them a thousand advantages. Early piety leads on to eminent piety: he who begins his journey early travels far in the day. The great bulk of those who have distinguished themselves in the church of God will be found to have been converted while they were yet young. “When he was come to years.” Does some youth here claim that he has not yet come to years? I answer— Is this so? Why, the other day you were demanding of your father certain liberties because you felt yourself quite the man; I find that lads nowadays become men earlier than they used to do. I wish they would take upon themselves ripe responsibilities as well as covet ripe privileges. Oh that they would act as Moses did when he came to years! If you feel you have come to years in one way, own that you have come to years in another way; and say, “Now is the time when I must come right straight out and be a Christian man.” You young women who do not care to be called girls any longer, I pray you give your hearts to Christ; the sooner you are decided the better.

     Still it is said, “when he was come to years,” as much as to say, that whatever his decision was while he was yet young, that decision was carried out more practically when he was come to years. We do wish to see young people converted, but we wish it to be as thoughtful a conversion, as clear and deliberate a change as if they were advanced in age. We trust that their following years will confirm what they do in their youth. Now, what say you, men and brethren of mature years? If you could lay aside your religious profession and begin again, would you still make to-day the decision which you arrived at when you were young? Oh yes, we can say, and do say— We have lifted our hand unto God, and we cannot go back; and instead of wishing to go back, we lift both hands now, and cry—

“’Tis done, the great transaction’s done, I am my Lord’s, and he is mine.”

We do not wish to retreat from the covenant of our youth, or draw back from the bond of our baptism into Christ of long years ago. We repeat the vow, and cry, “Bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.” Moses decided for God early in life; but he also decided when he was capable of forming a mature and deliberate judgment.

     Moses went about arranging his life like a man of business, and decided wisely; but we must note well the prospect which he gave up. He “refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.” To be the son of Pharaoh’s daughter made him a prince of Egypt. Some have thought that the Pharaoh then reigning had no other child but this daughter, and that her son Moses would have succeeded to the throne of Egypt. We cannot be sure of that, though it may have been so. The son of a princess has noble rank and grand opportunities. Wealth was evidently to be had: the treasures of Egypt were before him. Honour was his already, and as he grew older titles would multiply upon him. But he said firmly, “No; I cannot be an Egyptian. I am an Israelite, and I prefer the privileges which come to me from Father Abraham to those which come by Pharaoh’s daughter. I cannot relinquish my part in the promise and the covenant, but I can and will relinquish all the honours which come of Pharaoh’s court.” He did so: deliberately did so. “He refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.”

     A great many would say— What a fool he was to give up what others covet! I fear that many of you professors would not lose a situation for Christ. Some of you could not lose a shilling a week of extra pay for the Lord. Ah me, this is a miserable age! Go with a lancet throughout these Isles, and you could not get enough martyr-blood to fill a thimble. Backbones are scarce, and grit is a rare article. Men do not care to suffer for Christ; but they must be respectable, they must vote in the majority, they must go with the committee, and be thought well of for their charity. As to standing up and standing out for Christ, it is looked upon as an eccentricity, or worse. To-day if a young man proposed to sacrifice his position for Christ’s sake, father, and mother, and friends would all say: “Do not think of such a thing. Be prudent. Do not throw away your chance.” Once men could die for conscience sake: but conscience is nowadays viewed as an ugly thing, expensive and hampering. No doubt many advised Moses to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, but he steadily refused. He deliberately divested himself of his rank that he might be numbered with the down-trodden people of God.

     For a moment, I will show you some of the arguments which Moses must have had to meet. In his own mind, when having come to years, he began to think the matter over, many arguments would arise and demand reply. The first argument would be, “You will be acting very unkindly to your adopted mother— What will she say? She drew you out of the water when you might have been drowned; she took you home, she saw that you were nursed and cared for, she has had you trained and educated. She has spent no end of money on you; there is nothing you could wish for but what she has supplied it: her heart is entwined in yours: and now, having come to years, if you refuse to be called her son, it will be a very sad return for her love.” Natural affection has often proved a serious difficulty in the way of grace. The Lord Jesus has said, “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and many are thus unworthy.” In the case of Moses, a sense of honour would join with affection. He knew that it was right to refuse to be the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; but still, there was something to be said on the other side; for how could he disown a tie which the hands of love had fastened? Could he rend that fond connection? Could he persist in saying, “I am no Egyptian”? I doubt not that he felt, “I should be playing the hypocrite if I professed to be of Egypt, and I must tell the princess as gently as I can, but still most firmly, that I cannot be called by her name; for I am the son of Amram, of the tribe of Levi, of the seed of Jacob.” Moses was an Israelite indeed, and he would not conceal his nationality nor renounce it by becoming a naturalized Egyptian. Though it should tear the heartstrings of his foster-mother, and be even as a sentence of death to himself, yet he would take his stand. Moses thus proved his faith to be stronger than that of many who are mastered by family ties, and held captive by the bonds of earthly love. Unequal yoking is the ruin of thousands. The friendship of the world is the blight of piety. Happy are they who love Jesus more than all!

     Next, there would come before the mind of Moses the plausible argument, “Providence has led you where you are, and you ought to keep your position.” When Moses looked back he saw a remarkable providence watching over him in the ark of bulrushes, and bringing the Egyptian princess down to that particular part of the Nile to bathe. How singular that she should see the ark, and save the life of the weeping babe! Could he fly in the teeth of providence by relinquishing the high position so specially bestowed? Thus would flesh and blood reason. How often have I heard people excuse themselves for doing wrong by quoting what they call providence! Arguments from providence against positive commands are ingenious deceptions. Providence is of God, but the lesson which we draw from it may be of the devil. When Jonah wanted to flee to Tarshish he went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish. How providential! Nothing of the sort. When Cain killed his brother Abel was it providence which found the club? Whenever a man wants to do wrong he will find opportunities at hand; but let him not excuse his wickedness by the apparent opportunity for it. Be afraid of that kind of providence which makes sin easy. When a providence comes across you in doing right, do not give over your gracious purpose, but know that it is sent to try you, whether you can serve the Lord under difficulty. A providence which chimes in with your natural inclination may be a stone of stumbling by which your hypocrisy will be made clear. Moses felt that providence did bring him into Pharaoh’s court, but he also felt that it brought him there that he might be put to the test to see whether he would come out of it for the Lord’s sake. Do not believe in the reasoning which suggests that providence would have us slide along an easy, though evil, way. Providence, if it be read aright, never tempts to sin, though it may put before us trials for our faith. Our rule of life is the commandment of the Lord, not the doubtful conclusions which may be drawn from providences.

     Yet another argument may have met Moses, for it is one which I have heard repeated till I am sick of answering it. Moses could do a deal of good by retaining his position. What opportunities for usefulness would be in his way! See how he could help his poor brethren! How often he could interpose at the court to prevent injustice! Moreover, what a bright fight he would be in his high position: his example would commend the faith of the true God to the courtiers and great ones; nobody could tell what an influence would thus be exercised upon Egypt. Pharaoh himself might be converted, and then all Egypt would bow before Jehovah. Thus have we met with brethren who say, “Yes, I am in a church with which I do not agree; but then, I can be so useful.” Another cries, “I know that a certain religious Union is fostering evil; but then, I can serve the cause by staying in it.” Another is carrying on an evil trade, but he says, “It is my livelihood; and besides, it affords me opportunities of doing good!” This is one of the most specious of those arguments by which good men are held in the bonds of evil. As an argument, it is rotten to the core. We have no right to do wrong, from any motive whatever. To do evil that good may come is no doctrine of Christ, but of the devil. Fallen nature may maunder in that way, but the grace of God delivers us from such wicked sophistry. Whatever good Moses might have thought that he could do in a false position, he had faith enough to see that he was not to look to usefulness, but to righteousness. Whatever the results may be, we must leave them with God, and do the right at all cost.

     But, dear friends, do you not think that Moses might have made a compromise? That idea is very popular. “Now then, Moses, do not be too strict. Some people are a deal too particular. Those old-fashioned puritanical people are narrow and strait-laced: be liberal and take broader views. Cannot you make a compromise? Tell Pharaoh’s daughter you are an Israelite, but that, in consequence of her great kindness, you will also be an Egyptian. Thus you can become an Egypto-Israelite— what a fine blend! Or say an Israelito-Egyptian— with the better part in the front. You see, dear friends, it seems a simple way out of a difficulty, to hold with the hare and run with the hounds. It saves you from unpleasant decisions and separations. Besides, Jack-of-both-sides has great praise from both parties for his large-heartedness. I admire this in Moses, that he knew nothing of compromise; but first he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, and secondly, he made a deliberate choice rather “to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.” My hearers, come out, I pray you, one way or the other. If God be God, serve him; if Baal be God, serve him. If it is right to be an Israelite, be an Israelite; if it is right to be an Egyptian, be an Egyptian. None of your trimming. It will go hard with trimmers at the last great day. When Christ comes to divide the sheep from the goats, there will be no middle sort. There is no place for trimmers. Modern thought is trying to make a purgatory, but as yet the place is not constructed, and meanwhile you border people will be driven down to hell. May God grant us grace to be decided!

     Notice the lot which Moses chose. He refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, but he chose to take his portion with the oppressed, reproached, and ridiculed Israelites. I want you to see the terms in which his judgment is expressed; for no doubt the Holy Spirit tells us exactly how Moses put it in his own mind. He chose rather to suffer “affliction with the people of God.” Does not that alter it wonderfully? “Affliction” nobody would choose; but “affliction with the people of God,” ah! that is another business altogether. “These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” I choose the “great tribulation,” not because I like it, but because these came out of it, and have “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” “Affliction with the people of God” is affliction in glorious company. I was reading the other day the life of John Philpot, who was shut up in Bishop Bonner’s coal-hole in Fulham Palace. There he and his friends sang psalms so merrily that the Bishop chided them for their mirth. They could have quoted apostolical authority for singing in prison. When there were seven of them, Philpot wrote: “I was carried to my Lord’s coal-house again, where I, with my six fellow prisoners, do rouse together in the straw as cheerfully, we thank God, as others do in their beds of down.” To be with the people of God, one would not mind being in the coal-hole. No one wants to be in Bonner’s coal-hole; but better be there with the martyrs than upstairs in the palace with the Bishop. To hear the saints’ holy talk, and sing with them their gladsome psalms, and with them behold the angel of the covenant, is a very different thing from mere suffering or imprisonment. “With the people of God”: that is the sweet which kills the bitter of affliction. Nobody here wants to go into a burning fiery furnace; but none of us would refuse to be there with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and that “fourth” who was “like unto the Son of God.” I admire this in Moses, that he does not look at half a thing; he views it all round, and, having seen it all, he forms his judgment. He did not choose affliction for its own sake, but affliction with the people of God he preferred to the pleasures of sin.

     Note the next expression: “Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt.” Nobody desires reproach for its own sake; but “the reproach of Christ” is a very different matter. That gives a new flavour to it. Nobody wants to stand up in yonder pillory, where everybody is hurling mud and filth at the object of their scorn; but tell me that the sufferer is the Lord Jesus Christ, and I will find you a host of volunteers to stand with him and gather honour by sharing in his dishonour. “The reproach of Christ.” Why, that is glory! Thus Moses placed things in their right light, and they seemed to undergo a complete change.

