Lessons from the Desert....

When a runner completes a marathon or a soccer team wins the World Cup, it is an exciting experience. However, what you do not see is all of the off-season practice, early morning runs and healthy eating habits that occurred to properly prepare for the high-level competition. When we read about how the Allied forces stormed Normandy and freed France from the Nazis on D-Day, we do not fully comprehend all of the planning that took place beforehand.  As the author of Exodus, Moses, starting from his birth, provides a front row seat to all that has taken place before he led the nation of Israel out of Egypt. Long before the collective cry of God’s people echoed throughout Egypt, God set His rescue plan in motion. God’s rescue plan for the Hebrews was as follows:

• Initiated in the birth of Moses, being protected by Hebrew midwives,
• Maintained under the watching eye of His sister,
• Continued when Pharaoh’s daughter rescued Moses, and
• Prepared by his mother raising Him the first three years of his life.

In Exodus 2:11, we skip forward 37 years in Moses’ life. For 37 years, Moses was raised in Pharaoh’s palace, but he still considered himself to be a Hebrew. By reading Acts 7:17-23, we learn many new details about Moses’ life. For the first two to three years of his life, his mother nursed him. This was long enough to plant seeds of faith in his heart. Following this, Pharaoh’s daughter raised him in all of the wisdom of Egypt.  For 40 years he heard the teachings of Egypt and was taught to worship their false gods. However, in spite of this influence, Moses was drawn to and studied the teachings of the Hebrew God. Yes, he could sing some of the songs of Egypt, but his heart most resonated with the worship songs of Yahweh. In spite of all the cultural pressure of Pharaoh’s palace and the palatial wealth, Moses knew, embraced and followed the God of his mother (his spiritual heritage).  Moses did not worship God on the Sabbath and live like the Devil the rest of the week. He worshiped, loved, served and identified as a follower of Yahweh (Hebrews 11:23-26).   Today’s passage presents three lessons in this behind the scenes rescue plan. The first lesson is….

God’s People Embrace Christ and His Ways….

In embracing Christ and His ways, we reject the world and its ways. Moses considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt. Moses longed for the Messiah. He believed in the first promise of the Gospel in Genesis 3:15, the seed of the woman that would crush the serpent’s head. What is the reproach of Christ that Moses embraced? The answer is shame and dishonor.  Here, we see a two-fold application for parents and children. Parents, are we intentionally catechizing/teaching our children in the ways of Christ? Do we model following Christ with our time, our treasures and our talents? Children and students, will you intentionally and personally follow the God of the Bible whom your parent(s) worship? Finally, adults with praying parents and grandparents, will you also pursue and embrace Christ with all of your being?!

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