This entry will be the last of the series in the Heroes of Faith, Today we will be looking towards Heb 11:23-27.
The author of Hebrews was sharing about 2 characters in the bible. 1. Moses Parents: They decided to keep the baby Moses hidden 2. Moses who forsake his life in the palace of Egypt for his life with God.
Moses Parents (Ex 2:1-8) So the story of Moses Parents was short, as the bible did not said much about it. The story happens so far that there was a new King in Eygpt who did not know Joseph (Then the Hebrews who lived in Goshen were in huge numbers) the king, fearing his political power may be compromised, started to oppress the Hebrews.
Initially, he ordered for the Hebrew Midwives to kill the any baby boy when they help the women deliver children. This order wasn’t followed, then he ordered for a massacre of all Hebrew boys. Some of the reader may wonder why did the king order this. The only possible answer I can gather is, if all the boys are killed, the Hebrew daughters will have no choice but to either marry Egyptians (and be assimilated to population) or remain unmarried. This would lead to the destruction of the race.
Then in Ex 2, there was a Levite couple who gave birth to a baby boy. But they find the boy very Beautiful. I did a few search around, the RSV and King James version translated that to be Goodly, meaning Pleasant Looking). but the Jewish translation in http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/9863/jewish/Chapter-2.htm translated that as good. Stephen in Acts said he was "well pleasing to God".
I am unsure what the parents see in the child, perhaps out of the love of their kids, or perhaps they can see that God has a higher plan for the child. So because of that Faith, they decided to hide the child, ignoring the Pharaoh’s command to kill him. When he is 3 months, when he cannot be hidden anymore. They have no choice but to make an basket for him and drift him away in the Nile river, sending their daughters to follow it. I am wondering what is going on in the parents mind at this time, perhaps like all of us, they will be worried, and they will not know if they will see him again. But keeping on to the faith in God, they decided to let the baby drift into the river and entrusting God to take care of him.
When man has ran out of ideas, that is when God intervenes, as we follow onto this story, the basket miraculously flowed into the place where the daughter of the Pharaoh is bathing. When she saw the baby, she had compassion on him. This is when Moses sister Miriam came and offered to find a nanny (her mother) to take care of Moses.
The author of Hebrews uses the fact that the parents kept the child is due to their faith, but what is the faith of the parents? After pondering this for sometime, I think 1. They believe that God has a plan for the child and if they were to kill him, Gods plan will not come 2. They always believe in what their forefathers says, that God will bring them out of Egypt one day, 3. If the child is indeed Gods instrument to keep the promise, God will take care of them.
Hence their faith is shown when they let the boy go. When they were with the young Moses, I can be very sure that the passed this faith to Moses, as we can see the Moses in the next section.
Moses Early Life Strangely, the book of Exodus was very quiet about Moses life before he started to visit his brethren in Egypt. Hence we can only gather from the following verses
Acts 7:20-22: At this time Moses was born, and was well pleasing to God; and he was brought up in his father’s house for three months. But when he was set out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him away and brought him up as her own son. And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds.
Heb 11:24-26: By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.
We can gather the following about Moses Early childhood 1. He was trained in all the knowledge of the Egyptian, and was groomed to become an important Prince in Egypt 2. His mother most likely taught him everything about God, and also the fact that Moses is not an Egyptian. 3. His mother must have shared about the hope that God will take the people out of Egypt one day. 4. He must have heard of all the deeds by the Pharaoh to totally annihilate the Hebrew Population, and How God allowed him to survive. 5. Perhaps the idea that God will deliver the Hebrews out of Egypt using the hand of Moses is also taught to him by his mother.
From all this, when Moses became of age, he suddenly wanted to visit his brethren and to take care of them. But he chose to forsake his status as the prince of Egypt because he can see the heavenly home that his forefathers hold on to strongly. He is very sure that the promises of God are much more precious then any Gold in Egypt. Hence he backed this faith up by forsaking his worldly processions
Quick Summary of Moses life 1. He tried to use his own strength to deliver the people, but he forgot to follow God, Hence God sent him to Midian for 40 Years 2. He returned to Egypt after God has molded him 40 years , at the age of 80. 3. God gave delivered the Hebrews by giving ten plagues to the land of Egypt. And on the tenth plague, he ordered Moses to keep the passover.
