DELIVERED TO DELIVER

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: "Every boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.”

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. 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. 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.

Then his sister asked Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?"

"Yes, go," she answered. And the girl went and got the baby's mother.

Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you."

So the woman took the baby and nursed him. When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh's daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, "I drew him out of the water."

Exodus 1:22, 2:1-10

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

You’ll remember that in the latter chapters of Genesis, Jacob’s son, Joseph, was second in command in Egypt, just under the supreme Egyptian ruler, Pharaoh. This position and standing allowed for his Israelite family to be cared for during the seven year famine and beyond.

Transitioning to the Book of Exodus, we found where things changed drastically. For the scriptures told us that after Joseph and his brothers died, a new Pharaoh took charge, one who had no prior relationship with the Israelites. Seeing how much the Hebrew population was growing, we saw where the new Pharaoh felt so threatened that he ordered the Israelite midwifes to kill all Hebrew boys that they helped give birth to, a demand that they refused out of their fear for God.

Unfortunately, the Pharaoh was not ready to give up as we see in today’s scripture passage from the final verse of chapter 1 and the first ten verses of chapter 2:

Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: "Every boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.”

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. 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. 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.

Then his sister asked Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?"

"Yes, go," she answered. And the girl went and got the baby's mother.

Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you."

So the woman took the baby and nursed him. When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh's daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, "I drew him out of the water."

How evil was this new Pharaoh?

So much so that he was willing to murder newborn babies, specifically all the baby boys who were to be thrown "into the Nile" where they would drown to death. His order was nothing short of an horrific act of infanticide but as we see in the scriptures, there was at least one family, a Hebrew Levite family, who was able to save their child by placing him in a papyrus basket and sending him off afloat on the Nile where he was discovered and saved, ironically by the daughter of Pharaoh.

It was nothing short of a miraculous act of God and as we go on to see, this would be no ordinary baby who would grow up into adulthood. For as we see, he is given the name Moses and will later become the man who will deliver the Israelites from their bondage in Egypt and lead them on an exodus to the Promised Land.

As I was meditating over these verses, I began to see parallels between Moses, Jesus, and our own lives as Christian believers.

First, Jesus.

You’ll remember that after King Herod failed in his attempt to trick the Magi into revealing the exact location of Jesus, he had all boys two or younger killed in the town of Bethlehem. What Herod didn’t know was that the Lord had warned Joseph in a dream about the coming danger and told him to take Mary and baby Jesus to...yes...Egypt. So, we see in the scriptures where God instructed Moses to lead and deliver His people from Egypt before later commanding Joseph to lead and deliver His only Son Jesus to Egypt, both for the purpose of survival and salvation.

Now, let’s apply this to our situation as Jesus disciples. For we too were once threatened by danger as Satan sought our utter destruction through exploiting the sin within us. And so as we floated along in life much like Moses floated in his basket on the Nile, we were doomed unless someone would come to save us. Thankfully, God did send someone in the way of His Son, who came to our rescue, pulling us out of the depths of our sin before we drowned in it, adopting us as His own, and then bringing us eternal life through His death and resurrection.

Indeed, He (Jesus) was, is, and will always be the Savior of the world and here’s one other important point. As Christians, we get to partner with Jesus to help others get delivered. This partnership isn’t just a suggestion. Jesus actually commanded it.

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20

In both Moses and Jesus, we see how God made the way for both to be delivered and kept from death so that they might deliver His people. They were delivered to deliver and in the case of Jesus, not just deliver us in this life but in the glorious everlasting life to come where we will abide with Him and our God forever. And as if this wasn’t enough, those in Christ get to actively be the hands and feet of the risen Savior, working with Him to help others be delivered.

What an amazing privilege this is and so let us all rejoice and be glad in this truth, not just today but every day we’re blessed with.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.