What does Hebrews 11:23 mean?
This passage in Hebrews gives examples of believers who exemplified godly faith. According to this passage, true "faith" is a forward-looking trust, in the face of the unknown, based on what the believer knows of God. Abraham trusted God even when the future seemed to contradict the Lord's promises (Hebrews 11:17–18). Isaac exhibited faith by passing along God's blessing to his sons, even in his old age (Hebrews 11:20). Jacob (Hebrews 11:21) and Joseph (Hebrews 11:22) both followed suit, looking forward to the future while trusting in God to fulfill all He had promised.Moses' parents also faced an immediate, dire dilemma. The ruler of Egypt had ordered the entire nation to kill Israelite boy babies (Exodus 1:22). This was after the Israelite midwives themselves refused to follow such an order (Exodus 1:17). Rather than give in to their natural fear of retribution from the Pharaoh, Moses' parents defied man and obeyed God, keeping their son alive (Exodus 2:1–10). Though they could not know, at the time, exactly what would happen, they knew that it was more important to obey God than to live in fear of men.