Exodus 2:1-17
1 And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi. 2 And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. 3 And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink. 4 And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him. 5 And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river's side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. 6 And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews' children. 7 Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee? 8 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child's mother. 9 And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the women took the child, and nursed it. 10 And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water.
AN EXODUS WOMAN
Last week we talked about an Exodus man and woman. We noted how we have to continue to walk in the way of God and He will deliver us, I found two examples of an Exodus Man and an Exodus woman.
In today’s text, we see Amram and Jochebed, the father and mother of Moses. Jochebed was also the mother of Aaron and Miriam, the brother and sister of Moses. She was one of the midwives who disobeyed the Pharoh. There was a decree to the midwives to kill all of the Hebrew males soon after they were born. Because this didn’t work, there was another decree from the pharaoh of Egypt was that all males were to be killed by throwing them into the Nile River. This was the second attempt by the pharaoh to have the newborn males killed. The decree in Exodus 1:22 was for Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.
Moses was born to Jochebed. Jewish legends say that Moses' birth was painless to his mother, that at his birth his face was so beautiful that the room was filled with light equal to the sun and moon combined. Jochebed hid Moses for three months. In the hall of faith recorded in Hebrews 11, By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw [he was] a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment.
Jochebed was not afraid of the pharaoh’s orders; she put her faith and trust in the Lord. That is what an Exodus woman does. She followed the will of God. She protected her son. She cared for her son. Jochebed was led to take her son to the Nile River. Remember, the decree was that all infant males to be thrown into the Nile River. Jochebed obeyed the decree. The decree said nothing about putting the males into a water proof basket! Nor did the decree say where in the river to put the child. Jochebed trusted God to lead her son to the right path. Often time my friends, when you go out there on your own for the first time, you can bet that your mother is praying for you. You can bet that she is asking God to take care of you. You can bet that she is waiting by the phone for your call. You can bet that her thoughts are on her child. When you go off to school, you can bet that your mother is thinking and praying for your safety. You can believe that she put you in God's hands when you are not in her sight.
Jochebed trusted that God would make a way for her unnamed son. Miriam, Moses’ sister followed him as he made his journey. She wanted to report back to Jochebed what had happened to her brother.
Pharaoh’s daughter finds the baby. She is not an Exodus women because she is the one who disobeys the decree. God used the pharaoh’ daughter to reward the faith of Moses' mother. Jochebed trusted God as she hid Moses for three months, and she trusted Him by setting Moses out on the river. Pharaoh’s daughter kept the baby and told her servants to find a Hebrew woman to nurse the child. Remember, Jochebed is still praying. She is trusting God for her son’s protection. The servants found the child’s mother to come and care for and nurse the baby boy. The pharaoh’s daughter even told the child’s mother, unknown to pharaoh’s daughter, that she would pay the woman to care for the child. Jochebed was getting paid to care for her own son. Children’ if you obey your Exodus mother, you will find success and you will live in the joy of the Lord. Moses went to the finest schools; he learned all of the local languages. Moses was next in line to the king! Even Moses was adopted into the royalty; he was still the son of Jochebed. Even though Moses got respect everywhere he went, he was still the son of Jochebed. Even though Moses was in line to be the next king, he was still the son of Jochebed.
The rest of the text talks about Moses and the beginning of him being an Exodus Man. He grew up on the other side of town. Acts 7:23 says this happened when Moses was forty years old. Up until then, he was trained and groomed to become the next Pharaoh of Egypt, all the while aware of his true origins because of his mother. He learned how the world works and was a part of the world. He knew that he had authority over others because of his position. But there was something there. There was something that his mother and father put in Him. From birth, my friends, you can instill the treasures of God in your child. Don’t underestimate the power of God and His word when you are speaking to your child. The bible tells us to train up a child and when he is old, he will depart from it. He was angry when a Hebrew was treated badly by on of the Egyptians. When you grow up with the teachings of that Exodus woman and man, you know what is right and what is wrong. You realize what is godly. We know what is godly because we were taught. Moses was taught, but the world had a greater influence on him than his mother. There was a battle going on in him. The world has a tremendous pull.
