Word for the Day, Wednesday, November 27, 2013 Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the Elders obtained a good report (Heb. 11:1-2). Having proved from the Scriptures that the rest and the good things of the New Covenant are secured and held by faith, the Holy Spirit now illustrates the activities of faith. Verse 1 is not a definition of faith, but a declaration of its action. It makes Promises present and real and unseen things visible. So the Promises respecting Canaan were real to Abraham and to Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, though they were wanderers, and all died without getting them. Similarly, Abel saw the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world; Enoch saw his Divine companion; Noah saw the coming Flood; Abraham saw the city which has foundations; Moses saw Him Who is invisible; women saw a better resurrection, and they all saw the better thing which God provided for them. By faith Abel — by faith Enoch — by faith Noah. These three Patriarchs illustrate Worship, Walk, and Witness; and, Salvation, Consecration, and Condemnation. This is faith in action upon the path of Faith. Verse 4 proclaims Abel offering to God a more excellent Sacrifice than Cain. It was a lamb. Here was a lamb for one man; in Exodus 12, a lamb for a family; in Leviticus 16, a lamb for a nation; and in John 1:29, a lamb for the whole world. Going to Verse 7, the human race, we find, owes its existence to the fact that one man, Noah, was moved with fear. As a factor in Salvation, fear is decried at the present day, and only love is declared to be the true Gospel. Enoch predicted the Wrath of God, i.e., the Flood (Jude, Vs. 14). Society laughed; Noah trembled. Looking at Verses 25 through 27, we find that Moses chose the slave drivers lash rather than Egypts crown. Thus, he forsook the throne of Egypt, and, in so doing, braved the anger of the king, who must have been much incensed that a royal prince should degrade the imperial throne and family by such a decision. The Scripture says that Moses, Through Faith he kept the Passover, and the sprinkling of the Blood, lest He Who destroyed the firstborn should touch them (Heb. 11:28). The Blood of Christ, we find here, is precious to Faith, but the Doctrine of the Atonement is offensive to the self-righteous moralist. While Providence placed Moses in the court of Pharaoh, faith caused him to forsake it. Thus, faith as a motive produced the effect which Providence prepared. Providence governs circumstances; faith governs conduct. The faith that did not fear the wrath of Pharaoh feared the Wrath of God. By the sprinkling of the Blood, Moses acknowledged that he was as much the object of the just judgment of God as was Pharaoh himself. There was no moral difference between them. Both were sinners. Neither of them was innocent. Both stood under the sentence of death; and, being guilty, both merited it. However, the faith that sprinkled the blood, and the unbelief that refused its shelter in the form of Pharaoh, fixed this great gulf between the two men. Moses balanced the best of the world with the shame of Christ, and deliberately chose the latter. He saw its future wealth. However, he could see it only in Christ and the Cross, of which the Passover was a symbol! The Cross helps one to see ones self, to see this world as it really is, and, above all, to see the Promises of God as they really are! The Expositors Word for Every Day. Baton Rouge, LA: World Evangelism Press, 2005.
Posted on: Mon, 25 Nov 2013 18:39:16 +0000
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