Happy Thursday!

Just thought I'd share a few thoughts I picked up from Hebrews this morning.

Heb. 11:23-29

23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king's edict.

24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter,

25 choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin,

26 considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward.

27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen.

28 By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them.

29 By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned.

Sometimes, Egypt can be pretty attractive. For instance, when the Israelites were in the Desert if Sin, they doubted the Lord's provision and talked about how, when they were in Egypt, they sat around pots of meat and had all they wanted (because we know the Egyptians must have treated their hated slaves SOOO well!). They wanted the fleshly pleasures they'd had before, when they were slaves to Pharaoh, and those pleasures seemed even better in retrospect than they probably had been at the time.

Contrast that with Moses, who had known more luxury than any other Israelite alive. He had been raised as a son of Pharaoh's daughter in the palace; he had enjoyed all the luxuries that were available in what was undoubtedly one of the world's most advanced civilizations. He, more than anyone, knew the pleasures of Egypt. Yet, as the writer of Hebrews says, he "refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward."

In fact, Exodus tells us that when Moses went back up the mountain to get the 10 Commandments for the second time, "he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did not eat bread or drink water, and he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments." (Ex. 34:28) Moses "did not live by bread alone," and God rewarded him for it.

Magen and I have been back on our low-cal thing for a few days, so I've been thinking a lot about stuff like food lately. :-)