Raising Godly Children in Godless Times (Exodus 2:1-10)
Kathy Ratcliff was participating in a parenting class at her church when she explained to her 6-year-old daughter, Kayla, that she was taking a course to help make her a better mommy. The next Sunday, after church, Kayla became upset and threw a temper tantrum because she was not getting her way. Both parents tried to calm her. But with tears streaming down her face and in a loud voice, Kayla announced to her mother, “You told me you were taking a course to make you a better mommy. Well, it’s not working!” (Shirley Ratcliff, "Kids of the Kingdom," Christian Reader, July/August 2003; www.PreachingToday.com)
These days, mothers and fathers wonder whether anything they do is working to raise their children. Not only do we face financial insecurity, there is a moral crisis of monumental proportions, where people define their own morality, and our children are more confused than ever about what is right and wrong.
The question is: How do we raise kids in times like these? How do we raise secure children in times of insecurity? How do we raise Godly children in godless times?
Well, there is a mother in the Bible who did just that. Her country’s ruler had just adopted a program of infanticide to eliminate her entire race. They were slaves in a foreign land, and the king had decreed that every baby boy be thrown into the river. Those were scary times. And yet, a slave mother found a way to raise a son whose impact on this world is still being felt today nearly 3500 years later.
How did she do it? Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Exodus 2, Exodus 2, where we see this remarkable mother at work.
Exodus 2:1-2 Now a man of the house of Levi married a Levite woman, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months.
Despite the king’s decree, and at the risk of her own life, she hid her baby boy for three months. Now, the Hebrew word for “hid” suggests the hiding of treasure. In other words, the boy’s mother “treasured” her son. & She was going to give him every opportunity to survive and thrive even if it meant losing her own life.
Deep in the mountains of Niigata Prefecture, in the snow country of northern Japan, lies the tiny town of Takamachi. Heavy snowfalls can isolate towns and hamlets in the area for days.
During the worst blizzard to hit the area in thirteen years, work crews were attempting to clear the roads in and around Takamachi. On a Thursday, since the snowfall seemed to be letting up, Mrs. Tomiko Takano, 37, ventured out on an errand with her daughter. Her husband had left the house earlier to join the road clearing crews.
While Tomiko and her seven-year-old daughter Izumi were outside clearing a path to the road, an unusually high pile of snow on the roof suddenly gave way. Mother and daughter were buried beneath nearly ten feet of snow.
When Mr. Takano returned later in the day he saw that his wife and daughter were missing. He immediately launched a search. They were not found.
The next day, a work party clearing snow from around the Takano home heard a soft whimpering from a huge mound of snow beside the house. Frantically, they dug toward the sound and discovered Mrs. Takano’s frozen body curled around Izumi. Tomiko Takana had given her own life to save Izumi’s life. (Bob Boardman, "No Greater Love," Discipleship Journal, March/April 1986; www.PreachingToday.com)
That’s a mom for you, sacrificing her life for her child’s. She treasured her child more than her own life, just like that Hebrew mother did 3500 years ago.
And that’s what we must do if we want to raise godly children in a godless age. WE MUST TREASURE OUR CHILDREN. WE MUST VALUE THEM MORE THAN A BIGGER HOUSE, MORE THAN A MORE AFFLUENT LIFE, MORE THAN EVEN OUR OWN LIVES.
Now, we’re not often called upon to give our lives for our children all at once. But we are, more often than not, called upon to give our lives for our children in little pieces at a time. Rather than taking that 2nd job so we can get a nicer car, we invest that time to listen to a child, to play with a child, or to be there when they hit their first home run.
Recently, Tim, our youngest son now in college, said to us, “I’m glad you were there for my baseball games, my basketball games and my soccer games. Some of my friends in school didn’t have that, and I feel sorry for them.”
You see, a child needs to feel treasured if he or she is going to thrive in a world that just wants to knock them down.
A waitress was taking orders from a couple and their young son. She jotted notes on her order pad deliberately and silently as the father and mother gave specific instructions as to what they wanted, including all kinds of substitutions and changes to the menu items.
When she finally turned to the boy, he began his order with a kind of fearful desperation. “I want a hot dog…” he started.
And both parents barked at once, “No hot dog!” The mother went on. “Bring him the lyonnaise potatoes and the beef, both vegetables, a hard roll and…”
The waitress wasn’t even listening. She said evenly to the boy, “What do you want on your hot dog?”
He finished with an amazed smile. “Ketchup, lots of ketchup, and – and bring a glass of milk.”
“Coming up,” she said as she turned from the table, leaving behind a couple of stunned parents.
