Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
"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
You’ll remember that in the latter chapters of Genesis, Jacob’s son, Joseph, was second in command in Egypt, just under Pharoah. His position and standing with the Egyptian ruler allowed for his Israelite family to be cared for during the seven year famine and beyond. After Joseph and his brothers die, a new Pharoah takes charge and things drastically changed for the worse for the people of Israel. In fact, the new Pharoah felt so threatened by the ever growing Israelite population that he ordered the Hebrew midwifes to kill all Hebrew boys that they helped give birth to. You’ll remember that they refused to do this out of their fear for God. As we see in today’s scripture, Pharoah was not ready to give up.
For we read where Pharoah orders his people to throw every boy born "into the Nile" where they would drown to death. The girls would be allowed to live. His request was a horrific act of genocide and we read where at least one family, a Levite family, was able to save their child. But this was no ordinary child. This child, placed in a papyrus basket, set sail on the Nile, and discovered and saved by Pharoah’s daughter, was Moses…the man who would deliver the Israelites from their bondage in Egypt and lead them on an exodus to the Promised Land.
As I was praying over these verses, I began to see parallels between Moses, Jesus and our own lives.
First, Jesus. You’ll remember that after King Herod had failed in his attempt to trick the Magi into revealing to him the location of Jesus, he had all boys two or younger killed in town of Bethlehem. Little did Herod know that Joseph had been warned in a dream and had taken Mary and Jesus to Egypt. So God instructed Moses to lead and deliver His people from Egypt and then later would instruct Joseph to lead and deliver His only Son Jesus to Egypt…both for the purpose of survival and salvation.
Now…consider us. For we too were once threatened by danger as Satan sought our destruction through exploiting the sin within us. Floating through life just as Moses floated in the Nile…in danger of being slain by evil just as Jesus was in Bethlehem, we were doomed without someone to save us. Then came Jesus who took us in, adopted us and offered us salvation and eternal life through His death and resurrection. He was and is the Savior of the world.
So this Advent season, as we once again excitedly anticipate the coming of the Savior, may we also remember and celebrate the coming of Moses, who was delivered to become the deliverer of God’s people, hand-chosen by the Father to do great things by way of His power. And may we also see ourselves as deliverers of God’s people as the Lord empowers us to tell others about His Son Jesus, the Babe born in the manger in Bethlehem…the only One by which anyone can be saved. Thanks be to God.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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