The Faith of a Father and Mother

23 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. – Hebrews 11:23 ESV

We read it in Exodus 1: “Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph” (Exodus 1:8 ESV). Joseph was gone. Time had passed and the preferential treatment received by his family was about to be a thing of the past. The descendants of Jacob had been fruitful during their peaceful stay in Egypt but their dramatic increase in number got the attention of the new Pharaoh and raised alarm bells in his mind. What if we go to war and they decide to turn against us and side with our enemies, he reasoned in his mind. Paranoia set in and he determined to turn the Israelites into slaves in order to control them. The book of Exodus tells us exactly what happened:

…the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel. So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves. – Exodus 1:13-15 ESV

But that wasn’t enough for Pharaoh. It was their sheer numbers that worried him, not their military might. After all, they were predominantly shepherds. So he came up with a plan. He commanded the Hebrew midwives to kill all male children as soon as they came out of the womb. He was going to take care of his perceived problem by infanticide. But fearing God, the Hebrew midwives refused to obey the command of Pharaoh and when he confronted them about their blatant lack of follow through, they said, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them” (Exodus 1:19 ESV).

These brave women practiced an early form of civil disobedience and God blessed them for it. So when Pharaoh’s initial plan failed, he came up with another one.

Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.” – Exodus 1:22 ESV

This is where our passage for today comes in. Verse 23 of Hebrews 11 refers to the faith of Moses’ unnamed parents, who chose to protect their infant son from the evil plans of Pharaoh.

Now a man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman. The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank. And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him. Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it. When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews' children.” Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, “Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, “Go.” So the girl went and called the child's mother. And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.” – Exodus 2:1-10 ESV

Later in the book of Genesis, we discover that the names of Moses’ parents were Amram and Jochebed. This obscure couple, like all the other couples living at that time, were struggling with fear and apprehension due to the edict of the Pharaoh that their male children should be sacrificed to the Nile. And I believe it was Pharaoh’s intent that each and every Hebrew male child thrown into the Nile was to have been a sacrifice to Hapi, their water and fertility god. The symbols for Hapi were the lotus and papyrus plants. Papyrus was a reed that grew along the banks of the Nile and it was used for everything from paper, rope, furniture, and boats. Hapi was believed to be the greatest of the Egyptian gods and was thought to be the maker of the universe and the creator all all things. Each year, at the time of the flooding of the Nile, the people would throw amulets, sacrifices, and other offerings into the river to appease Hapi and to ensure a fruitful season of planting and harvest.

In the story, Jochebed makes a small boat made of reeds and places her newborn son in the river in order to protect him from Pharaoh. But rather than seeing her act as a sacrifice to Hapi, she was placing him in the hands of Yahweh, the God of the people of Israel. The author of Hebrews seems to indicate she and her husband somehow knew that there was something special about this child. The New International Version translates the phrase as “they saw he was no ordinary child.”

In the book of Acts, Luke provides further insight into their actions.

At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God's sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father's house. – Acts 7:20 ESV

The word, beautiful is the same Greek word used in the Hebrews passage. Somehow God communicated the uniqueness of this child to his parents and they determined to save his life. Jochebed made a reed boat and placed him in the river, trusting in the sovereign will of God to protect him. And God did just that. Luke goes on to record, “and when he was exposed, Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds” (Acts 7:21-22 ESV).

When Jochebed set the basket in the river she had no idea what would happen, but she had an assurance of things hoped for and a conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). She placed her faith in God and He came through. Somewhat ironically, but not coincidentally, Moses was rescued by Pharaoh’s daughter and adopted into the family of the very man who was out to destroy him. God was at work.

Amram and Jochebed did not know what God had planned. They simply knew that their son was somehow unique and special. They placed him in the river fully trusting in God to do with him as He saw fit. What they did, they did by faith. And just as in the case of Abraham and Isaac, when these two parents entrusted their son to God, they received him back. Jochebed would be given the unbelievable opportunity to nurse the very son she had placed in the basket. She did so without any knowledge of what was going to happen to her infant son. She had been willing to give up that which she loved to Him in whom she believed. And she would live to see her son become more than she could have ever dreamed or imagined. God would use Moses to set His people free from their captivity and fulfill the promise He had made to Abraham all those years ago.

The very act of Amram and Jochebed placing their son in that reed basket and setting him afloat on the Nile was an act of faith in God. They were trusting in the One whom they could not see to do what they could only hope for – the preservation of the life of their son and the redemption of the Hebrew people.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Every Hour I Need Thee

14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. – Hebrews 4:14-16 ESV

The life of faith is not an easy one. Following Christ requires commitment and a determination to keep on believing and trusting even in the midst of the constant and sometimes deadly barrage of the enemy. Paul encourages us, “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one” (Ephesians 6:16 ESV). Peter warns us, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8 ESV). Later on in this letter, the author of Hebrews tells us:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up. – Hebrews 12:1-3 NLT

The Christian life requires endurance and perseverance. It demands that we keep our eyes focused on Jesus, not just for our salvation, but for our ongoing sanctification. He is the “champion who initiates and perfects our faith.” We are to look at His example, recalling how He endured the cross and was “tempted in every way, just as we are” (Hebrews 4:15 NLT).

