Transcription downloaded from https://sermonarchive.gfcbremen.com/sermons/99047/the-mother-of-moses/.

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions.
Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.


[0:00] Exodus chapter 1, and we're going to begin reading at verse 1, and read through chapter 2 and verse 10.! These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family.

[0:19] Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar, Zebulon, and Benjamin, Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. The descendants of Jacob numbered 70 in all. Joseph was already in Egypt.

[0:34] Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, but the Israelites were fruitful and multiplied greatly and became exceedingly numerous so that the land was filled with them.

[0:48] Then a new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in Egypt. Look, he said to his people, the Israelites have become much too numerous for us.

[1:00] Come, we must deal shrewdly with them, or they will become even more numerous. And if war breaks out, we'll join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country.

[1:12] So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor. And they built Pithom and Ramses as store cities for Pharaoh.

[1:23] But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread. So the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and work them ruthlessly.

[1:34] They made their lives bitter with hard labor and brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields. In all their hard labor, the Egyptians used them ruthlessly.

[1:46] The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shifra and Hua, When you help the Hebrew women in childbirth and observe them on the delivery stool, if it is a boy, kill him.

[2:00] But if it is a girl, let her live. The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do. They let the boys live.

[2:11] Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live? The midwives answered Pharaoh, Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women.

[2:24] They are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive. And so God was kind to the midwives, and the people increased and became even more numerous.

[2:34] And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own. 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.

[2:49] 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.

[3:04] 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.

[3:18] 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 riverbank.

[3:30] 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.

[3:40] 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?

[3:51] 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.

[4:02] 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.

[4:19] On man's calendar, today is Mother's Day. On God's calendar, it is the Lord's Day. The central focus of our attention then today is not on mothers.

[4:32] I say the central focus, but on the Lord himself. The one who on this day rose again for our salvation. And so no one and no thing is to replace him as the focal point of our hearts and worship today.

[4:52] We come to him. To him we sing our praises. To him we bring our offerings. To him we listen as he speaks in his word. To him we pray.

[5:03] To him who loves us. And has freed us from our sins in his own blood. And has made us a kingdom and priest to his God and Father.

[5:13] To him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen. So assuming that we have first things first. God has no controversy with honoring our mothers today.

[5:27] Indeed, the fourth commandment calling us to remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Is followed by the fifth commandment. Calling us to honor our fathers and our mothers.

[5:41] Honoring our mother was God's idea long before we made it a special day. He made woman. He gave her the capacity of bearing children.

[5:52] He made your mother. He gave you birth through her. And he calls you one and all to honor your mother.

[6:03] The Lord Jesus honored his mother as a boy growing up. He never had a foul word toward her or about her. He always obeyed her. And even from the cross.

[6:14] He took care of her. Or appointing John to be the one to take care of her in his absence. God's own word. The Bible honors mothers.

[6:27] Have you noticed that? Secular histories might run right by mothers in the hurry to get to some of the greats of history. Not so the Bible. It pauses and tells us and shines the light for a moment upon mothers.

[6:42] The mother of Samuel. The mother of Jesus. The mother of this one and that one. He speaks highly of their work of mothering.

[6:55] He wants done what mothers do. And so.

[7:06] This morning we want to consider what God says about one particular mother. Now I could tell you her name but you probably wouldn't know who it was. Because she's not mentioned by name.

[7:18] In the account that we had read for us. Her name is Jochebed. See I told you. You wouldn't know her name. Jochebed. Better known as the mother of Moses.

[7:33] God raised up a man to deliver his people Israel from bondage in Egypt. And preparing this man was in large part the work of his mother.

[7:47] So let's consider first of all her times. It's safe to say that there was never a more difficult time to be a mother than when Jochebed was pregnant with her third child.

[7:58] She had already had Miriam. And then Aaron. And now she's pregnant again. But things had changed. Let me remind you of the background of this account.

[8:13] Clear back in 2100 BC. You can read about it in the book of Genesis. The first book of the Bible. God made a covenant with Abraham.

[8:24] He made promises to Abraham. Promising him a land and numerous descendants. Lots of offspring. And God told him that his descendants.

[8:35] Would first be enslaved and mistreated in a foreign country for 400 years. Then they would be brought out with a powerful hand. And history indeed unfolded along that line as you read through the book of Genesis.

[8:53] That's what you find. Because of a famine. All of Abraham's descendants. Seventy and all. Moved down to Egypt for food. Where God had already taken Joseph ahead of time.

