Exodus 2 “9 Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. 10 And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. So she called his name Moses, saying, “Because I drew him out of the water.”
On July 30, 2019, Luke Aikins became the first skydiver to jump from a plane without a parachute or wingsuit and live to tell the story. The 42-year-old daredevil leaped 25,000 feet to Earth — setting a world record. To accomplish this feat, Aikins had to direct his body in free fall using only the air currents around him to land safely on the high-tech 10,000-square-foot net (about a third the size of a football field) laid out to catch him.
Aikins is a safety and training adviser for the United States Parachute Association (USPA), where he provides advanced skydiving training to elite military special forces.
This event depended on months of planning and checking every detail.
What is Exodus? One of 39 books in the Old Testament. Second of the books in the Pentateuch ( first 5 books of the Bible – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy) Exodus functions like a chapter in a book!
The Pentateuch is a Bigger Story – starts with Creation and then move to a person/Abraham. It then moves to a people/Israel and the end of Deuteronomy leaves them on the edge of the promised land. This is not multiple stories… it’s one glorious story ! God’s calling of & God’s caring for His people called Israel!
Exodus is a part of the story – it is the story of God’s deliverance. Why did they need deliverance? We find the answer to this question in Exodus 1:5 “All those who were descendants of Jacob were seventy persons…” This family – the children of Jacob/Israel - ends up in Egypt. That part of the story focuses on Joseph and takes up the last 13 chapters of Genesis.
In verse 7 we read that there was a population explosion in this family – “But the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them.” This is the same language used by God in Genesis 1:28 & 9:1 – “Be fruitful and multiply.”
The very next verse in Exodus 1 that explains why they need deliverance - there is a new Pharaoh who did not know of Joseph. He was afraid of these Israelites and seeks to stop them from increasing their numbers.
• Makes them slaves (they still multiply)
• Have midwives kill male children (they still multiply)
• Throw male children into the river
These are first battles in a great war – God vs Pharaoh (he is the human god that represents all the other gods of the Egyptians)
It’s into this battle/war that God sends Moses – Exodus 2:1-2 “And a man of the house of Levi went and took as wife a daughter of Levi. 2 So the woman conceived and bore a son. And when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months.”
This is evidence of God’s Providence. (What’s that?) Which is part of God’s governance of all things – the universe down to us. God makes plans and makes provision for those plans. Thus, God always accomplishes His Divine Will.
God’s Will can be accomplished because of us or in spite of us – it will happen either way. Things turn out better for us if we are helping God rather than working against His plans.
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In Genesis 22 we find Abraham taking his only son Isaac to a mountain. God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. At the last-minute God delivers Isaac and give a ram for the sacrifice. Abraham calls the place “Jehovah Jireh” or “The Lord Will Provide.” God delivered Moses. God delivered Israel. God will deliver you and me.
God’s deliverance is part of God’s provision. The problem is it’s hard for us to see. The founding of our nation was accomplished by men and women who trusted in the providence of God. “America’s Declaration of Independence is as much a declaration of dependence on Divine Providence as it is a declaration of independence from an oppressive monarch.” Pastor John Miller (ucg.org) The odd thing about today is that people have a view of God as the “oppressive monarch” and see beliefs like Rational Humanism as our only means of deliverance. It’s just more proof we live in an upside down world.
In the first 10 verses of Exodus 2 we see God working to put Moses in the house of Pharaoh:
• Mother makes an ark (Noah-Genesis 6-9)
• Big sister watches over him (Mariam?)
• Pharaoh’s daughter finds him (adoption)
• She hires his own mother as a “wet-nurse”
• When he is weaned, goes to live with Egyptians
• Pharaoh’s daughter names him “Moses”
The Bible is full of birth stories – Abraham and Sarah have Isaac at the age of 100, Hannah is barren but gives birth to the prophet Samuel and then we celebrate the birth of Jesus to the Virgin Mary every December.
