Moses did not have it easy right from the beginning. If one were to read just the recommended verses for today, the story doesn't seem to make sense. Why would Moses' mother keep the baby for a few weeks, then dump him in the Nile? That seems barbaric. But if you read Exodus 1, you'll see that Pharoah was alarmed at the tenacity of the Isrealites and wanted to kill the sons. He ordered the midwives to kill all male babies born and save all female babies. The midwives ignored his order and said that Hebrew women gave birth before they got there, so it was too late. Then Pharoah told them instead to put the male babies in the Nile. That's what Moses' mother did. She let him get a little stronger, then put him in the basket in the Nile.
This was in today's standards, an adoption. Moses' mother had no choice but to try and save her baby. Pharoah's daughter was moved with pity for the poor infant and adopted him as her own. She knew she was going against what her father commanded because she recognized that the baby was a Hebrew baby. I thought it was a nice touch that God provided for Moses' mother to nurse the baby until he was able to be turned over to Pharoah's daughter. But how devastatingly difficult it must have been for his mother. I think that's probably how difficult it is for any young woman who sees that her options are very limited, but she must choose what's best for the baby. Adoption is the most caring thing any mother can do who cannot take care of her baby, for whatever reason. The prayer is that someone like Pharoah's daughter will pick that baby up out of the Nile and provide for him or her the very best that she can.
What struck me today was the message today of courage. Not Moses' courage, because frankly he was too young to have courage. There are three women here who showed immense courage. First, as I mentioned, his mother. She gave birth and had the courage to defy Pharoah until Moses was stronger. Then, she had the courage to let God take care of Moses. As a mother, I had to pray for that same courage when I sent my own daughter off to college (or when I sent her on her very first solo driving trip - lots of prayers to God to take care of her then!) I know that the enormity of setting your child adrift on a river, not knowing if the basket would sink or alligators would eat your baby or your baby would starve is different than sending one away to college, but in my heart, they were pretty darn similar. Will she sink or swim in college? Will she be taken advantage of or destroyed by people I can't protect her from? Will she have enough to eat? Will someone pluck her out of the Nile and love her and care for her like I do?
Next is his sister. She followed that basket to find out what happened to her brother. Then, she approached Pharoah's daughter and made an outrageous suggestion that was amazingly simple. Even though she didn't say it in these words, she said, "Can I please get this baby's mother to nurse him for you? You'll be taking care of him for the rest of his life, but will you please let my mother have the opportunity to nurse her own child? See her heart has been ripped from her body and this just might help heal her a little." I can imagine it had to be a little scary to approach Pharoah's daughter. She was a powerful woman. The courage Moses' sister showed gave her mother a chance to heal and her brother a chance to live.
Finally, Pharoah's daughter. She saw a baby and had tremendous compassion. She likely disagreed with her father's order to kill babies, but knowing how women were regarded at the time, I highly doubt he would have paid any attention to her concerns. However, Pharoah definitely had a soft spot for his daughter and gave her what she wanted. She knew that if she wanted to raise this baby, she would be granted permission. She would just have to keep things quiet. The bible doesn't go into the details of how she got away with having a baby and Pharoah not noticing. He just seems to have accepted Moses as his grandson. Until Moses killed an Egyptian, then he tried to kill Moses, but that's another story.
God has lots of plans for us. It takes courage and trust in God to carry out His plan. My reflection today is to ask God for the courage to do what He wants me to do.
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