Don’t you love reading about Moses? I do!

Moses was born when Pharaoh declared a national capital punishment to all baby boys who come out of their mothers’ womb. What was their crime?

Listen,

“Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel. . . Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.”
Exodus 1:8-12, 18ESV

Pharaoh and the Egyptians feared the people of Israel and they decided to cast every new born boy into the Nile so their numbers would not keep increasing.

After Pharaoh declared this, Moses came into this world.

Listen:

“Now a man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman. The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank. And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him. Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it. When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.”
Exodus 2:1-10 ESV

In short, Moses became the grandson of Pharaoh. As other old stories tell us, since this particular Pharaoh didn’t have a son, Moses was the next successor of the throne of Pharaoh.

Then what happened?

You can read the rest of the story on your own but let me take you to the Book of Hebrews.

In the most famous chapter of the Bible, known as “Hall of Faith,” the writer of Hebrews accounts the story of Moses in this way:

“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.”
Hebrews 11:23-25 ESV

Notice the last verse: By faith, Moses chose the mistreatment over the pleasure of sin!

Mistreatment over pleasure? Well, pleasure of sin, to be exact. But still! What sort of faith helped Moses to choose mistreatment over the pleasure of sin?

You see, though Pharaoh’s daughter was his legal mother, Moses’ biological mother was the one who breastfed Moses (as you read from the above story). Some people say, kids in ancient times breastfeed until they turn 6 or 7 years. That means, at that informative age, Moses was well groomed by his own Israelite mother as to who he was and where he came from (Israel), what God had promised to the people of Israel and all that.

So Moses believed what God had promised to the people of Israel. His faith was not a blind faith but faith that is founded on the truth of God. This faith made Moses to know the difference between “feeling good” from the fleeting pleasure of sin and rejoicing in the hope of soon to be realized freedom and happiness with the people of God.

Do you see the difference?

Is there any pleasure in sin?

I mean, who will argue with the word of God, right?

Yes, there is indeed pleasure in sin, but the pleasure is so temporary and fleeting that you cannot build your life on it.

So what kept Moses from choosing the temporary pleasure of sin is his faith God.

If that is the case, can we make one conclusive statement here? I think we can!

The source of all sin is unbelief!

Think about it! ///