V1-2 – In this account, we see clearly that there is an ideal process to getting children and building a family. The man and woman from the tribe of Levi FIRST get married and then after… get children. It’s an important reminder of sexual purity and how to build a godly foundation for marriage and family.
The Story of Moses, is a shadow of the life of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.
I am reminded of the story of Joseph and Mary: they were also not married and had not had any sexual relations and that’s why Joseph felt obliged to break the engagement with Mary when He realizes that She is pregnant. Joseph therefore understood and respected the order in place. We live in a society that seeks to break these foundations of marriage and purity. Dear friend, be careful not to be enticed by such sinful ideas.
Of course, in Joseph’s story, He did not leave Mary because an angel of the Lord visited Him and made things clear for Him.
Matthew 1:18-21 NLT – This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement[h] quietly. As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus,[i] for he will save his people from their sins.
An important point of note is that Moses’s mother saw that Moses was a special baby. Maybe this was revealed to her by the Holy Spirit. On this verse, a number of other versions say that Moses was an unusually beautiful child. Regardless of this, it is clear that God’s plan to keep Moses and to ensure He grows is in place and is happening.
Moses’s mother hides him because Pharaoh has ordered Egyptians to throw every newborn Hebrew child into the Nile. (Seen in Exodus 1)
This story of the young Moses and his mother is still also similar to what happened to Jesus after He was born. At that time, Herod had ordered all males 2 years and below in Bethlehem to be killed.
Matthew 2:16-18 ESV – Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men.
An angel of the Lord told Joseph to leave Bethlehem so that Jesus would not be killed.
Matthew 2:13 NIV – When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
In both cases, an enemy who feels threatened is looking to kill these children. Thankfully, the Lord always makes a way and the plans of the enemy do not succeed. This is an important comfort for all of us. God is in control and He will protect and take care of his people. We do not necessarily have to worry about the details of how He will protect us from the enemy because He will always make things clear or give us wisdom if there is something we need to do. The most important thing is to have that underlying understanding and faith in Him, regardless of the situation.
Joshua 1:9 NIV – Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Deuteronomy 31:6 NIV – Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
V3-10 – How beautiful God’s plan is, Oh How beautiful.
In these verses, we clearly see how the story plays out. Dear friend, this is not something that happens because of Moses’s mother sharpness or how good she is at coming up with ideas, she was only an instrument of God who yields herself to the plans that God has. God is the one who gives all the ideas and what to do and eventually Moses is saved and grows up. And see, Moses is raised up in his early years by his own mother. That’s great. And then later, He is taken to the palace where He will now grow up as the princesses’ son.
As a child (and son) in the Palace, Moses would obviously grow up to be very well educated in Egyptian matters.
V11-15 – Moses is pained by the oppression He sees the Israelites under. He feels that He needs to do something. In his heart, we can clearly see therefore that Moses already had a burden about his people. He wanted to see them free and liberated from this oppression and that’s why He killed the Egyptian. It is also why He wanted to make peace between these two Hebrews who are fighting.
It seems to me that God had already planted the seed and burden for Israel in the heart of Moses, way before He is later called and specifically appointed to be God’s servant in the liberation of Israel.
Truly, our God is great and Mighty. His plans are perfect and He executes it out of his love, righteousness and justice.
Isaiah 46:10 NLT: Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish.
V16-22 – Moses gets a family in Midian and spends many of his years here. We see from this section that Moses is a virtuous man. He is careful to help the daughters of the Priest of Midian. In addition, Moses we see that Moses is still a man who hates injustice. He stands up to defend the daughters of the Priest against the shepherds who usually oppressed them. He knows that what the Shepherds are doing is not right and He is ready to do something about it.
This quality of Moses is admirable : He hates injustice. In this regard, Moses continues to be a shadow of Jesus. Jesus hates wickedness and loves righteousness. This is what God says of his son:
Hebrews 1:8-9 NIV – But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.
Dear friend, the Lord Jesus is calling us to be like Him, we must be haters of sin and wickedness and lovers of righteousness. We must imitate the Lord.
Ephesians 5:1-2 NLT – Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.
V23-25 – God’s plan continues to be worked out. The people of God continue crying out to God because of their pain. They cry out to God for his help and the Lord knew it was time to act. Obviously, it is not that God had not seen what had been happening to them. He was constantly seeing but the appointed time had not come.
God had an appointed time for saving them.
But it does not mean that the Lord was not doing anything at this time. There is a lot He was doing, He was preparing Moses and laying the “building blocks” essentially. And remember, the Lord had already said that the Israelites would be slaves for 400 years:
Genesis 15:13-17 NIV – Then the LORD said to him, “Then the LORD said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.” When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces.
What is the lesson here: God has an appointed time for acting but in the waiting time, when we have to wait for Him to act, it does not mean that He is not doing anything. He always is working it out for us. Regardless of our pain and struggle.
And so what should we do?
Psalms 27:14 NKJV – Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!
Dear friends, in all this we must ALSO remember that God had a bigger story that He was writing. The great story of our salvation. And therefore his plan for Israel had to be fulfilled so that Israel could be an example for us.
For example, Egypt and the oppression they faced is an example of us, when we were living in bondage to sin and the devil.
Another great example is a demonstration of God’s saving grace. The Israelites cried out for salvation from their bondage. But in our case, it was the opposite. We did not need to cry out, the Lord offered us salvation while we were still sinners, even before we were born. Some of us did not even know how sinful we are until He shed his light on us.
Romans 5:8 NKJV – But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
(Lord, I praise you for your great plan of salvation for me. I am grateful for your immense and amazing love for me and I pray that you help me to be an imitator of Christ. Lord, may you cause me by your holy spirit to hate sin and wickedness and to love righteousness. Your throne, Oh God, is built on righteousness and justice, Unfailing love and truth walk before you as attendants. Help me Lord to walk before you in sincerity and humility, not hiding my sin but bringing it before you and getting forgiveness from you. Renew my mind oh Lord, every day, so that I may never ever forget the weight of what you have done for me on the cross and that I may know how to walk with and in you. My heart desires you and your precepts. I desire to come and be with you forever. Help me to stand till that last day, help me to overcome the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. I desire you Lord. Amen)