Other deeds of Faith by Moses (Passover) God shared with Moses that he will be dealing the greatest blow to the Egyptians by killing all the firstborn(Ex 11:1-10). and God gave specific instruction to Moses to follow (Ex 12).
In summary 1. Kill a lamb, takes its blood 2. Use Hyssop, dip it with the Lambs blood and spread it on the door post and lintel 3. Whoever who does not follow will have the firstborn killed
If we were to look at the instructions, many a times in our present times, when God gives us specific instructions, we tend to bargain with God (Like Lot when he is asked to flee), if not we would try not to follow, claiming that we only need to believe in God and that’s all. But here you can see the Faith of the people as well as Moses, is being make perfect by their actions. By doing so, they prove that they fully believe in God.
Other deeds of Faith by Moses (Crossing the Red Sea) (Ex 14) So the Hebrews finally left Egypt, taking the body of Joseph with them. They journeyed a few day and camped near the Red sea, God has already warned Moses that the Pharaoh will pursue them in Ex 14:1.
So Pharaoh mustered his chariots and began chasing the Hebrews
So as the chariots are approaching, the people were all frightened. Hence Moses comforted the people saying that God will save them. (Knowing what God has told him). But then, I believe if we were Moses, we would be afraid, and I am sure after that Moses cried out to the Lord, hence God gave him the instructions
1. Lift the Rod Stretch his arms towards the Sea 2. The Sea will divide, and the people will pass through it.
Then the angel of the Lord as well as the pillar of cloud came and stood between the Egyptians and Hebrews. This is then Moses follow the exact instructions of God. And the people passed on dry land.
As for the Egyptians, they attempted that and were all destroyed .
Over here, it is Moses who held onto the believe that God will deliver the people, and his willingness to follow Gods instructions, that allowed this miracle to happen.
I hope by now we would all understand that Faith, is not just a mere belief, it is always backed with physical actions, and our actions will prove how strong our faith really are. Therefore, if God were to give us a difficult order, how would we respond to it? Think about all the examples before us that we have studied so far.
In fact the author of Hebrews mentioned many other bible stories in the later verses. There are a few more I would like to summarise here as conclusion 1. Joshua faith in God allowed him to use Gods way to attack Jericho, if we study this battle, we would know that the idea of marching around the walls wont help one win the battle usually. 2. Rahab chose to take in the spies because she knows where God is. And she became one of Jesus ancestor. 3. Take a look at the story of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets. and see if you can pick up anything more about faith?
Conclusion Of Series
I hope that by now we would understand what it means to have faith. Here are all the blogpost of this entry
I remember I first heard this when I was in Brunei. I kinda like this tune because of the fact that the background beat is taken from the Song Ben E Kings “Stand By Me”. Well, I do not think i will ever end up being suicidal over any relationships….. but nonetheless.. The beat and the tune is very catchy.
While searching around Youtube, I realised that there is a singer Jojo who wrote an response to the song… Hence to be neutral in the gender wars, I have decided to splash both lyrics in the post
Sean Kingston
Beautiful Girl lyrics
JR! Sean Kingston!
