November 9, 2004

Reading through the Bible in one Year: Haggai

Weekly Memory Verse: Galatians 2:20

Good Afternoon Brothers and Sisters,

We just received the word from the doctor that the surgery on my wife was successful.  They removed the tumor, it did not invade any tissues in the brain and was removed easily.  They don't expect any side effects, and the recovery will take about two months total.  Thanks for all of your prayers.  I hope to finish this study and email it out by midnight, otherwise, I will be emailing the news to all of you shortly.

Exodus 2:1-10 (NASB95)
¹ Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a daughter of Levi. ² The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was beautiful, she hid him for three months. ³ But when she could hide him no longer, she got him a wicker basket and covered it over with tar and pitch. Then she put the child into it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile. ⁴ His sister stood at a distance to find out what would happen to him. ⁵ The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the Nile, with her maidens walking alongside the Nile; and she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid, and she brought it to her. ⁶ When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the boy was crying. And she had pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” ⁷ Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women that she may nurse the child for you?” ⁸ Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go ahead.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. 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 The child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. And she named him Moses, and said, “Because I drew him out of the water.” ^[1]

After the law was made that all Hebrew males were to be killed, if a person allowed a son to live, they had become law breakers.  In the ancient world, penalties for breaking the law were stiff, the parents waited as long as they dared by defying the law of the land.  We don't know what made them make the decision to put Moses into the Nile river, except for guidance from God. 

I find it interesting that the act of putting Moses into the basket was a way of complying with the law of the land.  Moses was thrown into the Nile, just not tossed into the water for the alligators to eat, but rather into a sort of a little boat designed especially for him.  Then his sister was stationed to keep watch over him.  I wonder if they did not intend to have his sister feed him until another way was figured out. 

Pharaoh’s daughter bathing in the Nile was probably well known by the locals, and could have been the target of the entire scheme.  Or it could have been a divine appointment that God had set up for the rest of the story.  The real truth is that we don't know what the motive was behind him being hid among the reeds.  God used it for good.

Consider this powerful lesson though, God honored the boldness of Pharaoh's parents to keep him alive.  He made it a point of having the mother re-united with her son on the very day that she gave him up to the Nile.  God honored her faith, and used the situation to further his plan.  She was also paid to watch over her own son, God is tremendous.  Another point on this is that Pharaoh's daughter knew that Moses was a Hebrew child and pointedly defied the law of her father by keeping him alive.

Exodus 2:11-15 (NASB95)
¹¹ Now it came about in those days, when Moses had grown up, that he went out to his brethren and looked on their hard labors; and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren. ¹² So he looked this way and that, and when he saw there was no one around, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. ¹³ He went out the next day, and behold, two Hebrews were fighting with each other; and he said to the offender, “Why are you striking your companion?” ¹⁴ But he said, “Who made you a prince or a judge over us? Are you intending to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and said, “Surely the matter has become known.” ¹⁵ When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, and he sat down by a well.

Acts 7:22-28 (NASB95)
²² “Moses was educated in all the learning of the Egyptians, and he was a man of power in words and deeds. ²³ “But when he was approaching the age of forty, it entered his mind to visit his brethren, the sons of Israel. ²⁴ “And when he saw one of them being treated unjustly, he defended him and took vengeance for the oppressed by striking down the Egyptian. ²⁵ “And he supposed that his brethren understood that God was granting them deliverance through him, but they did not understand. ²⁶ “On the following day he appeared to them as they were fighting together, and he tried to reconcile them in peace, saying, ‘Men, you are brethren, why do you injure one another?’ ²⁷ “But the one who was injuring his neighbor pushed him away, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge over us? ²⁸ ‘You do not mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday, do you?’ ^[2]

There were 40 silent years that Moses spent on the earth before he took a stand on the injustice that he saw before him.  During that time, he was highly educated by the best of the land, trained and schooled in all the arts as a kings son would be trained.  By heritage he was a Hebrew, but by adoption, he was a well trained prince. 

Moses may have been aware of his heritage, we are led to believe that he knew that he was a Hebrew and that the Egyptian was beating one of his brethren.  This is entirely possible since his mother was also his nurse-maid.  What is very clear is that Moses was being watched by others.  I would imagine that he carried the body characteristics of a Hebrew, but looked like an Egyptian in dress and in mannerisms.  He was also very adept in the art of war since he killed the guard that was obviously capable fighting.  He was canny enough that he buried the guard in the sand, and thought that he had gotten away with the crime.