     Now, notice what he said about the baits upon the other side: “Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.” See! he calls the pleasures of the court “the pleasures of sin.” Why, Moses, you need not fall into vice. You could be an Egyptian, and yet be chaste, and honest, and sober, and just, and good. Yes, but he regards his proposed life as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter as full of “the pleasures of sin.” Now, mark this: If you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, it becomes your duty decidedly to come out and stand on his side; and if you do not do so, the pleasures derived from your sin of omission will be the pleasures of sin. You are living a life of disloyalty to Christ, and that is a life of sin. “Whatsoever is not of faith is sin”; that is to say, if you have not faith that you are doing right, you are doing wrong; and as Moses could not feel that he was doing right by being an Egyptian, whatever pleasure he might have gained from his remaining at court would have been “the pleasure of sin.” Then note the word, “For a season.” Did you hear the tolling of a bell? It was a knell. It spoke of a new-made grave. This is the knell of earthly joy— “For a season!” Honoured for doing wrong— “For a season!” Merry in evil company— “For a season!” Prosperous through a compromise— “For a season!” What after that season? Death and judgment.

     Note once again, that Moses spoke about treasures; and as a great man in Egypt, he knew what wealth there was in the land; but he qualifies the treasures by saying, “treasures in Egypt.” For an Israelite those treasures were nothing, since they were in a foreign land. Treasures in the land that floweth with milk and honey— these were real treasures; but treasures in Egypt were a mockery. Moses shakes his head at them. He esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt. So, you see, most deliberately, with great discrimination, Moses made his choice and kept to it, and God blessed him in it. He was preserved in the ark of grace from the hand of the enemy, and was drawn out of the waters of temptation to be consecrated to the high service of God.

     III. I want, in the last place, hurriedly to say that MOSES SHOULD BE IMITATED BY US.

     First, brethren, we should have Moses’ faith. The things which Moses believed are true; and therefore ought still to be believed. They are as important to-day as when he believed them; let us lay hold upon them, and feel their practical bearings this very morning. Young men especially, I entreat you to believe in God, and in his work of grace among his people, that you may be numbered with his chosen now, and in the day of his appearing.

     Next, we must imitate Moses in this, that if we do believe we must come out on the Lord’s side. Now that you have “come to years,” do let it be seen on whose side you are. Let there be no doubt, no hesitation, no vacillation; but let those who see you in the house or in business know that you are on the Lord’s side.

     Let me exhort you also to see things in the eternal light. Do not look at things in their bearings upon to-day, or to-morrow, or the next few years. Judge by eternity. For the present the good man may be a loser. You must look further than your foot. Take the measuring line of the sanctuary, and use it when you judge of spiritual things.

     Note another important matter: I pray that you may get into fellowship with Christ. Oh to know Christ and love him, to have him to be your Saviour, and then to feel that you can wear the reproach of Christ as a Chain of gold! This is a great help in the life of a tried child of God.

     Dear friend, if you are a believer in Christ, give yourself up to God without reserve: say, “I will follow thee, my Lord, through flood or flame. I will follow thee up hill or down dale. I will follow wherever the Lord shall lead the way. I will follow at all cost and hazard.” Say this in your soul. Take God for your all in poverty and disgrace. Take God on the bleak winter’s day, and say: “I am resolved, God helping me, to do his will.”

     If you do this, you cannot tell what God has in store for you, nor need you give it a consideration. Moses, after all, was not a loser by his self-denial. He became King in Jeshurun, and was more than a monarch in the wilderness. He refused to be Pharaoh’s son, but in the Book of Exodus God said to him: “See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh.” Egypt’s haughty monarch feared his plagues, and entreated his intercession. The Lord made Moses so great, that among those who are born of woman he ranks among the first unto this day. Even in heaven he is remembered; for they sing “the song of Moses the servant of God and of the Lamb.” Young man, if you give yourself unto the Lord you can little guess what he will do with you. What you lose will be a mere trifle compared with what you will gain. As to honour, all honour and glory lie in the service of the Most High.

     I am come to this pass, my brethren— whether I sink or whether I swim, I am the Lord’s! By his grace I will believe his Word and cling to its inspiration, whether the Lord shall roll away my reproach or not. I would say with the three holy children, “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O King. But if not, be it known unto thee, O King, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.” With Job my heart has said: “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.” Be this the resolve of each one, for Christ’s sake. Amen.

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Whenever I read the opening verse of this week’s parashah, I recall the other parashah that opens with the same verb: לך־לך (“Go forth”). Told to go, Abram heeded God’s call, uprooting his life and journeying—both physically and emotionally—first to Haran and then to the land of Israel. And now, as we near the end of the Torah reading cycle, Parashat Vayeilekh begins by attributing that very same action of journeying to Moses, as he nears the end of his life. What can we learn from the parallel acts of journeying that these two great leaders of our people undertook?

Abraham set out on a journey about which he knew nothing, spurred to do so in response to God’s call. Moses’s action of וילך ( Deut. 31:1 ) tells a different story. Commenting on the first verse of our parashah, Seforno (Obadiah ben Jacob, c.1470–1550, Italy) understands וילך משה (“Moses went”) to mean that Moses התעורר לזה (“awakened to it”). This awakening connotes self-drive. While Abraham responded to God’s call with a leap of faith, Moses was motivated from within. Abraham’s journey began without a clear sense of what was to unfold. With Moses, we encounter a leader inspired by a clarity of purpose and mission honed through decades of relationship with both God and his people. He accomplished so much—as his orations that fill the book of Deuteronomy have detailed.

Abraham’s “לך־לך ”  marks the beginning of his journey. Ironically, Moses’s act of “וילך” marked some of the final footsteps of his life. It also has no complement—where did Moses go? The next phrase does not tell us where he went; it tells us what he said:

וילך משה וידבר את־הדברים האלה אל־כל־ישׂראל—“Moses went and spoke these things to all Israel.”

Why then does the parashah begin with the verb of movement? At this moment, as B’nei Yisrael prepares for their long-awaited entrance into the Promised Land, Moses’s journey is marked by a lack of  physical  movement. He has known for some time that he will not enter the land, the consequence of striking rather than speaking to the rock to extract water. He now must prepare himself to divulge this crucial information to his people. He surely anticipates that they will be frightened, angry, and dejected and that this could turn quickly to self-doubt, as they question whether they are up to this next challenge without him. Moses must undergo an  emotional  journey, moving past lingering feelings of sadness or bitterness to effect a smooth transition of power and give the people the strength and confidence to continue their journey. Thus, the next verb after “went” is “spoke,” as Moses shares all of this with the people. He confesses that at the age of 120, he can no longer be active and shares the news that he will not cross the Jordan River.

As we know, some of the most consequential journeys we take in life are invisible to the naked eye. This is, after all, our task during the month of Elul and the Yamim Noraim: to do the internal work to manage sadness, disappointment, frustration, and anger, and to reach out to those in our lives with a generous spirit and an eye toward the future.

Shadal (Samuel David Luzzatto, 1800–1865, Italy) makes explicit the connection between the parashah and the Days of Awe, by reminding us that the same verb, לך (go), is also used in reference to the shofar that accompanied the Revelation at Sinai:

 ויהי קול השופר  הולך  וחזק—“The blare of the horn grew louder and louder” ( Exod. 19:19 ).

Several commentators note how this image of increasing, even swelling, sound is unusual, since generally the sound of an instrument grows fainter over time as human breath grows thinner.

This extraordinary image of the shofar blast growing in impact is mirrored by the force of Moses’s message. Rather than dwelling on his own disappointment and brooding over his impending death, Moses addresses the people’s anxiety head on. He publicly appoints his successor, Joshua, reassuring the people that he had been chosen by God. Moses then offers a rousing charge to both the people ( Deut. 31:6 ) and Joshua ( Deut. 31:7 ) to be strong and resolute. Hoping to bolster their spirits and fortify them, he uses the second verb חזק (“be strong”), that describes the shofar in Exodus and adds another, אמץ (“and resolute”). His words instill in Joshua and the people of Israel the courage and stamina to continue the journey without him. The verb לך makes an additional appearance in this narrative, as Moses provides reassurance to his people. Spiritual, emotional journeys can be scary, grueling, vulnerable, but while they can feel lonely, they are not; God will be with the people of Israel, God will  go  with the people:

 יהוה הוא ההלך לפניך הוא יהיה עמך לא ירפך ולא יעזבך לא תירא ולא תחת —“And God, Godself, will go before you. God will be with you; God will not fail you or forsake you. Fear not and be not dismayed! ( Deut. 31:8 )

When we hear the shofar during these Days of Awe, we hope that it will awaken us, just as Moses awakened, according to Seforno, to do precisely the kind of journeying that Moses models—to consider our own paths, how we have fallen short, and how we might still do better for those we love and those in our charge.

In this way Moses’s—and Abraham’s—legacies continue to endure through the strength of each generation of Jewish journeyers. The shofar blast is the call to Abraham to set us on our journey; it’s also the reminder from Moses that we have the strength and knowledge within us to continue to progress in our life’s journey. Our task is not only to listen to the shofar, but to become the shofar—growing stronger in our conviction, and more resolute in our work of building and rebuilding a better world. When we do that, God will go with us.

The publication and distribution of the JTS Commentary are made possible by a generous grant from Rita Dee ( z”l ) and Harold Hassenfeld ( z”l ).    

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The journey of Moses: 6 critical lessons from the Book of Exodus

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6

In the Book of Exodus, we witness a dramatic escape from oppression — a tale that touches the core of our longing for freedom and belonging.

The journey from bondage to liberation unfolds in the Book of Exodus, painting a vivid picture of resilience and faith.

At its core, this ancient narrative captures the essence of human struggle and the power of hope.

Led by Moses and guided by miraculous signs, the Israelites’ escape from Egypt’s clutches is more than history—it’s a story that speaks to the universal desire for freedom and dignity.

In this article, I’ll help you discover 6 lessons from Exodus about courage, leadership, and the quest for a promised land.

Overview of Exodus

The Book of Exodus is the second Book of the Law of Moses, also known as the Torah or Pentateuch. The Law includes the Books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

The book received the name of Exodus from the Greek word for departure. Hebrew Scripture actually named its books from the first keyword of each book, and thus the book is named Shemot, or “the names.”

This journey from slavery under Pharaoh’s harsh rule to the edge of the Promised Land is led by Moses — a man chosen by God to deliver His people.

The Book describes how God through Moses lead the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt and led them across the Red Sea to freedom, towards the Promised Land.

Composition of the book

Key components of the Book of Exodus include:

• The Israelites’ enslavement and Moses’s early life (Chapters 1-6)
• The ten plagues and the escape from Egypt (Chapters 7-13)
• Crossing the Red Sea and the journey to Mount Sinai (Chapters 14-18)
• The giving of the Law, including the Ten Commandments (Chapters 19-24)
• Instructions for and construction of the Tabernacle (Chapters 25-31; 35-40)
• The golden calf incident and covenant renewal (Chapters 32-34)

6 critical lessons from Exodus

1) freedom is a divine right.

The Book of Exodus is fundamentally a story about freedom and liberation.

It narrates the Israelites’ dramatic escape from slavery in Egypt under the leadership of Moses, guided by God’s powerful hand.

This theme resonates deeply with the human longing for freedom and the fight against oppression.

The Exodus story underscores the belief that liberty is a divine right and that oppression in any form is against the will of God.

It’s a raw and honest depiction of the struggle for liberation, showcasing both the resilience of the human spirit and the transformative power of faith.

