Leaving Egypt
Hebrews 11:27-29
1. No Fear (verse 27)
2. No Death (verse 28)
3. No More Egyptians (verse 29)
On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks, an African-American seamstress, left work and boarded a bus for home. As the bus became crowded, the bus driver ordered Parks to give up her seat to a white passenger. Montgomery's buses were segregated, with the seats in the front reserved for "whites only." Blacks had to sit at the back of the bus. But if the bus was crowded and all the "whites only" seats were filled, black people were expected to give up their seats—a black person sitting while a white person stood would never be tolerated in the racist South.
Rosa had had enough of such humiliation, and refused to give up her seat. "I felt I had a right to stay where I was," she said. "I wanted this particular driver to know that we were being treated unfairly as individuals and as a people." The bus driver had her arrested.
Martin Luther King, Jr., heard about Parks's brave defiance and launched a boycott of Montgomery buses. The 17,000 black residents of Montgomery pulled together and kept the boycott going for more than a year. Finally, the Supreme Court intervened and declared segregation on buses unconstitutional. [1]
That was one step of many in the civil rights movement, as African-Americans have sought their unalienable Right to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. The fight for civil rights for all people in our country, regardless of race, color or creed has been a long fight. Quite frankly, it continues to be a fight. Don’t think that with the advent of an African-American president, the fight is over. All you need to do is look at Rockford to realize that the cultural battle still wages on. As long as people are in the flesh, it will continue to be a fight. As long as there are people in a minority culture, civil rights will always be an issue in our country.
This morning, we will look at one of the Biblical heroes in the African-American community: Moses. It is no accident that many in the African-American community look to Moses as a Biblical hero. After all, he is the one who delivered an entire nation from the bondage of slavery.
If you haven’t done so already, I invite you to open your Bibles to the book of Hebrews, and turn over to chapter 11. For the past two and a half months, we have been in Hebrews 11, looking at the great heroes of the faith. Throughout this chapter, the author puts forth example after example after example of those who have walked "by faith." We have seen the faith of Abel (verse 4). We have seen the faith of Enoch (verse 5). We have seen the faith of Noah (verse 7). We have seen the faith of all of the Patriarchs -- Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. Last week, we looked at the faith of Moses. This week, we will continue to look at Moses.
Before we do, I feel the need to remind you why these people are mentioned here in the text of Hebrews. The original readers were those who were coming into the church from a Jewish background. They had heard the claims of Jesus, the Messiah. They had become interested in Him. They had begun to fellowship with Christians. But now there were doubts.
The Hebrews were being torn by their Jewish brethren, who were questioning the practices of the Christians. They had no set place of worship -- no temple. They had no concrete forms of worship -- no priests, no sacrifices. They were forsaking the Old Covenant in favor of the New. They were turning from their trust in the law to save them. And some were turning back to their Judaism, preferring their rituals and sacrifices and law-keeping to faith in Jesus.
So over and over and over again, the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews directed his readers to the supremacy of Jesus. He is better in every way to anything offered in the Old Covenant. He brings a better revelation (Hebrews 1). He is better than the angels (Hebrews 1-2). He is better than Moses and Joshua (Hebrews 3-4). He is better than Aaron or any of the high priests (Hebrews 5-6). His priesthood is better (Hebrews 7). His covenant is better (Hebrews 8). His sacrifice is better (Hebrews 9-10).
Therefore, as the argument goes, press on! Trust in Him.
Hebrews 10:35-36, 38
Do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. You have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. ... My righteous one shall live by faith.
So, don’t shrink back to destruction, but "have faith to the preserving of the soul" (Heb. 11:39). Be like the heroes of the faith, and live by faith. Indeed, this is the only way to please God. "Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6). And that’s why chapter 11 is here! The author of the epistle to the Hebrews is seeking to convince us that living by faith is how all of the heroes of the Old Testament lived.
The single characteristic of all of them is that they lived by faith. They lived by faith. They died by faith. They were made righteous by their faith (Heb. 11:7). They were never driven by their law-keeping. Rather, they were always driven by their faith in God.
And so, as the writer is calling the Hebrew people to trust in Jesus, it’s no different than what any of the Old Covenant saints did. As believers in the New Covenant, we have much to learn from the saints of old. We are called to live the same way as they did!
My premise in preaching through Hebrews 11 has been this: These examples are set forth for us to follow. We should seek to have the faith of Abel, a faith that worships God. We should seek to have the faith of Enoch, a faith that walks with God. We should seek to have the faith of Noah, a faith that witnesses for God. We should seek to have the faith of the Patriarchs, a faith that trusts God for promises to come. We should seek to have the faith of Moses' parents, who chose life for their child.