[9:05] To prepare the way for them. To keep them alive. But there in Egypt. God began to fulfill his promise to Abraham of a numerous offspring. Do you wonder why Exodus starts with this numbers thing?

[9:19] About 70. Naming how many there were. Offspring of Abraham. Why this talk of they greatly multiplied and so on. Because there had been a promise to Abraham of a great number of offspring.

[9:32] And so as Exodus begins. It looks back to that promise. It says okay. Let's clear the field. There's 70 right now. And let's see what God has done regarding his promise.

[9:45] Well though Joseph and his generation died. Depleting the population. We're told nevertheless. The Israelites were very fruitful.

[9:55] And multiplied greatly. And became exceedingly numerous. So that the land was filled with them. And we're meant to see that as the promise. The fulfillment of the promise. The beginning fulfillment of the promise to Abraham.

[10:08] Well the new Pharaoh. That did not know Joseph. Felt threatened by their numbers. He thought this national security of Egypt. Was endangered by all these Israelites. So he set in motion.

[10:21] A whole string of measures. That was calculated to depopulate Egypt. Of these Israelites. Fights. Little knowing that as he did so.

[10:31] He was fighting against the plan of God. In heaven. His first measure was to put slave masters over them. Who oppressed them with forced labor. He made life bitter for them.

[10:42] All kinds of hard labor. He treated them ruthlessly. Thinking that by this. He would wear them out. And he would discourage them. From ever wanting to bring children into this world. To live such a miserable existence.

[10:53] As it went on for hundreds of years. But the more they were oppressed. The more they multiplied and spread.

[11:06] Well then Pharaoh told the two. Egyptian midwives. Who helped the Hebrew women. In childbirth. That as they were delivering the children. If it's a boy kill him.

[11:17] Let the girls live. The idea was in some way. To choke out the life. In such a way. That it looked like. They just died from difficulties. During the pregnancy. The delivery.

[11:30] In the process. Of burying children. Think of a secret. Partial birth abortion. For every boy. But this too backfired.

[11:42] Because the midwives feared the Lord. And let the boys live. So now Pharaoh no longer tries. To conceal his murderous designs. And he issues a cruel edict. To all his people.

[11:52] Concerning the Hebrew babies. Every boy that's born. You must throw into the Nile. But let every girl live. Out and out infanticide.

[12:03] By a wicked government. No doubt many Israelite baby boys died. Drowned. Eaten by the crocodiles.

[12:15] In the Nile River. Would it not be better. To be barren. Than to bring forth sons. To such slaughter. Well it was at such a time.

[12:28] That Jochebed. Became pregnant. With her third child. Mothers what would be going through your head. Oh God. Let it be a girl.

[12:41] Not looking forward. To the day of delivery. Like a mother should. But dreading it. And that day quickly came. And as the newborn is laid in her arms.

[12:53] It is a son. And a fine one at that. Now do you see why I said there was never a time. When mothering was more difficult. Than when Jochebed. Was pregnant with her third child.

[13:06] Mothers thankfully you don't live in Egypt. Three thousand years ago. Four thousand years ago. Or three thousand years ago. Under such. Difficult circumstances.

[13:17] But you do have your own peculiar difficulties. That makes mothering a challenge. In this day. There's the low view of motherhood. Prevalent in our culture.

[13:30] Today. To give yourself to being a mother. Are you kidding? It's regarded as unworthy. Of someone like yourself. You simply got to have a career.

[13:40] To be important. To not be wasting your life. There are better things to do. More self-fulfilling. Rewarding things to do. Than just to mother. To be a mother.

[13:51] So you must swim upstream. Against the cultural. Currents. In order. To be a mother. To give yourself to mothering. There's also all the evil influences.

[14:04] Upon your children. And upon your young people. That make mothering so difficult. The music. The television. The movies. The internet. The education. Stripped of God. All our voices.

[14:16] Crying out for the attention. Of your children. The low morality of their peers. Influences them. So that when you say no. They say. Why can't I?

[14:27] Everyone's doing it. And it makes bringing up children. A real challenge. As there are so many children. That are just left to themselves. To bring themselves up.

[14:38] And do whatever they want. There's the. Many dangers. To which. They are exposed. In this world. Things that war against their soul.

[14:49] There's the general rebellion. Against parental authority. Their fellows at school. Don't honor their mother. And it makes. Being a mother.

