Hebrews 11 :20-29 -Faith better than a royal life

Hebrews 11 :20-29 -Faith better than a royal life

Examples for knowing God and His will

We continue with the nourishing examples of faith of those who have gone before us so that we can know God better and better understand what He would like to see practically blossom in our lives.

Faith now and after

The verses that precede our reading today reminded us that faith pushes us to live now and concretely for the certain things promised by God that we do not yet see.

#The faith ?#

####Live now and concretely for the certain things promised by God that we do not yet see.

And that we won’t necessarily see in our lifetime####

Promises made to Abraham

Abraham’s example is powerful because God had promised him

A people

Genesis 12.2

2 I will make you a great nation,

I will bless you,

I will make your name great

and you will be a source of blessing.

A territory

Genesis 13

14 The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him:

“Lift up your eyes and look from where you are north and south, east and west.

15 Indeed,

all the country you see,

I will give it to you,

as well as to your descendants forever.

16 I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth,

so that,

if anyone can count the dust of the earth,

your descendants also will be numbered.

17 Arise and travel throughout the length and breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.”

His faith showed it was real

For his innumerable descendants, Abraham saw only one son Isaac.

For the territory, that the funeral plot for his wife…

However, Abraham acted day by day, as if these things were already a reality. The direction of his life was based on:

Heightening

The verses of

Hebrews chapter 11 from 20 to 29

show us part of the fulfillment of this promise. Abraham and Isaac believed it and acted on it. And God put it in place at the right time.

A people

The author of the epistle – inspired by the Holy Spirit – shows us that from Abraham then from Isaac will come Esau and Jacob. And the book of Genesis spends a long time showing us the lineages that came from it.

For that of Esau, the entire chapter 36 of Genesis is devoted to it.

Genesis 36.1

This is the lineage of Esau, that is, Edom.

(Do you want us to do this tedious reading? Why these texts in the Bible? God shows us, highlights the answers to His promises).

Then the entire end of Genesis, starting in chapter 37, is devoted to showing us the lineage coming from Jacob.

Genesis 37. 1-2

1As for Jacob, he settled in the land of Canaan, where his father had stayed.

2 This is the lineage of Jacob.

(Genesis 49, transcribes the blessings of Jacob: from each of his sons will come the 12 tribes of Israel, certain aspects of their lives are shown to us throughout the Bible).

A territory ?

Small reminder, the promise of territory made to Abraham was for the territory of Canaan. And today’s text will transport us to Egypt for a period of 430 years.

Exodus 12. 40-41

40 The stay of the Israelites in Egypt lasted 430 years.

41 At the end of 430 years, on that very day, all the armies of the Lord went out of Egypt.

Egypt a territory of refuge, via Joseph

Indeed, circumstances meant that Jacob’s family, the clan, providentially found refuge in Egypt in exceptional conditions, welcomed by Joseph who had a prestigious position.

(Vizier? In any case number 2, just after the pharaoh).

Same for Moses

With a little perspective, we have a second person, Moses, who will also be providentially placed in a princely position over Egypt, roughly 400 years later.

The beginning and end of the period of the people of promise in Egypt is framed by two princes from the people who will have a major role.

Egypt is at the forefront

Overall, ancient Egypt has been a continuous reference in terms of knowledge, medicine, writing, architecture, politically, militarily, etc. (even if there were ups and downs, following the dynasties and the vagaries of history and wars).

Many other peoples and cultures emerged only over much shorter periods of time.

Global prestige

So, suffice to say that being someone raised in Egypt was a considerable prestige…

Having arrived in life?

These two people could have said:

– “Thank you Lord for your blessings, hallelujah” and see no further than the comfort and ease, the fame and glory that God had allowed them. All the usual life dreams were checked for Joseph and Moses.

But faith sees better

But their faith pushed them to see further, more important, more decisive!

Reading

Hebrews 11:20-29

Examples of Responses to the Nations Promises

20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau for the future.

21 By faith Jacob blessed each of Joseph’s sons at the time of his death and fell down, leaning on the end of his staff.

Indeed, the 2 sons of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh will ultimately be 2 large tribes in Israel.

Which territory?

Egypt or the one of promise?

22 By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt and gave orders concerning his bones.

23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents. They had indeed seen that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s order.

24 By faith Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.

25 He would rather be mistreated with God’s people than

than to have momentary enjoyment of sin.

26 He considered the humiliation of the Messiah greater riches than the treasures of Egypt,

because he had his eyes fixed on the reward to come.

27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king,

for he showed himself determined, as if he saw him who is invisible.

