Exodus 2:23-25

Exodus 2:23-25 And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them. Moses had fled Egypt and had found a new life as a shepherd in the wilderness. It was a peaceful life and Moses was content. But meanwhile, back in Egypt, things were not looking good for the Children of Israel. Moses’ adopted grandfather, Pharaoh had died, but the new Pharaoh was even crueler to the Children of Israel. Every day they worked harder and harder, but Pharaoh just put more and more work on them. Every night they came home tired and weary. They were worn out. Every night they prayed to God to rescue them from this hard life. And God was listening. Year after year they prayed. And year after year, God was preparing Moses to lead His people. God had a plan and God was at work. Something good was going to happen – just not quite yet. God needed forty years to soften Moses’ heart. And Moses was almost ready!

Exodus 2:11-15

Exodus 2:11-15 And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren. And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand. And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together: and he said to him that did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow? And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known. Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian ... When Moses was all grown up, he was out observing what was going on in Egypt. He saw how that the Egyptians were crushing his people, the Children of Israel. Moses knew that he was an adopted Egyptian, but his heart was with his people, the poor Hebrew slaves. Moses decided to do things his own way. He disobeyed the laws of Egypt and disobeyed the laws of God when he killed the Egyptian taskmaster. He wanted to deliver his own people from the brutal Egyptians. but he went about it the wrong way. When word got back to Pharaoh that Moses had killed an Egyptian, he had to flee for his life. He ran all the way into the wilderness of Midian where Pharaoh would never find him. Moses had been taught about God by his mother and he had been educated by Pharaoh, but now he needed to be educated by God. God was going to teach him patience and faith. And Moses had a lot to learn. Do you need to learn patience? Do you need to learn to trust God? These can only be learned by going through difficult times. You may not want to go through hard times, but God will teach you through them. Don’t give up! Just like Moses, God may be preparing you for something really, really big!

Exodus 2:8-10

Exodus 2:8-10 ... And the maid went and called the child's mother. And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child, and nursed it. And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water. Moses’ mother had a great responsibility: she had to teach her little boy everything that she could about his heritage and about his God. When he became five years old, he would be taken into Pharaoh’s home to be adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter as her very own son. Moses’ mother knew her little boy would be loved and taken care of, but she also knew that he would be taught the false Egyptian religion. He would not be taught his Hebrew heritage. He would never learn the stories of the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob unless she taught him. He would not know about God’s protection of Joseph and his brothers unless she taught him. God had given Moses’ mother a great responsibility. But Moses was just a little boy. He had no idea how important it was for him to learn the stories and to listen to his mother. But Moses’ mother knew that God had worked a miracle in protecting Moses in the bulrushes, and God would work a miracle in keeping Moses pure in Pharaoh’s household. God had a wonderful plan for Moses in his life. And God has a wonderful plan for you in your life too! God wants for you to learn the Bible stories of faith and protection, and God wants you to learn the wonderful faith of your mother and father. God wants you to be a strong warrior for Him. And I know that you will!

Exodus 2:1-6

Exodus 2:1-6 And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi. And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink. And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him. And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river's side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him ... When Moses was born, he was such a cute little baby that his mother couldn’t bear to let him be killed by the evil Egyptians. So she hid him as long as she could. But babies will cry, and after three months she had to come up with a better plan. She made a little basket and coated it with tar to make it waterproof. She put her little boy in the basket and left him floating in the Nile river. The rushes along the shore were good camouflage and they also kept the basket from washing downstream. The noise of the river muffled the baby’s crying. Moses’ older sister hid nearby to keep watch over her little brother. But Someone else was watching over little Moses. Can you guess Who? His heavenly Father was watching and sent Pharaoh’s daughter to the same area of the Nile to take a bath. She heard a baby crying and sent one of her maids to investigate. Miriam, Moses’ sister must have worried about what to do. As soon as Pharaoh’s daughter took the lid off of the basket, her heart melted. Inside was a crying baby boy! That’s when God nudged Miriam to move in and speak up. Miriam offered to go and get a nurse for the crying baby to give him some milk. And who did she get? Moses very own mother! But then the best part of our story: Pharaoh’s daughter paid Moses’ own mother to raise Moses until he was five years old, and then bring him to Pharaoh’s court to be raised as Pharaoh’s adopted grandson! God had a wonderful plan for Moses and God had a wonderful plan for His people. And God has a wonderful plan for you too!

Exodus 1:13-17

Exodus 1:13-17 And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour: And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. ... And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, ... And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, ... if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live. But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive. The harder that the Egyptians made the Children of Israel work, the stronger they became. So Pharaoh called in the ladies who helped the Hebrew women to deliver their babies. These ladies are called midwives. He commanded the midwives to kill the baby boys but to let the baby girls live. That way, in a few years there would be no husbands for the Hebrew girls growing up and they would just marry Egyptian men and become Egyptians. But the midwives feared God more than they feared Pharaoh. And that is a good lesson for us. We should always obey God before we obey men. So the midwives made up an excuse. When Pharaoh called them in to explain why so many baby boys were still being born, the midwives said, “The Hebrew women are strong. When they call us to come and help to deliver their babies, by the time that we get there the babies are already born. We can’t do anything about it.” And God blessed the midwives. And God blessed His people as well. God always takes care of His own. And that’s a good thing – that is if you belong to God!