PASSAGE: Hebrews 11:23-28

SERIES SUMMARY 

This summer, we’ll journey through the great “hall of faith” in Hebrews 11 and discover that biblical faith is not blind optimism or wishful thinking—it is taking God at His Word, even when His Word does not seem to make sense. From Abel’s costly sacrifice to Noah’s ark on dry ground, from Abraham leaving home without a map to Rahab staking everything on a God she barely knew, each story reveals ordinary people learning to trust unseen realities because God had spoken. Week after week, we’ll see how faith clings to God’s promises in moments of uncertainty, delay, suffering, sacrifice, and obedience that often look foolish to the world. And as we walk with these men and women of faith, we’ll discover that the same God who called them to trust Him still calls us to follow Him today—believing His promises, obeying His voice, and fixing our eyes on what cannot yet be seen.

PASSAGE GUIDE

Hebrews 11:23–28 turns our attention to Moses and shows us what enduring faith looks like under the pressure of Egypt. Throughout Hebrews 11, faith faces all kinds of pressure, both internal and external. But Moses’ story especially highlights faith under the weight of external powers that oppose God and His people. In this passage, Egypt represents visible power, fear, privilege, wealth, oppression, and temptation pressing against faith in God’s promises. The repeated phrase “by faith” shows that Moses’ story is not mainly about personal courage or heroic strength, but about trusting God when the powers around him seemed more visible and threatening.

Moses’ story begins with the faith of his parents. Their faith did not deny the danger, but it refused to let fear have the final word. They preserved his life in hope, trusting that God was at work even when the king’s command seemed final. Their obedience reminds us that enduring faith often begins in hidden places, in costly decisions made by ordinary people who trust God more than they fear earthly power.

When Moses grew up, faith led him to refuse the identity and privilege offered by Egypt. As the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, Moses had access to status, education, comfort, influence, and wealth. Yet he chose to identify with the mistreated people of God rather than enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. Moses’ decision exposes one of Egypt’s great temptations: to define life by what we can gain, protect, and enjoy now. Faith sees through that temptation because it knows the rewards of Egypt are temporary, but the promises of God are eternal.

Hebrews says that Moses considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt because he was looking to the reward. Though Moses lived long before the incarnation, his suffering with the people of God anticipated the pattern fulfilled in Jesus. Christ Himself left glory, entered into the suffering of His people, endured reproach, and accomplished salvation through His blood. Moses’ faith points us forward to Jesus, the greater deliverer, who brings His people out of slavery and into life with God.

Moses also endured because he saw Him who is invisible. Pharaoh’s anger was visible, Egypt’s treasures were visible, and the suffering of God’s people was visible, but Moses lived as though the invisible God was more real than all of them. Finally, Moses kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood by faith. Israel’s deliverance came through trusting the word of God and taking shelter under the blood of the lamb, pointing us to Jesus, our true Passover Lamb, whose blood secures freedom, life, and salvation for His people.

Together, these verses show that faith in Egypt is enduring faith under external pressure. It does not cower under fear, settle for fleeting pleasure, define reality by visible power, or look to human strength for deliverance. Instead, faith looks to the reward, endures by seeing Him who is invisible, and takes shelter under the blood of the Lamb. Because of Jesus, the greater deliverer and true Passover Lamb, we can persevere as people who belong to another kingdom and are headed for a better country.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Big Idea: Enduring faith refuses to be ruled by fear or fleeting pleasure because it sees the invisible God and trusts the blood of the Lamb.
• Thru Line: How do we cultivate enduring faith under external pressure?
• Enduring faith doesn’t cower under fear.
• Enduring faith refuses the fleeting pleasures of sin.
• Enduring faith sees the invisible God as more real than visible pressure.
• Enduring faith trusts the blood of the Passover Lamb for freedom and life.

*We are a church located in Greenville, South Carolina. Our vision is to see God transform us into a community of grace passionately pursuing life and mission with Jesus.

SUGGESTIONS FOR COMMUNITY GROUP QUESTIONS    

These are “suggested” questions. You do not have to go through every single one of them. Remember the text is the focus, the sermon is a commentary, discuss and apply in the group.

(Read Hebrews 11:23-28)

1. What stood out to you from the passage or sermon?
2. This passage gives four examples of faith. Which example is most encouraging or challenging to you? Why?
3. What pressures do you see in this passage that made faith costly or difficult?
4. Moses’ parents were “not afraid of the king’s edict.” What is the difference between feeling fear and being ruled by fear?
5. Where are you most tempted right now to let fear, “what ifs,” or possible outcomes shape your decisions more than trust in God?
6. Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. What identities, labels, privileges, or forms of approval can compete with our identity as God’s people?
7. Hebrews says Moses chose mistreatment with the people of God rather than the fleeting pleasures of sin. Why are the pleasures of sin often so persuasive in the moment, and why is “fleeting” such an important word?
8. Moses considered “the reproach of Christ” greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt. What are some “treasures of Egypt” that Christians today are tempted to protect, pursue, or treat as ultimate?
9. Moses endured because he saw “Him who is invisible.” What helps you remember that God is more real than the visible pressures around you?
10. How does Moses’ story, especially the Passover, point us to Jesus, the greater deliverer and true Passover Lamb? How does that strengthen your faith?

CLOSING PRAYER

• Pray for courage to trust God when the pressures of the world feel visible, powerful, and persuasive.
• Pray: Father, help us to see you as more real than the powers and pleasures of this world. Teach us to trust your promises, endure by faith, and follow Jesus, our greater deliverer. Amen.