Our text tells us that Moses killed in the Egyptian. If you go to Acts Chapter 7, it tells us: Now when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel. And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended and avenged him who was oppressed, and struck down the Egyptian. For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand.
that Moses when he was 40 years old it came to pass
Moses could not deliver when he lived in the palaces of glory. He had to come down off the throne, away from the palace and into a humble place before he could deliver his people. He had to be taught and trained to be an Exodus man. God will always take us through things to teach us to be like Him. He will take us through life situations that is meant to groom us. He will take us though things to show us how awesome He is. We can’t be distracted by the glitter of the world.
God can’t use what you got to grow. God has will use what He gives you. God can’t use our intellect or our strength or our physicalness. He has to use the tools that He instill into us. An exodus man is seeking God and His wisdom. The proverbs writes tells us: Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Matthew tells us: But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. An Esocus man is someone who will allow God to take him on a journey in this life to learn and grow. At the palace, moses was in no condition to do a work for the Lord. While you are trapped in the world’s system, you have no power and we are in no condition to listen to what God has to say for us. We get too busy in the world, we become too distracted, and the pleasures of this life will drive us away from being still and seeking the face of God.
Moses, fleeing for his life, probably felt that God’s plan for his life was completely defeated. He probably believed that every chance he ever had to deliver his people was now over. At this point, Moses was right where God wanted him. Moses probably had little idea of it at the time, but he was too big for God to use. Moses tried to do the Lord’s work in man’s wisdom and power and it didn’t work. After 40 years of seemingly perfect preparation, God had another period of preparation for both Moses and the people of Israel, to make them ready to receive God’s deliverance through Moses.
Coming to Midian, Moses met the daughters of a priest of Midian – likely a descendant of one of Abraham’s children. Because of this connection with Abraham, we have good reason to believe he was a true priest, and worshipped the true God. God led Moses to this specific family at this specific time. He was to continue to be taught and prepared. God is preparing us to do great things. We need to let God, trust God and allow Him to grow us.
In Egypt Moses enjoyed life as one of the royal family and was waited on hand and foot. In the distant desert of Midian, Moses finally had an opportunity to be a servant and he did a good job, working hard to help water the flocks of Reuel’s daughters.
God blessed Moses by giving a wife, named Zipporah, who was a warrior in her own right, to take and they bore a son. Moses seems to give up on Egypt and his hope of being a deliverer for Israel. Moses was content with where God put him, even though Midian was very different from Egypt.
In your life, God is preparing you to do great things. We have to allow God to work us. These were not waiting years for Moses in Midian, they were working years. Moses had never had to work this hard in his life, but He was being prepared. An exodus man knows that God is preparing Him. God was training Moses and shaping him for his future calling in Egypt Moses learn how to be somebody. He million he learned how to be a nobody. If God is going to use an exodus man he has to be a humble man. He has to be willing to learn from God He has to realize that life is not easy. But life can be joyous in Jesus.
God was still in charge. Moses forgot about Israel in Egypt but God remembered Israel while they were still in Egypt. God was preparing for their deliverance and preparing people to deliver them. We have to remember that no matter how heavy life is, God hears us. Jesus tells us to give unto him our problems and situations. He says that his yolk is easy and his burden is light. And exodus man and an exodus woman will realize that God is nurturing them, that God is growing them and will never leave them nor forsake them.
Both of these people Jochebed and her son Moses were being prepared to do a great work for God. Stop in your life and look. Ask God what is he preparing for you. In order for God to prepare an exodus woman or exodus man some things have to be taken away. Just like the Hebrew writer tells us that some things have to be taken off of our backs for us to be able to run the race. So keep on running the race exodus man, exodus woman. Keep on allowing God to use you and to prepare you. Don't let the world distract you. Keep your faith in our holy God who is watching you always.
We are all children of the king. We, as Moses, were adopted into royalty. We were adopted into a kingly priesthood. We are now the children of the living God. When we get into a bad fix, remember that we are still the sons and daughters of the King. When trouble hits you on every side, remember that we are still the sons and daughters of the King. When they put you down and talk about you, remember that we are still the sons and daughters of the King. When you are lied on and talked about, remember that we are still the sons and daughters of the King. When they try to throw you into the Nile river full of crocodiles and snakes, remember that we are still the sons and daughters of the King. When depression hits you like a ton of bricks, remember that we are still the sons and daughters of the King. When anxiety attacks you and the worse time, remember that we are still the sons and daughters of the King. We are children of the king because of what Jesus did.
THE CROSS!
