Hebrews chapter 11 is one of the most famous chapters in all the Bible. Known as the Hall of Faith – or the Hall of Fame for Faith – this chapter highlights the heroes of the Christianity.
But it doesn’t just feature the heroes themselves, it really underlines their faith! Often we forget that these heroes were just ordinary men and women.
None thought to themselves, “Hey, I’m a Bible character, I need to put on a good show here!” Rather, they were living life, going day-by-day and putting their trust in a Sovereign God.
The chapter emphasizes their faith in God, and they knew that no matter the circumstances He would never leave them nor forsake them.
One of my favorite highlights in this chapter is about Moses, the great leader of Israel who helped orchestrate the exodus out of Egypt, and the writer of the first five books of the Bible known as the Pentateuch.
Here’s what Hebrews 11:24-26 has to say about this hero of the faith:
By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.
So here are three things we can learn from Moses about money:
1. He Understood the Meaning of True Wealth
What is true wealth? In a nutshell, I think true wealth is understanding that happiness doesn’t come from the size of your bank account, but rather it comes from having quality relationships with God, family, friends and others.
Moses understood this. He decided he would rather stick with his Israelite kin, than frolic with the Egyptians. He knew that he needed to be faithful to God rather than live for the pleasures of Egypt.
Moses figured it out early, and his life was devoted to these relationships rather than moving up the Pharaoh ladder!
2. He Knew Where His Treasure Was
Jesus says, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Luke 12:34; Matt. 6:21). We treasure what we value, and what we value reveals what we worship. When we treasure something more than Christ himself we have turned that thing into an idol. It could be money, fame, power or prestige to name a few.
Moses could have had all those things! At this time, Egypt was one of the richest nations in the world, the economy was booming, and life was great!
But Moses instead considered his Savior to be his treasure, and he chose not to follow after the luxuries of Egypt!
3. He Was Focused on the Greater Reward
It seems so hard in this day and age of immediate gratification not to get swept up in wanting what we want when we want it! If we see something we like, we buy it without much thought at how this will impact our situation.
But not Moses. He was focused on a much greater reward. He was happy to delay his gratification for material riches, success and fame because he knew that his reward was in heaven. He knew he wouldn’t receive his reward immediately, but that with faithful perseverance and through faith, he would someday see the greatness of an eternity with his God.
How Should We Respond?
Here we are – trying to live faithfully day-by-day, so how should we respond?
I think we should seriously consider Moses’ example and realize that Christ is our greatest treasure and a deep and passionate relationship with Him is really what we long for.
Let’s challenge each other to fight the temptation to love our money , and rather than spending it on fleeting pleasures let’s encourage one another to use our money to impact others for the kingdom of God – for His glory, others good and our joy.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
How hard it is to delay receiving the pleasures of this world. Have you figured it out? Can you write a blog post about it? I can’t wait to read it. =)
Thank you for another post that puts things into perspective and challenges us!
Excellent post. What really hit home was the definition of true wealth. Thank you for reminding use what is really important in life. The last couple of years have proven that many of us have forgotten what true wealth is.
Jason,
Thanks for bringing this passage to light and to life. It is easy for me to read the Hall of Faith chapter (Hebrews 11) and sort of skim over the various faith role models. Moses, as you say, knew what true wealth was and chose that wealth over the “treasures of Egypt”. Those treasures had to have been a real temptation for him, but he was up to the challenge of not sacrificing his values for worldly treasure. I wonder how many of us would have passed that test like Moses did?
One more thought: could Moses have ever been used by God as the deliverer of his people had he compromised his values for money? I think not.
Thanks for this article Jason. I have always liked this passage about Moses and other people of faith. However, I hadn’t ever considered Moses’ choices in relation to material riches. I had always seen these verses as pointing to the treasure of God and his promises but had not considered what all Moses was giving up in order to pursue that treasure.
Thanks for the comments everyone. Bible Debt, that’s a good idea to write a post on delaying gratification of the world – I’ll see what I can come up with!
The true wealth concept is something that God has really been challenging me with the last 18 months or so as we’ve gone through this recession.
This post is exactly what I needed right now. We have the ability as Moses did to put our trust in God. Whatever we have now, we have because HE gave it to us. Thanks for the perspective!
Great post,
We are often tempted to put more focus in our money and financial issues rather than giving all to God. The real treasure is our commitment with Gods kingdom. Moses made the right choice not because he wasn’t tempted with the wealth of Egypt. Nowadays, the majority think those in the bible who had a serious relationship with God didn’t face the temptations we have today. They think it’s impossible to grow wealth in God. I believe finding riches is not a sin, all depends on our motives and purpose for acquiring such riches.
I love this blog, and intend changing my personal finance blog to a Christian personal finance blog.
Thanks for submitting this article to the Christian Encouragement Blog Carnival. You make some really neat observations. I really enjoyed this article! I like how you say that these people didn’t know they were going to be Bible characters. I think I forget that sometimes! Great post.
This article is a blessing – helping to re-define the sources of true happiness and the need to value of our relationship with God much more than wealth and material possessions.