Hebrews 11:23-25

Summary retelling of Hebrews 11:23-25

Moses’ parents had faith in God to know that they could disobey the Pharaoh’s edict and hide Moses; they knew God would do something special with him.  When Moses grew up in the Pharaoh’s house, it was by faith that he chose to be counted among the Hebrew people rather than to take the splendor of the Pharaoh.  This even meant that he was mistreated as all the Hebrew people were mistreated by the Egyptians.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Moses’ parents had faith in God to know that He would protect them if they disobeyed Pharaoh.  Pharaoh had commanded that all the Hebrew boys were to be put to death to keep the Hebrew nation from becoming strong.  Thus, when Moses was born and his parents kept him alive and hidden they were breaking the edict of Pharaoh and subject to be punished.  However, they knew that it was more important to be obedient to God and God’s ways than the ways of human authorities – especially when human authority differs from God’s ways.

Can you imagine living under a rule where human rights are deprived like they would have been under the Pharaoh?  How easy do you think it would have been to resist?  How hard do you think it would have been to convince other people to resist?

Second Thought:

Moses chose his divine calling over the ease of human life.  He could have had access to the wealth, power, and prestige of the house of Pharaoh – one of the wealthiest and powerful places to be at this time in history.  But instead, Moses was obedient to God and desired to do God’s will among the Hebrew people rather than depend on the opulence that could have been his.

Do you think it was difficult for Moses to put aside the wealth and ease of life he had in Pharaoh’s house?  Why do you think Moses was able to make the choice to leave the desires of the human heart behind and follow God?

Third Thought:

Keep in mind that once Moses made the choice to be counted among the Hebrew people that he was subject to everything they were subject to.  Also keep in mind that at first the Hebrew people rejected him.  Therefore, when Moses gave up his Egyptian lifestyle he was also not welcome among the Hebrew people to begin with.  He was mistreated by both Egyptian and Hebrew alike.  Yet, he still followed God.

What would you have done in Moses’ shoes?  Do you think you could have followed God even after the people God told you to save rejected you?  Do you think you are willing to put up with abuse in God’s name and for the sake of doing His will?

Passage for Tomorrow: Hebrews 11:26-28