We should seek to have the faith of Moses: a faith that "chooses ill-treatment with the people of God [rather than] enjoying the passing pleasures of sin [in this world]" (Heb. 11:25), a faith that "considers the reproach of Christ as greater riches than the treasures [of this world], ... looking to the reward of heaven" (Heb. 11:26).
And today, we will continue looking at the faith of Moses. Our text covers three verses: Hebrews 11:27-29. Let me read them for you now, ...
Hebrews 11:27-29
By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them. By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned.
Though our text this morning is only three verses, they cover 12 chapters in the book of Exodus (chapters 3-14). Furthermore, these chapters are very familiar chapters in the Bible. They talk about the account of Israel leaving the bondage of slavery in Egypt. They talk about the plagues. They talk about the Passover. They talk about the final destruction of the Egyptians in the Red Sea.
My message is entitled, "Leaving Egypt." Each of my
points will point out an aspect of faith.. My first point is
this:
1. No Fear (verse 27)
Hebrews 11:27
By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen.
This is very applicable for us today. There are many of us here today who have fears -- fears of the future, fears of people, fears of speaking and flying and failure. Looking at the faith of Moses will help us to conquer our fears.
Before we dig into this, we have to think about what this verse is talking about, because, Moses left Egypt twice! The first time was when he fled to Midian (Ex. 2). The second time was when he led the people of Israel out of Egypt (Ex. 14).
To be sure, these are different events. These events occur some forty years apart. And they were drastically different in circumstances. In the first flight, Moses left by himself. In the second flight, Moses left with the entire nation (somewhere near 2 million people).
And so, the question comes: to which of these events does this refer? Now, the reason why I bring this up is because when I first read verse 27, and first thought about it, I assumed that it was talking about Moses fleeing to Midian. After all, it comes right after verses 24, 25 and 26, in which Moses renounces the privileges as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He is choosing ill-treatment with the people of God, rather than the passing pleasures of sin (Heb. 11:25) and considering the reproach of Christ as greater riches than the treasures of Egypt (Heb. 11:26). And closely linked with that event was his leaving of Egypt for the first time.
And yet, do you remember the circumstances surrounding his exodus? He witnessed ...
Exodus 2:11-12
... an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren. So he looked this way and that, and when he saw there was no one around, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
All was well, until the next day, when Moses saw two Hebrews fighting each other. When he tried to intervene and stop the conflict, one of the Hebrews said, "Who made you a prince or a judge over us? Are you intending to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?" (Ex. 2:14).
Listen carefully to the next phrase: "Then Moses was afraid and said, ‘Surely the matter has become known.’" (Ex. 2:14). The next verse says, "When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian" (Ex. 2:15).
Now, try matching these events up with verse 27: "By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king." Indeed, when Moses left for Midian, he was "afraid" (Ex. 2:14). And, particularly, he was afraid of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, who was trying to kill Moses (Ex. 2:15). You would be afraid as well. It doesn’t match verse 27. So, verse 27 isn’t talking about Moses fleeing to Midian. Rather, verse 27 is talking about Moses leaving Egypt and the bonds of slavery along with 2 million other Jews fleeing into the wilderness.
Now, this wasn’t just one event; this was a whole series of events. This wasn’t merely one person leaving a country; this was a whole nation of people leaving slavery on their way to freedom. The events weren’t merely recorded in one verse or one paragraph or one chapter; these events were covered in about 10 chapter in Exodus (chapters 3-13), which extend over several months' time.
And through all of these events, it was the faith of Moses that shone through. You can look all throughout the exodus event, and you will look in vain for any hint of fear in Moses. Times of unbelief? Yes. Times of fear? No. And he had reason to fear for sure.
Can you imagine entering into Pharaoh’s chamber saying, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Let My people go’"? (Ex. 5:1). In ancient days, coming before the throne of the king was a dangerous business. Do you remember Esther, the wife of king Ahasuerus? When she entered into the king's presence without invitation, she was risking her life. Although Pharaoh and Ahasuerus were a thousand years apart, their kingdoms were run on the same principles. Moses could easily have lost his neck if Pharaoh had determined so.
Pharaoh’s initial response was far from positive. Shortly after this first meeting with Moses, Pharaoh called the Israelites "lazy" and increased their work load (Ex. 5:8)? The backlash of the Hebrews upon Moses was great. They said to him, "May the LORD look upon you and judge you, for you have made us odious in Pharaoh’s sight" (Ex. 5:21). That would have been enough to do me in. But not Moses. He went before Pharaoh again, requesting that "he let the sons of Israel go out of [the] land" (Ex. 7:2). But Pharaoh refused to let the people of Israel go (Ex. 7:13).