28 By faith he kept the Passover and shed blood so that the destroyer would not touch the firstborn of the Israelites.

29 By faith they passed through the Red Sea like dry land,

while the Egyptians were swallowed up when they attempted to pass.

Faith pushed them to see further

Living now and concretely for the certain things promised by God that we do not yet see and that we will not necessarily see in our lifetime, this is seen in the life of Joseph and Moses.

Joseph at the end of his life

Verse 22

Imagine a Jew at the start of the Reformation, around 1517, who died in Geneva and who left in his will: 

-“My bones, you will put them in Israel when it becomes a state. »

Something totally improbable but which would see its accomplishment in 1947.

Well, that’s exactly the same thing that Joseph left in his will. There is the same space of time between the wish and the beginning of the realization. Joseph was so focused on the promises of God

and strong from his life journey, where he was able to measure His sovereignty over all things.

Concrete promises, starting now

That he had the certainty of the fulfillment of the promises made to his great-grandfather Abraham of a territory in Canaan. For him, it was concrete now and he had to position himself immediately.

It is the faith of living now and concretely for the certain things promised by God that we do not yet see and that we will not necessarily see in our lifetime.

People marked by the path of faith from birth.

If Abraham was called during his life, at age 75, to begin the life of faith with God.

It is different for those who follow:

• Isaac had an unusual birth;
• Jacob and Esau too: twins who fight and where Jacob must make his place;
• Joseph: an adolescence and a young adult life that marks you forever;
• Moses: a birth under special hospices. The parents resist the pharaoh’s order, not only because he is handsome, graceful, because he is their child and they are not going to hand him over to the authorities to be killed.

But obviously, there is a subtlety in the original text which could indicate that Moses was perceived by his parents as a gift from God, 

to which a prepared future relates. Which fits well with the theme and subject that runs through this entire chapter: faith that makes us act boldly.

Parents with faith

Moses’ parents had faith. That is to say, live now and concretely a courageous decision to resist for the things they perceived in God.

An echo about their son?

This attitude visibly marked Moses because he preferred:

Marked life choices

Renouncing castle life, certainly the inheritance which was linked to his status as son of the pharaoh’s daughter who is described as

“  momentarily the enjoyment of sin” .

Hebrews 11.25

Not that God is against rich and powerful believers (David and Solomon are examples of rich and powerful believers).

But to stop at the pinnacle of human achievement (wealth, glory, etc.), instead of doing what God has in store for us with Him is sin.

Strategic places for God’s plan

If God allowed Joseph and Moses to survive, then to access major circles of power, it is not to play the “golden beach coconut tree” but because God destined them for something much greater, bigger, which went beyond palace life.

Priority of Moses

Because Moses had his eyes fixed on what is greater, a greater reward with God, he preferred to renounce his glory as a prince

and be mistreated with God’s slave people.

Priority of the Son of God

Just as the Son of God would prefer to be mistreated for a time, even at the cost of His life, when He could have legitimately claimed His divine prerogatives. He saw a much greater plan: that of overcoming sin through His death and resurrection.

Philippians 2:6

6 he who is of divine condition,

he did not regard his equality with God as a spoil to be preserved,

7 but he emptied himself

by taking on the condition of a servant,

by becoming like human beings.

Recognized as a simple man,

8 he humbled himself by obedience unto death,

even death on the cross.

God’s Certain Purpose Fuels Moment’s Faith

God’s certain purpose nourishes the faith of the moment for Moses; this objective, the people of God in the territory of God, that is to say Canaan, which he did not yet see but which was certain.

Faith more than riches

Moses was able to leave behind his legitimate wealth without fear.

Faith more than the most powerful man

Moses was able to confront the most powerful man on the planet, the pharaoh, on several occasions. But the angry pharaoh, a dozen times all the same!

The true view of Moses

It is even said that he showed determination, as if he saw the invisible one. So much so that he did not only position himself in relation to a human being

His faith makes him act concretely in the spiritual domain

But he also positioned himself as a spiritual believer without seeing it, without having previously had any reference to the reality of the first Easter.

A judgement

God will judge Egypt by killing all the firstborn of Egypt: Hebrews, Egyptians and cattle

A rescue

But God has provided a means of rescue: putting the blood of an innocent sheep on the lintels of the doors, which will cover them, protect

of the action of the exterminating angel.

Believe and obey

• You had to believe that the judgment was really going to take place.
• We had to believe that the rescue would be effective.
• It was necessary to obey.

Moses acted in faith

Moses, through his life of faith, saw it as certain, concrete; he acted accordingly and put it as a priority in his “agenda”.

