The True & Better Moses

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. By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharoah’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt,for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. – Hebrews 11:23-27

Moses loved God and His people more than the privilege, comfort, and wealth he enjoyed in Egypt. Moses feared the Lord more than he feared Pharaoh. Moses understood that willingly enduring mistreatment would lead to contentment and freedom beyond anything he had ever known – not just for him, but for an entire people – even for you and me thousands of years later. 

Does this pattern sound familiar? 

Willingly laying aside royalty for mistreatment? 

Willingly discarding privilege for pain?

Moses, but a shadow of the Savior to come, appears in Hebrews because of his faith in the eventual coming of a true King superior to Pharaoh. This King, Jesus, didn’t only willingly endure mistreatment to provide rescue; he actually was and is our rescue. “Jesus is the true and better Moses.”

Moses walked in freedom and led others to freedom – both physical freedom and spiritual freedom – because his hope wasn’t in his status, his own abilities, the treasures of Egypt, or the fleeting pleasures of what his Egyptian life entailed. His hope was in God’s promise to Him and those who had come before him. He placed his confidence in this hope. The same things that grieved God’s heart grieved his heart. With this posture, God used him in amazing ways to build His kingdom on earth. (And as a bonus, Moses got to see some incredible miracles of God unfold before his very eyes!)

May we love God and people above privilege, comfort, and wealth.

May we fear the Lord more than we fear man. 

May we be willing to endure mistreatment on this earth for the sake of Jesus. 

May we taste God’s goodness, faithfulness, and love so intensely that the fleeting pleasures of sin pale in comparison.

And may we understand our lives on this planet as a part of a story bigger than our imaginations can fathom, set in a kingdom of which there is no end, serving a King who has defeated death, enabling us to live lives of freedom and contentment, not based on temporary circumstances, but based on the enduring reality of being loved by the King.

See you Sunday!
Erika