“By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the People of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season—esteeming the reproaches of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward.”
Hebrews 11:24-26
Forbidden fruit may be quite sweet, but once consumed it produces heartache and bitter tears of regret.
Pleasure or pain.
So often those influence the choices we make in life. And, because of our Adamic nature, so often we’ll choose pleasure, for it caters to our Three Achilles’ Tendons (I Jn. 2:16) and promises us “the good life.”
And, for a while it “delivers the goods.”
Physical pleasure. Popularity. Prestige. Power.
Intoxicating commodities to sure.
But, soon the newness wears off and the longing for something more, better or fulfilling rises up within us, causing us to once again try to fill that inner void in our lives.
But, dear Pilgrim, nothing or no one can fill that longing of soul. Nothing or no one can satisfy the hungry-and-thirst soul.
No one, but Jesus.
And, nothing but His indwelling Presence and life-changing Love. Hallelujah!!
Moses was only three-months-old when his mother laid him in that tiny ark made from bulrushes and hid him in the reeds along the riverbank (Ex. 2:1-3). Yet, through God’s beautiful, sovereign plan, Pharaoh’s daughter fell in love with him when she saw him and spared his life, even though her father had commanded that every newborn male baby should be killed (Ex. 1:15-22).
We also know how Moses’ own mother took care of him until he was old enough to go live at Pharaoh’s palace (2:1-10). And, there’s no doubt that she taught him about the God of Abraham and His Love for them as the People of God.
Thus, after growing up in the palace, he remembered he was Jewish, not Egyptian. And, even though he acted hastily. . .killed an Egyptian soldier who was beating one of his Hebrews brethren. . .hid his body. . .and then had to flee for his life, spending 40 years tending sheep in the Midian wilderness (2:11-3:1). . .he still was blessed by God and would be used to deliver the Israelites from Egyptian slavery after 430 years of “sighing, crying and groaning” (2:23-25).
Expedient or eternal? Fleeting or forever? The world’s treasure or God’s riches?
Those are the choices we grapple with every day. And, it’s only when we “seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness that we receive those treasures that will last” (Mt. 6:33). “The pleasures for a season” can never compare to the pleasure of Christ’s smile. Decide today which one you desire and pursue it with every fiber of your being (Phil. 3:13-14).
