Hebrews - The Faith Lives of Amram, Jochebed and Moses

Hebrews 11:23, we have the faith of the parents of Moses. "By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment." The record is given in Exodus 1:22, "Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive."

Exodus 2:1-4, "And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi. And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink. And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him."

We have back in the book of Acts, another record of this event, Acts 7:19-21, "the new king arose who dealt subtilly with our kindred, and evil entreated our fathers, so that they cast out their young children, to the end that they might not live. In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father’s house three months. And when he was cast out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son."

The faith of Moses’ parents. Their names were Amram and Jochebed. They were the parents of Moses. Moses had an older brother whose name was Aaron and an older sister whose name was Miriam. The law that Pharaoh had given to destroy the boy babies had not been in force when Aaron was born, but it was when Moses was born.

Now, Amram and Jochebed were rather obscure people, but they gave the world a very famous son, Moses. But the most important thing about them was their faith in God. "By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid." Now, it wasn't Moses’ faith that did this, it was the faith of Amram and Jochebed.

Now, let's consider what kind of faith these people had. To begin with, it was cooperative faith. They believed together. Now, it wasn't easy to believe in those days. Those were difficult days.

A new Pharaoh arose who had forgotten all about what Joseph had done for the people of Egypt. Altogether a different kind of a dynasty. Be that as it may, he was making life miserable for the Jewish people. It wasn't easy to believe in those days, wasn't easy to be married in those days, wasn't easy to have normal family life in those days because if you had a baby boy that was born, you had to kill that baby boy.

But you know, God had given to them a word of faith. Romans 10:17, a verse I have quoted often in this series, "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Why did they preserve this little baby boy? Because God had given them a word of faith. God had said, this is my deliverer, and the future of Israel is wrapped up in this little baby boy. Hebrews 11:23 says he was a "beautiful child," a "proper child." We read the same thing in Exodus and Stephen says the same thing in Acts 7:20.

There was something very special about this child. But keep in mind, it was not just parental love and devotion that caused them to spare this child; it was because God had marked him out to be the deliverer and somehow had told Amram and Jochebed what His plans were for this baby boy.

Faith is our response to God's word, and then when we believe God, God's word becomes God's work. What He promises, He's able to perform. The word that is given by His lips can be empowered by His hand and accomplish His purposes.

Now, the point I'm making in this first characteristic of their faith is simply this: it was cooperative faith. Here’s a husband and wife believing together. A husband and wife who knew the word of God together. A husband and wife who trusted God together, who prayed together. It’s a wonderful thing when a husband and wife believe together. This is why you don't want to marry somebody who's not a believer.

Husband, are you encouraging your wife in her faith? Wife, are you encouraging your husband in his faith? Do you read the word of God together? Do you pray together? You say, well, we're so busy. Then you're too busy. You never know what God wants to do with that child in your family. You have no idea the influence you can have. Cooperative faith.

Secondly, I notice that they also had courageous faith. Hebrews 11:23, "By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment." Courageous faith. You know, faith gives us courage. It gives us courage to face opposition. It gives us courage to seize opportunity. It gives us courage to overcome obstacles. Faith gives us courage.

You just read through Hebrews 11 and see how courageous these people are. Isaac had the courage to put himself on the altar, daring even to die that he might be obedient to his father. Moses, we shall see, had the courage to stand before Pharaoh, and he had the courage to lead the people right through the Red Sea. Joshua had the courage to conquer the nation. Rahab had the courage to be different when everybody else around her was opposing Israel.

And then you take these great heroes like Gideon and Samson and David and the three Hebrew children and Daniel and the folks who suffered so tremendously. What gave them that courage? Faith. And this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.

They had courageous faith. Now, Pharaoh was doing his best to exterminate the nation of Israel. And Pharaoh has had many descendants. Many nations have tried to exterminate Israel only to fail, only to fail miserably and themselves be judged by God. First he tried slavery and oppression; that didn't work. And then he told the midwives to kill all the male babies that were born; and that didn't work. Then he told the parents to throw the baby boys into the Nile River; and of course, that didn't work.

The very baby who was put into the Nile River turned out to be the redeemer of the people of Israel and the judge of Egypt. You know, faith sometimes makes us do things that to others appear foolish. They hid Moses for three months. Then at the end of that three-month period, by faith they put him in that little ark and put him by the shore of the Nile River.

