LESSON 8.

BE LIKE MOSES

By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be ill-treated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward (Hebrews 11:24-26)

To those searching for a pattern of practical holiness I offer Moses as an example. It seems to me that the way in which faith in God shaped the life of Moses shows us how it could shape our lives. His faith caused him to behave in certain ways very like those ways in which we must behave if we wish to live a consistent Christian life.

1. What Moses gave up

a) He gave up rank and worldly greatness. He refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. Because the Egyptian princess had adopted and educated him as her own son, Moses might have been a very important man in the Egyptian court. He could have had rank, power, honour and titles, all those things which so many people eagerly seek! Yet he refused them.

b) He refused pleasures. In the Egyptian court there were pleasures of every kind waiting for him - sensual, social and intellectual pleasures. Egypt was a centre of learning, of art and sciences. Pleasure is something for which many spend their lives to achieve. How great a temptation all this must have been for him!

c) He refused riches. The ancient ruins of Egypt give us some indication of the wealth and greatness that once belonged to that country. Moses grew up in Pharaoh's palace. He experienced for himself how comfortable life could be when possessing such riches. What a temptation it must have been to grasp such comfort for himself. Yet, when the time came, he found the strength to turn his back on it all.

2. What Moses chose

a) He chose suffering and affliction. He took the part of his own people - people who were victims of slavery and persecution; for whom there seemed no possibility of deliverance from Egyptian bondage and for whom the likelihood of obtaining a home country for themselves seemed beyond possibility!
We naturally shrink from pain and avoid suffering if we can. But here is a man who, although like ourselves, actually chooses affliction!

b) He chose the company of a despised people. He left the society of the great and the wise, and identified himself with slaves and labourers. He saw a despised people and chose their company rather than that of the noblest people in the land!

c) He chose reproach and scorn. Think of the ridicule Moses would have to endure in turning away from Pharaoh's court to join with the Israelites. There are few things which we find so hard to bear as ridicule and scorn. Yet here is a man who did not shrink from that trial.
And keep in mind that Moses was not a weak or uneducated person, nor was he compelled to make such a choice. What he did he did freely and voluntarily. Surely this makes his choices as remarkable as his refusals!



3. What made Moses act as he did?

The reason for his unusual behaviour was his faith. He refused all that he refused and chose all that he chose because he believed God. God had revealed to Moses that in the distant future a Saviour was to be born of the Israelite nation, and that the first part of the process leading to that was to happen now, through him. Moses believed what God had said.

a) He believed God would keep his promises, and do exactly as he had said.

b) He believed that nothing was impossible for God to do. Human reason might say that the deliverance of the Israelites was never going to happen. But his faith told Moses that God could make it happen.

c) He believed that God was all-wise. Human reason might tell Moses that he was foolish to throw away all the advantages he had, by leaving Pharaoh's court, but, by faith, Moses understood that if God pointed out a certain way then that way was best.

d) He believed that God was merciful. Human reason might suggest that God could make life easier for the Israelites, but faith told Moses that God was a God of love, and would not give his people one drop of bitterness beyond what was necessary.

e) His faith helped him to understand the true situation the people were in. He knew that greatness in human society is a temporary thing. He knew that there was a reward in heaven for the obedient believer far richer than the riches of Egypt. He knew that trials and suffering could be a means of training believers in the spiritual life. He knew that the Israelites were in fact the people of God's choice.
And was he not right in behaving as he did? The name of Pharaoh's daughter has perished; the city of Pharaoh's palace is not known; the treasures of Egypt are gone - but the name of Moses is still known wherever the Bible is read. He is a great example of the fact that whoever lives by faith is blessed!

4. What practical lesson may we learn from the example of Moses?

a) If you wish to be a true Christian you must choose the way of God and not the way of the world. You must be prepared to accept hard and difficult things, and refuse those easy and comfortable things which are not God's will. The world in our day is like it was in Moses' day - people's hearts are still hardened against God, and God's people are still despised. The important question is, Do you want to be saved? Then remember you must choose whom you will serve. You must come out from the children of this world. You cannot serve both God and the world.
Are you making such sacrifices? Does your religion cost you anything? Are you willing to give up whatever keeps you from God? Is there anything in your way of life which collides with your religion? Or have you smoothed and rounded off everything in your religion to fit conveniently with the way you live? Search and see!

b) The only thing which will enable you to choose God instead of the world is faith. A religion that is to survive must have a living foundation and there is no other but faith. There must be a real belief that God's words are to be trusted however disagreeable they may seem, and that his way is right and all others wrong.
You must learn that promises are better than possessions; that the unseen is better than the seen; that the praise of God is better than the praise of men and women. Then, and only then, will you make a choice like Moses and prefer God to the world. Noah, Abraham, Ruth, Daniel - all these acted as they did because, like Moses, they believed God.

c) The reason why so many are ungodly and worldly people is because they lack faith. They do not really think that what God says is true. There are even many who call themselves Christians who would never think of doing what Moses did.
Such people do not believe in hell, and so do not flee from it. They do not believe in heaven and so do not seek it. They do not believe in the guilt of sin and so do not turn from it. They do not believe they need Christ and so they do not trust him. They do not feel confidence in God, and so they do nothing for him. Faith which does not influence our pattern of life is not true faith.

d) The secret of doing great things for God is to have great faith. In your walk with God you will go just as far as you believe and no further. Your peace, patience, courage, zeal and service of God will be no greater than your faith in him.
When you read the lives of great Christians of the past you will find it was their faith which was the inspiration of their holiness. They were so prayerful because prayer is faith talking with God. They were so diligent because diligence is faith at work. They were so courageous because courage is faith doing its duty. They were holy because holiness is faith being made visible.

Do you wish to make it clear that, like Moses, you choose God and not the world? Then go and cry to the Lord Jesus Christ, Lord increase my faith! Faith is the root of a true Christian character. Let your root be right and you will be fruitful. Your spiritual prosperity will always be as great as your faith. Take Moses as your example!

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