FAITH
Text: Hebrews 11
Lesson Twelve – V.23
Examples of the ancients who were commended for their faith: (Cont’d.)
MOSES [Part 1]: V.23 – By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.
(Amplified Bible) – [Prompted] by faith Moses, after his birth, was kept concealed for three months by his parents, because they saw how comely the child was; and they were not overawed and terrified by the king’s decree.
Moses’ parents – The following passages provide information about them:
Exodus 2:1 – Now a man of the house of Levi married a Levite woman,
Exodus 6:20 – Amram married his father’s sister Jochebed, who bore him Aaron and Moses. Amram lived 137 years.
Numbers 26:59 – the name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed, a descendant of Levi, who was born to the Levites in Egypt. To Amram she bore Aaron, Moses and their sister Miriam.
Hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child – See Exodus 2:1-10. (Exodus 2:2b – and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months.
The underlined depicts sensitivity to the “voice of God.” Note Hebrews 1:1 – In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways,
In Exodus 2:2b, the Lord spoke by the special features of Moses. Note Acts 7:20 – “At that time Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child. For three months he was cared for in his father’s house.
(Amplified Bible) At this juncture Moses was born, and was exceedingly beautiful in God’s sight. For three months he was nurtured in his father’s house;
Contrast Luke 19:44b – They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”
Let us thank the Lord for reminding us to “know His voice” which speaks to us in various ways, such as dreams, visions, events, His audible voice and the written Word (The Holy Bible).
Note: John 10:27 – My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
Psalm 25:14 – The LORD confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.
They were not afraid of the king’s edict – Exodus 1:22 – Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.”
Note Exodus 1:15-21 – 15The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, 16“When you help the Hebrew women in childbirth and observe them on the delivery stool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.” 17The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. 18Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?”
19The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.”
20So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. 21And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.
Let us thank the Lord for instructing us that, while we are required to “submit to governing authorities” (Romans 13:1), we are not expected to obey edicts which will cause us to sin against Him. Note Acts 5:27-29 – 27Having brought the apostles, they made them appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. 28“We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”
29Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than men!
Let us also thank the Lord for the following passages, which are examples of the antidote against “fear.”
Psalm 27:1 – The LORD is my light and my salvation- whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life–of whom shall I be afraid?
Isaiah 51:12-13 – 12“I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mortal men, the sons of men, who are but grass, 13that 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?
Philippians 1:28 – without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved–and that by God.
1 John 4:18 – There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.