2) Facing your fears with faith

Imagine standing at the edge of the Red Sea with an angry army closing in.

The Israelites were terrified, and honestly, who wouldn’t be?

But here’s the thing: when things looked impossible, they were taught a massive lesson about faith.

Moses, with his staff and a ton of faith, saw the waters part.

This moment screams a powerful message to us: facing our fears isn’t about denying them but about trusting that with a little (or a lot) of faith, we can see miracles happen.

Next time you’re up against your own ‘Red Sea’, remember, it’s the perfect stage for a breakthrough.

3) The strength in sticking together

Ever noticed how the Israelites, despite their grumbling and disagreements, managed to achieve more when they stuck together?

Exodus shows us the rollercoaster ride of a community learning to move as one.

Sure, they had their moments of doubt and discord, but when it came down to it, unity was their ace. This teaches us a thing or two about the power of community.

Whether it’s facing challenges or celebrating victories, there’s strength in numbers.

So, let’s lean into our communities, lend a hand, and lift each other up. After all, we’re stronger together.

4) Obedience can be revolutionary

In Exodus, God provides the Ten Commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai, establishing a covenant with the Israelites based on laws and guidelines for living in obedience to Him.

This moment asks us to reflect on our understanding of obedience.

Is it merely following rules, or is it a deeper commitment to live according to divine principles?

Through its laws and covenants, Exodus challenges readers to consider how obedience to spiritual laws can lead to a more harmonious and purposeful life.

Think about it: Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt, wasn’t about blind compliance. It was about trust.

By choosing obedience, they witnessed the seas part and manna fall from heaven.

The lesson?

Big changes often start with simple acts of faithfulness. When we align our actions with a greater plan, even the mundane can become miraculous.

Related Stories from Bible Scripture

Did you get it wrong 8 common misconceptions about salvation in the bible, 7 times scripture offered unexpected wisdom about self-improvement, 7 moral lessons from biblical proverbs that can shape your character, 5) the wilderness isn’t a punishment.

Now, let’s get honest for a second

The journey through the wilderness was tough. No sugar-coating it.

The Israelites dealt with hunger, thirst, and a whole lot of uncertainty.

But here’s the thing — the wilderness wasn’t just a harsh penalty. It was a crucial part of their growth.

It stripped away old dependencies, taught resilience, and forged a deeper trust in God.

When you find yourself in your own ‘wilderness,’ remember, it’s not just about survival. It’s about transformation.

Yes, believe it or not, this phase might just be preparing you for something greater.

6) Trust in unseen paths

Imagine navigating a desert without GPS, just following a cloud by day and a fire by night.

That was the Israelites’ reality, relying on pillars of cloud and fire to lead them through the unknown.

This part of Exodus isn’t just about a miraculous journey — it’s a lesson in trust.

When the path ahead is unclear, and the next steps seem hidden, trusting in guidance beyond our sight can lead us through our wilderness.

Like the Israelites, we may not see the entire route, but faith in the journey can bring us to places we never imagined.

7) The power of a shared meal

Let’s dive into something unexpected from Exodus: the significance of sharing a meal.

On the night of the first Passover, families gathered, sharing a lamb and unleavened bread.

This wasn’t just about nutrition — it was a moment of unity, remembrance, and faith.

In modern times, gathering for a meal can still be an act of community and solidarity.

Whether it’s a family dinner, a community potluck, or even sharing bread in a religious setting, these moments remind us of our connections to each other and to something greater.

Just as the Israelites found strength and identity in their shared meal, we too can find comfort and unity in breaking bread together.

8) Worship matters

“And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.” Exodus 25:8

In the heart of Exodus lies the instruction for the Israelites to build a sanctuary, a place where God’s presence could reside among His people.

This directive underscores the profound importance of worship and the creation of sacred spaces where believers can connect with the divine.

Worship, as depicted in Exodus, is not merely a ritualistic practice but a vital aspect of spiritual life, facilitating a deeper relationship with God.

• Worship as obedience
• Creating a sacred space
• Communion with God

So, what defines true worship?

It involves reverence, obedience, and a commitment to uphold the values and laws given by God.

It’s a call to prioritize our relationship with God above all else, ensuring that our actions, thoughts, and lives reflect this supreme allegiance.

9) Trials bring us closer to God

“In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling.” Exodus 15:13

This passage from the Song of Moses and Miriam, sung after the Israelites’ safe passage through the Red Sea, captures a profound truth about the nature of divine guidance and the purpose of trials.

The Book of Exodus shows us time and again how challenges and adversities were instrumental in bringing the Israelites closer to God, shaping their identity as His chosen people, and preparing them for the fulfillment of His promises.

The trials faced by the Israelites, from their enslavement in Egypt to their wandering in the desert, were not merely obstacles but opportunities for growth and deepening their trust in God.

These experiences taught them reliance on God’s provision and faithfulness, even when circumstances seemed insurmountable.

For Christians today, Exodus serves as a reminder that trials can be transformative, drawing us closer to God as we depend on His strength and guidance through our own wilderness journeys.

Embracing Exodus today

For those journeying deeper into the Book of Exodus, understanding its narratives and commandments is just the beginning.

This book is a call to move from knowledge to action, inviting us to apply its timeless truths in our daily lives.

Whether you’re well-acquainted with Exodus or exploring it for the first time, the next steps on your learning journey involve reflection, application, and transformation.

• Reflect on the themes of liberation, covenant, and divine presence. Consider what it means to be spiritually free, to live in a covenant relationship with God, and to cultivate an awareness of His presence in your life.
• Apply the lessons of obedience, faith, and worship found in Exodus. How do the Ten Commandments guide your moral decisions? In what ways can you build a “tabernacle” in your heart where God can dwell?
• Transform your understanding into action. Like the Israelites, you are on a journey. Use the insights from Exodus to navigate life’s challenges with faith and resilience, leading by example in your community.

In exploring this book, you’re not just learning about historical events or ancient laws. You’re uncovering how God’s Word is alive and active, capable of transforming lives and communities.

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Exodus: The Journey of Faith

Great themes of scripture: hebrew bible.

Exodus: The Journey of Faith Tuesday, June 29, 2021

The journey of Exodus, the journey that Israel walked, is an image of the journey made by every person who sets out to seek the Divine Presence. Israel is, as it were, humanity personified, and so what happened to Israel is what happens to everyone who sets out on the journey of faith. Christianity must recognize itself as an inclusive religion from the very beginning, and honor its roots in Judaism.

In the book of Exodus, Egypt is the place of slavery and the Promised Land is the place of freedom. The journey from Egypt to the Promised Land—through the Red Sea to Sinai and across the desert—is a saga which symbolizes our own struggle towards ever greater inner freedom, empowered by “grace.” The story of Israel symbolically describes the experience of our own liberation by God—and toward a universal love.

For enslaved African Americans who knew the book of Exodus, this journey of faith became more than a symbol. It became a journey of liberation from the exploitative system of slavery. As the Black theologian James Cone described, “The record shows clearly that black slaves believed that just as God had delivered Moses and the Israelites from Egyptian bondage, he also will deliver black people from American slavery. And they expressed that theological truth in song:

Oh Mary, don’t you weep, don’t you moan, Oh Mary, don’t you weep, don’t you moan, Pharaoh’s army got drownded, Oh Mary, don’t you weep.” [1]

The stories of Exodus make religious sense to people only to the degree that they are themselves walking a journey of faith. If we are walking in the Spirit and listening to the Spirit, we can rather easily relate these stories to our own life and identify with the experience of Israel.

We all have to turn to God and let ourselves be led on this faith journey. We have to be willing to experience the Exodus in our own lives, to let God take us from captivity to freedom, from Egypt to Canaan, not fully knowing how to cross the huge desert between the two.

Moses takes the risk of faith. All that God has given him is a promise, and yet he acts on that promise. People of faith are the ones who expect the promises of their deepest soul to be fulfilled; life for them becomes a time between promise and fulfillment. It is never a straight line, but always three steps forward and two backward—and the backward creates much of the knowledge and impetus for the forward. (Little did I know this would become my much later book, Falling Upward .)

Like the Israelites, we will find that the desert is not all desert. The way to the Promised Land leads to life even in the midst of the desert. When we least expect it, there is an oasis. As the Scriptures promise, God will make the desert bloom (Isaiah 35:1).

References: [1] James Cone, God of the Oppressed (Seabury Press: 1975), 11.

Adapted from Richard Rohr and Joseph Martos, The Great Themes of Scripture: Old Testament (St. Anthony Messenger Press: 1987), 19; and

“Exodus: The Journey of Faith,” The Great Themes of Scripture, tape 3 (St. Anthony Messenger Tapes: 1973).

Story from Our Community: These Daily Meditations are the first thing I read every day. I not only read the meditation but look at the picture, find any scripture passages referred to, research the guest authors, listen to the prayer, and practice the breathing exercises. Sadie, my golden retriever, seems more interested in being petted, constantly intercepting my hands from the computer. After my Daily Meditation, I devote time to her. The need for a church community has been more than satisfied by this experience. Thank you for all you do. —Wendy B.

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Image inspiration: these intertwined branches speak of the braided nature of biblical themes: mystery, hope, possibility, resilience, vulnerability and strength. although these leaves have seen better days, clouds carry hope for rain., this year’s theme.

Radical Resilience

We live in a world on fire. This year the Daily Meditations will explore contemplation as a way to build Radical Resilience so we can stand in solidarity with the world without burning up or burning out. The path ahead may be challenging, but we can walk it together.

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Moses and the Exodus – A Journey of Faith

Simple Faith | August 9, 2023 August 9, 2023 | Bible Study

And Moses told the children of Israel according to all that the LORD commanded Moses.

Scripture Passage: Moses and the Exodus 14:21-31 (NIV)

“Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.”

Analysis and Study:

In this pivotal moment from the book of Exodus, we witness the incredible power of God and the steadfast faith of Moses . The context leading up to this passage is the Israelites’ escape from slavery in Egypt under the leadership of Moses. As they approach the Red Sea, the Egyptians pursue them, and the Israelites find themselves trapped between the sea and the Egyptian army.

Moses, guided by God’s instructions, stretches out his hand over the sea, and through this simple act of obedience, a miraculous event unfolds. The Lord parts the sea, creating a path through the waters, allowing the Israelites to cross safely on dry ground. The imagery of a wall of water on either side showcases the divine protection and guidance God provides to those who trust in Him.

Lessons and Insights:

Faith and Obedience: Moses’ unwavering faith and obedience are central to this passage. Despite the seemingly insurmountable odds, Moses trusted in God ‘s plan and followed His instructions. This serves as a reminder that our faith in God’s promises should be the driving force behind our actions.

Divine Intervention: The splitting of the Red Sea exemplifies God’s unparalleled power over nature and His willingness to intervene on behalf of His people. It reminds us that God can make a way even in the most challenging circumstances.

God’s Timing: The events in this passage reveal the importance of God’s timing. The Israelites faced imminent danger, yet God waited until the last moment to intervene. This emphasizes the need for patience and the understanding that God’s timing is perfect.

Redemption and Deliverance: The Exodus story is a profound illustration of redemption and deliverance. Just as God freed the Israelites from their bondage in Egypt, He offers us salvation through Jesus Christ. The Red Sea symbolizes the baptismal waters of our own spiritual liberation.

