#115: Giants of Faith VII: Moses decided...

It was by faith that Moses' parents hid him for three months when he was born. They saw that God had given them an unusual child, and they were not afraid to disobey the king's command. It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to share the oppression of God's people instead of  enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward. It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king's anger. He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible. It was by faith that Moses commanded the people of Israel to keep the Passover and to sprinkle blood on the doorposts so that the angel of death would not kill their firstborn sons. (Heb 11: 23-29)

We bless God for another opportunity to look into scriptures and glean at His feet. Today as we continue the series on the giants of faith, we meet a very interesting character with a very interesting story. A story of a man whose journey of faith began from when he was born. May God grant us illumination as we study today. Amen.

By faith Moses's parents... Our story begins with the faith of Moses' parents. They were not afraid to disobey the king. It appears to me that they dared death in the face to keep baby Moses alive. They saw something that he was a proper child, a unique child, not a child to be wasted by the swords of the Egyptians. And they hid him for 3 months. When we read the story in the book of Exodus, it looks like a general or random activity, but the Holy Spirit, in the light of Hebrews 11 paints it as an act of faith. They were doing it in obedience to God, with reverence to Him, not minding the law of the land at that time.

By faith Moses refused... The first act of faith had been done. The foundation had already been laid, when Moses grew up, there was very little that the faith of his parents could do for him. He had to decide for himself. And scriptures say that he refused to be called a member of the king's family. Moses refused to be called the son of the princess and didn't just stop there, he chose to share in the operation of God's people.

He thought it... When we talk of faith, God is not talking about something we should exercise abstractly. God is talking about things that we will have to consider, things that we will have to think about. The decisions arising from our faith in God must be something that we have considered and properly counted the cost for. It is not something that we wake up one morning and start doing. Else, we will be like the builder that started a building project for the fun of building and could not finish it, or like the king that went to war and did not consider the strength of his army, or the man that put his hand on the plough and considered looking back. Moses thought about it, and he thought it better to suffer for Christ's sake than enjoy the pleasures of Egypt, and he took the bold step of faith after this consideration.

By faith Moses chose abandon... After much thought and consideration, it was not a difficult decision for Moses to choose to abandon Egypt. Faith was already building up in him. The king's anger felt nothing to him after much consideration. It looked like a difficult choice. He was leaving a lot of things behind, but he did not look back. He was not like Esau that did not think about the implications of his decision and weigh them, He was not like lot's wife that decided to leave the city because she was following her husband, not because she thought about the decision, and at the end it was difficult for her to choose surrender. it was difficult for her to choose abandon.

How could Moses's parents and in the end Moses make all these tough decisions? The bible says that They saw... Moses' parents saw that God gave them a proper child, and so it was a no brainer to make the decision through faith in God. Moses saw and kept his eyes on He who is invisible. He was looking forward to the reward that he would get by following God. Indeed, seeing is believing. If only we can see properly. Abraham looked forward to the city whose architect is God and so he was able to obey God. every hero of faith saw something. And I pray that God will encounter us early in life and open our eyes to see the invisible in order to set us on the journey of faith.

Thought: Faith is not blind. Faith is seeing the invisible. What ever key decisions we need to make to set us in the path of our destiny must be done after some considerations between what we see through the eyes of faith and what is visible and sensible and perceived by mere sight. The just shall walk by faith and not by sight. May God grant us help from above in this race.