438
T h e K i n g ’ s B u s i n e s s
October 1932
give heed. The flood came and took them all away, while Noah and his family passed through it in safety—a type of that godly remnant in Israel which shall yet pass through a coming judgment. He accepted the word of God con cerning things not seen as yet. Thus he “ became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.” The man o f faith is always the God-fearing man. Noah was “moved with fear.” This does not mean that he was afraid of the coming judgment, but that he had a rev erential fear of God. Faith and fear spurred him on to action. The loss or absence of this fear constitutes a serious defect in the life and character of any person. It denotes a slumbering or dead conscience, a most perilous condition o f soul. A braham The faith of Abraham is seen in his pilgrim character: “ By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.” By faith, he obeyed God’s call. The method, by which the call came, we may not know; but of the fact, Abraham was sure. That was enough. He started without a chart of the way, but not without the God of the way. As a pilgrim, he had a glorious prospect, “ for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” That city is the center of “ a kingdom which cannot be moved” (Heb. 12:28). Abraham looked for a permanent home, and this expectation furnished a prospect that satisfied. The exact nature o f that city for which he looked is not here disclosed. Possibly Abraham possessed clearer light on the hope that he cherished than is revealed in the records. We, too, are pilgrims with the prospect of the Father’s house and the Ford’s return ever before us (cf. John 14: 1-3 ;T John 3 :1, 2 ). The prospect will always be bright, if the heart be obedient to the known will o f God. When the will of God concerning Isaac was clearly re vealed, Abraham did not hesitate in the doing of that will. There was no controversy, no turning back, but rather a willing surrender to the God of resurrection power in whom he truly believed. It is at this point that many Chris tians fail. Christ is the object o f their faith and the ground of their hope, but He is not in control of their lives. Such Christians are not ultra-worldly, but they are joyless and powerless, having no cup that runneth over and no'testi mony that is effective in the winning of others. The obedi ence of faith, as portrayed in Genesis 22:1 to 15, and the response of God, seen in verses 16 to 18, are worthy of study and meditation. M oses We pass over the aspects of faith presented by Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, in order to dwell upon the career of Moses to whom the writer of the epistle devotes more space. The activity of faith is seen all through the career of Moses. He had been taught the things of God, as well as the things of Egypt. A choice between the two was necessary, and he chose to suffer affliction with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season in Egypt. He chose God, and God became his dwelling place. Later in life, he wrote the Ninetieth Psalm, which begins with the words, “ Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.” What a testimony is this, and what a rich spirtual experience lay behind it! To know God as the home of the soul certainly transcends all the knowledge and pleasure that Egypt has to offer. Under such conditions, Moses endured as seeing Him who is ^invisible. There was much to endure during the forty years of leadership and responsibility connected with Israel. Criticism, murmuring, envy, dissatisfaction, and
rebellion followed each other in rapid succession, but Moses endured, for God was real to him. Impinging upon our world of time and sense, there is another world of spirit — invisible, inaudible, intangible, but yet real to faith. The power of the unseen is a potent force in human affairs. Moses experienced this power. His faith laid hold of the invisible world as real faith always does, and he endured. He esteemed “ the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasure of Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.” How does it happen that the name of Christ is intro duced here ? “ Christ” is the Greek word corresponding to the Hebrew, “ Messiah.” At the time of Moses, the He brews knew of a promised Messiah, the Deliverer of Gen esis 3:15. Other forms o f that same promise had been- given to Abraham. Jacob also had made mention of “ Shi loh” who should come. In the wealth of promise already given, the Messianic element had the chief place! This hope of a Redeemer and Deliverer ministered to the faith and joy of the godly element in Israel. With this Messianic hope, Moses identified himself. The transient pleasures of Egypt were as nothing to him when compared with the wealth of promise and blessing associated with the Messiah. Centuries later, another man made a similar choice (Phil. 3:7-11). Much depends on the choices we make. They indicate what we really are, and they determine what we are to be. Choices must be made between the transient pleasures of sin and the permanent glories of Christ, between a mess of pottage and the birthright of the sons of God. The su preme choice of the soul is not between the good and the bad, but between God and.everything else. Beginning with verse 33, the writer presents to us a summary ,of the lives of these men and women of faith. The brief historic sketches of the more prominent are fol lowed by a comprehensive statement of the less conspicu ous. The qualities of courage and endurance necessary for their achievements were the products of faith. We cannot be less than weak; we cannot be more than strong. The transition from weakness to strength is effected through faith. Ponder the words, “ out of weakness were made strong.” There follows a record of patient endurance and victorious faith, which always acts as a spiritual tonic, and which doubtless strengthened the faith of the Hebrew Christians to whom the epistle was addressed. C onclusion The concluding verses, 39 and 40, remind us of the benefits- of the new covenant as compared with the old arrangement. The faithful ones of this chapter obtained a good report, or, as the Revised Version puts it, they had witness borne to them through their faith—the witness of the divine approval in their hearts. But they did not receive the promise in fulfillment as we have received it. They had the promise of the Deliverer Himself . This included His atoning sacrifice, for which everything else was pre paratory. “ The first and most obvious difference between believers in the old dispensation and the new,” says Adolph Saphir, “ is that the promised salvation was to them Entirely in the future. While for us the best things are yet# future, we have, as a great fact of history, the first adveflt of the Redeemer, and the first installment of His redeeming work is already ours.” His work has secured for us the perfect remission of sins (Heb. 9 :26), the perfection of/a cleansed conscience (Heb. 9:14 to 10:2), and a perfem access to God (Heb. 4:14-16; 10:19-22). This is the r/erfection of the closing verse. The perfection of resurrection and glori fied bodies, which awaits us, will not be realized until He comes. For that glorious event, the departed saints of all dispensations are waiting. ) I
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