Trusting in God: When faced with seemingly impossible situations, we should follow Moses’ example and trust in God’s provision. He can turn our obstacles into opportunities for His glory.

Conclusion:

The passage of Moses parting the Red Sea serves as a remarkable testament to the power of faith, obedience, and God’s intervention in the lives of His people. It invites us to reflect on our own journey of faith, recognizing that God’s plans often surpass our understanding. Just as Moses trusted in God’s guidance, we too can navigate life’s challenges with the assurance that He is with us every step of the way.

Through this story, we learn that obedience to God’s Word, even when it seems counterintuitive, leads to remarkable outcomes. The Red Sea event foreshadows the ultimate redemption and salvation brought by Jesus Christ, who paved the way for us to experience spiritual freedom.

As Christian women living in the United States, we can draw parallels between the Israelites’ journey and our own lives. We may not face literal seas, but we encounter obstacles, uncertainties, and trials that test our faith. By aligning our hearts with God’s will, embracing His timing, and trusting His provision, we can experience the miraculous transformations He orchestrates.

So, let us be inspired by Moses, a humble leader who followed God’s call, and remember that our faith has the power to move mountains, part seas, and lead us to a deeper relationship with our Creator. Just as the Israelites emerged from the Red Sea on dry ground, may we emerge from life’s challenges with stronger faith, unwavering hope, and a profound sense of God’s presence in our lives.

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The Faith of Moses: Looking Ahead to Christ (Hebrews Sermon 56 of 74)

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February 12, 2012 | Andy Davis

Hebrews 11:26-29, faith, joy in suffering, divine and supernatural light.

When Jesus was with his disciples in Caesarea of Philippi, he was on somewhat of a retreat with them and spending some time in the midst of his busy controversial and difficult ministry, he went on retreat with them up to the northern cooler regions and he was up in the mountains there, and he was sitting with them and having a discussion with them. And he asked them, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" Son of Man was Jesus' name for himself. "Who do people say that I am?" And they answered, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah; and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." "But what about you," he asked, "Who do you say that I am?" I always imagine a dramatic pause at that point as I read the account. And Simon Peter speaking for us all said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And then Jesus said something very important when it comes to understanding salvation. He said, "Blessed are you Simon, son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man but by my Father in heaven." No one is saved from their sins apart from that supernatural revelation of Christ. A divine and supernatural light, revealed directly to the heart of the individual center is the essence of everything apart from that none of us will be saved.

And God has been doing that from the beginning of human history, he has been revealing Christ to sinners, he has been opening up inside their hearts the light, an eternal light of His own glory radiating in Christ, and opening up that beautiful eyesight of faith inside their souls to receive that light of Christ, and see it for its beauty and its majesty, and glory. And in seeing Christ there by faith we are justified. We see the glory of God, our sins are forgiven and God's been doing that all along. It's always been the same in every generation. And now as we come to Hebrews 11, and as we're unfolding this chapter, and we're understanding faith, we're understanding justification by faith, how it is that sinners like us who have violated God's laws, who have done things we ought not to have done, who have left undone things that we were commanded to do, how can sinners like us be made right in the eyes of such a Holy God? And it is by this divine and supernatural light of Christ revealed directly to your heart. If you've been sitting on that mountain side with Peter and the others, seeing Jesus' physical body, maybe his feet covered with dust, him looking like an ordinary man, you would not have been saved by that sight, it would not have saved you.

Many people saw Jesus physically and were not saved. But if God the Father would reveal Jesus directly to your hearts and you will see in him, Almighty God in the flesh, and more than that, that He shed His blood for you, that He died in your place and you see that a transfer can happen, that your guilt can be put on Jesus and His righteousness given to you, then you will be saved, and that's all. And that's what he's been doing all along, and he did it in the life of Moses.

Now, when we come to Moses, we come to a key issue here for the author to the Hebrews and his first century audience. He's writing to Jewish people who had heard the Gospel, had made some kind of outward profession of faith in Christ. But now they're under pressure, they're being persecuted probably by Jewish religious authorities and neighbors and relatives and friends to forsake Christ, to turn back from Christ and go back to the Law of Moses. And so, in their minds, it's Moses versus Jesus, that's the way they saw it. And they were being tempted strongly pressed by persecution, other troubles to turn their backs on Jesus and go back to Moses, in effect, to the law of Moses, the Old Covenant sacrificial system, all of those things.

John Chapter 9, when Jesus heals the man that was born blind, and then he's hauled up in front of the Jewish religious authorities and they have some sharp words back and forth. At one point, this man says, "I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?" And they answered, "We are disciples of Moses. As for this fellow, we don't know where he comes from." And the blind man answers so beautifully. "Now that is remarkable! You don't know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will. Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."

Never in history has anyone heard of the eyes of a blind man, man born blind being open and you don't know where he's from? Isn't it obvious? But there is the dichotomy. We are disciples of Moses, as for this man, we don't know who he is. And so, these Jewish first century professors of faith in Christ, were being tempted to forsake Jesus and go back to Moses. Now, the author's already opened up this topic for us in Hebrews 3. He's shown us that Moses was a faithful man, he was a servant in God's house, but Jesus is no mere servant in God's house, but is a son over God's house.

I. By Faith Moses Looked Ahead to Christ (vs. 26)

But now, here in Hebrews 11, he's going to get even more pointed, he's going to say, in effect, that Moses was justified by faith in Jesus Christ even in his day, and that God mystically, mysteriously, spiritually revealed Christ to him at that point. And so, by faith Moses looked ahead to Christ. Look at Verse 26, "He, [Moses] regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ, as of greater value than all the treasures of Egypt. Because he was looking ahead to his reward." So here we have this incredible statement, disgrace for the sake of Christ. Now, this was 1500 or 2000 years or 1500 years before Christ was even born, the Exodus, something like 15 centuries before Jesus. And yet, he was seeing Christ by faith. That's what the author is asserting. Jesus asserted as much concerning Moses, didn't he? In John 5:46, Jesus said, "If you believe Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me." Moses wrote about me. And then after his resurrection, Jesus in Luke 24:27, speaking to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus said, "'Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter into his glory?' And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.'"

 And then later that same day to the disciples in the upper room, he does the same thing, beginning with Moses, he shows everything that Moses had written about him. Now, Moses, who we began looking at last week, who was rescued out of the Nile by Pharaoh's daughter, and who was raised in royalty, raised in wealth and honor and privilege, as in some ways an adopted a son of Pharaoh, turned his back on all of that, he forsook all of it, he rejected it, he would not be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, but embraced suffering for Christ, embraced it. God revealed Christ to Moses, and Moses was willing to choose suffering for the sake of Christ, rather than the luxuries and pleasures of Egypt. Verse 26 explains why 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. In due time, Moses would write the Pentateuch, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. He would record all the stories that have been the backdrop of what we've been looking at in Hebrews 11, up to this point. Moses would be the one that wrote down from the very beginning how God predicted a serpent slayer that would come. How he told even in Genesis 3:15, that the seed of woman would come and he would crush the serpent's head. It was Moses that would write those words. It was Moses who wrote about Abel's sacrifice and Enoch walking with God and Noah's flood, and Abraham being called out of err the Chaldeans and turning his back on that and the promise made to Abraham that through his offspring, all peoples on earth will be blessed. It was Moses that wrote all of these things, it was Moses that wrote the account of Abraham almost killing his son Isaac on Mount Moriah and how the Angel of the Lord stopped him and said... The angel said, "Now, I know that you fear God, because you've not withheld from me the Angel of the Lord your son, your only son."

And then the angel said, "I swear by myself… because you've done this… I will surely bless you." Who is the angel of the Lord? Moses wrote those words. It was Moses who wrote these things, it was Moses that wrote about Jacob's dream and the ladder and the angels ascending and descending, and the Lord at the top looking down. And about the wrestling, Jacob is wrestling with the angel. And the predictive blessings that Jacob made to the 12 patriarchal leaders and to Judah in particular saying, "The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his." It was Moses that wrote those words. And so, God had in some amazing way, revealed Jesus to Moses and he trusted in Christ.

Moses and the Prophets Were Serving the Coming Generations

Now, I don't think that Moses fully understood everything that he was writing. No Old Testament prophet really did. 1 Peter 1:10-12 says that the prophets who wrote the predictive messages about Christ in the Old Testament did not fully understand. They were trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing, when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories it would follow.

And they were told that they weren't serving themselves, but that later generation that would come. And so, we have the benefit of greater clarity. The New Testament, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, the actual accounts of the works of Jesus, what he actually did, and how the Gospel spread through the Book of Acts, and the Epistles explaining the theology of the Gospel. We have it all so very clearly. But Moses understood who Christ was. And so, the key issue then for these Hebrew-Christians and for us is that Moses was justified by faith long before he gave them the law. Moses' simple trusting in Christ predates the law. And so, by faith Moses looked ahead to Christ. And frankly, there's not much difference between looking ahead to Christ by faith or looking back to Christ by faith. It's the same thing. Neither one of us sees him with our own eyes, we have the Word of God we have the accounts of who he is, we believe them or we don't, it's really that simply.

And Moses looked ahead based on the words of God and saw Christ and trusted Him. And we look back based on the words of God and we trust Him or we don't, and if we trust Him, we have forgiveness of sins.

II. By Faith Moses Looked Ahead to His Reward (vs. 26)

Secondly, we see that by faith Moses, also looked ahead to his reward. Look at Verse 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. There are so many key elements in this verse. First of all, the essential aspect of faith is that it's forward looking, we're looking forward, we're looking ahead. The assurance of things hoped for. Romans 8:24 says, "who hoped for what he already has?" So right away from the beginning in verse 1, we are told that faith is forward looking, it looks ahead, it has to do with things we hope for, things we have not yet received. We're also told in Verse 6 that God rewards those who earnestly seek Him. In Verse 10, we're told that Abraham was looking forward to a city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. Verse 13, we're told, all these patriarchal people, the people in that era were still living by faith when they died, they did not receive the things promised, but they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance.

Looking forward, looking ahead is part of faith. People who say such things, verse 14 show that they're looking for a country of their own, something that they can possess forever and ever, they're looking ahead. Verse 16, they're longing for a better country, a heavenly one. Verse 16 again, God has prepared a city for them. All of this forward looking. Verses 20-22, the patriarchs, Isaac and Jacob, and Joseph, they're all looking ahead, looking ahead, even to their death beds. And so, that's a fundamental issue, the issue of looking forward. And we do the same by faith in Jesus, amen, that's the nature of the race that we're running, Philippians 3, forgetting what's behind and straining or pressing on toward what's ahead. The upward call of God in Christ Jesus. We're looking ahead, we're looking forward, we press on toward the goal.

Oh, do you not see how delightful this is? Do you not see what an advantage we believers have over worldlings. They dread the future. Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. Why? He's got everything he wants, right? He's the king. Yeah, but he might not be king tomorrow. There might be an assassination plot, someone might be poisoning his food, somebody has to sample his dinner. Somebody might shove a dagger between his ribs before he goes to bed that night. Or maybe some other king is going to come with a more powerful army, and he's going to take away everything he has, because he's not strong enough. And so he goes to bed anxious and concerned, he's afraid. The same thing for ordinary people, we're worried about the future, what it's going to bring, will we lose everything dear to us? O Christians, brothers and sisters, you will not lose everything dear to you. Your best things are stored up in Heaven for you and moth and rust cannot destroy, and thieves cannot break in and steal. Your treasure can't be stolen from you. What are you afraid of? We are rich in Christ, and we're looking forward to coming into our inheritance, amen. We're looking forward to getting it. Right now, we're living on stipend checks and they're pretty good. They really are. The deposit of the Spirit and we're feeding on that, and the spirit's testifying that we're children of God, and all of that, but won't you be glad to give up the stipend check for the actual inheritance? Amen.