You'll remember, of course, that the Nile was one of the gods of Egypt. They worshipped that river. And so in throwing the baby boys into the water, they were making sacrifices to this Egyptian god.

Well, Amram and Jochebed refused to do that. They worshipped the true God of Israel. Furthermore, they would not murder their own baby. There are people today who think nothing of murdering babies before they're born. But they didn't believe in that. And they put Moses in the little ark in the river, the very place of judgment, the very place of danger, and yet along comes Pharaoh's daughter.

And then Moses begins to cry. It's interesting that a baby's tears and his sister's tact and his mother and father's trust overcame Egypt. When that baby began to cry, that was the end of Egypt. That was the end of the slavery because from that day on, can you imagine it? Pharaoh's daughter was raising the very one who would bring judgment down upon Egypt and eventually deliver Israel.

Pharaoh said, drown your babies, and one day his army was drowned. We reap what we sow, don't we? Faith gave them courage. No fear. We know God's in control. And when they put this baby there in the water and put Miriam there to watch, they trusted God to work everything out, and He did. We have that same promise, and we know that all things are working together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. They had courageous faith.

There's a third characteristic to their faith: cooperative faith, they believe together; courageous faith, they didn't have any fear; and then contagious faith. Their faith spread. Now, faith cannot be inherited, but faith can be instilled. Moses could not inherit his mother's faith or his father's faith, but their faith was instilled in him by their teaching, by their example, by the trials that they went through, by their obedience.

You know, Miriam caught some of this faith, and she said to the princess, shall I go call one of the Hebrew mothers to nurse the child? And the princess said, go right ahead. So Miriam went and got her mother. I tell you, God has a way of catching these people in their own devices, doesn't He? Here was Pharaoh trying to destroy the nation of Israel, and here is God using Pharaoh's own family to preserve the nation of Israel. He catches the wise in their own devices, doesn't He?

Moses caught their faith. I tell you, one of the greatest gifts you can give to your children is the example of believing parents. The parents of Moses, Amram and Jochebed, were not famous people, but they had a very famous son, and the thing that was distinguishing about them was that they had contagious faith.

Now, unbelief is also contagious. It leads to discouragement and doubt and fear. But faith is also contagious. Just to believe that God will answer prayer. Believing that God will pay the bills, that God will open the way. Where did Moses learn the victories of faith? How did he overcome Egypt and Pharaoh's 600 chariots and all the army? He got this from his mother and father.

I say it again, one of the greatest things we can do for our children is to set the example of faith, to instill in them faith in the word of God. Well, Moses' parents: cooperative faith, courageous faith, contagious faith. That’s the kind of faith children need in a home.

I’m reading Hebrews 11:24-26. "By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward." That last phrase can be read, for he kept looking away to the recompence of the reward.

There are certain principles that we see here that we can apply to our own lives today. The first is this: life is built on character. The reason God was able to use Moses as He did was because Moses had character. In the Bible, the workman is far more important than the work. God will spend years building a workman who may work for only a short time. God spent 80 years preparing Moses for 40 years of work.

Life is built on character. Now, God majors on character. God wants to build character. This is why we have the Bible. The purpose of the word of God is to bring us to salvation, then to sanctify us, to build character, to make us more like the Lord Jesus Christ. When you read about the people in Hebrews 11, you're reading about the building of character.

It takes time to build character. Moses had training in Egypt. In fact, we're told in Acts 7:22, "And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds." Moses was a leading man in Egypt about the time he made these decisions. He was a man of character. A person may have reputation, money, authority, but if he doesn't have character, it's not going to last very long.

Principle number one: life is built on character. Principle number two: character is built on decisions. Moses had to make some decisions. Now, character's not built on emotions. Character's not just built on teaching. Character's not built on circumstances. Character is built on decisions.

Now, notice the decisions that he made. A negative decision: he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. Then he made a positive decision: choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. I'm sure that Moses' friends thought he was crazy.

Number one, refusing to be somebody important. Here is someone who could be the potential Prime Minister of Egypt saying I'm going to go down there and identify myself with that rabble called Israel. It wasn't easy to make these decisions, but they were final, they were definite, they were God-given, and he made them.