The boy watched her go before he turned to his mother and father and said, “You know what? She thinks I’m real! She thinks I’m real!” (Frederick B. Speakman; in Illustrations Unlimited by James S. Hewett, p.484)
That boy was excited, because someone finally took the time to listen to him. He felt valued. He felt treasured. & That’s what our children need if they’re going to survive and thrive in an uncertain world. If we want to raise godly children in a godless age, then
1st of all, we must treasure our children.
2nd, we must CARE FOR OUR CHILDREN. WE MUST PROVIDE FOR THEIR WELL-BEING. & DO WHAT WE CAN TO PROTECT THEM. That’s what the mother in Exodus 2 did.
Exodus 2:3 But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.
The king had dictated that all baby boys be thrown into the Nile River. Well, that’s exactly what this clever mother did. Only, she did it in such a way as to ensure his well-being, not his death. She was careful to waterproof the basket with tar and pitch, and to place it among the reeds in shallow water, where the current would not carry it away.
Furthermore, she put the basket in a place where she knew it would be found. One commentator said, “This was the ancient equivalent of leaving a baby on the steps of a hospital or orphanage. The shallows of a river near any Asian village would be the ideal place to expose a baby and ensure its being found by the women who came to wash clothes or prepare food. Discovery would be certain.” (R. Alan Cole, Exodus, an Introduction and Commentary, IVP, pp.57-58)
And just in case the basket wasn’t discovered, the mother sent her daughter to keep an eye on her baby brother.
Exodus 2:4-6 His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him. Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the river bank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her slave girl to get it. She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said.
Of all the people to find the basket, it was the king’s own daughter!
Exodus 2:7 “Then his sister” – i.e., the baby’s sister - asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?”
Exodus 2:8 “Yes, go,” she answered. And the girl went and got the baby’s mother.
As planned. No doubt, the mother had told her daughter what to do when someone found the basket. Then...
Exodus 2:9 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her – i.e., to the baby’s mother - “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took the baby and nursed him.
Now, she can legally care for her own son and even get paid for it! God is certainly at work here, but so is mom. She did everything she could to prepare for her child’s well-being.
And that’s what mothers must do today. Barbara Johnson once said, “If it was going to be easy to raise kids, it never would have started with something called labor.” (Stick a Geranium in Your Hat and By Happy, p.17) It takes a lot of hard work to be a good mother, but it’s worth it.
Four-year-old Emily accompanied her mother into a public restroom equipped with handicapped facilities. "What are the bars for?" she asked.
“They’re for big people to hold on to,” her mother explained.
Emily thought a moment, squeezed her mother’s hand, and said, “Little girls don’t need bars because they have mommies to hold on to.” (Guy Belleranti, Tucson, AZ, “Kids of the Kingdom,” Christian Reader)
When little girls and little boys know they are cared for, they feel secure in an insecure world.
Are you there to hold a child’s hand? I hope so, because if we’re going to raise godly children in godless times, then 1st, we must treasure our children; 2nd, we must care for our children.
And 3rd, we must TEACH OUR CHILDREN. WE MUST INSTRUCT OUR CHILDREN IN THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF GOD’S WORD. WE MUST TRAIN THEM TO FOLLOW THE GOD OF THEIR FATHERS & MOTHERS.
That’s what the mother here in Exodus 2 did. She had only two, at the most three, years to raise the boy herself. After she was done nursing him, she was to give him back to Pharaoh’s daughter. Yet, when he grows up, he identifies himself with the Hebrews, not the Egyptians (Exodus 2:11-15). & He is familiar with the God of his fathers – the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Exodus 3:6,15).
Tell me, where did this boy learn to know who he was? And where did this boy learn to know about God? Well, it certainly wasn’t in that Egyptian household. No. It was at his mother’s breast. She taught him from his earliest years.
And that’s what we must do today if we’re going to raise godly children in godless times. We must teach our children from their very earliest days about who they are and Whose they are. They don’t belong to us; they belong to Christ.
Mothers teach their children so much through life. Like one man said…
My mother taught me to stand firm: "You’ll sit there till all that spinach is finished." My mother taught me contortions: "Have you seen the dirt on the back of your neck?" My mother taught me about weather: "Looks as if a tornado swept through your room." My mother taught me the circle of life: "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out." My mother taught me about behavior programming: "Stop acting like your father!" My mother taught me about envy: "There are millions of less fortunate children who don’t have parents like yours!" (Compiled by LaughALot@editors.crosswalk.com)
Mothers teach their children so much. But we must not neglect to teach them to know God. & We must not wait to begin their spiritual training. Like the little boy in Exodus 2, while children are still nursing, they can learn so much that will carry them through well into their adult years.
Several mothers once gathered to discuss at what age they should begin to train their children. One mother said, “I start with my children at six years of age.”
Another said, “I begin with mine at five years of age; I think that is the time to begin.
