MOSES: THE SERVANT OF GOD
Moses led a colorful, controversial and commended life. He was The Prince of Egypt, the Giver of the Law (John 1:17) and God’s Faithful Servant (Heb 3:2, 5). The Lord would speak to Moses face to face (God is the subject or initiator), as a man speaks with his friend (Ex 33:11). A man more humble than anyone else (Num 12:3), he communicated God’s word to the people and even showed up in the New Testament to talk with Jesus (Luke 9:31). He was also a psalmist (Ex 15:1-18, Deut 32, Ps. 90, Rev 15:3), an historian (Num 33:2) and a prophet like no other (Deut 34:10).
Exodus to Deuteronomy relates the story of Moses’ personal redemption, Israel’s national deliverance and God’s implementation of His promise to Abraham. At the end of the wilderness sojourning, Israel emerged as a nation, the apple of God’s eye and a thorn to their enemies, and God displayed His sovereignty over Egypt, Israel and all the nations of the earth in a powerful way.
In this 15-part series, we will learn of the names of individuals, tribes and places; read of personal conflict, group dynamics and national wars; and understand a bit more about Moses’ effort, the people’s experience and God’s expectations of His people.
LOVE IS STRONGER THAN DEATH (EXODUS 1:1-2:10)
The popular and anguished cry – “the city is dying” - swept Hong Kong a few years back. Similar despondent cries appeared all over the Internet from like-minded people from around the world:
“The city is dying and we don't know why.”
“The city is dying, and we are the ones killing it.”
“The city is dying and it's only a matter of time before it's gone.”
“The city is dying and most people are already dead.”
Those who refused to cave in to hopelessness persist with such fighting words:
“The city is dying, but not dead.”
“The city is dying, but the music must go on.”
“The city Is dying but I will not.”
“The city is dying, but we keep going.”
“The city is dying, but God is living," and we are living.
During the worst of times, people rise to the occasion. The first two chapters of Exodus tell of a cruel king, an oppressed people and a slew of heroes, who were all women, especially mothers (two midwives, Jochebed, Pharaoh’s daughter). The account began with slavery and moved quickly to forced abortion and infant genocide. Love, kindness and hope prevailed when violence, bloodshed and fear threatened.
When Israel was in danger of extinction, a few stubborn ladies outsmarted the heartless, headstrong and heavy-handed Pharaoh, who considered the Israelites a political liability, a national danger and an inferior race. God blessed the ladies and treated them well and favorably for displaying faith instead of fear.
How should believers act in times of adversity, hostility and tragedy, especially when others’ lives are at stake, depend on us and require critical assistance?
Show Your Consideration
8 Then a new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in Egypt. 9 “Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become much too numerous for us. 10 Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.” 11 Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel.13 And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour:14 And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour. (Ex 1:8-14)
A long time ago my sister told me she cried while watching the movie “The Elephant Man,” which I did a decade or more later. The Elephant Man was a deformed man who was made into a circus act because he looked part-man, part-elephant. The circus owner exacted money from the curious crowd that paid to see the disfigured man.
A kind surgeon had sympathy on the man, rescued him from his tragic plight at the circus, brought him into normal society and persuaded the general public to accept him as a man and not a freak. The welcome was short-lived and, inevitably, the public regarded him as a creature or monster - disgusting, deranged and dangerous.
The surgeon, however, was more determined than ever to help the Elephant Man as he got to know the sorry figure more and more. He knew that the man was not a creature but a normal person with an ordinary name and an engaging personality. The victim’s name was Joseph Merrick; he was funny, sensitive and vain and his dream was to be like any other human being. He could even memorized Scriptures his mother taught him. The surgeon relentlessly taught people not to be afraid of Merrick, took him to social functions and introduced him to people of high society, even though he won few admirers, friends, or converts.