You’re way too beautiful girl
That’s why it will never work
You had me suicidal, suicidal
When you say it’s over
Damn all these beautiful girls
They only wanna do you dirt
They’ll have you suicidal, suicidal
When they say it’s over
You’re way too beautiful girl
That’s why it will never work
You had me suicidal, suicidal
When you say it’s over
Damn all these beautiful girls
They only wanna do you dirt
They’ll have you suicidal suicidal
When they say it’s over
See it started at the park, used to chill after dark
Oh, when you took my heart, that’s when we fell apart
Cuz we both thought, that love could last forever
(Last forever)
They say we’re too young, to get ourselves sprung
Oh we didn’t care, we made it very clear
And they also said, that we couldn’t last together
(Last together)
See it’s very define, you’re one of a kind
But you’re much on my mind, you often get decline
Oh lord my baby you’re driving me crazy
You’re way too beautiful girl
That’s why it will never work
You had me suicidal, suicidal
When you say it’s over
Damn all these beautiful girls
They only wanna do you dirt
They’ll have you suicidal, suicidal
When they say it’s over
It was back in 99, watching movies all the time
Oh when I went away for doing my first crime
And I never thought, that we was gonna see each other
(see each other)
And then I came out, mommy move me down south
Oh I’m with my girl who I thought was my world
It came out to me, that she wasn’t the girl for me
See it’s very define, you’re one of a kind
But you’re much on my mind, you often get decline
Oh lord my baby you’re driving me crazy
You’re way too beautiful girl
That’s why it will never work
You had me suicidal, suicidal
When you say it’s over
Damn all these beautiful girls
They only wanna do you dirt
They’ll have you suicidal suicidal
When they say it’s over
Now we are fussing and now we are fighting
Please tell me why, I’m feeling slighted
And I don’t know, how to make it better
(make it better)
You’re dating other guys, you’re telling me lies
Oh I can’t believe what I’m seeing with my eyes
I’m losing my mind, and I don’t think it’s clever
(Think it’s clever)
You’re way too beautiful girl
That’s why it will never work
You had me suicidal, suicidal
When you say it’s over
Damn all these beautiful girls
They only wanna do you dirt
They’ll have you suicidal… suicidal
Im way to cool for ya boy
Thats why it’ll never work
I’ll have you suicidal suicidal when I say its over.
Damn all these beautiful girls
We’re only gunna do ya dirt
we’ll have you suicidal suicidal when I say its over.
Yeah Yeah
[Verse 1:]
I remember when I was hanging with my friends
thats when I caught your eye, you thought that I was fly
right then you wished that I would be your baby (be your baby).
You tried to spit some game asking me “girl whats your name?”
Saw the Ice up on your chain , so i asked you the same.
something tells me that we’d have fun together.(fun together)
I ain’t easy to find, I’m one of a kind
Ohh when I dutty wine just know your on my mind.
tonight is yours, but tomorrows for another guyyy.
Im way to cool for ya boy
Thats why it’ll never work
I’ll have you suicidal suicidal when I say its over.
Damnn all these beautiful girls
who only gunna do ya dirt
we’ll have you suicidal suicidal when I say its over.
[Verse 2:]
You’ve been calling me, leaving messages all week.
Cause Your curiosity got your knees weak.
I’m not looking for a man so I don’t want no confusion. (no confusion)
I took ya to the flow had you begging me for more
but that was my que to go, so I hit the door.
I led you hott. But your mind is still running wildddd.
I ain’t easy to find, I’m one of a kind
Ohh when I dutty wine just know you’re on my mind.
if you stick around, be careful not to fall in love.(fall in love)
Im way to cool for ya boy
Thats why it’ll never work
I’ll have you suicidal suicidal when I say its over.
Damnn all these beautiful girls
who only gunna do ya dirt
we’ll have you suicidal suicidal when I say its over.
[verse 3:]
Now a couple months have passed never thought that this would last
Oh Everybody asks how you got a girl like that.
But you shouldve known that nothing lasts forever.(lasts forever)
I mess up your mind, when i tell you lies.
Boy Don’t be surprised that im seeing other guys
I’m too young to settle and you should’ve known better.(known better)
Damnn all these beautiful girls (you should have known)
who only gunna do ya dirt
we’ll have you suicidal suicidal when I say its over
I came across a Wikipedia article on Hua Mulan (Yes, the one of the Disney cartoon character). I have heard of the story since I was a kid. So I decided to check out on the historical accuracy of the character.
Apparantly, I gathered the following information from wikipedia .
