No Ordinary Child!
Today we have the story of Moses, who later became a great leader for the people of Israel, and the one to whom God revealed the Old Testament Law. Today, we learn of the somewhat miraculous birth of Moses, as his mom recognizes he is no ordinary child and she puts him in a papyrus basket and floats him down the Nile River. Interestingly the Hebrew for this word "papyrus" is the same as "ark" as in Noah's Ark, where Noah and his family were saved out of the water. Pharaoh's daughter had mercy on him and took him out of the water and named him Moses, which means "out of the water".
So while Moses was a Hebrew, he grew up in Pharaoh's household with all of the luxuries of the most powerful man in the world. Later in the book of Hebrews in the New Testament, Moses and his parents are uplifted as models of faith. You can only imagine the faith his parents needed to float him down the Nile in fear of Pharoah's decree. Then, we see why Moses is no ordinary child. He chooses to leave the comfort of Pharaoh's house to identify and suffer with his fellow Hebrews, who are in slavery to the Egyptians. The writer says, Moses underwent disgrace for the sake of Christ as he looked forward to a greater reward. We see again the connection between the New Testament and Old Testament, as Moses is a prefiguring of those who have faith in Christ.
So the question for us today is where do we need to exercise this kind of faith. Faith is trusting in God's promises and is also looking forward to a future reward, even when the short term consequences threaten our security. Moses did the right thing in going back to his people even when he knew he could suffer short term. He did the right thing and God saw his character and made him a leader of the nation of Israel. He was rewarded then, and I'm sure we will see him in heaven one day because of his great faith. Trusting when we can't see results is hard, especially when we have to put ourselves in someone else's hands. But God draws us up out of the waters of baptism and says you are my child in whom I am well pleased. This leads us on a journey of faith, not always knowing what direction we are going but having confidence in the God who chose us as no ordinary child, will lead us home.
Psalm 110
Of David. A psalm.
1 The Lord says to my lord:
“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet.”
2 The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion, saying,
“Rule in the midst of your enemies!”
3 Your troops will be willing
on your day of battle.
Arrayed in holy splendor,
your young men will come to you
like dew from the morning’s womb.
4 The Lord has sworn
and will not change his mind:
“You are a priest forever,
in the order of Melchizedek.”
5 The Lord is at your right hand;
he will crush kings on the day of his wrath.
6 He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead
and crushing the rulers of the whole earth.
7 He will drink from a brook along the way,
and so he will lift his head.
Exodus 1:22-2:10
22 Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.”
The Birth of Moses
2 Now a man of the tribe 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 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. 4 His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him. 5 Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it. 6 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. 7 Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?” 8 “Yes, go,” she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother. 9 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. 10 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.”
Hebrews 11:23-26
23 By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. 24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.
So while Moses was a Hebrew, he grew up in Pharaoh's household with all of the luxuries of the most powerful man in the world. Later in the book of Hebrews in the New Testament, Moses and his parents are uplifted as models of faith. You can only imagine the faith his parents needed to float him down the Nile in fear of Pharoah's decree. Then, we see why Moses is no ordinary child. He chooses to leave the comfort of Pharaoh's house to identify and suffer with his fellow Hebrews, who are in slavery to the Egyptians. The writer says, Moses underwent disgrace for the sake of Christ as he looked forward to a greater reward. We see again the connection between the New Testament and Old Testament, as Moses is a prefiguring of those who have faith in Christ.
So the question for us today is where do we need to exercise this kind of faith. Faith is trusting in God's promises and is also looking forward to a future reward, even when the short term consequences threaten our security. Moses did the right thing in going back to his people even when he knew he could suffer short term. He did the right thing and God saw his character and made him a leader of the nation of Israel. He was rewarded then, and I'm sure we will see him in heaven one day because of his great faith. Trusting when we can't see results is hard, especially when we have to put ourselves in someone else's hands. But God draws us up out of the waters of baptism and says you are my child in whom I am well pleased. This leads us on a journey of faith, not always knowing what direction we are going but having confidence in the God who chose us as no ordinary child, will lead us home.
Psalm 110
Of David. A psalm.
1 The Lord says to my lord:
“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet.”
2 The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion, saying,
“Rule in the midst of your enemies!”
3 Your troops will be willing
on your day of battle.
Arrayed in holy splendor,
your young men will come to you
like dew from the morning’s womb.
4 The Lord has sworn
and will not change his mind:
“You are a priest forever,
in the order of Melchizedek.”
5 The Lord is at your right hand;
he will crush kings on the day of his wrath.
6 He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead
and crushing the rulers of the whole earth.
7 He will drink from a brook along the way,
and so he will lift his head.
Exodus 1:22-2:10
22 Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.”
The Birth of Moses
2 Now a man of the tribe 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 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. 4 His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him. 5 Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it. 6 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. 7 Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?” 8 “Yes, go,” she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother. 9 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. 10 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.”
Hebrews 11:23-26
23 By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. 24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.
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