Letter to the Hebrews Volume 137

 The Faith of Moses' Parents

Hebrews 11:23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment. KJV

The Parents of Moses lived during the time shortly after the King of Egypt began to fear the tremendous growth of the Hebrew people and in so doing he began to oppress them as it is written, "Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land. Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses. But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel. And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour: And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour." (Exodus 1:8-14) (KJV). When Moses was born (this same King of Egypt), then ordered or commanded all the Hebrew midwives to kill every male born son to the Hebrew Mothers, but keep alive every female born daughter to them, as it is written, "And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah: And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live. But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive. And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men children alive? And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in unto them." (Exodus 1:15-19) (KJV). This infuriated Pharaoh (the king of Egypt) and caused him to order his soldiers to find every male born son during that time and cast them into the river to be drowned, as it is written, "And 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 1:22) (KJV). Well, the Parents of Moses (and surely all the Hebrews Parents) were not going to let this evil happen to their son, so they hid him from place to place for three (3) months, but the soldiers of Pharaoh were relentless and they kept coming back to make sure that they found every male born son and kill them.

But, after three (3) months of doing this, they knew that they had run out of safe places to hide their 3 month old son from the Egyptians. Then God stepped in and placed it upon her inner woman to place her son in a basket  and set him in the river at the edge of the rivers bank hoping and praying for an Egyptian woman to see him and take him in as their own baby. Then, not by happenstance or luck or fate or any other superstitious notion, but the Divine will and plan of All Mighty God that very thing did happen, as it is written, "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 wit what would be done to him. And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river's side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews' children. Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee? And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child's mother. And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child, and nursed it. And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water." (Exodus 2:3-10) (KJV). However much they came to the Parents of Moses with threats that surely turned into physical abuse, they were not afraid and they never gave up their son to the evil tyranny of the king of Egypt, as it is written here by the writer of Hebrews, "By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment." (Hebrews 11:23) (KJV). The Greek word 'proper' used here to describe the appearance of baby Moses when he was born is translated by the Greek word asteios meaning (by implication) handsome: - fair. In other words, according to the JFB Commentary, "The 'faith' of his parents in saving the child must have had some divine revelation to rest on (probably at the time of his birth), which marked their 'exceeding fair' babe as one whom God designed to do a great work by. His beauty was probably 'the sign' appointed by God to assure their faith." I agree, because it would be foolish to place a helpless 3 month old baby in a basket and place him in the river exactly where Pharaoh was drowning every male baby he found alive, unless God had spoken to them and assured them that their son was to be rescued from that river and kept alive to grow up right within the king of Egypt's house. So, they believed the Word of the Lord that came to them and so did it happen, just as God designed it, decreed it, and declared that it would. Moses then grew into manhood and became a mighty human instrument in the Hand of God to fight against the devil and his invisible devils and human two legged devils, Amen!!!

Here is what Matthew Henry had to say concerning Hebrews 11:23 and the faith of Moses' Parents, "The faith of the parents of Moses, which is cited from Exodus 2:3, etc. Here observe, 1. The acting of their faith: they hid this their son three months. Though only the mother of Moses is mentioned in the history, yet, by what is here said, it seems his father not only consented to it, but consulted about it. It is a happy thing where yoke-fellows draw together in the yoke of faith, as heirs of the grace of God; and when they do this in a religious concern for the good of their children, to preserve them not only from those who would destroy their lives, but from those who would corrupt their minds. Observe, Moses was persecuted betimes (early), and forced to be concealed; in this he was a type of Christ, who was persecuted almost as soon as he was born, and his parents were obliged to flee with him into Egypt for his preservation. It is a great mercy to be free from wicked laws and edicts; but, when we are not, we must use all lawful means for our security. In this faith of Moses's parents there was a mixture of unbelief, but God was pleased to overlook it. 2. The reasons of their thus acting. No doubt, natural affection could not but move them; but there was something further. They saw he was a proper child, a goodly child (Exodus 2:2), exceedingly fair, as in Acts 7:20, asteios tō Theō - venustus Deo - fair to God. There appeared in him something uncommon; the beauty of the Lord sat upon him, as a presage that he was born to great things, and that by conversing with God his face should shine (Exodus 34:29), what bright and illustrious actions he should do for the deliverance of Israel, and how his name should shine in the sacred records. Sometimes, not always, the countenance is the index of the mind. 3. The prevalency of their faith over their fear. They were not afraid of the king's commandment, Exodus 1:22. That was a wicked and a cruel edict, that all the males of the Israelites should be destroyed in their infancy, and so the name of Israel must be destroyed out of the earth. But they did not so fear as presently to give up their child; they considered that, if none of the males were preserved, there would be an end and utter ruin of the church of God and the true religion, and that though in their present state of servitude and oppression one would praise the dead rather than the living, yet they believed that God would preserve his people, and that the time was coming when it would be worth while for an Israelite to live. Some must hazard their own lives to preserve their children, and they were resolved to do it; they knew the king's commandment was evil in itself, contrary to the laws of God and nature, and therefore of no authority nor obligation. Faith is a great preservative against the sinful slavish fear of men, as it sets God before the soul, and shows the vanity of the creature and its subordination to the will and power of God."

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.


Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…