Well, praise God. We are wealthy and no one can take our wealth from us, and so we look forward. They're afraid of death, they might not have admit it, but they're in bondage, they're in slavery to the one who holds the power of death over them, because they're sinners and they can't get free. All of their lives are held in slavery by their fear of death. Only Jesus, the death conqueror can deliver you from that. He holds the keys of death and Hades. Amen. We have no fear of death. Our best things are all in the future. I don't care what incredibly good life you've had up to this point, richly blessed by God, amen. All of them are as tiny insignificant blessings compared to what you have yet to come. And so therefore, in Colossians 3, we set our hearts on things above and things to come, not on earthly things. Oh, what an advantage our faith is, looking forward, looking forward to Christ, looking forward to his return, looking forward to our inheritance.

Look Forward to the Day and Hasten its Coming

And we're told in 2 Peter 3 with this whole same kind of language that we're looking forward, looking forward, he says it three times, looking forward. And it says, "Since everything that you see is going to be destroyed in this way, everything, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and Godly lives as you look forward, there it is, as you look forward to the day of God and speed it's coming." Do you realize how vital that is it? Alright, those are the two infinite journeys there, because everything's going away, everything is going to burn, it's all going to disappear. You are given in those Verses 2 Peter 3, the two infinite journeys, you ought to live a holy and Godly life, you ought to purify yourself from un-Godliness, that's an internal journey and you ought to look ahead to the day of God and speed it's coming. You do that by evangelism and missions, there's no other way. And so, by sharing the Gospel, by bringing the elect Christ, Jesus isn't coming back to till all the elective heard the Gospel and responded by faith, then he's coming back, amen.

So we've got work to do friends, we've got internal journey and external journey, work to do. But he says it three time in 2 Peter 3, we look forward to the day of God, God we look forward to the second coming, we look forward to the new heavens and the new Earth, we're looking forward to it all. And how glorious is that? Now, in this text, it says that Moses isn't just looking forward to Christ, but he's looking forward to his reward. He turned down a life of luxury and in effect, he's standing before Almighty God and saying, "Okay God, I'm turning down silk pillows, I'm turning down plates of grapes and beautiful slave girls dropping the grapes right into my open mouth, I'm not going to live like that. They're not going to find me with their big fans anymore, I'm not living that life, I'm going to go wander in the desert with a bunch of fractious people who do not appreciate me, and who actually would like to stone me.

Actually, he didn't know all that was coming, but it's coming. And he embraced a life of disgrace. Do you see that word, disgrace. The people who were his friends, the Egyptians who were his friends in the court there, maybe his half-brothers and half-sisters, his adoptive mother, all of those Egyptian powerful people who were beating on his biological people, but they were his friends, and they like... He turned his back on all of that, and He embraced disgrace for them. The author to Hebrews are going to call us all to that in Hebrews 13. Jesus suffered outside the gate. We need to go outside the gate and bear the disgrace he bore. He is disgraced by the world. You want to be pleasing to God, then you stand next to him and get disgrace to. So Moses was willing to bear disgrace for the name of Christ. What about you? What about me? Are you only to be disgraced, societally rejected, looked on poorly, slandered, reviled because you follow Christ? Well, Moses was willing to do it, it says because he was looking forward to his reward.

That Nature of the Reward

And what is the nature of this reward? What is this reward? When we come to rewards again, we already covered it in verse six so I don't need to go into any great detail. Rewards are tokens of God's pleasure connected with your actions and motives. God gives you some emblems of how pleased he was that you did that. The fundamental reward of the Christian life is God himself. God himself is our very great reward, and we get him. All lesser rewards, and there are lesser rewards, are all in some way connected to our relationship with Him. They are relational moments.

It's God saying, "Well done, good and faithful servant. I am pleased with you. Enter into the joy of your master, I want you to step into the joy I had when you went into the room and close the door and pray to your Father who's unseen, or when you gave to the needy and your right hand, didn't know what your left hand was doing." Your reward is great for this.

Rewards are different than wages. They're not earned or merited as though we deserve them. The rewards of the Christian life are just lavish grace, amen. We know that God would even have us in heaven, but that he would actually find things in our lives worthy of praise. He rewards us, and so Moses was looking ahead to his reward. Now, rewards are not all equal. There are some great rewards and lesser rewards. Causes something to be greatly reward-able versus something that's worthy of a smaller reward? I think it has to do with how much faith and how much sacrifice it took to do it in this world. The harder it is, the more faith that you need, the more it costs you in this world, then the more worthy of praise and a reward it will be in the next. Does that make sense?

So, if you do anything by faith, anything at all today by faith, you make a phone call by faith, you speak a word of encouragement by faith, you get down on your knees and pray for someone by faith, any of it can be rewarded, will be. God is not unjust. He won't forget anything you've done. Store up lots of them. But the really big ones, the big rewards, the great rewards are for those who suffer in this world to serve Christ. Does that makes sense? It costs you something and by faith, you do it anyway. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.

So great is your award if you suffer greatly. Does that make sense? And we'll meet them later in the same chapter, in Hebrews 11, people who wandered around in deserts and caves and were sawn into and stoned and suffered greatly for Jesus and so if you want great rewards then do great things. Understand that you don't deserve, even for doing great things, anything from God, but he's promised that he will reward and great will be your reward. And so Moses had a great reward because he made a great sacrifice. He turned away by faith from a comfortable life of ease and embraced suffering and disgrace for the sake of Christ.

Moses Weighed the Reward

And he did it because he weighed it. He considered it of greater value, that's what the text says. He weighed it and looked at it and it was better for him. It was a better deal. A few months ago I went with my daughter, Carol, and we went up to pick up my mom and drive her back. She lives seasonally across the street from us, and so we had some time and we went up to Rockport, Massachusetts, and we went into a number of the painting stores they have up there. It's a real art center, and I don't know that much about art appraisal. I probably couldn't tell the difference between a masterpiece and something that just generally looked good, but I noticed that there was a wide range of prices, everything from $75 up to 10, 15, 20 $25000 for a painting. Decided not to buy one of those. Alright, but I thought, "What's the difference?" This one's bigger than that, so it's not just size, has to do with quality, different things, but there were just different prices, and it has to do with appraising. And so somebody who's really skilled at this, who owns these stores, they look and they can tell something that's really high quality because the thing itself.

You're on a desert island and it's between an incredible painting and sufficient food to last year, you know what you'd pick. Even if it were a bunch of barley roles, you choose the barley roles. So the thing doesn't have any intrinsic value, but it just has to do with what the market will bear, and the quality of it. And the value that comes at appraising. And so, a faith-filled person does some praising here, and you've got the life in an Egyptian court, a comfortable life of ease and power and pleasure. You're looking at the value of that and then you're looking at what you get if you choose a life of suffering and disgrace for Christ. He looked at and this infinitely outweigh that. It was worth it to Moses to do it. He wasn't the fool to do it.

He's enjoying that reward now, and he'll enjoy it forever and ever. It would have been a fool not to do it that way. So it has to do with a reckoning process, a thinking process, seeing the world rightly. It is temporary, friends, that's all going to burn. We have a short time and while we have this window of opportunity, give it up. That's what the Lord's calling on us to do.

III. By Faith Moses Feared the Invisible God More Than Visible Pharaoh

It also says in Verse 27, by faith Moses feared the invisible God more than visible Pharaoh. By faith he left Egypt, it says, not fearing the king's anger. He persevered because he saw him who is invisible.

And we touched on this last time with Moses' parents. Sometimes Satan presents himself as an angel of light, and he offers you the world or a portion of it. 2 Corinthians 11:14, "Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light," but sometimes he takes the form of a dockyard bully, and if you don't do what he wants, he'll punch you in the mouth or cut off your head. Revelation 12:17, "Then the dragon, [that's Satan] was enraged at the woman, that's the people of God, and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring, those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus." that's Satan like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.

And so he especially uses wicked kings, intimidating kings, and here it's Pharaoh. Kings have the power to make your life miserable. Proverbs 20:2 says, "A king's wrath is like the roar of a lion. He who angers him, forfeits his life." You cross the king, you die. So it's intimidating, it's scary. And so we have many biblical examples of this. We have Nebuchadnezzar, prime example. What a temper problem he had. I trust Nebuchadnezzar in heaven now. I think he is, but God had to deal with that temper.

And humble him and his arrogance, his pride. And when his counselors in Daniel 2 couldn't tell him what his dream was and interpret it for him, he became filled with rage and gave an edict that all of his counselors in Babylon be put to death, all of them. Same thing happens in chapter 3 when he erected a golden statue and ordered that everyone bowed down to it, and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would not bow down to it, and again, he's filled with rage. I find that interesting. He has everything he wants. The most powerful man on Earth, can eat anything he wants, drink anything he wants, do anything he wants. He is the man, and he's fill with rage that easily, just like the devil.

And when they will not bow down to him, he becomes even angrier, and his face becomes twisted with rage and he orders the furnace heated seven times hotter. Many, many leaders like this, Pontius Pilate, knowing that Jesus is innocent, goes back and forth. And at that point Jesus is done talking to Pilate, doesn't say anything to him, you remember. Silent, he said a few things to Pilate, but at that point, it's done. He's not saying anything. And Pilate says ridiculously , "Do you refuse to speak to me? Don't you realize I have the power to crucify you and the power to set you free?"

It's intimidation. Happens in our day and age. Probably no one did this more intensely than Adolf Hitler. A terrible intimidate. Demon possessed, I think. He was called carpet chewer by some of his counselors and generals that were around him because he would throw himself on the ground, foam at the mouth and chew the carpet, which would bother me if I saw someone doing that. It's terrifying. Hermann Goering who was a World War I fighter ACE, courageous man, corrupt but courageous, was terrified to bring Hitler bad news. No one wanted to bring him bad news, ever. They were terrified of him.

When he met in March of 1938 with the President of Czechoslovakia, Edvard Benes, he threw himself into such a purple rage in front of this man that the man went in almost had cardiac arrest. He almost died right in front of Hitler because of the terror and fear. Did the same thing a year later with the representatives of the British government after he had swallowed up Czechoslovakia, they come in and try to avert World War I, I and he does the same thing rolling on the carpet and screaming.

The guy walks out to go back to report to Neville Chamberlain, Hitler jumps up slaps himself in the thigh and starts laughing. He says, "Chamberlain's government will topple by this evening." Which it didn't, but that's the kind of rage. And he used it. The same thing with the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev, famously pounding on the table with his shoe out of rage. It's very intimidating. Moses by faith faced the king's anger and did what God want him to do anyway.

He faced it, and he was not afraid of the king's anger, and he persevered. He left Egypt by faith. Now, Moses left Egypt twice. You understand that. He left Egypt, the first time, after he murdered the Egyptian overseer, the slave driver, he murdered him. Looking this way and that, he murder him, and hid his body in the sand. And it says right in Exodus 2:14 Moses was afraid the next day because he came upon two Jews who are arguing. He said, "You guys are brothers. You should get along." And he said, "Well, you want to kill us, like you killed that Egyptian yesterday." And then it says then Moses was afraid and said, "What I did must have become known." And then Pharaoh found out about it and wanted to kill him, so he ran for his life. Fugitive alright. I don't think the text is referring to that because he was afraid.