Jesus suffered and died because of sin; not His, but ours. He sacrificed His life so we wouldn’t have to give up our own. That is why the author of Hebrews goes on to say, “After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin” (Hebrews 4:4 NLT).

We will never have to pay the ultimate penalty for our sins, because Jesus took our place and died the death we deserved to die. But we still have to struggle with the very real presence of indwelling sin. While we live on this earth we will have to “strive to enter that rest” (Hebrews 4:11 ESV) – the rest that comes with trusting in the finished work of Christ, which includes not only our salvation but also our sanctification and ultimate glorification. We will have to constantly “hold firmly to the faith we profess” (Hebrews 4:14 NLT). Our hope is in Christ, or as Paul puts it in his letter to the Romans, “from faith for faith” (Romans 1:17 ESV).

Our faith must remain in Christ, from the beginning to the end. Paul told the Philippian Christians, “I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns” (Philippians 1:6 NLT). We have to hold firmly to that fact, even in the face of difficulty and disappointments.

And when we find ourselves in need, we are to turn to Jesus, our great high priest. He represents us before God and He fully understands what we are going through because He has been in our shoes. He is able to sympathize with our weaknesses. He was tempted just as we are. He knows what it is like to be under attack and to feel overwhelmed. And He also knows what it is like not to sin or to give in to feelings of doubt and despair. During His earthly life, Jesus never stopped trusting in His Heavenly Father. On no occasion did He ever fail to obey God.

Paul tells us that “being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8 ESV). So when we find ourselves in a difficult spot, we can confidently turn to Him as our divine high priest, and we can find the grace and mercy we need to help us in our time of need. In times of testing or trial, we won’t find a high priest who shakes His finger in our face and condemns our weakness. No, we will find a sympathetic and empathetic high priest who reminds us that our sins have been paid for and any need for us to try to atone for our own sins has been done away with. The author will expand on this theme in chapter nine.

But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! – Hebrews 9:11-14 NLT

Jesus played a dual role. He acted as the high priest, bringing the atoning sacrifice for man’s sins before God the Father. But He also played the part of the sacrificial lamb. He gave His life because it was the only sacrifice that would be acceptable to the Father. He was the unblemished, sinless Son of God, offering His own life as a substitute or stand-in for sinful humanity. And as those who have trusted in His substitutionary death on the cross, we can still come before the throne of grace and find mercy, hope, strength, comfort, assurance, and a constant reminder of God’s everlasting, never-failing love for us. We will face trials and tribulations in this life. We will encounter difficulties and experience times of doubt and despair. But we have an understanding high priest who knows our weaknesses and has provided the cure for all that ails us. As the author put it earlier in his letter:

Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested. – Hebrews 2:17-18 NLT

We have help in times of need. We have a God who understands our weakness and has made compensation for it. We have not been left on our own. We don’t have to face the trials of this earth in our own human effort. We can stand firm and hold on to our original confession because our high priest is there to help us. As the old hymn so clearly reminds us, we need Jesus every hour.

I need Thee ev'ry hour,
Most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like Thine
Can peace afford.

I need Thee ev'ry hour,
Stay Thou nearby;
Temptations lose their pow’r
When Thou art nigh.

I need Thee ev'ry hour,
In joy or pain;
Come quickly and abide,
Or life is vain.

I need Thee, oh, I need Thee;
Ev'ry hour I need Thee;
Oh, bless me now, my Savior,
I come to Thee.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Whoever Believes

41 So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43 Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— 46 not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” – John 6:41-51 ESV

Many of the things Jesus did left His audiences amazed and in awe. They were legitimately dumbfounded by His miracles, whether it was making a paralyzed man walk or restoring to health a young girl who had been near death. They had been blown away by His miracle of the loaves and fishes and had sought Him out in the hopes that He might use His supernatural powers to feed them again. But when Jesus spoke, His words tended to have a dramatically different effect. Luke records that when Jesus spoke “the people were amazed at his teaching, for he spoke with authority” (Luke 4:32 NLT). In the very next chapter, John recounts the occasion when the Jewish religious leaders sent guards to arrest Jesus, only to have them return empty-handed and reporting, “No one ever spoke like this man!” (John 7:46 ESV).

Jesus had a way with words, but not everyone understood what He had to say. And nowhere is that point illustrated more clearly than in His discourse concerning the “bread of life” recorded in John 6.

The people found Jesus’ miracles difficult to dispute because they could witness them with their own eyes. The evidence was right in front of them. The formerly blind could see. Those who had been lame could walk. The sick had been made whole. The demon-possessed had been set free and restored to their right minds. But Jesus’ words weren’t always so clear and easy to understand. He seemed to talk in riddles and make claims that were difficult to substantiate. And nothing seemed to confused His fellow Jews more than His claim to be the Son of God. John records that Jesus’ claim to be “the bread that came down from heaven” (John 6:41 ESV) caused them to “murmur in disagreement” (John 6:41 NLT).

