- Hebrews 11:26-30
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- Heb 11:26 (KJB)
- Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the
treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the
reward.
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- Esteemed - Considered or counted
- Reproach - Reviling or defamation
- Respect - To have regard or fix the eyes intently on
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- The question that should be asked, is where did Moses get all this
understanding from? He was in the palace of Pharaoh surrounded by idols and
all kinds of temptations of this world and I seriously doubt there was any
Bible teachers in the palace of Pharaoh, especially since there was no Bible
written yet. Allow me to offer a theory as to where Moses received the
beginning of understanding. When he was given back to his mother by the
daughter of Pharaoh, I believe that is when his biblical training began.
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- (Exo 2:7-10 KJV) Then said his sister to
Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women,
that she may nurse the child for thee? {8} And Pharaoh's daughter
said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child's mother. {9}
And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for
me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child, and
nursed it. {10} And the child grew, and she brought him unto
Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses:
and she said, Because I drew him out of the water.
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- If you notice in verse 10, it states that “the child grew” which means
he was given back to the daughter of Pharaoh when he was beyond the age of
being a baby. It is almost a sure thing that Jochebed had taught Moses all
about the Patriarchs and the promise of God including the promise that God
would deliver the nation of Israel from bondage. So Moses had all these
things taught to him and sometime in the future, when he became born again
in Christ, he remembered these things because the Holy Spirit had brought
them to mind while he was being taught the truth about fleeting riches.
Moses was born again because what else could possibly make a person turn
their back on the world, especially the massive amount of riches at his
disposal? The only thing that could cause a person to do that, is to be born
again and to seek the Lord and reject the things of this world. He
considered that the reproach of Christ was a far better thing than the
fleeting riches of Egypt. He fixed his eyes on the reward, which is not
earthly, but Heaven itself. Heaven is the reward for all true believers in
Christ. A person who is unsaved is not going to turn his back on the wealth
of Egypt. Only a saved person, indwelled by the Holy Spirit, will have the
ability to assess objectively which is greater, the riches of earth or
eternal life in Heaven with God. Those in Christ will choose the latter
because they have been born again and see beyond the horizon of this earth
and all its snares.
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- Heb 11:27 (KJB)
- By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for
he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.
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- He endured - He persevered
- He forsook - Abandoned or leave behind
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- When Moses killed the Egyptian and fled to Midian, he did it in fear but
that is not what is in view here. This verse starts a progression of three
verses describing the exodus from Egypt and that is what is in view. Moses
was bold when he led the children out of Egypt because all Egypt saw the ten
plagues which God did and that brought fear on all the land. So Moses did
not fear the wrath of Pharaoh when he led Israel out of bondage. Moses did
not set his sight on Pharaoh and any possible retribution, instead, Moses
had endured simply because he kept his eye on God and followed Him every
step of the way. Although God was invisible to Moses, His works were seen
very plainly throughout all the land. Again, here is the principle of faith,
Moses acted upon the words and promises of God, and the faith of Moses was
the evidence for the existence of God.
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- Heb 11:28 (KJB)
- Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he
that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.
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- Here Moses believed the promise of God that He was going to destroy the
firstborn of all the houses in Egypt, including Pharaoh. God gave him
instructions that they were to sprinkle lamb’s blood on the side and upper
doorposts of their homes. Those houses which did not have any blood on it
were visited by God Himself who said He was going through all the land of
Egypt and those houses without blood, the firstborn was to die in the tenth
and final plague. God also changed the first month to Abib and it was now
the first month of their calendar. (Exo
12:2 KJV) This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it
shall be the first month of the year to you.
They kept the first passover the night before they were freed from Egypt and
that passover looked forward to the time when the Lord Jesus Christ would
become the passover for all Christians.
(1 Cor 5:7 KJV) Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new
lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for
us: The Lord also kept the passover the
night before He was crucified and on the heels of the Passover, He
celebrated the Lord’s Supper. Now we celebrate the Lord’s Supper since the
passover was only a shadow of things to come. Since Christ already came, the
passover was now abolished with the rest of the ceremonial law.
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- Heb 11:29 (KJB)
- By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which
the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.
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- Assaying - Attempted
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- Here was a great test of faith, they came to the edge of the Red Sea and
they had no way to go back as the Egyptians were closing in on them. So
their faith was exercised in God who brought them this far and God opened a
path through the Red Sea and they went through as if they were going on dry
ground. The path was dried up for them so none of their carts and wagons
could get bogged down in the sea bottom. Then the Egyptians saw that Israel
was able to go through, so in their arrogance they thought they too would be
able to follow them in and destroy them. Well, God did not make a path for
them so they could destroy Israel, He allowed them to go so far and then
came the hand of judgment as the sea covered them up and killed the whole
Egyptian army. (Exo 15:9-10 KJV) The
enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust
shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy
them. {10} Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they
sank as lead in the mighty waters. The Egyptians
forgot quickly that the same God who slew their firstborn was the same one
they were attempting to fight against again but then again this is the
mindset of the unbeliever.
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- Heb 11:30 (KJB)
- By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about
seven days.
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- The walls of Jericho were very thick and the Israelites knew that they
would be unable to take Jericho unless those walls came down. God instructed
them to march around Jericho, with the Ark in front, once each day for six
days and then on the seventh day they were to march around the city seven
times, and as soon as the trumpets blew, they shouted with a loud shout, and
the walls came down. Now there was an archaeologist and I cannot remember
his name (maybe John Garstang) who excavated the site and came to the
conclusion that the walls of Jericho had fallen outward and not inward which
could make a case for a non-divine intervention by those who doubt this
narrative. There is no way the Israelites could have gotten into Jericho and
knocked down the walls from the inside to the outside. This proves that God
Himself had knocked down the walls from the inside. It was a divine miracle
like the renting of the veil in the Temple when Christ died, it was torn
from top to bottom.
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