By looking to the reward
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November 05, 2023 |
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 “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the temporary pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward.” (Hebrews 11:24-26).
Hebrews 11 records of many forefathers of faith who pleased God through faith. Among them, Moses overcame all trials by looking to God who is the Rewarder and gave great glory to God through acts of faith.
Now, let us think about what kind of faith Moses had in looking to God who is the Rewarder.
1. An act of faith is looking to God who rewards
Some people say that it is wrong for us to look to God as a rewarder because we expect something in return. They say those who love God should serve Him unconditionally and should not look to Him as a rewarder. But they say so because they fail to understand God’s will.
The reward we expect to receive from God is different from what people in the world want to. The reward of God in faith is not concerning to earn wealth and fame and to lead an abundant life. As a child of God, we want to have greater faith enough to receive God’s rewards and save many more souls and to reveal His glory.
Therefore, when we look to a reward of God with faith, it is far from a selfish or impure motive. As Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him”, those who look to God’s reward please Him because looking to God’s reward is an act of faith.
When we look to God who rewards us by faith, we can overcome any kind of adversities and trials. No matter how difficult a situation may be, we can overcome it with faith and glorify God.
2. Moses looked to God’s heavenly reward by faith
Moses was born in 1500 BC or so when the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt. The Israelites multiplied so greatly that the Pharaoh of Egypt ordered that all newborn Hebrew boys be killed.
When Moses was born, his parents hid the boy in their house for three months (Hebrews 11:23). When the boy’s cries grew louder, they could no longer hide him and put him in a reed box and sent him out on the river. At that moment, an Egyptian princess came out to take a bath in the river, found Moses, and rescued him. Moses’ sister Miriam was watching this and recommended his own mother as his nanny. Moses was adopted as a son by the princess and raised by his biological mother in the royal palace. This was by no means accidental; it was by the providence of God, who knew and planned everything for Moses.
Moses was not simply saved, but grew up as an Egyptian prince and developed his faith in God by his biological mother. He learned about the God of Israel and His Elect and came to know why the people of Israel were living in the land of Egypt. He also had the knowledge of God’s promise that He would lead them to the blessed land of Canaan and make them a great nation in the future.
How then is it that Moses became the leader of Exodus and looked to God as a rewarder?
1) Moses gave up such wealth and fame as he could have enjoyed.
In Moses’ time, Egypt was a powerful country with so highly advanced civilization that an Egyptian prince’s power was truly great. If he had stayed in the royal palace as adopted son of the princess, Moses could have enjoyed great wealth and fame for the rest of his life. However, even in this unenviable environment, Moses never lost his desire to liberate his people from oppression and suffering in Egypt.
One day he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew and became so angry that he struck the Egyptian and killed him. It was discovered and he ended up running away into the wilderness. This matter says that Moses abandoned the comfortable life of a royal palace he could have enjoyed and chose that path for the sake of God (Hebrews 11:24-26).
What would you have done if you were in Moses’ shoes? Would you be able to give up everything you have without any hesitation for the sake of God? If you have to suffer contempt, debasement, and shame for the sake of the Lord instead of finding favor and respect from many people, can you joyfully walk that path? If you have faith in God who rewards those who rely one Him, you can readily give up everything you have, even the most precious thing and suffer only for Christ.
Moses was able to give up the wealth and fame of this world because he only looked to the reward that God would give him. As that result his name was gloriously recorded in the Bible as a man of faith.
2) Moses endured all hardships and fulfilled his God-given duties.
After Moses fled from Egypt, God refined him for 40 years in the wilderness and appointed him as the leader of Israel. God gave him the mission to return to Egypt, free the Israelites from slavery, and to lead them to the land of Canaan.
Without faith it was impossible for him to stand against the king of Egypt without honor or authority and to lead at least 600,000 men into the land of Canaan. His life was in danger at every moment during the journey of his mission but he pressed on toward the goal because he looked to God alone.
Only through his faith in God could he stand right in front of the mighty king of Egypt and boldly ask for the release of the Israelites. Only by faith could he part the Red Sea and cross the middle of the sea on dry land with his people even in the crisis of the Egyptian army’s chasing.