Moses Confronts Pharaoh

No, it's referring to the second time he left Egypt after the plagues when he brought with him millions of Jews. And so he comes back after 40 years of wandering in the desert, 40 years of caring for his father's sheep, father-in-law sheep, and God appears to him in the flames of the burning bush. Calls on him to go back and to tell Pharaoh, "Let my people go." He goes back, he says, "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says, 'Let my people go.'" And Pharaoh says, "I don't know the Lord, and I will not let the people go." And thus begins a back and forth that is ever escalates Pharaoh's rage. Every step makes Pharaoh angrier and angrier. Plague after plague, the plague on the fresh water turning it to blood, than the plague on the frogs, crawling all over Egypt. Plague of gnats and flies swarming all over Pharaoh's body and in his household. Plague on the livestock, the boils the hail, the locus, the darkness, one plague after another and you have to imagine each one of these directly attacking Pharaoh's rule, and attacking his pride and making him angrier in anger. How would you like to be Moses having to go negotiate with this guy day after day after day?

: Finally, the most dreadful plague of all. Plague on the first born, at that point Pharaoh is trying to bargain with Moses. It's alright, you can go, but you can't go very far, you can go, you can't bring your livestock with you. No, there's no bargaining. You're not in a strong position, Pharaoh, in case you hadn't noticed. You're going to do exactly what God wants you to do. Finally, Pharaoh was so enraged that he says, "Get out of my sight. Make sure you do not appear before me again, the day you see my face, you will die." "Just as you say,' Moses said, 'You will never see my face again.'" Well, through all of that, Moses persevered through all of the anger and rage of Pharaoh he persevered as if seeing it says the invisible God because he could see God, because he could see him by faith, let's be honest, he feared God more than he feared Pharaoh.

This is a very powerful, a powerful lesson. One time I was afraid to lead an outreach, it was a Halloween outreach in Salem, Massachusetts, and I was afraid because the year before, I'd almost been arrested for doing this outward. Didn't do anything wrong. But Laurie Cabot, the official witch of Massachusetts, back then Massachusetts had an official witch according to Governor Dukakis. And that was her and I met her daughter, delightful girl. At any rate, she came out, 25-year-old woman, she was filled with rage at me, and we had a very interesting debate in front of her house. I'll never forget that. Well, a year later we're doing another outreach.

It was the night of what became known as the perfect storm. There was a movie made about it, and there was a hurricane that struck off the coast of Massachusetts, and it was an unbelievable time, and I was middle of the week, and I was just... Satan was working on me all day long, is the longest work day of my life. I was just an engineer at that point, and just I thought it by now it's got to be 3 or 4 in the afternoon a be like 9:30 in the morning, which is the long day because just the fear, r satanic fear of witnessing, satanic fear of persecution. And at that point, I was doing scripture memorization, in Isaiah, Isaiah 51. It says there, " I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mortal men, the sons of men, who are but grass, that you forget the Lord your maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth, that you live in constant terror every day because of the wrath of the oppressor, who is bent on destruction? For where is the wrath of the oppressor? The cowering prisoners will soon be set free; they will not die in their dungeon, nor will they lack bread. For I am the LORD your God, who churns up the sea so that its waves roar-- the Lord Almighty is his name. I have put my words in your mouth and covered you with the shadow of my hand-- I who set the heavens in place, who laid the foundations of the earth, and who say to Zion, 'You are my people.'"

That's what I was memorizing that day. I'll never forget that.

I said, "Alright Lord, I get the message." Do not fear man more than you fear me. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but I give you an even higher motive than that. How about delight in the Lord? I just want to please him, I want him to be pleased with me. I want to see his smiling face. I want him to be glorified and so the fear of the Lord enabled Moses not to fear the king, and delight in him, as well.

And so Stephen at the end of his trial, as he has already accused them of being stiff-neck people of uncircumcised hearts and ears, and they didn't like that very much. They were very angry. And then suddenly Stephen, as they were furious with him, gnashing their teeth at him, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up and he saw heaven open, and he saw Jesus standing at the right side of God. He said, "Look, I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." Delight, beauty, attractiveness drives away all fear. He was already gone. They had to kill his body, but he was already in heaven at that point.

Just the delight and the joy, and by faith, as if seeing the invisible Christ, he was bold and courageous.

Now, I still have two more points, but I see that it's 12:20. So let's do it next week. Let's talk about the Passover and the Red Sea crossing, next week, amen. Can't do that in one minute. You know I can't do that. I cannot do the Passover in the Red Sea crossing in one minute, so we'll do it next week.

IV. Applications

The application for this is plain, Jesus Christ is the Son of God, Son of Man, he is the savior. Has he been revealed to you as such? Has God the Father revealed Christ to you? And if he has, venture on him. Venture holy let no other trust intrude. Trust in Christ entirely, your own righteousness cannot save you. Maybe you had not been a Christian before you came in here maybe a friend invited you, maybe we met one on the outreach yesterday. And that's why you're in church today and you know you're not a Christian, you know that you're not saved. All you need to know, you've heard today.

That Jesus the Son of God died on the cross, shed his blood for sinners like you. If you trust in him, you will be forgiven. And so I say, also to you as believers, venture on Christ. Don't fear man. Be willing to turn your back on a life of ease and comfort and embrace a life of suffering and disgrace. Don't fear disgrace. Don't seek it out say, "I want to be disgraced." But go after Christ and faithfulness, and share the gospel and disgrace will find you. But let's be bold and courageous close with me in prayer.

Other Sermons in This Series

September 05, 2010

Overview of Hebrews (Hebrews Sermon 1 of 74)

Hebrews 1:1-13:25

Book Overviews, New Covenant, Old Covenant, Warnings, Exhortations, Exaltation of Christ

September 12, 2010

The Glory of Christ Captured in Words (Hebrews Sermon 2 of 74)

Hebrews 1:1-3

Exaltation of Christ

September 19, 2010

Christ Greater Than the Angels, Part 1 (Hebrews Sermon 3 of 74)

Hebrews 1:4-7

Exaltation of Christ, Angels

September 26, 2010

Christ Greater Than the Angels, Part 2 (Hebrews Sermon 4 of 74)

Hebrews 1:7-14

Exaltation of Christ, Angels, The Kingdom of Christ

October 03, 2010

The Danger of Drifting Away (Hebrews Sermon 5 of 74)

Hebrews 2:1-4

Warnings, Perseverance

October 10, 2010

Christ Regains Man's Glorious Throne (Hebrews Sermon 6 of 74)

Hebrews 2:5-9

Incarnation

October 17, 2010

Jesus Brings Many Sons to Glory (Hebrews Sermon 7 of 74)

Hebrews 2:10-13

Salvation by Promise, Jesus Christ

November 07, 2010

Jesus, Death-Destroyer and Gentle Priest (Hebrews Sermon 8 of 74)

Hebrews 2:14-18

Deity of Christ

November 14, 2010

Jesus is Greater than Moses (Hebrews Sermon 9 of 74)

Hebrews 3:1-6

The Law of God, Exaltation of Christ

November 21, 2010

The Key Moment of the Daily Christian Life (Hebrews Sermon 10 of 74)

Hebrews 3:7-11

The Holy Spirit, The Doctrine of Scripture

November 28, 2010

The Church's Vigilance Over One Another (Hebrews Sermon 11 of 74)

Hebrews 3:12-14

Church Membership, The Power of Sin

December 12, 2010

Know and Be Known: God's Vision for the Local Church (Hebrews Sermon 12 of 74)

Hebrews 3:12

Brotherly Love, Church Membership, The Power of Sin, Good Works

January 02, 2011

A Warning from Israel's History (Hebrews Sermon 13 of 74)

Hebrews 3:15-19

Faith, Walk by Faith, Warnings

January 09, 2011

Enter God's Rest Through Faith (Hebrews Sermon 14 of 74)

Hebrews 4:1-5

Walk by Faith, Warnings, Perseverance

January 23, 2011

Entering the Perfect Sabbath Rest (Hebrews Sermon 15 of 74)

Hebrews 4:6-11

Walk by Faith

January 30, 2011

We've Not Yet Entered Our Rest (Hebrews Sermon 16 of 74)

Hebrews 4:9-11

February 06, 2011

The Word of God is Living and Active (Hebrews Sermon 17 of 74)

Hebrews 4:12-13

The Doctrine of Scripture

February 13, 2011

Ushered by Faith into the Throne of Grace (Hebrews Sermon 18 of 74)

Hebrews 4:14-16

Exaltation of Christ, The Offices of Christ

February 20, 2011

The Office of High Priest Described and Fulfilled (Hebrews Sermon 19 of 74)

Hebrews 5:1-10

The Offices of Christ, Animal Sacrificial System

February 27, 2011

By Now, You Ought to Be... (Hebrews Sermon 20 of 74)

Hebrews 5:11-14

March 06, 2011

The Eternal Danger of Apostasy (Hebrews Sermon 21 of 74)

Hebrews 6:1-6

March 20, 2011

Fruitful and Blessed; Barren and Cursed (Hebrews Sermon 22 of 74)

Hebrews 6:7-8

Abiding in Christ, Good Works, Love of God

March 27, 2011

Things That Accompany Salvation (Hebrews Sermon 23 of 74)

Hebrews 6:9-12

Walk by Faith, Perseverance, Justice of God

April 03, 2011

The Unchangeable Promise of God, the Anchor of Our Souls (Hebrews Sermon 24 of 74)

Hebrews 6:13-20

Salvation by Promise, Covenants, Assurance of Salvation

April 10, 2011

Melchizedek, the Priest-King, a Pattern of Christ (Hebrews Sermon 25 of 74)

Hebrews 7:1-3

The Offices of Christ, Prophecy

April 17, 2011

Abraham Honors Melchizedek So We Can Worship Christ (Hebrews Sermon 26 of 74)

Hebrews 7:4-10

Salvation by Promise, Federal headship

May 01, 2011

The Priesthood Changed... and With It, the Law (Hebrews Sermon 27 of 74)

Hebrews 7:11-17

The Law of God, Exaltation of Christ, Animal Sacrificial System

May 08, 2011

Christ's Superior Priesthood (Hebrews Sermon 28 of 74)

Hebrews 7:20-28

Covenants, Exaltation of Christ, The Offices of Christ, Animal Sacrificial System

May 15, 2011

The Perfect and Permanent Prayer Warrior (Hebrews Sermon 29 of 74)

Hebrews 7:25

Prayer, Prayers of Christ

May 22, 2011

Christ Our Heavenly Priest (Hebrews Sermon 30 of 74)

Hebrews 8:1-6

Prayers of Christ, Exaltation of Christ, The Offices of Christ

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Moses the Black: Episode Five The Saints

🏔️ The Saints: Adventures of Faith and Courage 🗺️ Moses the Black - Episode Five: A Gift for the Church The Monastery, 387 AD. Moses has lived in the monastery for 20 years, praying, fasting, and working alongside his new brothers as they offer their lives to Jesus. But everything changes when Abba Isidore makes a surprising request - asking Moses to give up everything to follow Christ. 🌐 Subscribe for Free Daily Episodes: https://thesaintspodcast.com/   Get free daily episodes delivered to your email inbox, along with coloring pages, activity sheets, and more! 🔥 Ignite your Family’s Faith In a culture that has abandoned God, families struggle to find beautiful, faith-affirming stories to inspire their children. The Saints: Adventures of Faith and Courage provides thrilling and inspiring stories to ignite your family’s pursuit of virtue and holiness. Join us for a new 5-Episode adventure every week! 🚦 Rating: 7+Saint Moses the Black tells the incredible conversion of Moses from criminal to saint. His journey teaches lessons of fortitude, moderation, and trust. When he first entered the monastery at Scetis, he was wounded, both physically and spiritually, by his life of crime. But Moses showed through his dedication to self-denial and prayer a real strength which violence never gave him. This series contains moments of intensity and fear, including fights and suspense. Multiple scenes of physical fighting are portrayed, including pushing and hitting. Several criminal characters utter threats against one another. Several characters’ deaths are implied happening off-screen. A character is briefly portrayed as drinking to excess. Moses humorously describes his former crimes. The series ends with a martyrdom. 📱 Social Media https://www.facebook.com/themerrybeggars https://www.instagram.com/themerrybeggars https://twitter.com/themerrybeggars https://www.linkedin.com/company/themerrybeggars 

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10 Stages In A Faith Journey: Plus Examples

Inside: Faith Journey Plus Examples

Have you ever thought about how our faith is like a journey?