He communicated it to all the Hebrew people, in any case. Believing and acting on God’s purpose moved him to his position.

His faith makes him act concretely in the face of the natural world

Facing the most powerful man of the moment, facing the spiritual world, facing nature, knowing that God’s plan was certain and that there was nothing better than to trust God in the moment.

Moses, with all the responsibility of the Hebrew people who are with him, is on one side cornered by the Red Sea, in front, and on the other by the most powerful army of the moment which arrives at the rear…

Moses echoes God through his faith by crossing the Red Sea.

Personal implications

A paradise here below or faith?

Today’s text is hyper-relevant for us Westerners who are continually indoctrinated to create a “paradise” here on earth.

The believer’s paradise here below?

So much so that we, believers, attribute to God as responses to His will when our comfort and our hedonism is nourished, reinforced.

“Thank you Lord, I have Ken as my husband”

“Thank you Lord, I have Barbie as my wife”

“Thank you Lord for our 4th ^villa in Ibiza”

Etc.

Of course I’m exaggerating the line, it’s a caricature. But what is the real goal of our life?

Am I well positioned in relation to the life of faith?

But the question we must ask ourselves is: are we in our place in relation to the life of faith that God intends for us? In our heads or in reality, do we aspire to the Palace when God awaits us elsewhere?

Do we aspire to a stereotype of career, of fame, of recognition, of revenge in life in front of others, while God awaits us elsewhere?

Do we aspire to a stereotype of life imposed by social networks, the habit of the moment, while God awaits us elsewhere?

Are we aiming for a stereotype of income, when God expects us elsewhere?

Where is God waiting for me?

How do we know where God is waiting for us? There is no simpler !!!

Pray.

Not a list of demands from the conventional idiots of our hedonistic society to be validated by God, but a dialogue as if you were speaking with someone very close…

Exodus 33. 11

The Lord spoke with Moses face to face,

as a man speaks to his friend.

Then Moses returned to the camp, while his young assistant, Joshua, son of Nun, did not leave the tent.

Feed on Him

• by the Bible,
• by being sensitive to the interior life of the Spirit of God

– and by being in relationship with believers.

They certainly had the same questions or questions, and it’s always interesting to see how God led them to act. That doesn’t necessarily mean you have to copy and paste, but it’s inspiring.

Take action in your daily life

Act on what you discover about God in an intentional and purposeful way; if you do the opposite of what you discover in the Bible:

• either you are foolish, then pray that God gives you wisdom;
  • either you voluntarily defy God and you will lose, that’s for sure.

In both cases, you are certainly not going to be hyper-sensitive to what God would like to do specifically with you.

Serve it

Serve it and everything will become clearer, even if sometimes it’s off the mark. Moses served poorly at first, but God finally enlightened him.

The starting point

But the starting point is to be attached to God through Christ.

A judgement

God announces judgment on all men, because of their independence and the sin that results from it.

An original rescue

God provides a unique and original means of rescue to escape this judgment: Christ.

You believe it ? It’s good !

Did you act accordingly? This is what will save you…

A judgement

God announces judgment on all men, because of their independence and the sin that results from it.

• Hey, it was a universal flood in the time of Noah.
• Look, it was the death of all the first born in the time of Moses.
• Hey, it’s your death:
  • not so much your certain physical death,
    • but your certain spiritual death, that is to say separated forever from God and therefore from His graces and blessings from which you currently benefit without calculating the One who gives them to you, that is to say God.

An original rescue

God provides a unique and original means of rescue to escape this judgment.

In Noah’s time, it was an ark that covered, protected, allowed judgment to pass over it.

In the time of Moses, it was the blood of an innocent lamb placed on the lintels of the houses where the people were located which allowed the exterminating angel to know that he had to pass over.

For you, it is Jesus Christ. He took your deserved condemnation and He was victorious over it. Which allows divine condemnation to not be applied to your life, because Christ carried it perfectly for you.

Noah believed

• judging,
  • by means of rescue

and he acted accordingly. He built the ark and entered it. They were saved, he, his family, humanity and wildlife.

Moses believed

• judging,
  • by means of rescue

and he acted accordingly. He put innocent blood on the lintels of the house where he was. He was saved, him, his family, and everyone who did the same.

And you, do you believe in God’s certain judgment on your life? Do you believe in the only means of rescue through Jesus Christ? You did it ? Did you act accordingly?

You will not see this rescue in your lifetime, but at the moment when God judges

• the living and
  • the dead,
  • believers and
  • non-believers.

Living now and concretely for the certain things promised by God that we do not yet see and that we will not necessarily see in our lifetime, that is faith!