Faith Sees Greater Realities (Hebrews 11:27)

"By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible" (Hebrews 11:27).

The Grace Lens of God

When God looks at His people, He often sees things we cannot see in ourselves. Through a lens of grace, God knows His children. He looked with grace upon many of the characters found in Hebrews 11. Moses is no exception.

"By faith he left Egypt," God said. And when he left, Moses was "not afraid of the anger of the king."

Reading the Exodus account, we know Moses left Egypt twice. The first time, at age forty, Moses went out alone. The second time, at age eighty, Moses went out with a nation, the people of Israel.

And when we read Moses went out unafraid, we might be tempted to think the author is referring to Moses' second departure from Egypt. After all, that departure was backed by God's plagues, Egypt's defeat, and Moses' own confidence in the Lord. Yes, we think, Moses went out of Egypt by faith when he went out the second time. The first time? Not so much.

But the author must be referencing Moses' first departure from Egypt for a few reasons. First, he has followed strict chronological order up to this point in his recounting of Old Testament heroes. After writing of Moses' exit from Egypt, he then writes of the Passover (Hebrews 11:28), an event that occurred before Moses' departure with all Israel. Second, Moses' second exodus would hardly be described as "he left Egypt." The man went out with a few million people. It was a "they" not "he" experience. Third, at the exodus of Israel, the Pharaoh did not rage in anger, but begged in defeat, for the Passover had decimated his hard heart.

It was at age forty Moses departed Egypt in the face of the king's anger. And of that departure, God said, "By faith he left."

What Faith Did to Moses

How did this brand of faith enable in Moses? What did Moses' trust in God produce? He was not afraid of Pharaoh's anger.

Again, in reading the original account in Exodus, it seems Moses did have fear. Otherwise, he would not have run into the wilderness. Pharaoh was terrifying. But it seems the author is merely pointing out an incredibly human experience. Moses was undoubtedly afraid of Pharaoh, but God calmed his heart, and through simple trust in God, Moses was able to depart Egypt without fear of Pharaoh.

This is human. First, we fear. Then we remember God. Then we are calmed. No fear.

But how did Moses come to a place where, with boldness, without fears, he was able to rise against Pharaoh and leave Egypt? How was he able to disassociate himself with his privilege and upbringing? How did he courageously depart?

Moses, God said, "endured as seeing Him who is invisible." Moses trusted God, he acted in faith, because he saw God. He was fearless because faith sees greater realities.

Pharaoh was a real and dominant force, but Moses saw someone greater than the king. Deified by his people, Pharaoh wasn't deified by Moses. Instead, he saw the true and living God. He embraced the God of all flesh, realizing the powerlessness of the most powerful man alive.

Pharaoh sat on a visible throne with visible subjects and a visible kingdom powered by a visible army. But Moses saw the invisible throne, God, kingdom, and army. And this fueled his departure, with bold courage, from the visible kingdom.

Faith helps people see the greater reality. God's kingdom is truer than anything we see. It certainly lasts longer. But often we are overcome by our sight, consumed with bills and elections and the fear of man. Moses thought, "the fear of man is a snare" (Proverbs 29:25). But he got there through seeing God.

Jesus' Example

Jesus lived this type of life. "Man will not live by bread alone," Jesus said, "But by every word which proceeds from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4). He had discovered, there in the wilderness, while wrestling with Deuteronomy, how there was more to being human than what is seen with the eyes and felt with the body. He knew He needed the word of God.

And for His part, Jesus always lived in the knowledge of the invisible God. He said, "And He who sent Me is with Me. He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him" (John 8:29). This is how Jesus lived, with a constant consciousness of His Father in heaven. He lived to please Him. And when the scribes and legalists came pressing in on Him, when Roman rule and authority flexed its muscle against Him, He remembered His Father. His life was spent on and in obedience to His Father above.

Living this way was food for Jesus. One day, His disciples came back from town and offered Him food they'd bought for lunch. He declined. They were confused (John 4:33). Wasn't He hungry? He told them He had food? But where did you get food? "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work," Jesus said (John 4:34). Jesus lived in this constant knowledge. The invisible God is there. I see Him. And I endure because of this knowledge.

See the Unseen

Every believer who walks by faith must come to understand the invisible God is present. Though unseen, He is at work. Like Elisha's servant, we need our eyes opened (2 Kings 5:17). The army of the Lord surrounds us. Why fear Pharaoh? Why stress? By faith, leave what you must, join with whom you must, and live with the knowledge God is involved with you.

For the original readers of Hebrews, this facet of faith would've helped them overcome the pressures they felt. As believers in the Messiah-Christ Jesus, they were marginalized by the society they'd grown up in. They would need faith to leave their culture if needed. The pressure wasn't as intense as the anger of Pharaoh, but it was pressure all the same. By faith, they needed to see Him who is invisible — seeing God would help them come out of their own version of Egypt.

And isn't this departure often required by believers today? Don't we need to leave various settings? Doesn't our faith require various departures?

In those moments, you must see someone impossible to see, except by faith. God is invisible, but Moses saw Him, and so must you. With eyes of faith, become emboldened for your departure by the knowledge of God's faithful presence. He is with you.

And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:18–20, ESV).