eight levels of faith
26 - 07/22 /09:51
The New Testament identifies Moses as a champion of faith. Even our post-Christian culture sees him that way. Those who study Scripture—who take the text seriously—discover Moses exhibited a flawed faith. Just like us.
An analysis of the Old Testament books of Moses suggests eight levels/stages/progressions of his faith.
An analysis of the Old Testament books of Moses suggests eight levels/stages/progressions of his faith.
First was crusader faith; being a justice warrior. As a young adult Moses detested the enslavement of his Hebrew people. So when he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, Moses killed the Egyptian—but only after verifying there were no witnesses.
After he fled Egypt, Moses entered wandering faith. For 40 years he roamed the wilderness, wondering about good and evil, justice and divine engagement. Mystics call such faith the dark night of the soul; one feels both abandoned by God and of no use to the world. Yet, embracing a nearly crushing sense of abandonment is one path to good work with eternal consequences.
During his wilderness faith Moses experienced a unique revelatory faith via a burning bush; where he met the I Am. Revelatory faith is undeniable, life-changing, reality-altering. It is a personal encounter with the the God of the Bible, the I Am.
Power faith came to Moses with revelatory faith. God empowered him to bring plagues and death, to split seas and summon water from rock. Power faith demands a response from the culture and from individuals.
With miraculous powers Moses also gained humble faith. After leading the people out of slavery, after performing many miracles, Moses accepted criticism and adopted the good ideas of his father-in-law.
Moses also displayed a persevering faith. When the people rebelled and planned to choose a new leader to take them back to Egypt, Moses prayed for them and interceded with God on their behalf.
In spite of an ever deepening and enriching faith, Moses could still display self-righteous faith. When the people grumbled about their lack of water—a legitimate complaint—Moses cried out, “Must I bring water out of this rock?” But only God could bring water from rock.
Finally, Moses developed an accepting faith. Because of his self-righteousness God prohibited Moses from achieving his God-given goal of entering the land of promise. After pleading to be allowed to go in, Moses resigned himself to only looking but never entering.
Biblical faith grows deeper and wider—and more mysterious. No human attains perfect faith, not even Moses. Yet the Bible commends his flawed faith. God commends your flawed faith, too. Stay humble. Keep believing. Embrace God. ~
Blessings,
Dan Nygaard