Later, Moses went to the Nile and waited for Pharaoh to come out to the water, as he did in the morning (Gen. 7:15). When Pharaoh came, Moses said, "The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, ... [says], ‘Let My people go, that they may serve Me in the wilderness’" (Ex. 7:16). As Pharaoh’s heart was hard, God turned the Nile into blood, which killed the fish in the Nile and sent a large stink throughout all the land of Egypt. Drinking water was hard to come by (Ex. 7:18). Nevertheless, Pharaoh’s hart was hard and he refused to listen to Moses (Ex. 7:22).
Some time later, Moses again entered the presence of Pharaoh and said, "Thus says the LORD, "Let My people go, that they may serve Me. But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite your whole territory with frogs" (Ex. 8:1-2). Pharaoh’s heart was hard, so the land was filled with frogs in houses and in beds and in ovens and in kneading bowls (Ex. 8:3).
Later, Moses told Aaron to stretch out his staff so that gnats would come upon the whole land of Egypt (Ex. 8:16). Still Pharaoh’s heart was hard (Ex. 8:19).
Again, Moses came before Pharaoh and said, "Thus says the LORD, Let My people go, that they may serve Me. For if you do not let My people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and on your servants on your people and into your houses" (Ex. 8:20-21).
Moses came and threatened Pharaoh with a plague upon the livestock if he didn’t let them go (Ex. 9:2-3).
Then came the plague of boils on the Egyptians. Still Pharaoh refused to let them go (Ex. 9:8-12). Then, Moses came to announce the coming of "a very heavy hail," unless Pharaoh would let the people go (9:13-26). Then came the locusts (Ex. 10:1-20). Then came the darkness (Ex. 10:21-29). Finally, the death of the firstborn was when Pharaoh finally cried out, "Rise up, get out from among my people, both you and the sons of Israel; and go, worship the LORD, as you have said. Take both your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and go, and bless me also" (Ex. 12:31-32).
And so, the people of Israel left Egypt after 430 years of slavery (Ex. 12:40), according to the promise made to Abraham (in Genesis 15:13). And through it all, there was no fear in Moses -- only faith. And you have to think that there was every reason to fear.
There were two ways for Pharaoh to have stopped the plagues. He could have let the people of Israel go or he could have killed Moses. We know why Pharaoh didn’t do the former: he had a hard heart. We don’t know why Pharaoh didn’t do the latter.
Picture Moses. He wasn’t anybody special. He had no rank or authority in the Egyptian political system. All power rested with the king. He wasn’t one to whom Pharaoh sought counsel and advice. Rather, he was one of the slaves from among the Hebrews. Certainly, his form was unimpressive. He was an 80 year old man with a staff in his hand. Pharaoh could easily have squished him like a bug. Why didn’t he?
The clue comes right here in Hebrews 11. Verse 27 says, "By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king." Proverbs 20:2 says that "the terror of a king is like the growling of a lion; He who provokes him to anger forfeits his own life." It begs the question: "When Moses went in to see Pharaoh, who was afraid of whom?" We know that Moses had no fear.
Apparently, Moses learned the truth of Psalm 118:6: "The LORD is for me; I will not fear; What can man do to me?" Forty years in exile can change a man. An authentic encounter with God can change a man. Why didn’t Pharaoh stretch out his hand against Moses? We read in Exodus 11:3 that, "The man Moses himself was greatly esteemed in the land of Egypt, both in the sight of Pharaoh's servants and in the sight of the people." Moses was very well respected by all. My guess is that Pharaoh was filled with the fear of Moses. Proverbs 28:1 says, "The righteous are bold as a lion." Pharaoh felt the roars of Moses, as this fearless man stood before him. It caused Pharaoh to tremble.
Now, we might easily say that the reason for the boldness of Moses was because of his personal encounter with God at the burning bush. I trust you know the story. Moses was out pasturing the flock of Jethro his father-in-law (Ex. 3:1). And Moses noticed this bush that was "burning with fire, yet ... was not consumed" (Ex. 3:2). So, he investigated the matter closely (Ex. 3:3). As Moses approached the bush, "God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses! ... Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. ... I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." (Ex. 3:4,5,6)
What an amazing opportunity, to be addressed by God, Himself! To be called on His mission to bring His people out of the land of Egypt! We might be inclined to say that such an encounter was the reason for his boldness. However, look at what we read in our text (in Hebrews 11:27): "By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen."
