Continuing Pastor Obie’s message, he reminds us, obviously, we know that not everything is up for subjective interpretation. There are absolute truths, there are absolute rights, and there are absolute wrongs. The best perspective to have in life is (as Jochebed viewed life and living through) the heavenly perspective. How does God see in general? How does God see this particular matter? How does God want me to act or react in this situation? How does God want me to treat this person? How does God want me to decide in this matter? What is God’s perspective? And that should permeate throughout every decision that you make.
Hebrews 11:23 “By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king's edict.”
The second lesson about raising world-changers today that we learn from Jochebed is that she provided safety and security. She hid him three months. Her baby Moses had a death sentence on him from the moment that he came out of the womb by an edict from the Pharaoh that was so disgustingly heinous. Jochebed’s faith in God was greater than her fear of man. Because of that, she was able to stand strong against the most powerful figure in the world and provide physical safety and security for her son those 3 months. Safety and security are the second level in psychologist Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to survive and thrive.
When Jochebed received her son back from Pharaoh’s daughter to nurse and raise, she was able to provide emotional security for the child. Studies have shown that before a child can grow and mature properly, they need to be secure in who they are and whose they are in a nourishing environment. Quality time is even more important than the quantity of time spend, so be there and actively engage your children in meaningful moments and experiences, ensuring they know whose they are. But, there is a spiritual sense also.Are you secure in knowing who you are and whose you are in Jesus Christ? Who you are in God (who does God say you are)? Know that you are loved by God, chosen by God, freed by God, never forgotten or forsaken by God, and God is for you. That is who you are and whose you are for a healthy and productive life.
The third lesson about raising world-changers today that we learn from Jochebed is that she studied the heroes of the faith for what to do. 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. The actual word used for “basket” here is “tebah”, which literally translates into the English word “ark”. The only other time that this word is used in Holy Scripture is Noah’s Ark. This was more than a basket that Moses was set in. And like Noah’s Ark, it symbolized redemption, deliverance and salvation. Jochebed, knowing that this child has a special purpose by God, used the same method and materials of the heroes of faith that she knew to save him and God’s people.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
Let the Word of God found in the Holy Bible be your guiding light, your Owner’s Manual, your connection to God and the solid foundation of truth that you stand on daily. The Bible (B.I.B.L.E.) is our Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth, so use it and connect. Jochebed put her full trust in God as she placed her son in that Ark in the Nile River (at the mercy of the wind, waves and current), then let go and let God, who controls the winds, the waves and the current, safely and securely guide through an unsafe place. What are you and I holding onto too tightly in our life that we need to let go and let God? We tend to hang onto people, places, situations and things that are beyond our control, that God is saying: “Give it to me”. It is safer and better off in the hands of God’s providence.
That Ark found it’s way to Pharaoh’s daughter, who (even though knowing he was a condemned Hebrew baby) had compassion and took pity on the child. Moses’ sister was one of Pharaoh’s daughter’s attendants and asked if she would like her to find a Hebrew woman (who was her & his actual mother Jochebed) to nurse the child, and Pharaoh’s daughter accepted the offer and instructed Miriam to “Go” get her. Multiple deific circumstances and divine appointments circumvented Pharaoh’s plan of control and miraculously progressed God’s plan for redemptive history. So, in all things trust the Lord and put your faith in Him because when life feels like it’s falling apart, in God’s hands it is falling into place.
Let's conclude Pastor Obie's message on "World Changers" in the next post.
In Christ, Brian
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