[15:01] A challenge. Multitudes of activities. That would pull your children. Away from you. Could be added difficulties. Of unsupportive spouses. Or poor health.

[15:13] A list. That could go on and on. Bring it all. To the Lord. And know this. That if there was grace. And help. For this mother.

[15:24] Jochebed. In her trying circumstances. That there is grace. And help. For you mother. In whatever the challenges. Of your. Day. Might bring.

[15:37] So that's her setting. Secondly. Let's consider. Her faith in action. Moses mother. Was. A woman of great faith. In God. That's not just my opinion.

[15:49] It's. It's God's own opinion. And so. When. You turn to the 11th chapter. Of Hebrews. In the New Testament. You have that. Chapter of faith. Athletics.

[16:00] Have their. Hall of fame. For their heroes. Hebrews 11. Is the hall of faith. And. It's there. That we find. Jochebed. With all those others.

[16:11] Who. Accomplished so much. By. Their faith. Verse 23. Says. By faith. Moses. Parents. Hit him.

[16:21] 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. Moses. Parents. That's.

[16:32] Jochebed. And. Amron. Amram. His mother. And his father. In our account. In Exodus. It was. The mother's activity. That is.

[16:43] Portrayed. Isn't it? When she saw. That he was a fine child. She hit him. For three months. She is emphasized. Hebrew says. His parents.

[16:54] Plural. Perhaps she's. Brought out for mention. Here in Exodus. Chapter 2. Because she took. The more active role. Amram. After all. Was out slaving away.

[17:04] All day. Making bricks. So. The task. Would have been. Left. To. Jochebed. To hide. The baby. Moses. Now.

[17:17] What do we mean. When we say. She was a woman. Of faith. Well. She trusted. God. She trusted. In his words. In his promises. She ventured.

[17:28] On God. Her faith. In God. Didn't cause her. To be idle. But it rather. Moved her. Into action. And she stepped out. Venturing. On his help. Counting. On it.

[17:38] Being there. For her. Faith. Is a powerful. Thing. Faith. Is a life. Changing. Thing. Faith. Caused. Her. To do. Things. That she. Otherwise. Never.

[17:49] Would have done. Hard. Things. And faith. Also. Caused her. To not. Do. Things. That she. Otherwise. Would have done. Easy. Things. Positively.

[18:01] Faith. Caused her. To hide. Her son. Negatively. Faith. Caused her. To not. Fear. The king's. Edict. Let's. Consider. Both. As.

[18:11] Evidence. Of her. Faith. What she. Did. And what. She. Did not. Do. First. What she. Did. She. Hit. Her. Son. For. Three. Months. Now. Usually. When you. Hide. Something. It's. Because. Of. Fear. But.

[18:22] Not. This. She's. Not. Hiding. Because. Of. Fear. But. Because. Of. Her. Faith. It. It. It. Was. An. Act. Of. Faith. Hebrews. 11. 23. By. Faith.

[18:33] Moses. Parents. Hit. Him. And. We're. Not. Afraid. Of. The. King's. Edict. So. We're. To. We're. To. Remember. As. We're. Studying. What. She. Did. In. Hiding.

[18:43] Him. That. She. Is. Acting. Out. Her. Faith. In. God. By. Doing. This. Now. Babies. Are. Hard. Things. To. Hide. Aren't.

[18:54] They. As. Any. Mother. Knows. They. Have. A. Way. Of. Making. Their. Presence. Known. They. Have. A. Cry. That. Wakes. You. Out. Of. A. Dead. Sleep. If. You. Can't. Hear. Them. You. Can. Smell. Them.

[19:04] There. Are. Ways. That. Babies. Let. Them. Be. Know. There. First.

[19:19] Hand. Hard. Things. To. Hide. Many. Difficulties. But. Faith. Gives. Energy. To. Do. The. Hard.

[19:30] Things. Indeed. Even. To. Attempt. Impossible. Things. And. Don't. Miss. This. It. Was. Her. Faith. That. Moved. Her. To.

[19:40] Hide. Him. Because. She. Believes. God. She. Tries. The. Nearly. Impossible. Task. Of. Hiding. Her. Son. Faith. Now. Faith. Always.

[19:50] Looks. To. Some. Revelation. Of. God. Some. Something. About. God. God. Is. The. Object. Of. Faith. God. Is. The. Foundation. On. Which. Faith. Rests. There.

[20:00] Something. Made. Known. About. God. That. Faith. Always. Looks. To. So. Noah. Believed. God's. Word. That. A. Flood. Was. Coming. And.

