Following God Amidst "Anti-Christian" Geekery (In Search Of Truth, Hebrews 11:23-26)

Hebrews 11:23-26(ESV)
By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. 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.

In chapter 11 the author of Hebrews has been providing numerous examples of faith from history, giving us an increasingly clearer understanding of what faith looks like in action and what affect it has on our lives.

v.23

Moses' parents were said to exercise faith by hiding the infant Moses, which they reportedly did because he was "beautiful". This confused me until I took a closer look. The Greek word used for "beautiful" in this verse is translated pretty directly, but comes from a root that refers to the elegance of a city or one who comes from the city, as contrasted with more a commonplace sort of person found in rural areas. The Hebrew word used to describe baby Moses in Exodus 2:2 (translated as "fine" in the ESV) means "good" in a variety of broad senses. So between these two words, it seems that Moses was more than simply an extra-cute baby.

The Expositor's Bible Commentary says, "The meaning appears to be that the child was so exceptionally beautiful that his parents believed that God had some special plan for him." Nearly all parents think their babies are beautiful. But apparently there was something especially "good" about Moses, something that set him apart immediately and possibly even suggested his future connection to Egyptian civilized life rather than rural slave life.

We don't know how Moses' parents were able to discern this, but it was apparently obvious to them, and so they took action to preserve Moses for the special future they believed God made him for.

v.24-25

As an adult, although he had royal priviledges, Moses identified with God's people and gave up his comfortable life to serve Yahweh and see his people set free. The author refers to the pleasures of sin that Moses gave up as "fleeting", which subtly points to the brevity of this life in contrast to eternity.

v.26

Moses considered "the reproach of Christ" to be great wealth. We tend to think of Christ's existence as beginning at the manger. But the author of Hebrews will inform us later in chapter 13 that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever" (13:8). And referring to Israel's Savior Isaiah said, "In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old." The Son of God has existed for all eternity, deeply identifying with his people.

Some have also suggested that "Christ" here, which can also simply translate to "The Anointed", may refer to God's people. Since the Hebrew mind often dealt in multiple, non-contradictory meanings, I tend to think both could be in mind here.

Moses believed that being hated along with his people, and with God, was  something of tremendous value.


SO WHAT'S IN THIS FOR GEEKS?

All three of these examples of faith remind me of things I need to continue thinking about and acting on.

1. Acting on what God seems to be doing. (v.23)

If God presents what seems to be a unique opportunity to do something for him, that should get our attention. But there are two potential extremes I think Geeks can lean toward when it comes to acting on God's specific will for us as individuals.

In our longing to feel special, valuable and "chosen" we can attribute our own desires and ambitions to God's "leading", and end up pursuing things he's not calling us to or that might even be sinful. We can also convince ourselves we are off God's radar and he has nothing specific planned for us, since we feel we don't matter that much.

But the better model I've seen is to (A)look for an opportunity to do good, (B)ensure that acting on it will not contradict scripture or hamper our ability to love God or love others, (C) consider our skills and passions, though not necessarily  limit ourselves to what we are good at, (D) invite the input of others who will not just tell us what we want to hear(Proverbs 11:14), and then, if we are still uncertain, just make a decision of some kind (with a willingness to change course) and see what God does with it.

2. Recognizing the brevity of life and reality of eternity.

It's so easy to think of this life as the main event. In America especially we're constantly being sold on "the pursuit of happiness" as the chief purpose of humanity. And as Geeks we often have an extra focus on entertainment in our lives because we enjoy it so intensely. So when we aren't experiencing the pleasure we hoped for we become depressed and can feel like our lives need a "do-over" so we can get the things we missed the first time.

But this life isn't about experiencing all the good there is to experience. Pleasure is good and comes from Yahweh, but this life is really about strategically investing in eternity by using the years we have right now. And when we recognize that as reality instead of just a nice idea, we can have hope through the dark times we face, purpose in the mundane grind of our days, and know that we're engaged in what God is doing and will experience additional reward for that in his future kingdom on earth.

3. Seeing worth even in being negatively associated with Jesus.

Christians are often a target in the world of geekery, for either who we are or what we believe. So it's become increasingly cool to try and identify ourselves as "not like most Christians". And while it's important to separate biblical Christianity from the legalism and hatred found in non-biblical Christian culture, it's also important that we don't water down the teaching of scripture in order to better fit in and get along with others. By contrast we also shouldn't revel in the distinction that taking a firm stance on something may give us.

Without stirring up trouble or fighting back, we should humbly accept the disgust others may have for us because of our identification with Jesus and his people, not holding on to hope that we will be respected by others. Jesus modeled this by setting aside his rights even for respect when in fact everyone owed him worship! (Philippians 2:5-8)

But how do we endure that? That kind of rejection hurts so deeply!

I think the answer, again, is through our identification with Jesus. He has remade us, he gave up more than we can fathom just so he could have us with him in eternity. We may not exactly understand his reasons for doing that, but the fact that he did means we are incredibly valuable. And that identification with him is where we should look for our value, rather than the blinded opinions of others. As we can see through Moses, identification with Yahweh is a greater treasure and source of worth than anything else in the world.