1. Children of the Bible

2. Lesson 5

3. Lesson Text—Exodus 2:1-4 Exodus 2:1-4 1 And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi. 2 And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months.

4. Lesson Text—Exodus 2:1-4 3 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. 4 And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him.

5. Lesson Text—Exodus 2:5-7 Exodus 2:5-7 5 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.

6. Lesson Text—Exodus 2:5-7 6 And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews’ children. 7 Then said his sister to Pharaoh’s daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee?

7. Lesson Text—Exodus 2:8-10 Exodus 2:8-10 8 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child’s mother. 9 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.

8. Lesson Text—Exodus 2:8-10 10 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.

9. Lesson Text—Exodus 2:11-12 Exodus 2:11-12 11 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.

10. Lesson Text—Exodus 2:11-12 12 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.

11. Focus Verse—Isaiah 49:25 Isaiah 49:25 But thus saith the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children.

12. Focus Thought In spite of the powers of evil and darkness that attempt to destroy our children, God’s plan involves us in preserving them for His divine purpose.

13. I. An Evil Command Given Culture Connection The Evil of Infanticide It probably would be difficult, if not impossible, to find anyone who would approve of the heinous act against children perpetrated by Pharaoh Thutmose I, the ruling Egyptian pharaoh at the time of Moses’ birth. (To control the Hebrew population, he commanded that all newborn males be killed.)

14. I. An Evil Command Given Interestingly, however, many individuals who would condemn the pharaoh for killing babies in Moses’ day would defend the barbaric practice of abortion today. Nevertheless, the debate rages on over abortion, legalized in the US since a Supreme Court ruling in 1973.

15. I. An Evil Command Given In a Reuters article by Laura Zuckerman, dated April 5, 2011, she noted, “The Idaho legislature on Tuesday gave final approval to a measure that would outlaw abortions after twenty weeks of pregnancy and subject abortion providers to criminal prosecution and civil lawsuits. The Senate-backed bill cleared the House in a 54-14 vote and now heads to Governor Butch Otter, who is expected to sign it.

16. I. An Evil Command Given “The legislation is linked to disputed medical research suggesting the unborn feel pain at twenty weeks and is modeled on a 2010 Nebraska law that has yet to face a legal challenge. The bill is similar to one recently approved by the Kansas legislature and to measures proposed by lawmakers in more than a dozen other states” (Reuters.com, accessed April 5, 2011).

17. I. An Evil Command Given Perhaps there is no sin for which this present generation will be judged more harshly than for the sin of abortion. And what is the difference between abortion and infanticide? Not much—just a few weeks of development and a nearly forty-year- old Supreme Court ruling. May God deliver us from this lawful, but awful, evil.

18. I. An Evil Command Given Contemplating the Topic Moses, a child saved from a cruel king’s edict, became the savior of the fledgling nation of Israel. He is a type of another child, Jesus, who was also saved from a cruel and jealous king. Jesus not only saved Israel from physical oppression, but He also saves all mankind from the slavery of sin.

19. I. An Evil Command Given We live in a terrible and wicked time, both morally and spiritually. Jesus warned this would be a sign of the end times—the time just before He would return for His church. The media seem to be focused on destroying the innocence of our children. Graphic violence and inappropriate sexual content warp our youth. Even the music often is crude and portrays the dark and evil side of life.

20. Transparency 1

21. I. An Evil Command Given These evil influences can destroy children unless the parents and the church raise up a standard against them. If there ever was a time to proactively promote God’s holy principles, it is today. God desires strong, godly families and strong marriages through which He may guard against the ungodly forces of modern culture. Isaiah 49:25 tells us God is in the battle with us against the enemy, and we can stand on His promise that He will save our children.

22. I. An Evil Command Given In spite of the powers of evil and darkness that attempt to destroy our children, God works with us and through us to preserve a godly people in this generation. (See Malachi 2:15.) God’s people love Him and want to save their children from this “untoward generation” (Acts 2:40).