This rather obtuse statement by Jesus left them arguing among themselves, debating the absurdity of His claim. How could He have come down from heaven if He had been born to human parents? After all, they reasoned, “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph? We know his father and mother. How can he say, ‘I came down from heaven’?” (John 6:42 NLT).

Their confusion is reminiscent of Nicodemus’ response to Jesus’ statement, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3 ESV). This learned Pharisee had quizically responded, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” (John 3:4 ESV). The words of Jesus made no sense to Nicodemus. And when Jesus claimed to have come down from heaven, the Jews who heard Him were just as perplexed. It made no sense to them. It contradicted human reason and failed to support their preconceived perceptions about life.

The people had shown up hoping to see Jesus perform another miracle or sign, and they had even used Moses providing manna to the Israelites as an example of what they were expecting. But they failed to recall that even that heaven-sent bread had left the Israelites dissatisfied and disgruntled.

Then the foreign rabble who were traveling with the Israelites began to crave the good things of Egypt. And the people of Israel also began to complain. “Oh, for some meat!” they exclaimed. “We remember the fish we used to eat for free in Egypt. And we had all the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic we wanted. But now our appetites are gone. All we ever see is this manna!” – Numbers 11:4-6 NLT

Even the manna sent from heaven had failed to satisfy the people of God. So, why would the Jews of Jesus’ day be satisfied with “the bread of God…that gives life to the world” (John 6:33 ESV)?

But Jesus interrupted their debate by declaring, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:44 ESV). As will be made clear, this was not exactly a point of clarification. In fact, it only muddied the waters and left the disbelieving Jews even more confused. But while they were busy arguing over Jesus’ place of origin, He was revealing the way men can be assured of their eternal destination. They could argue and debate the merits of Jesus’ claim to be divine. They could wrestle with the pros and cons of it all and come to their own conclusions, but all their efforts would be in vain. Unless God drew them, they would never receive Jesus as who He was. The Greek word helkō literally means “to drag” or to “to draw by inward power.”

There is a sense in which God must facilitate man’s acceptance of Jesus because, left to his own devices, man would reject Him. King David stressed that sad reality in his psalm.

God looks down from heaven
    on the entire human race;
he looks to see if anyone is truly wise,
    if anyone seeks God.
But no, all have turned away;
    all have become corrupt.
No one does good,
    not a single one! – Psalm 53:2-3 NLT

And the apostle Paul would paraphrase the words of David when stressing to the believers in Rome “that all people, whether Jews or Gentiles, are under the power of sin” (Romans 3:10 NLT).

“No one is righteous—
    not even one.
No one is truly wise;
    no one is seeking God.
All have turned away;
    all have become useless.
No one does good,
    not a single one.” – Romans 3:10-11 NLT

Jesus is simply supporting this idea that sinful men have no capacity to seek God. And even the miracles of Jesus would prove insufficient to convince the unbelieving to accept the truth of His claim of equality with God. Unless God dragged them out of their sin-darkened stupor into the light, they would never recognize Jesus as who He really was: The Son of God and the Savior of the world.

Jesus quotes the Old Testament prophets, declaring that the ability to believe in Him requires instruction by God.

“‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me.” – John 6:45 (NLT)

God will speak to them, revealing to them the true nature of His Son. And when they hear what He has to say, they will come to Jesus willingly and gladly.

When Peter, James, and John witnessed the transfiguration of Jesus, God had spoken from heaven, declaring, “This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to him” (Luke 9:35 NLT). God clearly revealed to them the identity of Jesus and then commanded that they listen to what His Son had to say. And one of the first things Jesus had to say to them after this incredible experience was a command to tell no one what they had seen.

As they went back down the mountain, he told them not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. – Mark 9:9 NLT

Jesus was the revelation of God. He came to earth in the form of a human being so that He might make God known. John opened up his gospel with the bold claim: “No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us” (John 1:18 NLT). And Jesus supported that assertion when He claimed, “Not that anyone has ever seen the Father; only I, who was sent from God, have seen him” (John 6:46 NLT).

Paul declared Jesus to be “the visible image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15 NLT). And later on in his gospel, John records Jesus’ exclusive claim that “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father!” (John 14:9 NLT). But there is more required than the mere physical sight of Jesus. There were many who saw Jesus and failed to believe. That is why Jesus clarifies by adding, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life” (John 6:47-48 ESV). In other words, eternal life is reserved for those who believe that Jesus is the bread of life, sent down from heaven by God. It is to believe in His deity and His God-given role as man’s sole source of salvation.

Unlike manna that provided temporary relief from the physical need for food, Jesus provides a permanent solution to man’s hunger and thirst for righteousness. He alone can provide man with the one thing he needs to have eternal life.

“This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” – John 6:50-51 ESV

But even this fantastic truth will fall on deaf ears as the people continue to wrestle with unbelief and an inability to recognize Jesus as the Son of God.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson