Ed Urzi

“By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days” (Hebrews 11:30 ESV).

Although Jericho was the first city the people of Israel encountered upon their entrance into the Promised Land, it appears their reputation preceded their arrival in that area.

You see, Joshua 2:9-10 tells us that the residents of Jericho knew God had parted the Red Sea for the Israelites decades earlier. They were also aware of Israel’s successful military engagements with the nation-states they encountered prior to their arrival in that area. These reports made the people of Jericho very concerned about Israel- so much so that Joshua 6:1 tells us that the city was locked up tight in an effort to keep them out.

With that, let’s look at God’s plan to conquer this seemingly indestructible fortress…

“The Lord said to Joshua, I am about to hand Jericho, its king, and its warriors over to you. All the soldiers will march around the city once a day for six days. Seven priests will carry rams’ horns ahead of the ark. But on the seventh day you must march around the city seven times while the priests blow their horns. When you hear a long blast on the horn, all the troops must shout very loudly. The wall around the city will collapse. Then the troops must charge straight ahead into the city” (Joshua 6:2-5 GW).

We can derive several important lessons regarding faith from this passage. For instance, no credible military strategist would ever endorse an invasion plan that involved marching around a metropolitan area for a week. Yet, that was the tactical plan God issued to the people of Israel. Thus, faith recognizes that God may choose to fulfill His purposes in unusual ways.

We can also say that faith sometimes requires patience. Remember that the walls of Jericho didn’t fall immediately; and the people of Israel had to exercise patience in order to see the result God intended for them.

Joshua 6:20 identifies something else we can learn from this example: faith acts on what God has promised…

“So the troops shouted very loudly when they heard the blast of the rams’ horns, and the wall collapsed. The troops charged straight ahead and captured the city” (GW).

So the people of Israel acted upon God’s directive first. Then they saw Him fulfill His promises on their behalf. This is a characteristic of faith that is often repeated throughout Hebrews chapter eleven.

So the walls of Jericho came down, but not everyone perished in the city’s destruction…

“Joshua said to the two men who had scouted the land, ‘Go to the prostitute’s house and bring the woman out of there, and all who are with her, just as you swore to her'” (Joshua 6:22 CSB).

That portion of Scripture will lead us into our look at the next hero of the faith from Hebrews chapter eleven.

The next stop on our tour through the Hebrews chapter eleven “Faith Hall Of Fame” takes us to another notable event- the fall of Jericho…

“By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days” (Hebrews 11:30).

Many have undoubtedly heard the account of Jericho’s demise after the people of Israel followed God’s directive to march around the city for seven days. While the record of Jericho’s fall may be familiar, there are some important things we can learn about faith when we stop to examine what took place there.

For example, the account of Jericho’s downfall began long before the Israelites ever reached the city…

“After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: ‘Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them– to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses'” (Joshua 1:1 NIV).

The person God chose to replace Moses was a man named Joshua, Moses’ former assistant (Numbers 27:15-23). Following Moses’ death, the Lord spoke to Joshua saying, “I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses” (Joshua 1:3 NIV). Since Jericho was the first city Israel encountered after they entered the Promised Land, it thus represented Joshua’s first opportunity to act upon God’s promise by faith. That brings us to our first observation from this passage: the leaders changed, but their faith in God remained the same.

Although Jericho was a residential community, it seems as if it was built more like a high-security military installation than a city. From what we know of the city today, it appears that Jericho was more than a quarter-mile wide in diameter (about .50 km). It was also built on an elevated location -a definite advantage against those who might seek to conquer the city.

It also appears that there were three different walls that surrounded the city to protect it from intruders. The first wall circled the exterior border and was 15 feet (5 m) high, and six feet (2 m) thick. Behind this perimeter wall was a second wall that was 25 feet (8 m) high, and six feet (2 m) thick. Finally, a third 25-foot (8 m) tall, six-foot (2 m) thick wall was situated behind the outer walls. These features combined to make Jericho extremely difficult to invade.

It’s also clear that Joshua and his army were dealing with a city that was filled with people who were highly motivated to keep them out. We’ll see why next.

“By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned” (Hebrews 11:29).