[20:11] So. In. Faith. He. Built. An. Ark. Abraham. Believes. God's. Word. That. He's. Going. To. Take. Him. To. A. Land. Of. Promise. That. He. Would. Show. Him. So. By. Faith. He. Left. His. Homeland. And.

[20:21] Went. In. Search. Of. That. Land. What. Was. The. Revelation. From. God. That. Moses. Mother. Look. To.

[20:33] Well. Now. Here. We're. At. A. Little. Bit. Greater. Difficulty. We're. Not. Exactly. Told. What. Was. Word. From. God.

[20:44] But. There. Must. Have. Been. Something. Something. About. God. That. She. Rested. Her. Faith. On. And. Because. Of. That. She. Hid. Her. Son. Now.

[20:54] We. See. This. Interesting. Reference. To. The. Physical. Appearance. Of. The. Baby. Boy. Exodus. 2. 2. Says. She. Gave. Birth. To. A. Son. And. When. She. Saw. That. He. Was. A. Fine. Child. She.

[21:04] Hit. Him. For. Three. Months. We. Could. Almost. Say. What. If. He. Wasn't. A. Fine. Child. She. Wouldn't. Have. Hit. Him. For. Three. Months. It. Can. Be. Confusing. What's. Going.

[21:15] On. Here. Well. This. Is. Not. Just. A. Passing. Comment. It's. It's. Mentioned. Two. Other. Places. In. The. Bible. Especially. In. The. New. Testament. As. It. Looks. Back. On. This. Whole.

[21:25] Event. Keep. Seeing. This. Thing. About. The. Beauty. Of. This. Child. At. This. Point. Acts. Chapter. Seven. Verse. 20. At. That. Time. Moses. Was. Born. And. He.

[21:35] Was. No. In.

[21:47] Hebrews. 11. 23. By faith. Moses. Parents. Hit him. For. Three. Months. After. He. Was. Born. Because. They. Saw. He. Was. No. Ordinary. Child. Here.

[21:58] His. Fine. Appearance. Is. Seen. As. Being. One. Of. The. Causes. For. Which. They. Acted. In. Faith. And. Hit. Him. Now. We. All. Think.

[22:08] Our. Babies. Are. Beautiful. When. Uncommon. He. Was.

[22:18] No. Ordinary. Child. Like. Yours. And. Mine. Something. Striking. About. His. Appearance. That. Suggested. That. Just.

[22:28] As. His. Appearance. Was. Exceptional. That. Perhaps. God. Has. An. Exceptional. Role. For. Him. To. Play. In. His. Plan. Of. Redemption. Perhaps. I.

[22:39] Say. Perhaps. His. Unusual. Appearance. Was. Accompanied. By. An. Interpretive. Word. Of. God. A. Word. From. God. That. Just. As. Moses. Or. Noah. Was.

[22:49] Warned. About. A. Coming. Flood. Perhaps. God. Spoke. To. The. Parents. And. Said. This. Special. Child. Has. A. Special. Work. To. Do. For. Me. We.

[22:59] Simply. Don't. Know. We. Do. Know. Though. That. Faith. Rests. Upon. God. And. His. Promises. And. She. And. Her. Husband. Did.

[23:10] Have. The. Promise. Of. Abraham. So. Many. Years. Ago. That. After. These. Hundreds. Of. Years. In. Captivity. And. Bondage. God. Was. Going.

[23:20] To. Bring. Them. Out. Of. That. Strange. Land. She. Had. A. Promise. Of. A. Deliverer. And. Chapter. Two. Of. Exodus. Goes. On. To. Show. Us. That. The. Children.

[23:31] Of. Israel. Were. Crying. To. God. For. That. Deliverance. Looking. To. The. Promise. And. So. The. Faith. Of. These. Parents. Look. For. That. Deliverance.

[23:41] And. Perhaps. Because. Of. His. Uncommon. Beauty. They. Believe. That. God. Intended. To. Do. Some. Great. Thing. Through. Their. Son. Their. Baby. Boy. In. One. Way. Or. Another. That.

[23:52] Moved. Them. To. Hide. Him. By. Faith. Now. By. The. Grace. Of. God. She. Was. Successful. At. Hiding. Him.

[24:02] For. Three. Months. Think. Of. That. Ninety. Days. Of. Rocking. Putting. Him. To. Sleep. And. Him. Waking. Up. And. Crying.

