Moses (Part 1) Series

MOSES (Part 1)

Scott Bayles, pastor

Blooming Grove Christian Church: 2/25/2018

William Shakespeare once wrote, “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” When it comes to the Hebrew liberator, Moses, all three are true. Perhaps no person in history, outside of Jesus himself, has made such a profound impression on the world as Moses.

You know his story. For those who’ve heard it, it’s as familiar as your own living room. A baby placed in a basket and set adrift down a dangerous river, stumbled upon by an Egyptian princess and raised in the Pharaoh’s palace, only to discover that he was meant for so much more. Moses delivered an oppressed people from bondage, molded them into a renewed nation and received a revelation from God with new moral standards and laws.

In Jewish minds Moses ranked among the most respected Old Testament figures. Because he received the law, including the Ten Commandments, directly from God on Mount Sinai, he has always been closely associated with the commands, customs, ceremonies and other religious requirements of the Old Covenant. Yet, Moses himself was unequivocally a man of faith. Moses’ faith was the catalyst for national change and a spiritual awakening in the lives of the children of Israel. He led hundreds of thousands of Hebrews out of slavery and became a hero of the people—a national icon. His story is one of doubt and deliverance, humility and heartbreak, conflict and courage, trials and triumphs. And it’s a story that remains just as relevant and relatable today as it was thirty-some centuries ago.

So, I’d like to invite you to join me this morning and for the next few weeks for a fast-paced survey of the life of Moses. With any luck, we’ll learn some life-lessons along the way. And, when I say fast-paced, I mean it; because, today I want to look at the first eighty years of Moses’ life. The Bible tells us that Moses lived for 120 years. So, these first 80 years are just laying the ground work for an incredible life of belief and boldness. His story begins in the first few chapters of Exodus (if you have a Bible or an app on your phone, you can open it there), with a dramatic rescue!

• MOSES RESCUED

You might remember that the Hebrew people migrated to Egypt during the days of Joseph. Although Joseph was Hebrew by birth, he was sold as a slave in Egypt and eventually rose to a place of prominence. In fact, he was Pharaoh’s right-hand man, the second most powerful person in Egypt. So, when a severe famine swept through the land, Joseph invited his entire family—the sons of Israel—to make their home in the prosperous and plentiful land of Egypt.

Exodus begins by telling us, “In time, Joseph and all of his brothers died, ending that entire generation… Eventually, a new king came to power in Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph or what he had done” (Exodus 1:6-8 NLT).

The descendants of Israel still lived in the land of Egypt and their population exploded to such a degree that they soon became a nation unto themselves. Pharaoh feared what might happen if the Hebrews ever turned against the Egyptians, “So,” the Bible says, “the Egyptians made the Israelites their slaves. They appointed brutal slave drivers over them, hoping to wear them down with crushing labor” (Exodus 1:11 NLT). The Egyptians worked the people of Israel without mercy. They made their lives bitter, forcing them to mix mortar and make bricks and do all the work in the fields. They were ruthless in all their demands. However, the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more babies the Israelites had, and the more alarmed the Egyptians became.

So, the Pharaoh issued a royal decree to all the people of Egypt saying, “Every time a boy is born to the Hebrews, you must throw him into the Nile River” (Exodus 1:22 NCV). Hundreds, maybe even thousands, of Hebrew babies were brutally murdered, but one survived.

An unidentified Hebrew woman gave birth to a baby boy she named Moses. She hid her baby from the Egyptian authorities for three months. But when she could no longer hide him, she concocted a plan.

The Bible says, “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. The baby’s sister then stood at a distance, watching to see what would happen to him” (Exodus 2:3-4 NLT).

Soon Pharaoh’s daughter came down to bathe in the river, and her attendants walked along the riverbank. When the princess saw the basket among the reeds, she retrieved hit, opened it, and saw the baby. The little boy was crying, and her heart melted. She knew immediately that this must be one of the Hebrew children.