23. I. An Evil Command Given Searching The Scriptures An Evil Command Given Moses was born during a dark time in Israel’s history. As long as Joseph had lived, Israel enjoyed a favored position in the eyes of the rulers and people in Egypt. Pharaoh had given them Goshen, a fertile region in the eastern part of the Nile delta. Four hundred and thirty years passed and times and circumstances changed.

24. I. An Evil Command Given Joseph had died, along with his royal benefactor, and a new pharaoh reigned—one that “knew not Joseph” (Exodus 1:8; Acts 7:18). Israel had come to Egypt with only seventy individuals, but now they numbered “about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children” (Exodus 12:37). The new king grew uneasy about the millions of foreigners who lived in the choicest area in Egypt.

25. I. An Evil Command Given He had at first seen the Hebrews as an asset, a source of free labor for his massive building projects. His taskmasters forced them to reach their brick-making quotas and to stay on schedule in the erection of buildings, cities, and tombs. Even when sorely oppressed, however, the Hebrews increased dramatically in number to the point the king feared they would outnumber and overwhelm the Egyptian population.

26. I. An Evil Command Given Pharaoh’s solution to control the rapidly expanding Hebrew population was infanticide. He decreed that the midwives should kill the male babies at birth but keep the female babies alive.

27. A. Response by Midwives Pharaoh dealt harshly with the Hebrew midwives, but they feared the judgment of God more than they feared the anger and recrimination of the king. Their fear and faith in God gave them a reverence for life and the courage to risk their own lives. Trusting in the power of God, they disobeyed the king’s command and let the male babies live.

28. B. God’s Blessings on Right Decisions God honored and blessed the midwives for their courage and godly fear. He protected them from the king’s retribution and blessed them with families and households of their own. Pharaoh, however, did not give up his quest for a final solution.

29. I. An Evil Command Given Since the midwives had pleaded not guilty for their disobedience by claiming Hebrew women were so vigorous they gave birth before help arrived, Pharaoh ordered Egyptians to seize newborn Hebrew males and throw them into the Nile River. He reasoned that Hebrews did not fear his decree; but Egyptians would. Egyptians had deified the Nile and worshiped it at times as Hapi, “the giver of life” and at other times as Osiris, the “god of fertility.”

30. I. An Evil Command Given Ironically, Egypt appealed to the gods of fertility and life to destroy the seed of Abraham, God’s chosen people.

31. II. A Special Child Is Born A Special Child Is Born God gave Israel a miracle child to save them. Down through time it has been so—God uses individuals to fulfill His redemptive plan for mankind. The greatest example is Jesus Christ. (See Galatians 4:4-5.)

32. A. A Goodly Child Moses was a beautiful baby, “exceeding fair” (Acts 7:20). In his mother’s eyes he was not only a healthy, darling boy, but she somehow knew her child was special and that God had destined him for great things. She could not know, however, that in her arms she held the means of God’s salvation for His people. Mothers never know the full potential of the child they hold in their arms.

33. I. An Evil Command Given Jochebed, Moses’ mother, determined her precious baby would never be thrown into the Nile. “By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment” (Hebrews 11:23).

34. B. A Mother’s Protection Jochebed had only a short time— three months or so—before it became impossible to keep her wiggly, gurgling baby hidden from watchful Egyptian eyes. She knew her son would be thrown in the Nile unless she could devise a way to prevent it. Perhaps through divine inspiration she prepared a small “ark,” using materials from the very river that waited to swallow him up.

35. I. An Evil Command Given She wove together and shaped strands of thick, tough papyrus reeds, then waterproofed the result with pitch and slime dredged from the riverbank. When the ark had dried, Jochebed lovingly tucked in her infant son and “obeyed” the king’s command by putting the baby in the river. More importantly, she entrusted him into the arms of God. She had done what she could and trusted God to do the rest. She stationed Moses’ sister, Miriam, among the reeds along the riverbank to see what would happen to the infant.