Genesis 15:13-14 records a scene from the life of the Biblical patriarch Abraham that relates to our text from Hebrews 11:29…

“The Lord said to [Abraham], ‘Your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land; they will be slaves there and will be treated cruelly for four hundred years. But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and when they leave that foreign land, they will take great wealth with them…” (GNT).

That prophetic message was fulfilled upon Israel’s departure from Egypt…

“The Israelites had already done what Moses had told them to do. They had gone to their Egyptian neighbors and asked for gold and silver and for clothes. The Lord had made the Egyptians friendly toward the people of Israel, and they gave them whatever they asked for. In this way they carried away the wealth of the Egyptians when they left Egypt” (Exodus 12:35-36 CEV).

This led to one of the greatest miraculous events in Biblical history- the parting of the Red Sea…

“When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about the people and said, ‘What have we done? We have released Israel from serving us.’ So he got his chariot ready and took his troops with him… The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, his horsemen, and his army—chased after them and caught up with them as they camped by the sea…

But Moses said to the people, ‘Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and see the Lord’s salvation that he will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again.’

…Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back with a powerful east wind all that night and turned the sea into dry land. So the waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with the waters like a wall to them on their right and their left. The Egyptians set out in pursuit… and went into the sea after them…

Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the water may come back on the Egyptians, on their chariots and horsemen.’ So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea returned to its normal depth… The water came back and covered the chariots and horsemen, plus the entire army of Pharaoh that had gone after them into the sea. Not even one of them survived” (Exodus 14:5-6, 9, 13, 21-23, 26-28 CSB).

Thus, as one author concludes, “The difference between the Israelites crossing the Red Sea and the Egyptians who followed them was not courage, but faith. The Egyptians had as much (or more) courage than the Israelites, but not the same faith – and they each had different fates.” ₍₁₎

(1) David Guzik Hebrews 11 – Examples Of Faith To Help The Discouraged © Copyright – Enduring Word https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/hebrews-11/

“It was faith that made [Moses] establish the Passover and order the blood to be sprinkled on the doors, so that the Angel of Death would not kill the first-born sons of the Israelites” (Hebrews 11:28 GNT).

The seventh to twelfth chapters of the Biblical book of Exodus detail a series of disastrous plagues that were imposed upon the nation of Egypt. Those afflictions culminated in the most devastating plague of all: the death of every firstborn son who was outside a dwelling under God’s protection.

One source offers a valuable synopsis of that final event and its relationship to our text from Hebrews 11:28…

“Moses was warned in detail about the fatal tenth plague, and he prepared the Hebrew people so they could protect themselves from it. At midnight, the Lord would sweep over Egypt, killing the firstborn of every living thing, man and beast, except for those who were protected. That protection was afforded by the sacrifice of a spotless lamb. Each family was to sacrifice such a lamb and to sprinkle its blood on the doorposts. The blood, symbol of God’s protective power, would cause the angel of death to pass over.

Thus was instituted what is still one of the most holy Jewish holidays, the Passover. When Jesus Christ came, his followers realized the further significance of the Passover rites: they foreshadow the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as the true Passover Lamb. His blood shed on the cross is the true blood of atonement and protection, and God’s judgment on sin ‘passes over’ those who have been protected by that blood.

Pharaoh heard the cry of grief and mourning throughout his land. His household, too, had been affected: his firstborn son was dead, and now he was ready to give up the fight. The God of Israel was too powerful for him. Relenting from his stubbornness, he summoned Moses and Aaron and permitted them to lead the people, with all their possessions, out from the land of Goshen in Egypt and to their God in the wilderness. Not until after the last one did Pharaoh finally agree to let the people leave Egypt.” ₍₁₎

As another commentator observes, “It took faith to believe that the blood of a lamb on the doorpost would save a household from the terror of the angel of death; but Moses had that faith, and led the nation in observance of Passover.” ₍₂₎ These insights should lead us to a greater appreciation for this historical narrative and its appearance here within the Hebrews 11 “Faith Hall Of Fame.”

(1) McDowell, J. (1997). Josh McDowell’s Handbook On Apologetics (electronic ed.). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson. Page 29.