1. Mulan was never discovered to be a lady until she came back from battle.
2. The disneys adaptation of the story is very far away from the actual poem.
From the wikipedia, I also managed to pull out the translation of the ballad and I am placing them here
木兰诗
唧唧复唧唧，木兰当户织，不闻机杼声，惟闻女叹息。
问女何所思，问女何所忆，女亦无所思，女亦无所忆。
昨夜见军帖，可汗大点兵。军书十二卷，卷卷有爷名。
阿爷无大儿，木兰无长兄，愿为市鞍马，从此替爷征。
东市买骏马，西市买鞍貉，南市买辔头，北市买长鞭。
旦辞爷娘去，暮至黄河边。不闻爷娘唤女声，但闻黄河流水鸣溅溅。
但辞黄河去，暮宿黑山头。不闻爷娘唤女声，但闻燕山胡骑鸣啾啾。
万里赴戎机，关山度若飞。朔气传金析，寒光照铁衣。
将军百战死，壮士十年归。归来见天子，天子坐明堂。
策勋十二转，赏赐百千强。可汗问所欲，木兰不用尚书郎。
愿驰千里足，送儿还故乡。爷娘闻女来，出郭相扶将。
阿姊闻妹来，当户理红妆。小弟闻姊来，磨刀霍霍向猪羊。
开我东阁门，坐我西阁床。脱我战时袍，着我旧时裳。
当窗理云鬓，对镜贴花黄。出门看伙伴，伙伴皆惊惶。
同行十二年，不知木兰是女郎！ 雄兔脚扑朔，雌兔眼迷离。
双兔傍地走，安能辨我是雄雌。
Rough translation from Chinese: The insects chirping happily outside,
Mulan sat opposite the door weaving;
No sound of the shuttle was heard,
Only sighs of the girl.
When asked what she was pondering over,
When asked what she had called to mind,
Nothing special the girl was pondering over,
Nothing special had the girl called to mind.
Last night she saw the military announcement,
The Khan was conscripting,
There were twelve announcements of conscription,
And Father’s name was in every one of them.
Father had no grown son,
Nor Mulan an older brother;
She wanted to buy a saddle and horse,
And from now on fought in place of her Father.
In the eastern market she bought a fine steed,
In the western market a saddle and a pad,
In the southern market a bridle,
In the northern market a long whip.
At daybreak she bid farewell to her parents,
At sunset she bivouacked by the Yellow River;
What met her ears was no longer her parents’ call,
But the gurgles and splashes of the rushing waters.
At daybreak she left the Yellow River,
At sunset she arrived at the top of the Black Hill;
What met hers ears was no longer her parents’ call,
But barbarians’ horses neighing in the Yanshan Mountains.
On the expedition of thousands of miles to the war,
She dashed across mountains and passes as if in flight;
In the chilly northern air night watches clanged,
In the frosty moonlight armour and helmet glistened,
Generals laid down their lives in a hundred battles,
And valiant soldiers returned after ten years’ service.
When she returned to an audience with the Son of Heaven (usually refers to as Emperor),
The Son of Heaven sat in the Hall of Brightness.
A promotion of many ranks was granted for her merits,
With a reward than amounted to thousands of strings of cash.
The Khan asked Mulan what she desired to do.
‘I don’t need any high official position,
Please lend me a sturdy mount that is fleet of foot,
And send me back to my hometown.’
When her parents heard their daughter was coming,
They walked out of the town, each helping the other;
When the elder sister heard the younger sister was coming,
She decked herself out in her best by the door;
When her younger brother heard his sister was coming,
He whetted a knife and aimed it at a pig and a sheep.
Opened the door of my east chamber,
And then sat down on the bed in my west chamber;
Taking of the armour worn in wartime,
Attired myself in apparel of former times;
By the window I combed and coiffed my cloudy hair,
Before the mirror I adorned my forehead with a yellow pattern.
When Mulan came out to meet her battle companions,
They were all astounded and thrown into bewilderment.
Together they had been in the army for a dozen years or so,
Yet none had known that Mulan was actually a girl.
The male rabbit kicks its fluffly feet as it scampers,
The eyes of female rabbit are blurred by fluffy tufts of hair,
But when they run side by side in the field,
You can hardly tell the doe from the buck!
I also manage to find a short recital of the ballad in youtube, but the recital is only part of the ballad. Until the part where she asked for a mount to return to her home. Meanwhile enjoy 🙂
The Hesitant Prize Fighter 