Exodus 2:1-10
Moses is Born
Genesis Chapter 46
tells us that Jacob and his sons brought their families from Canaan to Egypt in
order to escape from the famine. They joined with Joseph who was in Egypt and
had become very powerful there, and they all settled down in Egypt. In all,
Jacob had seventy descendants in Egypt.
God kept His covenant
promise to Abraham by blessing him with many descendants. By this time, from
the start of the book Exodus, God multiplied the Israelites greatly, making
them extremely powerful and filling the land of Egypt (Exodus 1:6).
The long sojourn of Israelites in Egypt actually proved true the prophetic word given to Abraham by God about
Israel’s future, in Genesis 15:13—16, “Know for certain that your descendants
will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and
mistreated four hundred years. Until the sin of the Canaanites had come to its
full fruition then only the Israelites would enter Canaan.”
Many years and
generations had passed long after Joseph died, and eventually, a new Egyptian
king, Pharaoh had come to power who knew nothing about Joseph or what he had
done.
He was intimidated by the Israelites' numbers and
power. He said to his people, “Look, the
people of Israel now outnumber us and are stronger than we are. We
must make a plan to keep them from growing even more. If we don’t, and if war
breaks out, they will join our enemies and fight against us. Then they will
escape from the country.” (1:9-10)
So they put slave masters
over them to oppress them with forced labour, and they built store cities for
Pharaoh. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread.
Then Pharaoh ordered the
Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Phuah, “When you help the Hebrew
women in child birth and observe them on the delivery stool, if it is a boy,
kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.” (1: 15-16)
The midwives, however,
feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let
the boys live. Then Pharaoh summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you
done this? Why have you let the boys live?”
The midwives answered
Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give
birth before the midwives arrive.”
Then Pharaoh gave this
order to all his people: “Every boy that is born you must throw into the Nile,
but let every girl live.” (1:22)
About this time, there was
a couple Amram and Jochebed from the tribe of Levi. They already had two
children: Miriam and Aaron. Jochebed became pregnant again and gave birth to a
son.
She saw that he was “good”
and kept him hidden for three months until she could no longer hide him
anymore. She really did not know what to do next to keep the baby safe!
So, she got a basket made
of papyrus reeds and waterproofed it with tar and pitch. She put the baby in
the basket and laid it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile River –
ironically, just as Pharaoh had decreed (1:22).
This was a risky thing to do, to let the basket flow
into the sea, either the Egyptians could find the baby inside the box, or the
waters could have drowned the baby. However, the mother had done her part, now
she had to ‘let go the child’, trusting the providence of God.
Wonderfully her son was
‘let go’ into the hands of God. God used her courageous act to place her son in
the house of Pharaoh!
Moses’ mother, Jochebed
first put the baby into a “basket” then only cast it into the Nile.
‘Basket’ has the same root
word with Noah’s ‘ark’. This recalls the story of God’s salvation of Noah in
the days of the Flood. God put Noah’s family in the ark to protect them from
the flood and then a re-creation began.
Moses too, in the ‘basket’
rafting in Nile was not overcome by evil forces of anti-creation; and
eventually a holy nation would be created!
Miriam stood at a
distance, waiting to see what would happen to baby Moses. Soon
Pharaoh’s daughter came down to bathe in the river. When the princess saw the
basket among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it for her.
When the princess opened
it, she saw the baby. The little boy was crying, and she felt sorry for him.
“This must be one of the Hebrew children,” she said.
Then Miriam approached the
princess and said, “Should I go and find one of the Hebrew women to nurse the
baby for you?” she asked. “Yes, please do!” the princess
replied.
So, the girl went and
called the baby’s mother. “Take this baby and nurse him for me,” the princess
told the baby’s mother. “I will pay you for your help.” So, the woman took her
baby home and nursed him.
God used the baby’s tears
to control the heart of a powerful princess, and used Miriam’s words to arrange
for the baby’s mother to raise the boy and got paid for it! The princess could
be pretending to be ignorant because her maternal instincts compelled her to
rescue the child and care for him.