Moses and Jesus both needed to be saved/delivered – on from Pharaoh and one from Herod – both will find deliverance in Egypt. Today, we find our deliverance from sin and death in the blood of Jesus – this God’s provision for us!
Today, we are still connected to the past – to Israel of the Old Testament. Romans 4 gives us Abraham as a man of faith, v. 16 “Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed…” Hebrews 11 contains the “Faithful Hall of Fame” including Moses and many unnamed who suffered death. 1 Cor. 10 points us to the Israelites in the wilderness who were idolaters and committed sexual immorality - they were judged by God.
Because God is the God of history, we too stand in need of God’s Providence today – in the big things ( like the world going to hell in a handbasket) and in the little things ( like our kids and grandkids) … but it can be hard to see Him at work.
There’s an old story about a little girl who went with her Grandmother to a quilting circle. In the center of the room was a large frame on which the quilt was secured. The ladies would sit around it - sewing and talking. The little girl would play underneath the quilt. She had a different view. She could see the needles moving in and out and an intricate pattern of stitching that held it all together. We don’t see that on a completed quilt. It’s all covered with batting and backing.
It’s like life – we don’t see God at work behind the scenes – but He’s still there. Making plans and providing what is needed. Sometimes we can look back and recognize God’s providence – how He was working out His plan while I was busy on MY PLANS. When we can look back an remember God’s planning and provisions in the past it can be easier to trust Him now – when we can’t see.
That’s where faith comes in! It’s trusting God’s plan and God’s will at the same believing in God’s ability to make it all happen!
Amen
Teaching Sheet
(Date)
Sermon Series: Exodus
Exodus 2:9-10
“God’s Providence”
What is Exodus? One of 39 books in the Old Testament. Second of the books in the Pentateuch. More like a chapter in a book!
Pentateuch = Bigger Story… Creation ? a person/Abraham ?
a people/Israel ? on the edge of the promised land
One story ! God’s calling of & God’s caring for
His people called Israel!
Exodus is a part of the story – God’s deliverance. Why did they need deliverance?
Exodus 1:5 “All those who were descendants of Jacob were seventy persons…” This family ends up in Egypt. That part of the story focuses on Joseph and takes up the last 13 chapters of Genesis. In verse 7 we read that there was a population explosion in this family – “But the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them.” This is the same language used by God in Genesis 1:28 & 9:1.
This brings us to the next verse in Exodus 1 that explains there is a new Pharaoh who did not know of Joseph. He was afraid of these Israelites:
• Makes them slaves (they still multiply)
• Have midwives kill male children (they still multiply)
• Throw male children into the river
Here we see first battles in a great war – God vs Pharaoh
It’s into this battle/war that God sends Moses – Exodus 2:1-2 “And a man of the house of Levi went and took as wife a daughter of Levi. 2 So the woman conceived and bore a son. And when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months.”
This is evidence of God’s Providence. Which is part of God’s governance of all things – the universe down to us. God makes plans and makes provision for those plans. Thus, God always accomplishes His Divine Will. ( “because of” vs “in spite of” )
In the first 10 verses of Exodus 2 we see God working to put Moses in the house of Pharaoh:
• Mother makes an ark (Noah-Genesis 6-9)
• Big sister watches over him (Miriam?)
• Pharaoh’s daughter finds him (adoption)
• She hires his own mother as a “wet-nurse”
• When he is weaned, goes to live with Egyptians
• Pharaoh’s daughter names him “Moses”
Today, we are still connected to the past – to Israel of the Old Testament. Romans 4 gives us Abraham as a man of faith, v. 16 “Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed…” Hebrews 11 contains the “Faithful Hall of Fame” including Moses and many unnamed who suffered death. 1 Cor. 10 points us to the Israelites in the wilderness who were idolaters and committed sexual immorality - they were judged by God.
We stand in need of God’s Providence today – in the big things and in the little things… but it can be hard to see Him at work.
That’s where faith comes in! It’s trusting God’s plan and God’s will at the same believing in God’s ability to make it all happen!
