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"Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God,
judge ye" (Acts 4: 19).
There are times when the commandment of the king must be ignored or flatly
contradicted:
"Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed . . . . . he prayed, and gave thanks
before his God, as he did aforetime" (Dan. 6: 10).
"Be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the
golden image which thou hast set up" (Dan. 3: 18).
What it all amounts to is this, that whether we obey the command from the king, or
whether we reject it, in both actions we must see to it that we are simply obeying the
Word of God. This is what the parents of Moses did. Seeing by faith that this child was
the one marked out by God for a special purpose, they had but one course of action,
which they took, and so their names are found enrolled upon the scroll of witnesses for
that faith which is the substance of things hoped for.
The positive acts of faith that pertain to Moses now follow. The faith that marked the
infant days of Moses was prominent in his after life. One or two notable manifestations
of that faith which is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not
seen, are given in the record of Heb. 11::
Substance. "Refused . . . . . choosing . . . . . esteeming ... for he had respect unto the
recompense of the reward" (Heb. 11: 24-26).
Not seen. "Forsook . . . . . not fearing . . . . . for he endured, as seeing Him Who is
invisible" (Heb. 11: 27, 28).
No act of faith is recorded of Moses until "he was come to years". The original has it:
"having become great", which is a quotation from the LXX of Exod. 2: 11, and refers to
his growth in years as much as, if not more than, to his greatness in wealth and position,
although this too, belongs to the expression (see Gen. 24: 35).
The example of Moses very aptly illustrates the exhortation of Heb. 5: 14; 6: 1:
"Them that are of full age . . . . . Leaving . . . . . let us go on". When faith is tested there
is no make-believe about it. Moses was great, learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians,
and mighty in words and deeds (Acts 7: 22). He apparently had a definite offer made by
Pharaoh's daughter of formal adoption into the royal house. It was a very real test.
Abraham's trial of faith, too, was intensely real. Nothing on earth could have been so
dear in his eyes as his beloved son Isaac. Paul's test of faith was real. The renunciation
of the position and privilege of being a Hebrew and a Pharisee cannot be easily estimated
by such as ourselves.
The activities of faith.
Moses refused, chose, esteemed; had respect, forsook, endured, and kept by faith.
He refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter.
He chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of
sin for a season.