The point is this: though Moses had a personal encounter with God, he wasn’t looking back to the burning bush for strength. He was looking upward, toward God. He was looking toward Him whom he could not see for strength. Isn’t this the definition of faith? Hebrews 11:1 defines, "Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Moses, himself, was looking to God.
And this is good news for us. Because, this is where we stand when it comes to our walk of faith. We can be like Moses. We can walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7). Like Moses, we can be bold as a lion. Like Moses, we don’t need to fear men. Just as Moses had "No Fear" so too may we live without fear as well.
What's the key? See Him who is unseen (1 Pet 1:8-9). If you are struggling with fear, be like Moses.
Well, let’s move on to my second point. We have
seen Moses with No Fear (verse 27). Now, we see Moses with ...
2. No Death (verse 28)
By this, I'm talking about how Moses and the Jews escaped death. Look at verse 28, ...
Hebrews 11:28
By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them.
This takes us back to Exodus, chapters 11 and 12. This takes us back to the 10th plague, the worst of all the plagues. This was the plague that finally tipped Pharaoh over the edge to let the people of Israel leave Egypt; God knew that it would be the last. The LORD said to Moses, ...
Exodus 11:1, 4-7
One more plague I will bring on Pharaoh and on Egypt; after that he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will surely drive you out from here completely. ... About midnight I am going out into the midst of Egypt, and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of the Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the millstones; all the firstborn of the cattle as well. Moreover, there shall be a great cry in all the land of Egypt, such as there has not been before and such as shall never be again. But against any of the sons of Israel a dog will not even bark, whether against man or beast, that you may understand how the LORD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.
This was, by far, the worst of all the plagues, because it wasn’t reversible. When the water in the Nile was restored, all was well. When the frogs, gnats and swarms of insects left the land, all was back to normal. The boils eventually healed. When the pestilence came upon the livestock, they could be replaced. When the hail fell and damaged the crop, it would only take another season for the grain to be restored. After the darkness came light.
But, this plague was different. When a family member dies, there is no replacing him. And the promise of God here was that every house would taste death. The firstborn in every house would die. The cry among the people would be great.
But, there was a way out. God provided for it with the Passover lamb. The people of Israel were to take a lamb for each household (Ex. 12:3). If the household wasn’t big enough to eat an entire lamb, they were to combine with other households (Ex. 12:4). This lamb was to be "an unblemished male a year old" (Ex. 12:5). Four days after taking this lamb into their household, they were to kill the lamb when the sun goes down (Ex. 12:6). And, from the blood of the lamb, they were to sprinkle it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the house in which they eat it (Ex. 12:7).
Then, the LORDsaid, ...
Exodus 12:12-13
I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments--I am the LORD. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
This is commonly called the Passover. God will "pass over" the houses with the blood on the doorposts. So, Moses took these instructions and told them to the elders of Israel (Ex. 12:21ff), who then passed it on to the rest of the Hebrews. And so it happened. The Israelites took the lambs into their homes. Four days later they slaughtered the lambs and celebrated the feast. They took a "bunch of hyssop" and dipped it "in the blood which is in the basin" and applied it "to the lintel and the two doorposts" (Ex. 12:22). And at midnight, they were expecting the LORD to "pass through to smite the Egyptians" while "pass[ing] over the Jewish homes that have the blood on the doorposts" (Ex. 12:23). And that’s exactly what happened.
Exodus 12:29-32
Now it came about at midnight that the LORD struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of cattle. Pharaoh arose in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians, and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was no home where there was not someone dead. Then he called for Moses and Aaron at night and said, "Rise up, get out from among my people, both you and the sons of Israel; and go, worship the LORD, as you have said. Take both your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and go, and bless me also."
Of course, this is a great picture of the gospel, is it not? We, who believe in Jesus, have the blood of Jesus figuratively applied to the doorposts of our souls. When God comes in judgment, he will "pass over" ours sins so that we will not die. This is why Paul said in 1 Corinthians 5:7, "Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed."
See, it is our faith in the blood of Jesus that sets us free from the punishment that our sins deserve. We are all like Egyptians. We all deserve death to come upon us (Rom. 6:23). And yet, by His grace, through our faith, God will "pass over" our sins if we but believe in Jesus. Such is the glories of the gospel. It’s for all who believe.
And in verse 28, you see the inclusion of the people.
Hebrews 11:28
By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them.
Yes, the verse says that Moses "kept the Passover." And yet, in reality, all of the Jews took their part in the feast. And all of the Jews brushed the blood upon the doorposts. And all of the Jews avoided death.