Now, princess could have come and said, you know, Moses, I saved your life. Now think of me. Do this for my sake. He said, no. If I love father or mother or brother or sister more than I love the Lord, I'm not worthy of Him. Somebody could have said, well, you know, if you stay in the palace, you can exert influence for those people.

Now, it’s true, sometimes God does want His people in the palace. Joseph was in the palace and he worked for Israel. Daniel was in the palace; he worked for his people. Esther was in the palace and she worked for her people. So was Nehemiah. So there are times when God puts His man, His woman in a place of authority to exert influence for His people.

But not in Moses' case. Moses said, no, I can't stay here, I have to identify. God didn't call me to be a lawyer, He called me to be a liberator. He didn't call me to be a diplomat, He called me to be an ambassador. He didn't call me to stay here and politic, He called me to get out there and preach. And so Moses had to make his decision, and these decisions helped to build his character.

Now, we go to a third principle we learn from Moses: decisions are built on values. "Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming." That’s a good word, esteeming. The same word that is used in Hebrews 11:19, "accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead." Values. Decisions are built on values. You make the decisions that you make on the basis of the values that you have.

Now, look at the values that Moses could have had as far as Egypt was concerned: prestige, wealth, a future assured, power, reputation. But you see, Moses had something beyond that. He had respect unto the recompence of the reward. He kept looking away to the recompence of the reward. I have pointed out many times that in Hebrews 11, you can always tell a pilgrim by his eyes.

Abraham was looking for that city. So were Isaac and Jacob, looking down the years. Isaac blessed Jacob concerning things to come. Joseph was looking down the years when Israel would be delivered from the land of Egypt. Moses esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt. Why? Future tense: he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. Hebrews 11:27, "he endured as seeing Him who is invisible."

Decisions are built on values. Now, some people value sin. There is pleasure in sin, no question about that. But there's no pleasure later on because the pleasures of sin last only for a season and they soon give way to pain and then eternal judgment if you don't know Jesus as your Savior.

Now, what did Moses value? Moses valued people and not things, people not position. He valued the eternal, not the temporal. He valued the invisible, not the visible. He valued the future blessing, not the immediate pleasure. Never sacrifice the permanent on the altar of the immediate.

And the secret of all this, of course, was his outlook. Hebrews 11:26, "for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward." He saw Jesus Christ, just like Abraham. Jesus said Abraham saw my day and he rejoiced. By faith Moses looked down through the years and saw where all of this was going to lead. Decisions are built on values. Life is built on character. Character is built on decisions. Decisions are built on values.

There's a fourth principle. Life is built on character, character is built on decisions, decisions are built on values, and values are built on faith. By faith Moses refused. By faith Moses chose. By faith Moses esteemed, valued the reproach of Christ. By faith.

How do you prove your values? You can't. Everybody has values that are built on faith. Here’s a fellow who falsifies his income tax; his value is to save money. Money's more important than character. And because of his values, he believes that these values are true, he acts upon them.

Now, Moses got his values from God's word. Had Moses been walking by sight, he would have stayed in Egypt. Egypt was a great kingdom: buildings and power and armies and all sorts of wisdom and wealth and power. But he didn't walk by sight, he walked by faith. Romans 10:17, "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." God's word had spoken to Moses.

I want to remind you again that this faith that Moses had was instilled by his parents. Hebrews 11:23, "By faith Moses was hidden for three months by his parents. They were not afraid of the king’s commandment." Moses once walked by sight; in Exodus 2, Moses tried to straighten the situation out by killing a man. He got afraid and he fled away and goes off to Midian for 40 years. Then he comes back and he's not afraid anymore. He endured by seeing the invisible.

Though the outward man is perishing, the inward man is being renewed day by day. The things which are seen are temporal, the things which are not seen are eternal. My Bible tells me that the world is passing away, the fashion of the world is passing away. My Bible tells me that this whole world system is condemned by God.

Values are built on faith. Now, it all starts with Christ. Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt. Moses knew that there would be a coming Messiah. He had faith in God's promise, and therefore he governed his life by all of this.

Faith builds on values. Now, values build right decisions, and right decisions build right character. And then character builds life. And out of life comes leadership and obedience. Moses was able to do what he did because he was what he was. May the Lord help each of us to imitate Moses in the values of faith, knowing that as we trust God's word, He will see us through.