The Egyptian army chasing them were drown to death when the waters returned and covered them by God’s work, and the Israelites were filled with excitement and praised God. But it was not long after they got excited that they started grumbling against Moses because they ran out of water and food. They complained that they had got along well in Egypt but were dragged into the wilderness to death. They completely forgot that they had fervently prayed for deliverance from slavery in Egypt.
Moses risked his life and went through many sufferings for the people, but never heard a single word of gratitude from them. But when they distrusted the power of God who parted the Red Sea and saved them and forgot the grace of God, he must have been so embarrassed and frustrated before God. He must have sighed in despair when he thought about leading these faithless people to the land of Canaan.
In reality Moses did not lose heart or give up on the God-given duty. He looked to God who knows everything and in whom all things are possible.
God saw Moses’ faith and gave the people daily bread. God rained down food called ‘manna’ from the heaven every day. But sooner or later they complained against Moses again. It was because there was no enough water to drink. It was often the case with the Israelites. They frequently complained and grumbled whenever they faced difficulties.
Moses didn’t want to be a leader of the people. He was chosen and called by God to fulfill that mission in accordance with God’s will. He had given up the position of a prince of Egypt for the sake of his people. However, what he took in return was the responsibility of leading the hardened people on a long journey into the wilderness.
It was so hard to take care of the lives of so many people. They did not understand Moses’ heart and often complained against him and even tried to stone him whenever faced with difficulties. They blamed God with evil words and even rebelled. Without faith what would Moses have done in that reality where the land of Canaan was nowhere to be seen and their resentment was increasing?
Moses never refused to take the responsibility nor gave up on his duty under any circumstances. He neither expected something in return from the people nor he lost heart in difficult realities. He only looked to the reward that God would give him after fulfilling all his duties. No matter what kind of hardships he faced he looked to God who makes the impossible possible and simply prayed to God. He did not carry out his duties reluctantly, but only sincerely with all his heart.
With such a sincere heart he repented on behalf of the people who grumbled and opposed him. When God was about to destroy them, he petitioned to God saying, “But now, if You will, forgive their sin?and if not, please blot me out from Your book which You have written!” (Exodus 32:32).
God loved Moses so much that God complimented him as ‘a man faithful in all My household’ and spoke to him face to face as if he were a friend of God (Numbers 12). So, how glorious will he be in heaven and how happy will he be with the Lord therein?
The reason God gives us duties and wants us to perform God-given duties diligently and faithfully is to let us have the heart of Christ through the refinement of the heart. It is also an expression of the love of God who wants us to store as many rewards in heaven and to gain great honor therein.
3) Moses acknowledged and relied on God in everything he did.
No matter what kind of difficulties he faced, Moses relied on God. This was because he had faith in God who brought the Israelites out of Egypt. He believed from the bottom of his heart that God took care of every situation he was in and nothing was impossible with Him.
When the wicked crowd slandered and rebelled against him, Moses did not fight or argue with them, but only left it into the hands of the righteous God. When the Israelites got tired in the long years of wilderness, Korah deceived the people and rebelled against Moses.
Korah was one of Moses’ cousins and disapproved the fact that Moses and Aaron had priestly authority, thinking he could do the same as they did. He lured 250 of the influential chieftains to oppose Moses. Dathan and Abiram formed a party with Korah and they blamed Moses for failing to enter the land of Canaan.
Moses lied down in front of God and God told Moses and Aaron to leave the people because they would be destroyed in an instant. Then Moses boldly proclaimed before them, “If these men die the death of all men, or if they suffer the fate of all men, then the LORD has not sent me. But if the LORD brings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that is theirs, and they descend alive into Sheol, then you will understand that these men have spurned the LORD” (Numbers 16:29-30).
As soon as he foretold the death of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, the earth split open and swallowed them alive. Only after Korah’s family and all the people and things belonging to him went into the ground did the land come together again (Numbers 16:31-33). God thoroughly confirmed Moses’ words. If we acknowledge God and rely on Him in everything we do, small or big, He will work according to our faith.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
I pray in the name of the Lord that you may be an imitator of Moses, the leader of Exodus and look to God as a rewarder by faith setting your hope in heaven and be faithful in all aspects so that you may dwell in eternal glory.
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