[24:13] And. Changing. Him. And. Feeding. Him. Rocking. And. Changing. And. Feeding. All. Day. Every. Day. Without.

[24:24] Being. Detected. By. The. Egyptians. And. Then. For. Some. Reason. She. Could. Hide. Him. No. Longer. The. Text. Says. That's. All. It says. Wouldn't you love to know.

[24:36] She. Could. Hide. Him. No. Longer. Was. It. Due. To. Some. More. Regular. Checks. By. The. Egyptian. Soldiers. Was. It. The.

[24:46] Louder. Cries. Of. Her. Baby. Was. He. Becoming. Colicky. We. Don't. Know. The. Reason. But. She. Could. Hide. Him. No. Longer. And. So. She. Has.

[24:57] A. Greater. Test. Of. Her. Faith. Now. Set. Before. Her. And. What. We. Find. Is. Her. Faith. In. God. Does. Not. Stall. Out. But. Rather. Rises. To. The. Occasion. And.

[25:08] Sets. Her. At. Work. By. Faith. In. Her. God. She. Takes. A. Papyrus. Basket. She. Coats. It. With. Tar. And. Pitch. To. Make. It. Seaworthy.

[25:18] She. Puts. Her. Little. Three. Month. Old. Baby. In. It. Places. It. Among. The. Reeds. Along. The. Bank. Of. The. Nile. River. And. With. Her. Daughter. Standing. Off.

[25:29] At. A. Distance. To. See. What. Would. Happen. Never. Did. She. Need. More. Faith. In. Her. Life. Than. When. She. Laid. Her. Little. Boat. With.

[25:39] Her. Son. Into. The. Nile. River. Crocodiles. Dangers. Of. It. Tipping. Over. Drowning. Someone. Finding. It. And. Killing. Her. Son.

[25:51] But. Even. Now. She. Is. Venturing. Upon. God. She. Puts. The. Little. Basket. Into. The. River. Oh. God. Protect. Him. Oh.

[26:02] God. Help. Him. And. Into. The. Water. He. Goes. That's. What. She. Did. Faith. Caused. Her.

[26:12] To. Hide. Her. Son. What. Did. She. Not. Do. She. Did. Not. Fear. The. King. They. Were. Not. Afraid. Of. The. King. Is. Edict. So. Faith.

[26:23] Caused. Her. To. Hide. The. Baby. And. Now. Faith. Caused. Her. To. Not. Be. Afraid. Can. You. Imagine. What. Kind. Of. Punishments. A. King. Like. This. Must. Have. For. Anyone. Who.

[26:33] Disobeyed. His. Order. It. Would. Probably. Not. Just. Be. The. Death. Of. The. Baby. Once. He. Was. Found. But. The. Death. Of. The. Parents. As. Well. Fear.

[26:46] Of. Death. Has. Paralyzed. More. Than. One. Into. Inaction. But. Faith. In. God. Drives. Out. Fear. Faith. Conquers. Fear. Faith. Does. Not. Allow.

[26:57] Fear. To. Call. The. Shots. And. To. Control. Her. Behavior. She. Knows. God. Is. King. God. Reigns. Over. All. And. So. She. Does. Not.

[27:07] Fear. Man. God. Has. Promised. Abraham. Many. Descendants. Whatever. The. King's. Edict. Might. Be. And. Right. Now. The. King's. Edict. Is.

[27:17] In. Conflict. With. God's. Promise. Of. Many. Descendants. And. She. Takes. Her. Stand. On. The. Promises. Rather. Than. The. King's. Edict. And.

[27:27] Because. She. Believes. God's. Word. She. Doesn't. Fear. Man's. Word. Even. Though. It's. The. Word. Of. A. King. And. Punishable. No.

[27:38] Doubt. By. Death. Her. Faith. Launches. Her. Into. Further. Action. Without. Being. Afraid.

[27:48] You know. Fear. Is. An. Unbecoming. Thing. In. A. Woman. Of. God. Fear. Has. No. Place. In. A. Woman. Of. God's. Life. Peter. Calls. Upon. Women.

[27:58] To. Make. Themselves. Beautiful. By. Submitting. To. Their. Husbands. As. Sarah. Did. To. Abraham. And. He. Ads. You. Are. Her. Daughters. If. You. Do. What. Is. Right. And. Do. Do. Not. Give. Way. To. Fear.

[28:10] No. Place. In. The. Woman. Of. God's. Life. For. Fear. And. So. Faith. Enabled. Her. To. Do. The. Hard. Thing. To. Hide. Her. Son. And. To. Not. Do. The. Easy. Thing.

