Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. Hebrews 11:25
I remember hearing a song many years ago about a man who had to make a decision every day as he drove to work. Things apparently weren’t all the best with his marriage, and as he arrived at the stop sign at Oak Street, he would be tempted to turn left and flee, rather than turn right toward his workplace, at that intersection. According to the song, the man knew which decision was right, but wondered every morning which decision took the most courage. As Christians, we have decisions to make every day, too, and sometimes we wonder if we would do better by taking the path of escape rather than the path of faith. But we have the example of Moses to encourage us that the wise choice is to trust and obey.
When we speak of Moses, we are usually referring to the Law. As such, we picture the man as a stern and steadfast man holding high the tables of stone with the Ten Commandments. This image is enforced by our frequent quoting of John 1:17: ‘For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ’. But Moses was just like us in many ways, having to make decisions every day, and having to live with those decisions. And our text makes it clear that his greatest decision was made in faith. He was a man who was familiar with the comforts and pleasures of Egypt. He knew the advantages of power and privilege, and he knew the anticipation of ever increasing power that could lead him to the very throne of Egypt. But he could see beyond all of that. He could see even beyond the suffering of the Israelites in their bondage and bitter labour. His faith was in seeing that the pleasures of sin were only for a season, but the identification with the people of God was for eternity. It is the same faith that will lead us to make our decisions, both great and small, in favour of the things of God.
We need to remind ourselves, as Moses did, that the pleasures of sin are fleeting. The season in which we can enjoy them is far shorter than we realize, and is minuscule compared to the eternity to be spent paying for them. The time spent and the effort expended with the people of God may seem brief here, but it is these same people who will share eternity with us, in pleasures that far exceed anything we could expect from the trinkets of the world. It cost Moses immensely to forsake Egypt. And it will cost us to forsake the world. Moses encountered great affliction because of his decision, just as we may have to endure affliction if our choice is like his. Faith enabled Moses to make the right decision, just as it will enable us to do the same.
What decisions do we face today? Do we make those decisions on the basis of satisfying the flesh or of seeing by faith? -Jim MacIntosh