Yet when it was found out that he had killed one of his own, the word spread quickly.  Pharaoh heard about it and tried to kill Moses.  The Hebrew indicates that Moses was actually placed under a death sentence by Pharaoh, (Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 3: Exodus.)  There is a lot of stuff that is left alone in these verses, such as the childhood of Moses, and other pertinent information leading up to the fatal moment.

Notice a couple of things on this though, first God used 40 years to prepare Moses for the single act of defiance that alienated him from his heritage and his right to become the heir to Egypt.  Forty years down the tubes, gone, kaput over one act of passion.  Why would a guy risk that?  We just went through the Purpose Driven Life study, and understand that God uses the number 40 in preparing His people for service. 

The second thing to notice is what is not said.  The importance of the narrative is not on Moses, it is upon God.  Moses is the one the story was told about, but he is not important, the importance lies in placing him in the proper position for God to use him.  God considered forty years of life to be worthless in consideration for His plan, do you think that that is fair?  God does not work on our time-schedule, or according to our logic.  Moses was an old man by the standards of that day when he made the mistake of the act of passion.

Another thing to notice is that Moses, like Christ Jesus did not have a childhood recorded.  It was not considered important what he had done as a child, only what the end result of his life was.  Today's society would have a problem with that concept.

Exodus 2:16-25 (NASB95)
¹⁶ Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters; and they came to draw water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. ¹⁷ Then the shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and helped them and watered their flock. ¹⁸ When they came to Reuel their father, he said, “Why have you come back so soon today?” ¹⁹ So they said, “An Egyptian delivered us from the hand of the shepherds, and what is more, he even drew the water for us and watered the flock.” ²⁰ He said to his daughters, “Where is he then? Why is it that you have left the man behind? Invite him to have something to eat.” ²¹ Moses was willing to dwell with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses. ²² Then she gave birth to a son, and he named him Gershom, for he said, “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land.” ²³ Now it came about in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry for help because of their bondage rose up to God. ²⁴ So God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. ²⁵ God saw the sons of Israel, and God took notice of them.

Acts 7:30 (NASB95)
³⁰ “After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning thorn bush. ^[3]

 (Praise God!  Shelley is doing wonderfully, sleeping peacefully, and the study goes on!  Thank all of you mighty prayer warriors who are in this group!)

Notice that Moses did not look like a Hebrew, rather he looked like an Egyptian.  He also acted like a prince of peace by driving away the ones who were taking advantage of the daughters who tended the flocks.  God rewarded his act by establishing him with a family in the land.  He went from being a prince who probably was loaded with responsibility to being a lowly shepherd. This is another picture of Christ, think about it, Jesus stepped down from His kingdom where He ruled over the entire universe to become a lowly carpenter's son. 

Just like Moses, Jesus did not come like a warrior king, but rather came as a shepherd of men.  This was what the disciples did not understand about Him.  Jesus was not to be a warrior king at first, even though He had the ability to be a warrior, just like Moses had the ability to fight and to kill.  Just a thought.

One last observation on this passage, God took notice of the plight of the Hebrews and remembered His covenant with them.  This was after four hundred years of slavery!  Don't you think that they prayed to God before this time?  God allowed another forty years to pass before He even commissioned Moses in the next chapter.  He was really an old dude by then!  God allowed him to spend 40 years in plenty, 40 years in poverty, and then noticed that His children were being mistreated.  Why?  Do we consider God to be unjust?  I highly doubt that Moses would agree with you if you said that God had a call for his life. 

One thing is certain, God does not work according to our timing.  He has called many of you to His service, not everyone was called to full time service.  Most are called to service in simple areas.  He has provided our jobs for us so that we can provide for our families.  I would challenge you to be open to God in order to allow Him to work in your life.  Don't let the problem of age or the problem of circumstances cloud your vision.  It is never too late for God to use you for His purpose, perhaps it will be after retirement, or perhaps God will use you right now.  We don't know God's plan, we do know that he wants us to be open to His leading.

I am going to close here, I've babbled long enough.  If you have thoughts or opinions on this passage, feel free to write in.  I will post all responses.  Also check out the webpage under the archives, the comments from last year are great on this chapter.

Father, as we consider Your word today, I ask that each one of us will be open to you and willing to listen for the way that You have for each one of us to serve You.

In Him,