Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / Exodus

Exodus 2:1-10 10/26/03

Introduction: Arnold Schwarzenegger is governor of California. Amazing.  Not everyone voted for Arnold you know. Here are the top 10 reasons given by those who didn’t vote for Arnold in the California gubernatorial election.

10. Just imagine the new mandatory exercise program for all Californians.

9. Pity the poor school kids who will have to spell his name correctly.

8. His re-election slogan will be ‘I’ll Be Back’

7. I had my heart set on someone with a thicker Austrian accent.

6. Minnesota’s governor Jessie ‘the Body’ Ventura now doesn’t seem so bad.

5. Secretly you wanted Gary Coleman to win just to see what would happen.

4. Can we really afford to lose Arnold as an actor?

3. This is the Kennedy families best hope for president.

2. A weak economy can not be fixed by force feeding it egg shakes and making it pump iron.

1. Cause he’s, like, a machine, from the future, man. Am I the only one having a problem with that?

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Govenor of California.  Who would have thought he could lead one of the largest states in the Union? If it is true that God raises up leaders…what was he thinking with Arnold?

Explanation: Whenever God works, he chooses the right worker, uses the right plan and acts at the right time. But Arnold? Well, the same could be said and was said by the Israelites while under bondage to Egypt…Moses? Come on…really?

In Exodus chapter 2, we will find that Moses was called by God to life. He was called by God to lead. He was called by God to follow.

We will also find that Moses, didn’t always do a very good job. Something we should be thankful for. Not that he was a bad leader, but that God chose to tell us about it, so that we can be encouraged when we fail to follow the call of God in our lives in a positive and faithful way.

You see Ch. 2 of the Book of Exodus is about God’s call. And his call is selective, directive and progressive.

Transition: Open you Bibles to Ex. 2:1-10 where today we will look at Moses’ call to life and how a life of faith displayed by his parents contributed to that life.

Exodus 2:1-10 ‘Called to life’ (selective)
Read: Ex. 2:1-10

We are all familiar with this event. A baby in a basket floating on the banks of the Nile River. In our SS lessons, this was the highlight of the text. But, I don’t think Moses intended it to be that way. In fact, in the NT when Stephen talks about this event, all he says is that Moses ‘was placed outside’. And the writer of the Book of Hebrews, when retelling this event passes over the basket altogether. Instead, both focus on the faith of Moses’ parents.

Let me back up. There are five things we need to take notice of if we are going to get a full and correct picture of Ex. 2:1-10.

1. Notice that Moses’ parents aren’t even mentioned here by name. Their names are not given to us until ch. 6. The fact that both his parents are from the tribe of Levi is something that Moses wants us to notice.

2. Notice that Moses’ parents sense something special about him. Some translations say he was a beautiful baby. Then the text tells us that because of this, Moses’ parents decided to not to throw him in the Nile as ordered by Pharaoh, but to hide him.

 What would have happened if Moses was an ugly baby? I know no baby is ugly…at least to the parents. I don’t think his parents hiding him had anything to do with how Moses looked as a baby. I believe Moses’ parents were prompted by the Holy Spirit that Moses was special because he was called by God to live, not to die in the Nile.

Remember, whenever God works, he chooses the right worker, uses the right plan and acts at the right time. God was about to work, he had his plan, it was the right time…and Moses was the right worker.  Not because of anything he had done…he was a baby. It was because of what God would do through him.

3. Notice that Moses’ parents defied Pharaoh’s order to drown all male children. They hid him in their home for three months. This was an extreme act of faith. If they were found out, they would have all been killed.

But, babies being what they are…are noisy. It was no longer possible to keep little Moses quiet as the Egyptians walked around outside their home. They would be caught. So, in faith, they do what Pharaoh ordered…kind of. They place Moses in the Nile, but put him in a waterproof basket and place him where they know he will be found. And it just so happened, he was found. What a coincidence! Not really! That was not only God’s plan but Moses’ parents as well. Why do I know that? They send Moses’ older sister, Miriam, to see who would take him.

4. Notice that Pharaoh’s daughter just happened to show up at the Nile, at that very moment to bathe. She found the basket and little Moses cried right on cue. This was a divine appointment, a divine call to life. Pharaoh’s daughter was the only person who could have found Moses, and kept him. And by doing so, all the male Israelite children were saved. I realize the text doesn’t say that, but it makes sense. Pharaoh had to repeal the law since his daughter didn’t obey it. Even as a baby, God used Moses to save his people.

