The Hall of Faith | Moses and The King’s Edict – Hebrews 11:23
By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. (Hebrews 11:23, ESV)
After Joseph passed, the people of God prospered greatly. They grew in number and continued to feel the blessing and prosperity of the Lord through a series of events, saving them from the famine that could only have been orchestrated by God. Fearing the the people would outnumber him and rise up against him, a fear based in paranoia, Pharaoh set out to enslave the people of Israel and oppress them with slave labor, low wages, and constant guards to ensure their subjugation. Yet, for all the King’s actions, the people of God continued to thrive and grow in number. So Pharaoh continued his oppressive rule, ordering that midwives strike down and kill any male born to the Israelite women. Knowing the immoral lunacy of this order, the midwives refused their order, protecting the children out of reverence and fear of the Lord. And God gave the midwives families for their dealings. Left with no other option, Pharaoh ordered that all males born be cast into the Nile River
Now a man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman. The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank. And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him.” (Exodus 2:1-4, ESV)
The early life of Moses is due to his mother, the midwives, and his sister whose faith in the Lord upheld their convictions and steadied their hand to save a life. Pharaoh, who had no relationship with Joseph and either did not know or care for the story of Joseph’s rescuing of Egypt from the famine, sought to maintain his subjugative rule over the people. During this time, even though the people felt as if there would be no end to their trouble, faith reigned in the hearts of the people of Israel. They cried out to the Lord and the Lord heard their prayers. In faith, the people did not fear the King of Egypt but the King of the Universe, striving to be obedient to God in everything they did. Furthermore, life continued and seeing the new life upheld their faith that God would not abandon them and that life would continue.
Fearing The King
The Israelites, being kept in slavery to Pharaoh, understood the weight of oppression from a tyrannical ruler. Their endless labor stemmed from their prosperous growth, a clear sign of favor from the Lord, and Pharaoh enacted laws to ensure they would not rise up against him. Exodus 1 begins with a decree from Pharaoh to kill all the young infant boys of the Israelites to ensure Egyptian rule. Yet, the women and the midwives of the Israelites by and large ignored this command. The consequences of doing this were beyond fatal. With a mere whimsical decree, Pharaoh could have ensured death for any who rebelled against his rule. Yet, the people of Israel feared the Lord more than they feared Pharaoh, trusting that whatever the consequences might be, God would prevail. Thus they rebelled against the unrighteous decrees of Pharaoh following the truth of God in faith.
There is a counter-intuitive understanding of fear. Christians seems to believe that we should never fear and walk in a constant courage with boundless bravery in every action. While there may be a hint of truth to this, there are still clear biblical commands to fear. The issue is not whether we should fear but in what we should fear. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. For by me your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life. If you are wise, you are wise for yourself; if you scoff, you alone will bear it.” (Proverbs 9:10-12, ESV). The issue is not whether we should fear but whether we fear in the right thing. Fear of the Lord produces the sound wisdom and courage to stand up to anything in the strength of the Lord. It guides us to follow Him wherever He leads and do whatever He calls us to do. We should not fear the King but fear the King of Kings in faith who rules and reigns over all creation. When we fear the true King in faith, we trust and believe that He will provide for our every need, sustain us through every difficulty, and lead us into eternity with Him.
Faith In The Beauty of Continued Life
Hebrews and Exodus make it clear that the reason Moses’ family rescued him from the doom of Pharaoh came from the beauty of his birth. These were difficulty times that stood before the people of Israel. One could reasonably make a case that brining a child into the world the Israelites faced would be a difficult life for the child. Furthermore, we know that Moses would face challenges from the moment of his birth until the day he died. Yet, seeing the beauty of the child, stirring the heart of Moses’ parents in a way that only new life can bring. For all the difficulties that bringing a child into the world would mean, life would continue for the people of God. Thus, in faith that God desired for life to continue, Moses was born and hid from Pharaoh.
There is beauty in new life and beauty in the life of a newborn child. It transforms the hearts of mankind and points to God who desires for life to continue. We may look at the world around us and dismay at the conditions fearing that all hope is lost. Or we can look at the new life that comes only by God. Life, in any form, is a precious gift from God that we experience and protect according to the goodness of God’s grace and mercy. Even more than physical life, we understand that life that comes from rebirth in Jesus Christ. New life in Jesus Christ proclaims that God desires that we should continue in Him. We hold to this faith that life in all its form proclaims the goodness of God and new life in Jesus Christ.
About The Author
Daniel Burton is the founder of The Gospel Outpost. He is passionate about discipleship and seeing people grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ. To find out more about him, check out his Author Page.