(2) David Guzik Hebrews 11 – Examples Of Faith To Help The Discouraged © Copyright – Enduring Word https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/hebrews-11/

“It was by faith that Moses commanded the people of Israel to keep the Passover and to sprinkle blood on the doorposts so that the angel of death would not kill their firstborn sons” (Hebrews 11:28 NLT).

When Moses approached Pharaoh to request a national three day leave-of-absence to offer sacrifices to the Lord, the Egyptian monarch responded just as God predicted: ”’Who is the Lord?’ the king demanded. ‘Why should I listen to him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord; and I will not let Israel go'” (Exodus 5:2 GNT). Although Pharaoh did not realize it, this represented the beginning of the end of Israel’s servitude in Egypt…

“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh. I will use my great power against him, and he will let my people go. He will be so ready for them to leave that he will force them to go'” (Exodus 6:1 ERV).

That led to a series of ten judgments that were designed to compel Pharaoh into obedience. Those judgments took the form of the following plagues…

• All the waters of Egypt, including the beloved Nile River, turned to blood.
• Frogs overran the land.
• Gnats (or lice) infested the land of Egypt to the point where they “…covered everyone, people and animals alike” Exodus 8:18 NLT). This brought Pharaoh’s occultic advisors to the following conclusion: “…’This is something only God could do!'”(Exodus 8:19 CEB).
• Swarms of flies descended upon the homes of the Egyptians, including Pharaoh’s residence. But no flies entered the region of Goshen where the people of Israel dwelled.
• A severe pestilence decimated the nation’s livestock, including their cattle, horses, donkeys, camels, oxen, and sheep.
• Boils and sores broke out on the people and the remaining animals.
• Hailstones destroyed Egypt’s agricultural production, along with whatever replacement livestock the Egyptians had been able to procure. Nevertheless, God graciously offered the following counsel in advance: “‘Tomorrow at this time I’ll cause the heaviest hail to fall on Egypt that has ever fallen from the day Egypt was founded until now. So bring under shelter your livestock and all that belongs to you that is out in the open. Every person or animal that is out in the open field and isn’t brought inside will die when the hail rains down on them.’ Some of Pharaoh’s officials who took the Lord’s word seriously rushed to bring their servants and livestock inside for shelter. Others who didn’t take the Lord’s word to heart left their servants and livestock out in the open field” (Exodus 9:18-21 CEB).
• Any plant that wasn’t completely annihilated by the hail was subsequently devoured by locusts.
• Thick darkness then covered the land for three days.

The final plague -the deaths of all firstborn- was directly associated with the Passover referenced here in Hebrews 11:28 and facilitated Israel’s subsequent departure from Egypt.

“By faith [Moses] forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them” (Hebrews 11:27-28).

Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, was viewed as a god among the people of his kingdom. As such, he was the single most powerful figure within Egyptian society during the period of Israel’s captivity. In theory, Pharaoh could have executed Moses without repercussion if he desired. Yet Moses was not alarmed by that possibility, for his faith in the One who is unseen enabled him to overcome any potential fear of the king’s wrath.

Moses expressed that same faith in keeping the Passover as well. The Feast of Passover was (and is) a commemorative event that memorializes Israel’s deliverance from Egypt (see Exodus chapter twelve). This annual observance commemorates the time when God “passed over” every home that carried an identifying mark of lamb’s blood on its exterior door frame. The firstborn in every other home was put to death…

“I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night and strike every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, both people and animals. I am the Lord; I will execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt. The blood on the houses where you are staying will be a distinguishing mark for you; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will be among you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt” (Exodus 12:12-13 CSB).

Although the Passover is widely celebrated among the members of the Jewish community today, the events that led up to that first Passover may be less familiar. A look at the Biblical record reveals that the Passover referenced here in Hebrews 11:28 was the culmination of a series of events involving Pharaoh and others under his leadership. Those events are known today as the Ten Plagues of Egypt.

However, we can trace the Passover’s origin even further back to Moses’ first interaction with God. At the time of their initial meeting, the Lord issued the following directive to Moses: “…you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God'” (Exodus 3:18 NIV).

God then followed with a piece of divine foresight: “I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless he is forced to do so. But I will use my power and will punish Egypt by doing terrifying things there. After that he will let you go” (Exodus 3:19-20 GNT). Thus, it was Pharaoh who initiated the chain of events that ultimately led to the establishment of the Passover.

“esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward” (Hebrews 11:26).

A cursory look at Hebrews 11:26 should prompt an immediate question: “How could Moses regard ‘disgrace for the sake of Christ to be of greater value than all the riches in Egypt’ when Jesus had not yet been born?”

We can address this question when we consider the passage that precedes this verse: “[Moses] chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:25 NIV). When we take these verses together, we find that Moses elected to exchange the temporary mistreatment he experienced during his earthly life for something better in the future.

That mistreatment represented “abuse suffered on behalf of the Messiah” (CJB) in the following sense: whenever someone is mistreated for a decision to follow God in faith, he or she follows the ultimate example set by Christ. For Moses, that meant looking forward to Jesus’ example. For us, it means looking back.

For example, consider the following excerpt from Jesus’ Sermon On The Mount…

“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11-12).

While contemporary audiences can benefit from this principle, the heart of Jesus’ message is also reflected in the lives of Old Testament saints like Moses, as well as many of the other individuals we meet in Hebrews chapter eleven. They were often reviled, mistreated, and persecuted, along with other notable Old Testament personalities such as Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel, among others.

One Biblical scholar expands on this idea with the following insight…

“This is a text that shows that Moses himself was conscious of the coming of the Messiah and of the Messiah’s own ‘reproach,’ with which Moses was willing to identify in an anticipatory manner. It may be that Moses to some degree saw his suffering and the suffering of his people… as a typological foreshadowing of the ultimate suffering of God’s Son who also would come out of Egypt (Matt. 2:15, quoting Hos. 11:1).” ₍₁₎

Finally, it is significant to note that Moses (along with Elijah) spoke with Jesus at the time of His transfiguration in Mark 9:2-10. Just as Moses suffered “…disgrace for the sake of Christ” (NIV), so also was he honored with the privilege of an audience with the Messiah during His glorious transfiguration.

(1) R. C. Sproul, ed., The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (2015 Edition) (Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2015), 2217.

“By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter and chose to suffer with the people of God rather than to enjoy the short-lived pleasure of sin” (Hebrews 11:24-25 HCSB).

Moses’ decision to leave the security and privilege of Egyptian royalty led to several consequences. For instance, the Biblical account of Moses’ life reveals that he was a man who suffered a great deal. In Moses, we also find someone who was clearly apprehensive about following God’s direction at one point in his life.

In addition, Moses repeatedly faced large groups of unappreciative people who turned against his leadership. Even after Moses stood against Pharaoh, the most powerful political authority of his day and worked to lead the people out of Egyptian servitude, many of them responded in the following manner…

“They also complained to Moses, ‘Wasn’t there enough room in Egypt to bury us? Is that why you brought us out here to die in the desert? Why did you bring us out of Egypt anyway? While we were there, didn’t we tell you to leave us alone? We’d rather be slaves in Egypt than die in this desert!'” (Exodus 14:11-12 CEV, see also Exodus 16:1-3, Exodus 17:1-2, Numbers 14:1-4, Numbers 16:1-3, Numbers 16:41, Numbers 20:1-5, and Numbers 21:4-5).

Nevertheless, Hebrews 11:24-25 tells us that Moses faithfully accepted mistreatment along with the people of God and renounced the fleeting pleasure that sin might bring for a while. Moses could have taken an easier road, but he chose to follow God by faith instead. Because of this, God has honored Moses with a place among the other heroes of the faith mentioned here in Hebrews chapter eleven.

This has led one source to make the following observation…

“In his adult years [Moses] made his choice; he would not hide his true nationality to win a few short years of earthly fame. The result? Instead of occupying a line or two of hieroglyphics on some obscure tomb, he is memorialized in God’s eternal Book. Instead of being found in a museum as an Egyptian mummy, he is famous as a man of God.” ₍₁₎

We will complete our look at this passage by starting where we began this portion of our study. From a human perspective, none of these events from Moses’ life would have occurred if his birth mother had not made the faithful decision to trust God for his protection when she set him afloat in the Nile River as an infant. That decision led to a series of positive consequences that continue to this day.

Moses’ birth mother saw him as someone worth saving. Thus, her example should prompt us to prayerfully consider what God might do with the investments we make in others today.