5. Notice that the text tells us that Pharaoh’s daughter had Moses’ mother nurse him…and paid her for it. How great was that? Coincidence? No, God used Miriam being in the right place at the right time to fulfill his plan.

And on top of that, Moses’ parents got to keep him until he was weaned…probably 3-5 years. That may not sound like much, but when they expected never to see him again, I am sure they were thankful for the 3-5 yrs. Plus, Moses’ parents knew that he was alive and would be well cared for.

Application: You see, the focus of Ex. 2:1-10 is not on the baby in the basket, but on the faith of his parents. And we can learn a lot about faith from them.

1. In the midst of an extremely difficult situation, Moses was delivered from death and called to life. And God promises all of us as Christians that same kind of deliverance…and life.

     -Maybe as a child, your parents didn’t throw you into the Shrewsbury River, but perhaps you were abused by them in some way.

     -Maybe you have bills or medical problems that push you to the end of your rope with no where to go.

     -Maybe you believe your children or spouse are so entrenched in the world that there is no way for them to come to faith in Christ.
 
    You need to know that God loves situations, where you are hopeless and helpless. No, e is not a masochist. But this gives him opportunity to do a miracle. He did it for Moses, because his parents had faith. Child of God, have faith in your Heavenly Father to deliver you from whatever is oppressing you this morning. Have faith that God wants you to have life and have it abundantly.

2. Parents it take faith to let your children go. It took faith for Moses’ parents to hid him for three month. It took faith for them to place him in the water. This was the place other children found their death. It took faith for Moses’ parents to take their hands off the life of their child and leave him to the will of God.

     -Are you struggling with letting your children go?
     -Are you holding on by being over protective, excessively restrictive of your older children?
 
It takes faith to release your children into a sinful and alluring world. It takes faith to release your children to the will of God.

3. Parents, it takes faith to raise and teach your children to live a godly life, under unfavorable conditions. It was by faith that Moses’ parents were able to raise him, knowing that now he really belonged to Pharaoh’s daughter.

     -Raising children is never easy and there are so many things that can compound the process:  illness to you or your child,
         financial problems,
         inadequate housing,
         your children’s unsaved friends who try to influence them away from faith in Christ.

It takes faith for parents not to be afraid to trust God to work through these problems.

     -It takes faith for parents to take a stand for what is right in the life of their children.
     -It takes faith for parents to say, ‘my children are going to learn the ways of the Lord’.
     -It takes faith to be like Joshua who said ‘As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord’.

4. Parent’s it takes faith to look behind the exterior and see your children through the eyes of God.
Moses’ parents, by the power of the Holy Spirit, saw something different about their child. And by faith, they believed what they saw.

     -Parents, what do you see when you look at your children? Do you see the exterior only?
          The good or not so good looks? The good or not so good behavior?    The good or not so good grades?

     -Look at your children through the eyes of faith. Because you may not know who you are raising and what God may have planned for them. Moses’ parents thought they would be raising an Egyptian prince, not a deliverer of God’s people.

     -Give your children your heart, give your children your best, give your children a glimpse of your life of faith.

We can never overestimate the importance our faith plays in the work of God.

    -Moses’ parents believed in a God who was greater than Pharaoh.

     -Moses’ parents believed in a God whose purposes were more powerful then their problems.

     -Moses parents believed in a God who provided for their needs in ways they did not always recognize.

     -Moses’ parents believed in a God who could prevail over evil in ways they could not imagine.

Isn’t that when faith really soars? Moses’ parents believed in, had faith in God when it really counted, in the midst of extreme difficulty. And God didn’t let them down.

Now I realize I have spoken a lot to parents this morning. But the truth is, we all need to be people of faith. And everything I said about faith and parents applies to us all.

1. Faith believes that God will deliver Christians from oppression and lead them to life.

2. Faith gives God permission to work in our lives, even when we feel we are losing control of our life.

3. Faith stands firm and lives a godly life even in unfavorable conditions.

4. Faith sees others as God sees them and then treats them as God would treat them.

Conclusion
Arnold Schwarzenegger is governor of California. What kind of leader he will make is yet to be revealed. At this point in our text we can say the same thing for Moses.

 Yes, God has called him to life.
 Yes, God will call him to lead.
 Yes, God will call Moses to follow Him…

But will he?

He has a good beginning. He has faithful parents.  But in the end, it comes down to Moses and how he answers God’s call?

Which, by the way, is true for you and I as well.