Exodus 2:1-10 “Now a man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman. The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank. And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him. Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it. When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews' children.” Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, “Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, “Go.” So, the girl went and called the child's mother. And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So, the woman took the child and nursed him. When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.”
Last Sunday, Pastor Obie continued in our church’s sermon series through the book of Exodus. He pointed out how some rare families have siblings that are over-achievers that end up making history by changing the world that they live in. In the Bible, Moses, Aaron and Miriam were such siblings, used by God to change the world in working on the Lord’s plan of redemption. What did their mother do to raise up this power trio for God’s world-changing work?
It all started when Abraham had a son named Isaac, who had a son named Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel by God. Israel had 12 sons, one of which was Jacob. Jacob’s brothers sold him into slavery and he ended up in Egypt, sold as a house slave of the Egyptian chief of the guard (Potiphar) there. Jacob was framed by Potiphar’s wife and thrown into prison for years. While in prison Jacob interpreted Pharaoh’s imprisoned servant’s dream. Years later, Pharaoh had a dream which no one could interpret, but the servant remembered that Jacob interpreted his dream and Jacob was called to interpret Pharaoh’s troubling dream. Jacob successfully predicted the dream to mean seven plentiful years of harvest followed by seven years of severe famine in the land. Jacob was elevated to second in command over all of Egypt to stockpile and distribute grain during the food-shortage. Jacob’s brothers came to Egypt for food during that time and they were reunited to live in the Nile River delta area of Goshen. 350 years later, the new Pharaoh sees the Israelite population grown to a threatening number. His three part plan to remedy the situation was: (1) put the Israelites under harsh slavery and labor, (2) the mid-wives were ordered to kill all Israelite baby boys at birth (but the mid-wives valued life over Pharaoh’s unjust law), and (3) An edict went out to throw all Israelite boys into the Nile River to die. This third time was the time that Moses was born into and God would display His great deliverance of His people and change the world.
Numbers 26:59 “The name of Amram's wife was Jochebed the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt. And she bore to Amram Aaron and Moses and Miriam their sister.”
Through Moses’ mother (Jochebed) in this story, and from her character and actions we learn four lessons about raising world-changers today. The first lesson is that she saw with a heavenly perspective. Moses’ mother (a godly woman) saw something godly greater in her child Moses (something beyond the natural and physical). Jochebed’s name literally means “the glory of God”. The word “fine” (ṭôwb) has a deeper meaning of “having a higher and noble purpose. By faith, she saw with a heavenly perspective that her son had a godly purpose, calling and assignment for his life by God.
Our perspective in life is important and matters in life. Our perspective determines our preserved reality. Two people can experience the same event will see it differently because the lens, circumstances and the position that they look through life with differs. The issue and problem that we are seeing today in our culture is that people are arguing over what is wrong and what is right from two different perspectives on life and living by what they see. The proper response is not to make enemies of with the other person who sees something differently than you. The proper response is not to cancel out the person that disagrees with you. The proper response is not to de-platform or unfriend or put that person(s) down because they see thing from a different perspective. But, both parties need to do a better job of understanding the other sides perspective.
Ask: Where are they coming from? How did they arrive at that viewpoint? because their perception matters. When you understand their position of life, when you understand their circumstances in life, their upbringing, their origin, their life experiences, their education and their income bracket, it helps to understand their ideology and foundation for their conclusion. Having an argument over who is right and who is wrong will get you nowhere. Rather, strive to understand them: their perception, their position, their life that led to their conclusion, then have respectful, productive dialogue. That is when progress can be obtained. Disagreements are the doorway to deeper intimacy, but you cannot reach it if you cancel the other person out the first chance you get when they say something that you disagree with.
Let's continue Pastor Obie's message on "World Changers" in the next post.
In Christ, Brian
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