Discover The Word

IDEA: What we do not see may be more significant than what we do see.

PURPOSE: To help listeners realize that what was true of Moses in his leadership can be true for us today.

In our previous conversation we discussed a problem that we face in Hebrews 11:27: “By faith Moses left Egypt not fearing the king’s anger; but he persevered as seeing him who is invisible.”

The question we wrestled with was: What does it mean that he “left Egypt not fearing the king’s anger”?

I. One possibility is that it can refer to the time he left Egypt to go to Midian. But the Exodus text says that he was afraid.

The text does not tell us what he was afraid of. It’s possible that he was afraid of his own people when they turned against him when he tried to intervene on their behalf.

A lesson that could be learned is that those who are closest to us can make us most afraid.

Moses had this happen to him again and again in the 40 years he led the people through the wilderness. They constantly questioned his leadership, and that’s very difficult for a leader.

II. Another possibility is that it refers to the Exodus.

What happened in Midian that got Moses to go back to Egypt to lead the people of Israel?

He was well aware of the might and power of Pharaoh and his armies. He could see the power of the king. But the text says that he endured as seeing him who is invisible. When do you think that happened?

III. We sometimes say “seeing is believing,” but it’s also true that believing is seeing.