36. I. An Evil Command Given At first the babe seemed quietly content, rocked to sleep as the current lapped against the little ark. Miriam turned her head when she heard the noise of women’s chatter and laughter. It was Pharaoh’s daughter and her maids come to bathe in the river. Then Miriam heard an ominous mewling from the ark that soon escalated into hungry cries. She did not know what to do when the royal princess, intrigued by the noise echoing over the river, bade one of her maids to wade out and capture the ark.

37. I. An Evil Command Given But instead of tossing the babe into the current, Pharaoh’s daughter held the little boy close and rocked him gently in her arms. Her heart melted when he stopped crying and gazed into her eyes. She said, “This child is a Hebrew.” Miriam, possibly out of desperation or a sudden rush of courage, approached the princess. “Shall I go and call a nurse of the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?”

38. I. An Evil Command Given The princess agreed and Miriam ran to fetch her mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said, “Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages.” Jochebed praised God all the way home. God had answered her prayer! She cherished the next few years with her goodly child, training him in the ways of the Lord.

39. C. God’s Intervention “And when he was cast out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son” (Acts 7:21).

40. I. An Evil Command Given Moses’ adoption into the royal family afforded him the advantage of being educated in all of the wisdom of the Egyptians. As the son of the king’s daughter he enjoyed experiences, opportunities, and rank he never would have received as the son of a slave. He grew up in the center of government, seeing the day- to-day operation of the ruling of a nation.

41. I. An Evil Command Given Josephus stated that Moses probably received training in all the education of Egypt: reading, writing, arithmetic, chemistry, law, and the art of governance. His education also may have included the study of music and how to work with metals. Josephus especially stressed the military education Moses would have received as part of the upper echelon of Egyptian hierarchy.

42. I. An Evil Command Given However, God did not intend that Moses would use his gifts to rule Egypt; instead, He arranged all of this training to prepare Moses to lead God’s chosen people, Israel.

43. D. Early Teaching Inspires Loyalty Much more important than Moses’ Egyptian education was the training he received at the knee of his mother. God not only orchestrated the salvation of Moses but also provided motherly training at the most important and vulnerable time of his life. Who better to nurse him, love him, and train him in the history of his people and the faith of the God of the Hebrews than his own mother?

44. I. An Evil Command Given Every child is born with needs. Equally as strong as the need for sustenance and physical care, every child needs the cuddling and security of Mother’s love. We know this need as “bonding.” This special attachment begins even before birth. Studies show that a baby recognizes and responds to his mother’s voice even while in the womb. Three-month-old babies can distinguish familiar faces and can connect Mother’s voice with Mother’s face. Total bonding takes place in the first eighteen month of life.

45. I. An Evil Command Given The baby lets his needs be known by crying and Mother is usually the one who satisfies those needs. The baby soon learns to trust her; he learns that his mother is there for him. As Mother holds her baby close while feeding and talking to him, the child develops a sense of security and trust. For this to happen, the mother needs to be accessible regularly and consistently throughout the child’s critical first two years. When Mother is absent, the baby becomes fretful.

46. I. An Evil Command Given “Unbonded” babies often have psychological and social problems later in life. It is important for mothers to be with their children during these early, formative years. No one else can play this crucial role as well as the baby’s mother.

47. Isaiah 28:9-10 “Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little” (Isaiah 28:9-10).

48. Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6).

49. I. An Evil Command Given How important are these early formative years? One church denomination claims that if parents will subject their children up to the age of five to be trained by the church, they will never leave that faith. We often see children of godly parents stray; however, if the parents intentionally train their children in the truths of Scripture, those truths will forever be in the hearts of those children.

50. I. An Evil Command Given Some have suggested that the original Hebrew language of the Old Testament would support one rendering of Proverbs 22:6 as “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old it will not depart from him.” That understanding of Proverbs 22:6 does at least seem to be compatible with the verse’s fundamental intent. We recognize that children have a free will and someday will make their own decisions about serving the Lord.