It’s a road with ups and downs, questions, and amazing moments where everything just clicks.

Whether you’re just starting out or have been on this road for a while, there’s always something new to see and learn.

In this article, we’ll dive into the different parts of this faith adventure using the Bible and some easy-to-follow tips.

So, come on in, and let’s chat about this faith journey we’re all on!

10 Stages In A Faith Journey

Here’s a detailed breakdown of 10 stages in a faith journey, complete with Scripture and practical advice for each stage:

• Scripture : “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” – Matthew 7:7
• Advice : Stay open-minded. Attend faith-based events, join discussion groups, and ask questions to understand more deeply.
• Scripture : “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” – Luke 19:10
• Advice : Embrace this new awareness. Surround yourself with individuals who can guide and nurture your budding faith.
• Scripture : “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation.” – 1 Peter 2:2
• Advice : Dive into Scripture. Attend Bible studies, engage in prayer, and seek mentorship from seasoned believers.
• Scripture : “I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” – Romans 12:1
• Advice : Make a conscious decision to commit to your faith . This might mean being baptized or taking another step of public commitment.
• Scripture : “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33
• Advice : Seek support through community and prayer. Remember, every believer faces challenges. They can strengthen and refine your faith.
• Scripture : “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” – 2 Peter 3:18
• Advice : Regularly partake in spiritual disciplines like fasting , deep prayer, and meditative reading of the Scriptures.
• Scripture : “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” – 1 Peter 4:10
• Advice : Find ways to serve in your community or church. Share your testimony and faith journey with others.
• Scripture : “The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” – Deuteronomy 31:8
• Advice : Journal or reflect on the ways you’ve seen God’s hand in your life, celebrating His faithfulness in big and small ways.
• Scripture : “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.” – 1 John 5:11
• Advice : Foster a heavenly perspective, knowing that this earthly life is temporary and a glorious eternity awaits.
• Continuous Renewal and Transformation :
• Scripture : “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” – 2 Corinthians 4:16
• Advice : Continually seek personal revival. Attend retreats, engage in spiritual self-assessments, study God’s word daily and always aim to draw closer to God.

I hope this list provides a helpful framework for understanding the stages in a faith journey from a Biblical perspective!

May it inspire and guide many on their personal journeys with the Lord.

Examples Of A Faith Journey

Here are some examples of faith journeys:

• The parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-32 is a poignant example of a faith journey. A young man leaves home, squanders his inheritance, and hits rock bottom. However, he comes to a realization of his mistakes and decides to return to his father. His father, representing God’s unending mercy, welcomes him with open arms. This journey from rebellion to redemption underscores the grace and forgiveness that await those who turn back to God.
• Moses’ life is filled with twists and turns. Born a Hebrew but raised as an Egyptian prince, he flees Egypt after killing a man. In exile, God appears to him in a burning bush and tasks him with leading the Israelites to freedom. Through challenges like confronting Pharaoh and parting the Red Sea, Moses grows in his faith and dependence on God.
• Mary Magdalene, mentioned in the Gospels, is a shining example of a transformative faith journey. Once plagued by seven demons, Jesus heals her. From that moment, she becomes one of His most devoted followers, even being the first to witness and proclaim His resurrection.
• Saul, later known as Paul, starts as a fierce persecutor of early Christians . However, on the road to Damascus, he has a life-changing encounter with the risen Christ. This results in a complete turnaround, and he becomes one of Christianity’s most influential apostles, spreading the Gospel far and wide.
• Imagine someone today who grew up in a Christian household but drifted away during their teenage years, influenced by peers or personal doubts. Later in life, a significant event or realization brings them to a Christian counselor. Through counseling sessions, reading Scripture, and joining a supportive community, they rekindle their relationship with God and commit their life to serving Him.
• Consider a person with no prior knowledge of Christianity. Perhaps a friend invites them to church, or they stumble upon a Bible in a hotel room. Curious, they begin exploring, attending Bible studies, and asking questions. Over time, the teachings resonate with them, leading to a deep, personal relationship with Jesus .

Each of these journeys highlights the diverse paths people can take in their relationship with God.

From Biblical figures to everyday individuals, the common thread is God’s unwavering love and grace, guiding each person closer to Him.

I hope these Faith Journey examples inspire and provide insight into the varied landscapes of faith journeys!

How To Write A Faith Journey

Writing about your faith journey is a deeply personal endeavor, but it can be incredibly rewarding.

Sharing your experiences can inspire others and offer insights into the unique ways God works in individual lives.

Let’s break down how to approach this:

• Before you even pick up a pen, spend some time in prayer. Ask God for clarity, wisdom, and discernment as you recount your journey.
• Think about key moments in your life that have shaped your faith. This could be childhood memories, a challenging period, or an unexpected blessing.
• Start by describing your upbringing. Were you raised in a faith-based home? Or did you encounter God later in life?
• Highlight moments that deeply impacted your relationship with God. This could be positive experiences, like a retreat or a mission trip, or more challenging times when your faith was tested.
• It’s okay to share periods of doubt or times when you had questions about your faith. This makes your journey relatable and authentic.
• Talk about instances where you felt God’s presence or intervention in your life . These personal stories can be powerful testimonies of faith.
• Who has played a pivotal role in your faith journey? Maybe it’s a parent, a pastor, a friend, or even a Christian counselor. Share how they’ve guided or influenced you.
• Weave in relevant Bible verses that have been significant to you. This gives readers a biblical context and shows the foundation of your beliefs.
• Where are you now in your faith journey? Discuss your current practices, beliefs, and hopes for the future.
• End with Reflection and Anticipation :
• Reflect on your growth and the lessons you’ve learned. Share your hopes and aspirations for your continuing journey with God.
• Edit and Review :
• Once you’ve penned down your journey, take some time to review and refine it. Consider sharing it with a trusted friend or Christian counselor for feedback.

Remember, your faith journey is uniquely yours. It doesn’t have to be perfect.

It’s the genuine reflection of your relationship with God that will resonate with readers.

Bible Verses About Faith Being A Journey

The Bible is rich with verses that describe faith as a journey or process, emphasizing growth, perseverance, and God’s guidance.

Here are some verses that beautifully convey this theme:

• “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
• “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
• “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
• “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”
• “For we live by faith, not by sight.”
• “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
• “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
• “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
• “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”

These verses emphasize the continuous journey of faith, marked by trust, perseverance, and guidance from the Lord.

As you reflect on these verses, may you be encouraged and strengthened in your own faith journey!

No two faith journeys are alike, and that’s the beauty of it – each is a unique dance of trust between the soul and its Creator.

Faith Goals Examples

Let’s explore some faith goals and how you can achieve them.

• Goal : Dedicate 10 minutes each morning to Bible reading.
• Advice : Start with Psalms or Proverbs for daily wisdom and encouragement.
• Scripture : “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” – Psalm 119:105
• Goal : Create a nightly prayer routine.
• Advice : Have a dedicated space at home for prayer to build a habit.
• Scripture : “The LORD is near to all who call on him.” – Psalm 145:18
• Goal : Participate in a women’s Bible study or fellowship group.
• Advice : It’s a great way to build deep, faith-centered relationships.
• Scripture : “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” – Matthew 18:20
• Goal : Memorize a Bible verse each month .
• Advice : Pick verses that speak to challenges you’re currently facing.
• Scripture : “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” – Psalm 119:11
• Goal : Volunteer at least once a month.
• Advice : Local churches often have outreach programs in need of helping hands.
• Scripture : “Do not forget to do good and to share with others.” – Hebrews 13:16
• Goal : Share your faith story with someone new.
• Advice : Your journey can inspire and uplift others in their walk.
• Scripture : “Let the redeemed of the LORD tell their story.” – Psalm 107:2
• Goal : Choose one day a week to disconnect from electronics and reconnect with God.
• Advice : Use this time for reflection, reading, or nature walks.
• Scripture : “Be still, and know that I am God.” – Psalm 46:10
• Goal : Fast from something specific (like social media) for clarity or focus in prayer.
• Advice : Remember to consult with a doctor before any major dietary changes.
• Scripture : “But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face.” – Matthew 6:17
• Goal : Each evening, jot down things you’re grateful for.
• Advice : Over time, you’ll see how much God is working in your life.
• Scripture : “Every good and perfect gift is from above.” – James 1:17
• Build Faithful Friendships :
• Goal : Seek out godly women for friendship and mutual encouragement.
• Advice : Participate in church events or join Christian women’s groups.
• Scripture : “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” – Proverbs 27:17

I’ve included scriptures for each to give a biblical foundation.

I hope these faith goals inspire and guide you in your walk with God. Remember, it’s about progress, not perfection!

Lord, guide and protect me on my faith journey. Strengthen my trust, renew my hope, and let Your love light my path. In every challenge and joy, may I always feel Your presence. Amen.

Prayer For Your Faith Journey

Heavenly Father, the Author and Perfecter of our faith,

We come before You, acknowledging You as the guiding light on our faith journey.

Every step we take, every challenge we face, we know You are beside us, leading us with Your unfailing love.

Lord, as we navigate the winding paths of our spiritual journey, grant us the grace to trust in You wholeheartedly.

When doubts arise or the road seems uncertain, remind us of Your promises and Your steadfast presence.

Empower us, O God, with the strength to persevere, especially during times of trials and testing.

Let us remember the testimonies of the saints and prophets who have gone before us, drawing inspiration from their unwavering faith.

Provide us with wisdom, Lord, to discern Your will in every circumstance.

May we seek guidance from Your Word, from trusted counselors, and from the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit within.

We pray that our faith journey be marked by growth, transformation, and a deepening relationship with You.

Let our lives be a testament to Your grace, reflecting Your love and compassion to those we encounter.

Above all, Father, we ask for an ever-burning desire to draw closer to You, to know You more intimately, and to serve You faithfully.

Keep our hearts anchored in the truth of the Gospel, and let our steps be firmly rooted in Your ways.

Thank you, Lord, for being our constant companion, our refuge, and our hope.

Guide us, sustain us, and nurture our faith as we journey onward, always seeking Your face.

In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen.

