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#58.
The faith that triumphs (11: 28-31).
pp. 40 - 45
We now reach the concluding pair of characters in the sevenfold series of Heb. 11:,
viz., Israel and Rahab. The key thought is "deliverance from destruction".
Moses is linked with Israel in the keeping of the passover, "lest he that destroyed the
first-born should touch them". Israel pass unscathed through the Red Sea, "which the
Egyptians assaying to do were drowned". "Rahab perished not with them that believed
not."
The faith of Moses is very comprehensive, and at either end of the record in Heb. 11:
it overlaps and includes the faith of others. In both it was a preserving faith, and
connected with birth:--
"By faith Moses, when he was born . . . . ." (verse 23).
"By faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the
firstborn should touch them" (verse 28).
There is no warrant for the change of expression from "by faith" to "through faith" in
verses 27 and 28. It was the same faith acting in the same way that actuated Moses
throughout. There is a real distinction intended between "by faith" and "through faith" in
Rom. 3: 30 which is considered in its place; here, however, it is a variation in the
English version only, and no doctrinal difference is intended.
The passover.
Several items of interest are given concerning Moses and the passover. "By faith he
kept the passover." The word "kept" here is poieo, and in its true translation has a wider
significance than "kept". It is used of the sprinkling of blood just as much as of the
passover, and it would be hardly true to say, "he kept the sprinkling of blood". Paul
follows the LXX version here, which in its turn faithfully translates the Hebrew. "To do
the passover" (Exod. 12: 47, 48) does not seem good English, and it is not suggested as
an alternative, but it points out the meaning, which is expressed in Exod. 12: 50:--
"Thus did all the children of Israel: as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron, so did
they."
The faith that kept the passover found its warrant in the Word of God. We cannot too
insistently bring this forward. All sorts of things are said to be done by the Lord's people
"by faith", but it is difficult sometimes to find any warrant for their actions in the Word.
Heb. 11: 1 declares faith to be the substance of things hoped for; Rom. 10: 17 declares the
Word of God to be the substance of that faith. The passover in Exod. 12: is of
divine institution. Moses simply "did" what he was told. "And the Lord spake unto