Fear and ignorance enslave people, but kindness and love free them. Rabbi Samuel H. Holdenson says kindness is “the inability to remain at ease in the presence of another person who is ill at ease, the inability to remain comfortable in the presence of another who is uncomfortable, the inability to have peace of mind when one’s neighbor is troubled.” (Bits and Pieces, January 4, 1996)
The Israelites’ situation was dire. All of them were enslaved - none of them was spared. They had no national identity and more than 400 years of history could disappear in one generation. However, Pharaoh’s plan backfired. His contempt for the Israelites’ baby boom (Ex 1:7) accelerated the founding of a nation, quickened the exodus to the Promised Land and invited the wrath of God upon Pharaoh, his subjects and the land. The Israelites’ numbers, loyalty and independence were not issues; Pharaoh’s plan to snag, afflict and exploit them was the problem (1:11, 1:12). The ruthless way Pharaoh worked and treated the Israelites were abominable. Slavery was strictly forbidden among the Israelites in the future (Lev 25:43, 46, 53).
The cooperation of old worked better than the contempt of late. The previous king had built a solid relationship with Joseph and the Israelites based on trust, friendship and respect. The two races had prospered over hundreds of years, beyond all expectations, to everyone’s delight.
Unfortunately, the legacy of the previous Pharaohs, the goodwill of the Egyptians and the harmony between the Israelites and the Egyptians were shattered because of the new Pharaoh’s dishonesty, fear and ambition. “Come” (v 10) is an imperative and “deal shrewdly” occurs one time only in the Bible. The new Pharaoh thought he could change history, control things and chain people, but the new king was just digging his own grave. The Israelites spread (1:12) - the word means break out. They made a breakthrough not only in numbers, but also in identity and in intensity. Pharaoh’s fear was not appeased, no matter his actions; in fact, he felt more aggrieved and threatened (1:12). The tyrant felt more terror than ever.
Summon Your Courage
15 The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, 16 “When you help the Hebrew women in childbirth and observe them on the delivery stool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.” 17 The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. 18 Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, "Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?" 19 The midwives answered Pharaoh, "Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive." 20 So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own. (Ex 1:15-21)
I had the privilege of hearing the testimony of Dutchman John Scultz, a retired Christian and Missionary Alliance missionary, when he made a missionary stop at my church. When the Nazis invaded Holland in 1940 to begin a 5-year occupation of the country, the family of the ten-year old Scultz made a daring decision to help the Jews, who were issued ID cards with the word “Jew” stamped on the cards and forced to wear a yellow Star of David on their coats.
One night the whole population of the Jewish ghetto of Amsterdam was rounded up and transported to Jewish concentration camps. John’s father, who was in charge of the food coupons that were given out, made periodic visits to deliver food rationing booklets to the Ten Boom family (Corrie Ten Boom) that was renowned for hiding and saving Jews.
On February 29, 1944, John’s father was caught red-handed in front of the Ten Boom house. While the bulk of his delivery was safely hidden in his undershirt, a few food stamps were in his pocket. He immediately put the stamps in his mouth as he pretended to cough. When the stamps were softened enough, he swallowed them. His suspicious but smart actions resulted in a mere six-week cell confinement to the thankful but undeterred Dutch. (John and Janine Schultz, Stone Age Diary, 1-4)
Pharaoh enlisted the service of two midwives in keeping Israel’s population under control but they refused to cooperate. Why not? Where was their loyalty? What gave them the strength of conviction to defy the king? They were motivated by a sense of responsibility to God, a sense of regard for others and a sense of relief when they sleep.
Of course they were afraid of Pharaoh, but they were more afraid of the One who was superior to Pharaoh - God. A healthy dose of godly fear causes people to live their lives in a sensible, dignified and praiseworthy manner. As an anonymous person once said, “Fear knocked at the door. Faith answered. And lo, no one was there.”