[28:21] Which. Would. Have. Been. To. Fear. Don't. Miss. The. Lesson. Mothers. This. Woman. This. Mother. Met. The. Unusually. Strong. Challenges. Of. Parenting.

[28:31] In. Her. Day. With. A. Strong. Faith. In. God. She. Did. What. She. Did. By. Faith. Mothers. Meet. The. Challenges. Of. Mothering. In. Your. Day. With.

[28:41] The. Same. Faith. In. The. Same. God. The. God. Of. Jacob. Jacob. Jacob. Is. Your. God. In. Jesus. Christ. The. God. Who. Helped.

[28:51] Her. Stands. Pledge. To. Help. You. In. Raising. Your. Children. He's. Promised. You. Everything. You. Need. For. Life. And. Godliness.

[29:03] Now. Mothers. Apply. That. To. Yourself. And. Your. Mothering. Everything. You. Need. For. Life. And. Godliness. That. Means. Everything. I. Need. To. Be. A. Mother. In.

[29:13] A. Godly. Way. It's. Promised. To. You. You. Need. Patience. You. Need. Loads. Of. It. It's. Promised. To. You. You. Need. Wisdom.

[29:24] To. Know. What. To. Say. What. To. Do. In. Each. And. Every. Situation. It's. Promised. To. You. Do. You. Need. Love. And. Kindness. Gentleness. Self. Control.

[29:35] It's. Promised. You. Do. You. Need. Courage. Power. Perseverance. Look. To. The. Lord. And. His. Help. And. Get. To.

[29:46] Action. Get. Into. Action. Get. To. Work. Leaning. On. The. Lord. Is. It. Fear. You. Face. Oh. Not. Fear. Of. A. King's. Edict. At. Least. Not. Yet.

[29:58] Maybe. Fear. Of. Your. Children. Themselves. Mothers. Are. You. Ever. Afraid. Of. Your. Children. Afraid.

[30:11] Your. Children. Won't. Like. You. If. You. Confront. Them. With. The. Truth. If. You. Deal. With. Their. Hearts. Afraid. If. You. Discipline. And. Correct. Them.

[30:22] If. You. Maintain. Godly. Standards. In. Your. Home. They. Won't. Like. You. And. You. You. Lose. Them. Oh. Yes.

[30:32] We. Have. Fears. Don't. We. Of. Our. Children. How. They. Might. Respond. You. Tempted. To. Be. Controlled. By. Your. Fears. No. Act. Faith.

[30:42] In. God. Trust. instruction of the Lord and trust him with the consequences. Remember, mother, duty is yours.

[30:57] Consequences are God's. Maybe it's the fear of the world that they're growing up in. Fears of your child's safety, spiritually, physically. And those things threaten you. And trust them into God's hands. Throw them into his hands. They're bigger hands than yours. He's capable. Fears of letting them go. Faith is the antidote for your fears regarding your children.

[31:30] Bring your fears then to God. Trust in his faithfulness. Who promises to work out everything together for your good child of God. So that was her faith in action. We come thirdly to her faith rewarded. Do you know God is out to show that he is the rewarder of faith?

[31:51] God is out to show that he is the rewarder of those who by faith earnestly seek him. And so Jacob's little boy was found and he was found by an Egyptian and an important Egyptian at that.

[32:04] It's Pharaoh's own daughter who came to the river to bathe. And she sees the floating basket. She sends her servants to fetch it. They bring it to her. She opened it and saw a beautiful baby boy crying.

[32:17] Rather than dumping him into the river, her heart immediately went out to him, even though she recognized it as one of the Hebrew children.

[32:27] I say, perhaps this was at least one of the purposes of her beauty, of his beauty to play upon her sympathy. And immediately Moses sister comes out from hiding and comes and approaches Pharaoh's daughter and says to her, shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?

[32:49] Yes, go. And the girl went and got the baby's mother. And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, take this baby and nurse him for me and I will pay you.

[33:01] Here's the reward for her faith. Who could have thought it? You know, God is the rewarder of those who diligently seek him.

[33:12] He really does act on behalf of those who wait for him. He really does come to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember his ways.

[33:23] He does direct the paths of those who trust in him with all their heart and do not lean on their own understanding, but in all their ways acknowledge him. God is the rewarder of those who trust in him.