Another said, “We ought to begin when our children are only four years of age.”
Anther said, “I think you should begin at three.”
Then an old, gray-haired mother rose to her feet and said, “I will tell you when you ought to begin. Twenty years before the birth of the child. Give it a good mother, and then you need not worry about its training.” (George R. Stewart, Famous Stories of Sam Jones, p.44-45)
How right she is! More is caught than taught anyway. Children don’t listen to what we say as much as they see what we do. So first of all, set a good example for your children.
Then utilize every means at your disposal to teach them God’s Word. Read them Bible stories. Look at Christian movies together. Listen to Christian radio dramas on the radio. In fact, keep Christian radio on all the time in your home. At the very least, bring your children to church – don’t send them; bring them, and then talk about what you all got out of the service.
Karen and her children’s ministry team do a wonderful job at teaching our children. But she’s fighting an uphill battle if the children don’t get it at home, as well. At best, we have your children here at the church for only a couple of hours a week. Parents have them in their homes much longer. Besides, I like the way an old Spanish proverb put it: “An ounce of mother is worth a pound of clergy.” (James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited, p.379)
If we want to raise godly children in godless times, 1st, we must treasure our children; 2nd, we must care for our children; 3rd, we must teach our children.
And finally, WE MUST RELEASE THEM INTO THE LORD’S CARE. At some point, WE MUST LET OUR CHILDREN GO. AND WE MUST TRUST GOD TO GUIDE AND DIRECT THEM. That’s what the mother here in Exodus 2 did.
Exodus 2:10 When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses – Mose – saying, “I drew him – masa – out of the water.”
Imagine what went through that mother’s heart when she turned her two or three-year-old boy over to Pharaoh’s daughter. He had just been weaned, and now he goes to live in a stranger’s home, the home of a foreigner, and the home of one of her oppressors.
The Egyptian woman names the boy, because he belongs to her now. The Hebrew mother no longer has any control.
But God is in control. In fact, He has been in control all along. He arranged for Pharaoh’s daughter to take a bath that morning. He arranged for Pharaoh’s daughter to find the basket. & He arranged for Pharaoh’s daughter to pity the boy. Now, God is arranging to train Moses to lead a great nation.
Pharaoh’s daughter, here, is none other than the great Hat-shep-sut, who later became the ruler of all Egypt. When Pharaoh died, his son took over, but he died shortly thereafter and the next son in succession was too young to rule. That’s when Hatshepsut stepped in, and for more than 20 years, she led all of Egypt into a time of tremendous prosperity. She ruled with a brilliance that far outshone any of her predecessors, and she was the one who took over Moses’ training through the days of his youth into adulthood.
Do you know what God was doing here? He was preparing Moses to lead a great nation – not the Egyptians, but the Hebrews. Through Hatshepsut, God prepared Moses to organize and lead a nation of 2 million Jews from Egypt to the Promised Land.
But in order for that to happen, Moses’ mother had to let him go. Moses’ mother had to release him into God’s care.
And that’s what we must do with our children, as well. There comes a point were we must literally let them go; we must release them no longer under our control, so they can be all that God wants them to be.
You see, when parents hang on to their children too long, it never works out. When parents try to dominate and control their children, especially when they are young adults, it always gets ugly. So, more than anything, at the appropriate time, Let your children go. Release them into God’s care, so God can have His way with them.
(illus.) A rebellious young man decided to leave home and move to the big city where he could really live it up. The decision broke his mother’s heart. She was afraid he would go deeper into sin, so she pled with him not to go and prayed that God would stop him. Despite all her pleading and prayer, the young man went to the big city anyway. Only, instead of finding more ways to sin, he found Jesus Christ in that big city.
The city was Rome. The year was AD 387, and St. Ambrose, one of the greatest preachers of all time, was preaching in Rome that year. The young man, Augustine, went to hear him preach and was persuaded to put his trust in Jesus Christ. Later, he came to be known as St. Augustine, and his writings and ministry have profoundly affected western civilization to this day. (Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations, #4950)
Now, I am not saying that every child will turn out this way. Children grow up to become responsible young adults, who must choose their own way. But I can almost guarantee that if we try to control and manipulate our children, they WILL rebel. It’s only when we let them go, it’s only when we release them to God’s care, that they are free to follow God’s leading if they so choose.
If we want to raise godly children in godless times, we must treasure them; we must care for them; we must teach them; and finally, we must release them into God’s care.
In The Last Days Newsletter, Leonard Ravenhill tells about a group of tourists visiting a picturesque village who walked by an old man sitting beside a fence.
In a rather patronizing way, one tourist asked, “Were any great men born in this village?”
The old man replied, “Nope, only babies.”
Only babies are born here on Washington Island, but through the grace of God, may we raise up some great men and women.