The defining word that swung the midwives’ opinion was how they perceived the victims: “...they let the ‘boys’ live” (Ex 1:17). The midwives couldn’t bring themselves to obey the king because they felt that the victims were just boys, children and babies. Note the midwives cleverly changed the subject before Pharaoh to Hebrew women instead of Hebrew children (Ex 1:19). Where did their courage come from? Because (ki) they feared God (Ex 1:17, 21 “ki”) and their actions were positive, a contrast to the dread (v 12) of the Egyptians and their negative actions.
Finally, the midwives felt strongly that they had to what was decent, right and moral so that they could sleep well and stand tall at the end of the day. The Chinese have a saying, “Do nothing that condemns your heart and you don’t have to fear midnight’s door knocking.”
Spare Your Compassion
2:1 Now a man of the house of Levi married a Levite woman, 2 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. 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 woman 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. (Ex 2:1-10)
Henry Ward Beecher, while walking down a street, passed a newsboy shivering in the cold. Being moved with compassion toward him, the great preacher bought up all his newspapers, and when he handed over the money to him, he said, “Surely you are cold?” “I was,” replied the lad with a gulp, “till you passed, sir.”
What inspired Moses’ mother and Pharaoh’s daughter courage to overcome fear? The words of Jochebed when she gave up her son in movie “The Prince of Egypt” touched me: “My son, I have nothing left to give, but this chance that you may live...”
Compassion (v 6) is more than the aching of the heart; it is the attitude, the availability and the action of a person. It is a kindred feeling, a restless heart and a ready response when people are suffering, troubled, or in need. It is another word for “to spare” in the Bible. Proverbs 6:34 says, “For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare (have compassion) in the day of vengeance.” (KJV) Someone said, “Compassion means that if I see my friend and my enemy in equal need, I shall help them both equally.” Perfect love drives out fear (1 John 4:18); continuous fear brings no happiness, hope, or harmony to a home or a society.
Pharaoh commanded the death of all infant Hebrew males, but now two more ladies had the courage to defy his orders - Moses’ mother (Ex 2:1-2) and Pharaoh’s own daughter (Ex 2:5).
The Hebrew text says that Moses’ mother saw that (ki) her baby was good (v 2) – the very word for God’s creation in Genesis 1. The baby was beautiful, innocent and God-sent. Moses’ mother disregarded the warning of Pharaoh, hid her young at the risk of her life and waited at the river until the baby was safe. She could not resist the baby’s charm, could not replace the baby’s life and she did not regret the baby’s birth.
Pharaoh’s daughter was another story. She knowingly adopted the Hebrew baby when Moses cried and she felt sorry for him (Ex 2:6). The baby’s continuous (participle in Hebrew) crying broke her heart and defense. A bond was built at his first cry. The Hebrew text noted that she had compassion on him, or the Hebrew for “she spared him.” The responsible side of her responded to the reprehension she saw around her. “Compassion” (v 6) occurs for the first time in the Bible and it conquered race and status. Pharaoh’s daughter felt strongly that the baby belonged to her (Ex 2:10). After all, she found, fed and fostered the child. With imperatives, she ordered Miriam to “go” (v 8), “take” (v 9) the child and “nurse” (v 9) him.
The loser in the end was Pharaoh. The very thing that Pharaoh feared and the very thing that he tried to prevent – that the Israelites would multiply (Ex 1:10) - was the very thing that he set into motion (Ex 1:12, 20). From “exceeding mighty” (1:7), the Israelites became “mightier than we” (1:9), eventually “waxed very mighty” (1:20, KJV). Now even his family and daughter were involved. His worst nightmare had just begun.
Conclusion: The winners in life are those who are considerate, courageous and compassionate in the face of tragedy, difficulty and adversity Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails (Prov 19:21). Are you bent on destroying or delivering? Do you hate, envy and discriminate, or are you willing to forgive, bless and save? Are you afraid of involvement – speaking out, standing firm and saving lives – when you can make a difference, change the course and point the way? It is a better and healthier way to live than continuing in dread, denial and darkness.
Victor Yap
Bible.ryl.hk (Grammar Bible)
preachchrist.com (Sermons)