[33:38] Amazing twist in the story, isn't it? Something that thrills the youngest children in the Sunday school class to the oldest of us here. You can't help but see the invisible hand of God's providence behind it all.

[33:52] Think of somebody else had found the baby in the basket. Pharaoh's daughter is probably the only one in the whole of Egypt who could pull this off. And God has the baby cry at just the right time and pulls upon the strings of her compassion.

[34:09] Nothing is too hard for God. Nothing is too hard for God. Does our God have a sense of humor or what? Moses' life is endangered by the Pharaoh's cruel edict.

[34:27] Moses' mother acts by faith in God. And the result is that rather than seeing her son put to death in the Nile, she's commanded to nurse her own baby and be paid for it by money coming from Pharaoh's own household.

[34:47] There's the twist. There's the irony. There's the sovereignty of God saying, Don't you mess with my people, Pharaoh.

[34:59] There was another Pharaoh that says, Who is the Lord that I should fear him, that I should obey him? And God will teach him as well. Don't you mess with my son, Israel.

[35:13] Never did a woman enjoy her work more than Moses' mother. She goes from having her own life jeopardized for hiding him to being able to enjoy him without fear and to get paid for it to boot.

[35:31] There is a day of reward for you mothers who put your faith in the Lord, who do the hard right instead of giving in to the easy wrong simply because of who God is and what he has promised.

[35:45] There's a day of reaping as you seek to honor God in the bringing up of your children. You're sowing. Every day you're sowing the seed. As you teach them, you're sowing. As you love them, you're sowing.

[35:57] As you discipline them. As you play with them. As you pray with them and pray for them. You're sowing. And there is a day of reaping. A day of reaping.

[36:09] And whatever that reaping be here on earth, there is the well done of your Father in heaven. But what a surprising harvest the Lord often gives to mothers in this life.

[36:22] In the lives of their own children. He delights to show mothers that their labors at raising their children are not in vain in the Lord. So let us not become weary, mothers, in doing good.

[36:38] For at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Her faith rewarded. Fourthly, her bittersweet tasks. There's something bittersweet in her job.

[36:50] She has the sweet in that she gets to raise her boy. She gets to nurse him. She's paid to do so. But the bitter is knowing that once he is weaned, she has to give him over to Pharaoh's daughter to be her son.

[37:04] Now, we don't know exactly how old Moses was when he was weaned. It was not unknown for children to be nursed for five years. And we can be sure this mother nursed him as long as she possibly could.

[37:18] So mothers, imagine you're Jochebed and you know your time is limited. What are you going to do? Are you going to do what Timothy's mother and grandmother did? And from infancy, you're going to teach him the Holy Scriptures that are able to make him wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

[37:37] Knowing your time is limited, you're going to make the most of the time you have. And this woman of faith, no doubt poured into him all the knowledge that she could about the God of her fathers, about the God of Abraham, about the promise of God to Abraham, about his people, about this coming Redeemer, about the law, about the gospel.

[37:58] She pours into him the truth of God and his word. We find that he is very conscious as he came of age.

[38:10] He's conscious of his own nationality. He knows he's a Hebrew, though he grew up in Pharaoh's household. He knows his task of delivering his people. Acts 7 says that when he first tried to save the Israelites, he supposed that his brethren understood that God was giving them deliverance by his hand.

[38:27] But they did not understand. Suppose he learned that on the knee of Jochebed as he's growing up. You're a Hebrew.

[38:38] God has made promises to us. Be faithful to him. And though Moses went to the palace and was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, he never forgot the first lessons in theology from his mother.

[38:54] And with those lessons was mixed a personal faith in God that counted disgrace for the sake of Christ of greater value than the treasures of Egypt. And so Moses, by faith, when he'd grown up, he refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter and he chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin which are but for a season.

[39:17] All motivated by his personal faith in God. Which in large measure was due to the faithfulness of his mother. She was an instrument of God to build into him a faith that was to characterize his life.

[39:32] So you read in Hebrews 11, by faith Moses, by faith Moses, by faith Moses. Mothers, in some ways, your situation is not all that different from Jochebed's.

[39:43] You have the joy of bringing up your children. But they're not with you forever. It's bittersweet. And you know there's coming a day when you must let them go. You also must give them up at some point.

[39:57] Send them off into this ungodly world. In fact, that's God's plan. And everything you do in mothering is preparing them for that. For the day when you see them leave you.

