Letter to the Hebrews Volume 139

 The Faith of Moses Part 2

Hebrews 11:26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. KJV

Moses would have never been forced by God to leave all that was cherished in Egypt with all of the earthly comforts that came with being the only son of Pharaoh's daughter, but instead Moses had to come to this decision all on his own. This surely is why the 20 year old Moses and even the 30 year old Moses did not then willingly go to be with his own people of birth the Hebrew people, for surely (as we stated in Volume 138) Moses knew long before the age of 40 that he was a Hebrew by birth and not an Egyptian. The will of God that His people be freed from Egyptian enslavement was going to happen with or without Moses being the human instrument He used, for we can again recall the words of Joseph before he died saying this, "And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence." (Genesis 50:24-25) (KJV). Moses came to know this history of his people and through much distress to his mind he realized that his life was spared by God (when many Hebrew babies born at the same time period as him were killed by the man he knew as a child to be grandfather) for a greater purpose than just living his life as he wanted, but to be a mighty instrument of great change in the Hand of God, just like Esther was during the time of her earthly life, remember these words, "For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" (Esther 4:14) (KJV). Moses too was born for such a time as he was to choose to serve God instead of the king of Egypt, therefore, we now find the writer of Hebrews declaring again further the choice of Moses with these words, "Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward." (Hebrews 11:26) (KJV). The English word 'esteeming' is translated by the Greek word hēgeomai meaning (as used here) figuratively to deem, that is, consider: - account, judge, suppose, think. The English word 'reproach' is translated by the Greek word oneidismos meaning (as used here) abuse, insult, and revilement. The English word 'greater' is translated by the Greek word meizōn meaning (as used here) larger (literally or figuratively, more). The English word 'riches' is translated by the Greek word ploutos meaning (as used here) wealth (as fulness), that is, (literally) money, possessions, or (figuratively) abundance, richness, (specifically) valuable bestowment: - riches. The English word 'respect' is translated by the Greek word apoblepō (used this one time only in the New Testament) meaning to look away from everything else, that is, (figuratively) intently regard: - have respect. In other words, Moses considered and judged (within himself) that rejecting all the wealth and abundance that would have been his in Egypt (as long as he concealed his true Hebrew heritage) and all of the revilement that would come to him when all of Egypt discovered that he was not a true Egyptian, but instead a Hebrew was not to be compared to the treasure and riches that he would gain in heaven as a result of being obedient to God, therefore, he looked away from every earthly treasure and regarded that his greatest reward was then to willingly serve God and take part in his Hebrew brethren being freed from the bondage of slavery and in the future spend eternity with Him in heaven. Moses saw the coming of the Messiah Jesus Christ to his Hebrew people and chose to receive His reproach instead of the approval of the world (which was at that time the Egyptians, for the Egyptians then were the world).

Here is what Alexander MacLaren had to say of Hebrews 11:26, "And then, further, such a vision will help us to appraise at their true value earthly possessions.. I cannot enter upon the question of what the writer means precisely by that singular phrase, attributing to Moses 'the reproach of Christ.' Whether it implies the reproach borne for Christ, or like Christ, or by Christ, all which interpretations are possible, and have been suggested, need not concern us now. The point is that the twofold vision of which the writer is speaking, let in upon worldly possessions, reveals their emptiness and dressiness, as compared with the true riches. There are old stories of men who in the night received from fairy hands gifts of gold in some cave, and when the daylight came upon them what had seemed to be gold and jewels was a bundle of withered leaves and red berries, already half corrupted and altogether worthless. There are many things that the world counts very precious which are lille the fairy's gold. Nothing that can be taken from a man really belongs to him. The only real riches, corresponder with his necessities, are those which, once possessed, are inseparable from his being, the riches of an indwelling God, and of a nature conformed to His. And that effect of the vision of the unseen and the future, as bringing down to their true value all the wealth of Egypt and of the world, is a lesson which no man needs more than do we whose lives, and habits of thinking, are passed and formed in a commercial community, in which success means a fortune, and failure means poverty; in which the poor are tempted to look upon the possession of wealth as the only thing to be coveted, and the rich are tempted to look upon it as the one thing to be rejoiced over. Let the light of the future, and of God, ever shine upon your estimates of the worth of the world's wealth. Lastly, such a vision will arm a man against all perils. I take it that 'forsaking Egypt' in my text refers to Moses' flight to Horeb. Now, in the book of Exodus that flight is traced to his fear. In my text it is traced to his courage. So, then, there may dwell in one heart fearing and not fearing. There may be dread, as there was with Moses, sufficient to impel him to flight, though not sufficient to induce him to abandon the purpose which made flight necessary. He was afraid enough to shelter himself. He was not afraid enough, by reason of dangers and difficulties, to fling up his mission. That is to say, the vision will not take away from a man natural tremors, nor will it blind him to real dangers and difficulties, but it will steady his resolve, and make him determined, though he may have to bow before the blast, to yield no jot of his convictions, nor fling away any of his confidence. He will flee to Horeb, if need be, but he will not cease to labour for the redemption of Israel If we put our trust in God, and live in the continual realisation of future retribution, then, whilst we may prudently adapt our course so as to find a smooth bit of road to walk on, and to avoid dangers which may threaten, we shall never let these either shake our confidence in God, or alter our conviction of what He requires from us."

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…