Join my online women’s Bible study and cultivate meaningful Christian friendships while growing in your faith. Our study resources are designed to guide you in your spiritual renewal and help you deepen your relationship with God. Participate from the comfort of your own home at a time that works for you. Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to connect with other women and experience spiritual growth!

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Jesus Lives Pastor Phil Fischer Delivers Powerful Sermon to hundreds of Muslims on Palestine Jordanian border

Phil Fischer with a film crew in an undisclosed location of Palestine,  near the Jordan border. 

In a remarkable display of faith, Phil Fischer , an evangelist with Jesus Lives in Bellevue, Washington delivered a stirring sermon in the heart of the Muslim-dominated Jordan Valley. 

Facing a crowd of Muslims and Palistinians overlooking the ancient city of Jericho and the serene Dead Sea, Fischer's impassioned words echo against the historic backdrop of Mount Nebo, where tradition holds that Moses found his final resting place. His message, shared through a video on YouTube, has resonated with over 50,000 viewers since its upload on August 19th, 2023.

After the powerful sermon, hundreds of muslims were led to Christ and many more were interested in knowing about Jesus. 

Answering the Call to Spread the Word

Embracing his newfound calling, Fischer embarked on a mission to share the message of Christ across the globe. From the bustling streets of Seattle to the ancient lands of Pakistan, Jerusalem, Jericho, and Jordan, Fischer's tireless efforts have touched the lives of thousands. Through Jesus Lives, he seeks to ignite a spiritual revival, believing fervently in the imminent return of Christ and the need for humanity to embrace salvation.

Standing atop Mount Nebo, where the prophet Moses once stood and is now buried, Fischer expounds upon the concept of the fivefold giftings outlined in the Bible. Drawing from scripture, he emphasizes the importance of each individual discovering and utilizing their unique gifts to fulfill God's purpose. According to Fischer, these giftings, which include apostleship, prophecy, evangelism, pastoral care, and teaching, are essential for guiding believers on their journey towards spiritual fulfillment.

From Worldly Success to Spiritual Calling

Phil Fischer's journey to becoming a fervent evangelist is a testament to the transformative power of faith. Born and raised amidst the rugged landscapes of Alaska, and Canada's Yukon territories, Fischer's early years were far from religious. Instead, he pursued worldly pursuits, finding success as both a musician and an internet entrepreneur. Yet, despite his achievements, Fischer felt a void that material wealth couldn't fill. 

“I found out that the people I met when I was sleeping under a bridge in Seattle are more trustworthy than most of the CEO’s I now meet with regularly”. Fischer said by phone. “The higher you climb in the world, the more you understand that it’s all a lie and just like Solomon says in Ecclesiastes, it’s all dust in the wind”. 

It wasn't until he encountered his future wife, Jamael Fischer, in Seattle in November 2001 that Fischer's life took a profound turn. Introduced to Christianity through Jamael's unwavering devotion, Fischer experienced a spiritual awakening that set him on a new path. Starting with a small bible study in their home, Fischer founded Jesus Lives, a nonprofit evangelical mission organization based in Bellevue, Washington, dedicated to spreading the gospel in regions often overlooked by mainstream Christian outreach efforts.

A Message of Hope City by City

In his poignant address to the people of Jordan, Fischer issues a call to action, urging them to embrace their giftings and embark on a journey of spiritual discovery. With unwavering conviction, he reassures them that no matter their past or present circumstances, God's love and grace are boundless. Fischer's message resonates with hope and promise, offering a pathway to redemption and fulfillment for all who heed his call.

As Fischer concludes his sermon, his words linger in the crisp mountain air, carrying a message of faith, resilience, and unwavering devotion. In a region fraught with tension and division, his presence serves as a beacon of hope, reminding believers of the transformative power of Christ's love. 

“Lately I’ve been getting dreams and visions of messages for a particular city. I know it sounds strange, but it's true and I need to follow that. This message was for these people that live here in this valley.” Fischer continues, “God gave me a word for Juarez, Mexico so we are planning to visit there in summer of 2024.. My hope is to do one city a month. I don’t know why, but there is a sense of urgency. 

Through Jesus Lives ministry, Fischer continues to shine a light in the darkest corners of the world, spreading the eternal message of salvation to all who will listen.

You can hear Phil Fischer at Jesuslives.com or every Thursday night at 7:30PM at Jesus Lives in Bellevue,  washington. 

To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories .

• What Is Cinema?

Inside Natalie Portman’s New Murder Mystery Series, Lady in the Lake

By Julie Miller

It doesn’t take long for Natalie Portman ’s character to reach her breaking point in Lady in the Lake , the Apple+ adaptation of Laura Lippman ’s best-selling mystery novel. After one domestic indignity too many, and a true-crime event triggering her hidden past, Portman’s Maddie is stirred out of her bored existence as a Jewish housewife and mother in 1965 Baltimore. She packs a suitcase, leaves her husband and the suburbs, and starts anew in the largely Black neighborhood where she can afford to live on her own.

Alit with fresh ambition and excitement over her freedom, she becomes obsessed with the reported mystery around Cleo Johnson, a Black single mother played by Moses Ingram ( Queen’s Gambit ) who was on her own path before she was found dead in a fountain. As viewers follow Maddie’s investigation, and her tone-deafness to the struggles of her new neighbors, Cleo’s final four weeks play out in storylines that first run parallel to Maddie’s.

Moses Ingram as Cleo Johnson.

The women’s paths will cross, Cleo’s narration teases throughout the series—an intricate seven-episode mystery and character drama premiering July 19. Written and directed by first-time showrunner Alma Har’el, the Israeli-American filmmaker behind the documentary Bombay Beach and Shia LaBeouf ’s biographical gut punch Honey Boy, the show is a tonal kaleidoscope—shifting from noir to subtle comedy to full-blown choreographed music sequences as Maddie and Cleo’s worlds expand and secrets resurface.

Speaking about Maddie’s evolution, Portman tells me, “At the core of it is this steady desire to be free, which I think is at the core of every woman’s narrative. You see the consciousness of it birthed in the first couple of episodes, then you see her dipping her toe into that liberation, and then you see that liberation stepping on the liberation of others.”

By Chris Murphy

By Ramin Setoodeh

By David Canfield

Mikey Madison and Portman in Lady in the Lake .

Maddie’s evolution isn’t exactly pretty—she’s initially egged on by the pot-smoking teenager ( Mikey Madison ) she takes in as a roommate. Uninterested in journalistic decorum, Maddie isn’t opposed to seducing men for intel, like Y’lan Noel , who plays her police-officer love interest Ferdie Platt. There’s a slight echo of Portman’s  May December  character, an actress who did her own kind of baiting to extract helpful information from the woman ( Julianne Moore ) she was researching to play in a film. “They’re both kind of deliciously, ethically awry characters,” Portman says. “They both have no qualms about using whatever tools they have to get what they want.”

Maddie is also comically unaware of the differences between her struggles as a Jewish woman and her new neighbors’ struggles. Exploring the journey of how the oppressed can become an oppressor is one of the reasons why Portman, who is also an executive producer on the series, and Ha’rel, were interested in the project. “That’s where it gets out of control. Maddie gets blind to the effects of actions on others because she is so consumed by her personal journey,” says Portman. Har’el said she was especially interested in investigating “the duality of being an oppressor and persecuted” in the ’60s—“this idea of Jewish immigrants and the assimilation that happened at that time out of survival and out of the drive to become part of an American dream…. You consider them your allies, but you’re never going to really perceive their hardship.” That “is definitely something that spoke to me.”

Y’lan Noel as police officer Ferdie Platt with Portman.

The role also had personal resonance for Portman, whose grandmother lived in Baltimore at about the same age and time as Portman’s character. “It was wild to get to explore the streets they walked and places they went,” says the actor. “There’s a Jewish deli that still exists from that time. To have been there and imagined my family being there 60 years ago was really amazing. To imagine what it was to be a woman at that time in a Jewish marriage, the restrictions of what that meant at that time and place definitely felt personal to explore. I think that we understand ourselves as women through our mothers, and we understand our mothers through their mothers.”

Har’el adapted Lippman’s novel for the screen, fleshing out the storyline of Cleo’s character so much that she ended up changing her last name and creating a husband for her, a struggling comedian played by Byron Bowers , whom Cleo leaves. “We gave her a much bigger canvas, and really wanted to explore what it was like for a Black woman at the time to live in Baltimore and go through the hardships and the mystery of the murder,” explains the showrunner.

Ingram with Byron Bowers, who plays Cleo’s husband Slappy.

After Lupita Nyong’o, who was initially attached as Cleo, left the project for logistical reasons, the series filmed most of Portman’s scenes for about three months—during which time the series cast Ingram. “It was extremely challenging, but it paid off because the gods of cinema shine on television too. We got Moses Ingram, who is just a revelation,” says Ha’rel. “She was the glue that put everything together for us in many ways, because she was from Baltimore and her family was alive during those times. She kind of cosigned it for us. She made [the project] real.”

The Emmy-nominated Ingram gets about as much screen time as her Oscar-winning costar, and just as many tantalizing dramatic scenes. “When I imagined being an actor, this is the kind of work that I saw myself doing,” Ingram says. She channeled many of the hustling single mothers she knew growing up in Maryland for the part.

Given Ingram had only about two weeks to prepare for the series—and that she was parachuting into a shoot that required incredibly complicated sequencing, “I showed up to work scared every day,” she says. She’d film later scenes without knowing what came before, and had to completely trust Har’el to guide her. “She’d be like, ‘Okay, it’s a little bit of this, a little bit of this, a little bit of this.’” When Ingram finally saw the first episode, she says, “I just cried, cried, cried, cried…It’s absolutely the most fulfilling thing I’ve done in my career so far.”

Ingram had never met Portman before the project, but watched her movies “religiously” growing up—and name-checks Where the Heart Is as a particular favorite. (“I was so obsessed with this woman who had her baby in the Walmart,” she laughs.) So it was mind-bending not just to be cast alongside Portman, but to get a letter of support from her.

“When I got the job, she sent me a lovely note welcoming me onto the project and sort of expressing her trust in what I could bring to it. It’s always really amazing when you step into these atmospheres with people that don’t know you, but you know them very well from watching them. But the idea that someone that you respect so much is willing to see you beyond the things she’s already seen you play…” Ingram trails off. “To be seen is nice.”

Given the the length of the shoot and the fact that Maddie and Cleo’s complicated stories involve unspooling past secrets in different timelines, the shoot was “exponentially harder than making a film,” says Portman.

Portman with Har’el on the set.

“Crossboarding is probably the biggest mind fuck of television,” adds Har’el of mapping out the show’s 489 scenes. “I came from shooting Honey Boy, where the whole shoot was 19 days. This was 106 days. I was a first-time showrunner, and some scenes were murder mystery, some were dance, some were music performance, and some were just character driven and a deep-dive into a dialogue.” She’s still recovering: “I want to celebrate it because I can’t believe I survived it. It took three and a half years.”

During the course of writing, directing, and showrunning Lady in the Lake, Har’el also became a mother. The experience, and holding her baby daughter on her chest as she edited the series, brought her closer to Maddie and Cleo.

“This show is about two mothers, so I feel like I kind of got to join my characters midway and understand them better,” says Ha’rel. “Things that maybe resonated with me from the outside when I started to work on it…by the time I finished, I saw from a different perspective, which was extremely deepening, the whole experience.”

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