Exodus 1:1-2:11

Exodus 1:1-2:11

Faithful Mothers

I.                    God is faithful to use mothers who trust faithfully in Him, so they must faithfully trust God’s promises (1:1-22)

a.        Time has passed since Joseph’s generation, the Hebrews have grown in size, the changeover in Egyptian rules lost their commitment to Israel, and they’ve grown paranoid, suspicious, and afraid of the Israelites. In order to subdue the Hebrews, Pharaoh drove them unmercifully in their labor to kill their vitality, but it didn’t work. So Pharaoh sought to weaken the population by ordering their chief midwifes to eliminate all the Hebrew boys at birth. However the ladies didn’t comply, the Hebrews continued to multiply, and Pharaoh finally called for all of Egypt to eliminate all Hebrew baby boys by throwing them into the Nile river. However, these faithful women trusted in God’s promises, and knew them to be far more glorious and eternal than anything in this life. God had promised to deliver His people out of bondage and into the promised land. He had promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to bless them, protect them, and make them a great nation as numerous as the sands of the beach and stars of the sky. And He promised to crush and defeat the one who deceived His people, and ultimately redeem them through the seed of woman. Every one of these promises required birth; if they truly believed in and trusted God’s promises, how could they do anything which worked against them? These faithful mothers made the bold choice to live counter to culture, and to trust that God’s promises were worth far more than any reward or consequences they received from the world. We also live in a world which is hostile to us, and which seeks to dominate the hearts, minds, and lives of our children. But through Christ, God has promised to save us, keep us eternally, equip and sustain us in all we need, never leave us, hear us, answer us when we seek Him, and come back to get us to enjoy eternity in His new creation! Nothing the world promises us can deliver that, and nothing the world threatens to do to us can remove it. He is all we need at all times for all things. The promises of God in Christ are yes, and when we amen to those promises by trusting Him and living obediently to His Word, we live in these promises. We must all trust faithfully in God’s promises, live according to them, and teach them to the next generation because only God is completely faithful to keep His Word. (1:1-22; Gen. 3:15; 12:1-3; 15:13-16; 22:17-18; 26:2-5; 28:12-15; 50:24; Matt. 24:1-14, 21-30; 28:18-20; John 3:16; 4:13-14; 6:27, 35; 8:12; 10:7-10, 27-29; 14:1-6, 12-27; 15:1-11; Acts 4:19-20; 5:29; 2 Cor. 1:20; 1 John 5:10-15; Rev. 11:15; 21:1-7)

II.                 God is faithful to use mothers who trust faithfully in Him, so they must faithfully trust God’s provision and plan (2:1-11)

a.        Jochebed and Amram conceived and gave birth to their third child during the time of Pharaoh’s order. The baby was a boy who Jochebed immediately perceived was special, but what was she to do? All the joy of receiving a special new child into the world was superseded by fear, angst, and confusion. The brave mother decided she would hide the child initially, but as he grew in size, activity, and volume, she couldn’t keep him hidden, so she decided to place the boy in a waterproofed basket in the river reeds, and station his sister to stand watch. Perhaps they knew that one of Pharaoh’s daughters frequented this spot to bath, and placed the boy there hoping she would find him, but that didn’t guarantee the boys safety. But the princess saw the basket, sent a made to retrieve it, and God filled her heart with compassion for the Hebrew child. God used his sister to volunteer to find a Hebrew woman to nurse and care for the child, removing any obstacles for the princess. The princess agreed to her offer, the girl went and retrieved the boys mother to care for him, and the princess even paid the Jochebed to care for her own son! God had gone ahead of this boy, his mother, his sister, and this Egyptian princess to prepare the way to preserve this special baby, and accomplish His plan. Jochebed was faithful to care for the boy, and to trust God and hand him over to the princess who welcomed him into the royal family and named him Moses. So God used the river that Pharaoh designated to kill his people, to deliver the man who He’d eventually use to free them. And He used Pharaoh’s own family, wealth, and education to equip Moses to accomplish His will, plan, and purpose! And He did it all through the faithfulness of a mother who trusted Him, and faithfully taught her son about Him in the precious time she had with him, building foundation for God in him which remained strong. We have a lot to learn from the devoted mother. God is faithful to work His plan providentially through those who are faithful to trust Him. We all desire so many things for our children and ourselves, but the most valuable thing for us to do for the next generation, and the world is teach them who God is, what He promises, what He’s done in Christ. He provision and His plan are perfect for all we need today and forever. (2:1-11; Exod. 6:20; Deut. 6:4-9; Josh 24:14-15; Ps. 73:21-28; 90:1-6, 12; Prov. 6:20-22; Isa. 55:6-9; Jer. 29:11-13; Matt. 2:1-23; Luke 1:26-38; 2:11, 34-35; Acts 7:17-24; Rom. 8:18, 28; Gal. 4:4-5; Eph. 5:15-17; Heb. 11:23-29; 2 Pet. 3:1-9)