Clearly, Paul intends for us to understand that he is speaking of Moses’ first journey from Egypt in Hebrews 11:27. A quick check of his account of the highlights of Moses’ life shows he mentions these events in the order in which they occurred. First, Moses’ birth (verse-23), then when he grew up and identified himself as a Jew rather than as an Egyptian (Hebrews 11:24-26). Next he fled Egypt and the wrath of Pharaoh, then in verse-28 he kept the first Passover, and following that he led Israel through the Red Sea (Hebrews 11:29). Therefore, verse-27 must refer to the first time Moses left Egypt, which was prior to his meeting the Lord in the burning bush (Exodus 3:1-10).
Some see a contradiction between Hebrews 11:27 and Exodus 2:15, saying: if Moses didn’t fear the wrath of Pharaoh, why did he run? Obviously, it would have been idiocy to outright challenge the king who had so many armies at his disposal to destroy his enemies. Moreover, to see a contradiction here discloses either naiveté of the reader,or an outright bias against the text. What Paul is saying is Moses wasn’t paralyzed with fear. Fear of the king didn’t prevent him from acting according to his conscience. He knew the call of God (Hebrews 11:26), and he took measures to obey God rather than succumb to the intimidation of men, even that of the king.
It is interesting that Moses was 40 years old when he left Egypt (Acts 7:23), and another 40 years passed before he returned to deliver Israel from their bondage under Pharaoh (Acts 7:30; Exodus 7:7). Paul’s letter to the Hebrews was written near the end of his life, which would put the letter sometime after 62 AD or thirty something years after Jesus’ crucifixion and ascension into heaven. Paul tells us that Moses endured (G2594), meaning he was steadfast, resolved, or patient, because he saw or perceived (horao – G3708) what could not be seen (G517).[1] In other words, Moses strengthened himself in the face of the king’s wrath, fled Egypt and patiently waited, perceiving, that is, believing that God, who did not show himself when Moses was ready to deliver his people from bondage at age forty, would eventually do so and judge Egypt in his good time.
The very reason Paul wrote his epistle to the Hebrews was that some were abdicating their faith in the face of persecution. Jesus predicted such a thing would take place (Matthew 24:9-12), and the Apostles looked for such an occurrence, as a sign that Jesus’ coming would be near (2Thessalonians 2:1-3). Therefore, Paul tried to console his brethren, showing them examples in Israel’s history that reflected the very events they were forced to endure, because they trusted Jesus was their Messiah.
In the example above Moses’ idealism told him the Lord would deliver his people, Israel, out of bondage, when he was only 40 years old, but the point of fact was it took another 40 years before things were ready for Moses to do what the Lord had anointed him to do. In other words, our timetable isn’t always accurate. We need to be patient and let the Lord be the Lord. Paul was reminding his readers in the first century AD that they needed to find their strength in trusting that the Lord would eventually do what he said he would do. He may be invisible to their present understanding, but one day, very soon (cp. Hebrews 8:13), he will come and reward every man according to his works (Matthew 16:27-28).
Paul was saying that we need to allow the Lord the same freedom to act according to his will that he permits us, when we want to do the things we do. It’s a two way street. God permits man to be man, and we need to allow God to be God without telling him how he should act and when. That was the problem the Pharisees had during Jesus’ ministry, and they often tried to manipulate the Lord, always seeking a sign (Matthew 12:39). Many signs were given, but they refused those, desiring to cause the Lord to perform specific signs, according to their will, and that seems to be what the Jews of the 60s AD were demanding of the Lord, lest they abdicate. They suffered enough and wanted the Lord to act immediately, and all that was done for them by the Lord throughout his absence and up to this point didn’t seem to matter. In other words, their prayers were manipulative, telling God what to do and what the best way to do that happened to be. This is what Paul feared was going on, and what he hoped his letter would correct (Hebrews 10:38-39).
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[1] The word aoratos (G517) is composed of a negative particle “a” (G1) plus horatos (G3707), meaning “capable of being seen.” So the two words taken together mean: incapable of being seen or invisible.
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