[40:08] For it's God's will that for this reason a man will leave father and mother and cleave to his wife. And away they go. You don't always know how long you have them with you. And so, you prepare them for life and for eternity.

[40:22] Are you using each day's opportunities to set before them the knowledge of God, his law, his gospel, his way of salvation, his promises, his character?

[40:36] And even if you would have 18 to 20 years, you find that those years are soon gone and they're gone. Buy up the opportunities at hand.

[40:47] And even after they're gone, you know your opportunities are still there in a limited fashion. We recently read the book Parenting Your Adult Children simply reminding us that the job isn't over even once they're gone.

[41:01] Oh, the rules of engagement change for mothering. But the task of mothering goes on. Whether 4 or 24 seize those opportunities for their everlasting good.

[41:15] Well, this mother, Jochebed, was given a huge role to play in preparing the deliverer who would bring Israel out of bondage. She lived in especially trying times with peculiar challenges of mothering.

[41:30] But she looked in faith to God. A faith that caused her to do things she otherwise wouldn't do and to not fear. And God used her to deliver first the deliverer and then to use him to deliver his people from Egypt.

[41:49] And so we come to our final point and that is our great God himself. What a great God we have. He's in control of everything and that's the message here in Exodus chapter 2.

[42:02] And this is your sure hope, mothers. God. God. That's the foundation for your faith. The same God was the God of Moses' mother.

[42:15] He's your God if you are his child through faith in Jesus Christ. Pharaoh seeks the destruction of the nation of Israel and none other than his own daughter is made to preserve the safety of the one who will deliver Israel from Egypt.

[42:29] When enemies were doing their best to annihilate God's people, God was preparing his deliverer for their redemption from Egypt. God makes even the wrath of men to praise him and he restrains the rest.

[42:45] How unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out for from him and to him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory.

[42:58] You see, there is something bigger happening here than just a mother and a baby boy. Moses is a type and a picture of a greater deliverer, the Lord Jesus Christ who would deliver his people not from bondage in Egypt but from bondage to sin and hell.

[43:22] And so we see similarities, parallels between Moses and Jesus Christ. And we're told that at Jesus' birth, the king gave an edict to kill all male children two years of age and under.

[43:40] And many children died in the vicinity of Bethlehem and their parents wept. But his parents were directed by an angel to take refuge where?

[43:50] In Egypt. The very place where God protected his other deliverer, Moses, and used him to bring the people out of Egypt.

[44:02] Now God is protecting the real deliverer. The type was Moses. The real one is Jesus. And God protects him in Egypt and brings him back into the land where he lives a perfect life of obedience to all God's commands so that he qualifies to be a substitute.

[44:20] And he goes to the cross in his 33rd year and there he bears the wrath of God due to his people because of their sins. And they put him into the grave when he's dead and on the third day he rises victorious and then he ascends into heaven and he's there today and he's saving his people.

[44:38] He's delivering them to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins through his blood. He's the greater deliverer.

[44:49] Salvation from sin is the greater deliverance. And it's all spoken of here in Exodus chapter 2. I say the type casting its shadow upon the antitype Christ himself.

[45:05] So what's happening here? God is delivering Moses from death that he in turn might be used to deliver all the family of Israel out of Egypt so that the family might continue continue to grow in number that from that very family a deliverer might one day come who would die for his people making the ultimate sacrifice to save us from our sins.

[45:38] This is the bigger story of God saving the deliverer Moses. And so whoever you are mother father young person be sure you know him the Lord Jesus whom to know is eternal life.

[45:55] He's the one to put your trust in for time for mothering for whatever the challenges are before you. Let's pray. Oh Lord when we read your word we can't help but see that your word shapes history and what you say is what happens and what you promise cannot be thwarted by kings and edicts and soldiers the more they were oppressed the more they multiplied.

[46:34] Thank you for being such a God. We thank you that you have promised to us a deliverer one who would come to save us from our sins and thank you that though there are all kinds of measures seeking to annihilate the Lord Jesus at his birth that you preserved him down in Egypt and you brought him forth as your great answer to our sin problem though bring us all to rest our souls and all of our hopes for heaven upon this great deliverer what he has done by his life and death and resurrection send us on our way rejoicing in him giving him the supreme honor honoring our mothers living in a way that is an honor to you our God and King we ask in Jesus name amen from the overhead we sing our response and we get to sing directly to the Lord himself oh give us homes let's pray for the

[47:36]  Lord to give us homes that are marked by the faith of Moses mother stand with me as we sing verse moment verse