(1) William Macdonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary Edited by Arthur Farstad, Thomas Nelson Publishers [pg. 2199].

“By faith, when Moses was born, his parents hid him for three months, because they saw the child was beautiful and they were not afraid of the king’s edict” (Hebrews 11:23 NET).

In an effort to save her newborn son from Pharaoh’s murderous decree, Moses’ birth mother placed him in a waterproof basket and set it afloat on the Nile River. That basket was eventually found by Pharaoh’s daughter, who opened it to find Moses inside. The Egyptian princess felt sorry for the helpless infant and granted temporary custody of the child to a Hebrew woman (who was actually Moses’ birth mother) who nursed him for a period of time.

Exodus 2:10 continues our narrative from that point…

“When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, ‘I drew him out of the water'” (NIV).

So Exodus 2:1-10 presents us with an account that concludes with a positive ending (at least for the moment). However, it may be difficult to identify the act of faith that justifies the appearance of this narrative here in the “Faith Hall Of Fame.” We can address that difficulty if we stop to consider some important aspects of this passage.

First, Moses’ mother demonstrated faith in God through the act of placing him in a basket and setting it afloat on the Nile River. Instead of following Pharaoh’s unjust edict, she chose to follow a more righteous path. Her example thus reminds us that it takes faith to trust God and do what is right when others direct us to do what is wrong.

Next, we should remember that Moses’ birth mother could do nothing else for him once he drifted away into the Nile River. Instead, she had to place her trust in God for his protection. In a similar manner, it takes faith to trust in God to provide for others when we are no longer do so ourselves.

The following verse of Hebrews chapter eleven continues with another lesson in faith from Moses’ life…

“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” (Hebrews 11:24-25).

Moses faithfully aligned himself with the people of God instead of taking the easy road of earthly status and luxury. As a member of the Egyptian royal family, Moses could have enjoyed a position of wealth and privilege if that’s what he desired. Instead, he chose to abandon those things to follow God’s path for his life.

“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” (Hebrews 11:23 ESV).

To eliminate the perceived threat posed by Israel’s growing population, the Biblical book of Exodus tells us that Pharaoh, the Egyptian king, authorized the murder of every male infant born to a Hebrew mother. However, there was an unanticipated obstacle in Pharaoh’s plan…

“But because the midwives feared God, they refused to obey the king’s orders. They allowed the boys to live, too. So the king of Egypt called for the midwives. ‘Why have you done this?’ he demanded. ‘Why have you allowed the boys to live?’

‘The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women,’ the midwives replied. ‘They are more vigorous and have their babies so quickly that we cannot get there in time.’ So God was good to the midwives, and the Israelites continued to multiply, growing more and more powerful” (Exodus 1:17-20 NLT).

Nevertheless, Pharaoh was undeterred by this setback…

“Then Pharaoh gave an order to all his people: ‘Throw every baby boy born to the Hebrews into the Nile River, but you can let all the girls live'” (Exodus 1:22 CEB).

Since Pharaoh could not depend upon these midwives to execute his plan, he simply enlisted the aid of every Egyptian citizen. That was the political environment that surrounded Moses at the time of his birth…

“About this time, a man and woman from the tribe of Levi got married. The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She saw that he was a special baby and kept him hidden for three months. But when she could no longer hide him, she got a basket made of papyrus reeds and waterproofed it with tar and pitch. She put the baby in the basket and laid it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile River. The baby’s sister then stood at a distance, watching to see what would happen to him.

Soon Pharaoh’s daughter came down to bathe in the river, and her attendants walked along the riverbank. When the princess saw the basket among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it for her. When the princess opened it, she saw the baby. The little boy was crying, and she felt sorry for him. ‘This must be one of the Hebrew children,’ she said.

Then the baby’s sister approached the princess. ‘Should I go and find one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?’ she asked. ‘Yes, do!’ the princess replied. So the girl went and called the baby’s mother. ‘Take this baby and nurse him for me,’ the princess told the baby’s mother. ‘I will pay you for your help.’ So the woman took her baby home and nursed him” (Exodus 2:1-9 NLT).

We’ll continue with our look at this portion of Moses’ life next.