Moses' Self-Denial

Moses' Self-Denial is Jeremiah Burroughs' exposition of Hebrews 11:24-26, which describes how Moses "refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season." Burroughs uses this remarkable choice to explore the nature of genuine Christian self-denial.

Burroughs begins by establishing what Moses gave up. As the adopted son of Pharaoh's daughter, Moses had access to the wealth, power, and pleasures of the Egyptian court. His decision to leave this behind was not made from poverty or lack of options but from a clear-eyed assessment that suffering with God's people was better than enjoying sin's temporary pleasures.

The work examines why Moses made this choice. He saw beyond present circumstances to eternal realities. He "esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt." Burroughs shows that right valuation—seeing things as they truly are in God's eyes—is essential to genuine self-denial. We cannot renounce what we don't accurately value.

Practical application fills the treatise. Burroughs challenges readers to examine their own choices. Do we prefer comfort to faithfulness? Do we choose worldly advantage over identification with suffering believers? Do we calculate the cost of discipleship in temporal rather than eternal terms? Moses' example exposes our compromises.

Burroughs addresses common obstacles to self-denial: love of ease, fear of suffering, attachment to reputation, and desire for worldly security. He shows how each must be overcome through faith that sees invisible realities. Like Moses, we must look to the reward, not with mercenary calculation but with confident trust in God's promises.

For modern Christians facing their own choices between comfort and faithfulness, Burroughs' exposition remains pointed and practical. His analysis of how we rationalize compromise, avoid suffering, and fail to count the cost of discipleship addresses perennial human tendencies. Moses' ancient choice illuminates the choices every believer faces.