Can you imagine the Jewish people on that night? Moses tells you to take the blood of the lamb and paint it on your doorpost? You think about it for a bit and you will realize how strange that sounds. Yeah, like that is going to protect us? But, when God sets the rules, you had better follow them. If he says that the blood on the doorposts will keep your home safe, then you ought to paint the blood on your doorposts. It’s not that hard is it?
And there are many today who think that the gospel is just as strange. "You mean to tell me that I simply need to believe in Jesus, and God will justify me? You mean, I don’t need to do anything? Surely, that cannot be. It doesn’t make any sense. How can God look over my sins simply because I believe something? How is it that Jesus receives my punishment, if I but believe? Don’t I have to do something?" No. Simply repent and believe. Turn from your sin and trust the savior.
For this reason, most people find the gospel to be foolish and offensive. The words in Ephesians 2:8-9 are some of the most difficult for people to grasp. Not because it’s so hard to understand, but because it goes against the grain of our hearts. We think that we need to earn everything. We, Americans, are self-made people. We have worked for what we have. But when it comes to God, "By grace, you have been saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, that no one may boast" (Eph 2:8-9). And anything that we ever do for God doesn’t add to our salvation in any way. Rather, anything that we do is merely an expression of our love for Him!
Well, there’s No Fear (verse 27), No Death (verse
28), and now thirdly, ...
3. No More Egyptians (verse
29)
Verse 29, ...
Hebrews 11:29
By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned.
At this point, we see the scope of those who had faith extending beyond Moses. The subject in verse 29 is plural. He says that it was "by faith [that] they [all] passed through the Red Sea."
Now, what’s most interesting at this point is the perspective that you get when you actually read the account in Exodus. Here in verse 29, you get the sense that the Israelites exited Egypt triumphant and glorious, believing in everything that God said. But, in history, it was a bit different than this.
The Israelites went out, and soon afterwards, God hardened Pharaoh’s heart so that he might chase after them (Ex. 14:4). In the plan of God, this was all so that God would be glorified through Pharaoh and all his army (Ex. 14:4). And "As Pharaoh drew near, the sons of Israel looked, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they became very frightened; so the sons of Israel cried out to the LORD" (Ex. 14:10). But, it wasn’t only to the Lord that they cried out. They also cried out to Moses. No, they complained to Moses, saying, ...
Exodus 14:11-12
"Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, 'Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness."
This is anything but faith. This is fear on behalf of the people. And yet Moses was standing in faith, without fear.
Exodus 14:13-14
Moses said to the people, "Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the LORD which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. The LORD will fight for you while you keep silent."
How hard is that? You probably know the story. I just want to read it for you, because it is so powerful.
Exodus 14:21-29
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD swept the sea back by a strong east wind all night and turned the sea into dry land, so the waters were divided. The sons of Israel went through the midst of the sea on the dry land, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.Then the Egyptians took up the pursuit, and all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots and his horsemen went in after them into the midst of the sea. At the morning watch, the LORD looked down on the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud and brought the army of the Egyptians into confusion. He caused their chariot wheels to swerve, and He made them drive with difficulty; so the Egyptians said, "Let us flee from Israel, for the LORD is fighting for them against the Egyptians."
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may come back over the Egyptians, over their chariots and their horsemen." So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal state at daybreak, while the Egyptians were fleeing right into it; then the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen, even Pharaoh's entire army that had gone into the sea after them; not even one of them remained.
But the sons of Israel walked on dry land through the midst of the sea, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
Only in the commentary after the event do we see their faith mentioned.
Exodus 14:30-31
Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. When Israel saw the great power which the LORD had used against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in His servant Moses.
Their faith came after the triumph. And here we see grace. One of the most comforting things of Hebrews 11 is that nobody throughout the list of people is perfect. There are examples of failures. There are examples of doubts. There are examples of weak faith. And yet, God shows grace through it all. He even has regard for the weak in faith.
And so, today, as you are facing some difficulties in your life, will you have faith in God to help you through them? The difficulty in the life of the Israelites was the Egyptians. But, God took care of them. After passing through the Red Sea, the threat of the Egyptians was no more.
Oh, your difficulty today is not the Egyptians' difficulty. But, there may be other difficulties in your life today. Will you be like Moses and the people and trust God to take care of them? Will you have the faith of Moses to let God remove them for you while you remain silent?
This sermon was delivered to Rock Valley Bible Church on
March 13, 2011 by Steve Brandon.
For more information see www.rvbc.cc.