Moses’ mother’s faith,
Miriam’s courage and wits to act when opportunity arose, the princess’s
compassionate heart; all came together to bring about ‘civil disobedience’ against Pharaoh’s decree, to resist evil and
save life.
Later when the boy became
older, his mother brought him back to Pharaoh’s daughter. The princess named
him Moses, for she explained, “I lifted him out of the water.”
The young Moses received
nurturing from the babysitter who was also his biological mother. This bond had
impacted him very much that he would grow up to identify with his fellow
Israelites plight.
Moses also acquired
superior education, military operations and administration in the royal court.
Such learning had equipped Moses to be a leader in judging and leading
Israelites in the future.
For Moses, the glory and
wealth of the palace was also a temptation. He could rightfully claim the
status of Prince of Egypt and be complacent of it. However, he overcame the
temptation. At the age of forty he gave up the royal status to join his fellow
Israelites as their deliverer.
God
Works Wonder to Overcome the Devil’s Snare
The infant narrative of
Moses is filled with ironies and contrasts: Moses' mother finally obeyed
Pharaoh’s decree and placed Moses in the waters of Nile, but the Nile water
instead had secured the baby’s life.
Pharaoh ordered the
killing of males but God used females to revolt against Pharaoh and saved a
vulnerable baby boy. This baby boy would one day deliver the Israelites out of
the Egyptian tyranny.
It was Pharaoh's own
daughter who adopted Moses as her own son. She nurtured and equipped him in the
palace and in the civil service. The princess listened to the words of
Israelite women, to let them babysit the child with wages paid.
These ironies tell us the
author’s clear enough emphasis: God was at work in these events to bring about
His plan to bless the seed of Abraham, and no one, not even the great power of
the gentile nations, can stand in His way.
Our God is awesome,
wonderful and faithful; He is in control regardless of how vulnerable and risky
the situation may be.
God
Takes Risk in Using the Vulnerable People
God used three vulnerable
women to launch a civil disobedience against Pharaoh, to save another
vulnerable baby. Pharaoh’s daughter was one of these three women. This
vulnerable baby grew up one day to participate in God’s plan of delivering His
people out of Egypt.
God often uses the weakest
things to defeat the mightiest enemies.
Jeremiah 9:23, “Thus says
the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man
boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches,’”
1Corinthians 1: 25-29, “For
the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger
than men. For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise
according to worldly stands, not many were powerful, not many were of noble
birth, but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose
what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised
in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so
that no human being might boast in the presence of God.”
These three women and the
baby’s tears were God’s first weapons in His war against Egypt.
Moses was a ‘type’ for
Jesus Christ. Jesus was born in a godly family, suffered a death threat from
King Herod, and was miraculously saved. He was the Son of God in heaven,
humbled Himself to be born as son of man, and died on the cross to redeem
sinners from the devil’s oppression, to be born again as God’s people.
Application
When evil dominates and
crisis escalates, and there seems to be no way out; we still have our hope in
God. To God nothing is impossible. God’s works are elusive and risky in nature.
He can fire the shots alone, but many a time, he calls us to partner with Him
to bring about changes.
Look for ways to act
against evil. Be alert for the opportunities God gives you, and take full
advantage of them. We may be vulnerable and frustrated by how little we can do
when faced with evil or human predicament.
Have faith in God! God can
use your effort; however small it seems to bring about great deliverance.
Oftentimes we are
overwhelmed by lavish thoughts and huge comprehensive plans, so much so that
God is pushed to the margin. To break free from dilemmas of life, we must ‘let
go and let God’, to trust that He will take care of the rest. He will not fail
us!
Even as darkness pervades
the atmosphere, by faith we recognise that God is in control. History is held
in His hands. History is His Story!
We will be surprised that
God’s salvation starts from a vulnerable baby; a vulnerable beginning! Now
where do you want to start from?
Let’s arise to make
changes now even though the situation seems risky, vulnerable and uncertain.
We are to make changes in
career, family, church ministry and the community; so that new order is made,
gospel works be multiplied, new leaders be borne; tears be turned into joy,
life be breaking through hurdles, church be undergoing transformation,
corrupted practises be condemned and halted…...