51. I. An Evil Command Given We have no ironclad guarantee they will serve Christ, but we can be certain they can never get away from their early training. It is unforgettable! The first five years are the most important years of a child’s life. One- half of what he learns he acquires before the age of two. One–half of the remaining knowledge he learns before five years of age.

52. I. An Evil Command Given Even though Jochebed kept the toddler Moses for only a few short years, she nurtured him during the most important and formative years of his life. It is no wonder, then, that Moses as an adult made a right choice.

53. Hebrews 11:24-25 “By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season” (Hebrews 11:24-25).

54. E. Modeling Is Important Children imitate their parents. They become, to a great extent, what they see modeled in their parents. Parents should be the kind of Christian they want their children to be—at home as well as at church. Training is much more than what parents say; it is what they do. Little eyes are watching Mommy and Daddy.

55. I. An Evil Command Given Children will likely follow their parents’ paths in life. If parents want their children to love and serve God, the children must observe their parents loving and serving God. If parents want their children to love and attend the house of God, the parents must love and attend church. If parents want their children to love their pastor and God’s people, the parents must build up the children’s faith in the pastor and God’s people.

56. I. An Evil Command Given If parents want their children to worship openly, their children must see them exuberantly and vocally worshiping God. If parents want their children to pray, they must lead them by modeling prayer—both at home and at church.

57. Deuteronomy 6:4-7 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up” (Deuteronomy 6:4-7).

58. I. An Evil Command Given The early training of Moses marked him for life. There came a time when Amram and Jochebed had to turn him over to Pharaoh’s daughter, but by that time Moses was a Hebrew not only by lineage but by mindset. He entered the Egyptian palace knowing he was not an Egyptian. Sooner or later the time comes when life will test the modeling parents have provided for their children. Only then will the results of the children’s training become evident.

59. III. Saved to Serve Saved to Serve Moses was born with a purpose; he was saved to serve. It seems as though he sensed his calling, for one day when he saw an Egyptian abusing one of his brethren—a Hebrew—he took it upon himself to dispense justice by slaying the Egyptian. Unfortunately, his methods and timing did not fit into the plan of God. He needed further training.

60. I. An Evil Command Given Egypt trained Moses to lead—now he needed God to train him to follow. He had lived forty years in the palace; now God moved him to the wilderness. This proud, assured young man needed to learn humility. What better way to train a man to lead and minister to the people of God than to have him spend forty years tending a large flock of sheep!

61. A. Mission Given When the time came in God’s plan that Moses’ wilderness training was complete, God appeared to him from the midst of a desert bush that burned brightly but did not burn up. God revealed Himself to Moses as an angel and told the astonished man He had heard the cry of His people and had seen their oppression.

62. I. An Evil Command Given “Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt” (Exodus 3:10). God sent Moses—but He Himself would be their Deliverer.

63. B. Objections Stated Moses quickly manufactured excuses why he was not the man to lead Israel. First he asked, “Who am I?” This question would not have occurred to him forty years prior when he was a self-assured, confident young prince in Egypt. Now he felt personally unfit for leadership. God is not looking for self-assured individuals; neither can He use ones who are self-sufficient.

64. I. An Evil Command Given He is looking for believers who will depend upon Him. We cannot fulfill God’s calling in our own strength; we must rely on His strength to accomplish the commission. Paul said with great assurance, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13). God promised Moses He would go with him; and one day Moses would remember this promise, for he would worship God, along with the Hebrew nation, upon the very mountain where he stood.

65. I. An Evil Command Given Still, Moses was not convinced he was the man for the job. He did not believe the people would accept and listen to him, for they had not accepted his attempt to help them forty years before. To convince Moses of His divine authority and assure him that God would go with him, God showed the hesitant man miraculous signs. He told Moses to throw down his rod and it turned into a serpent.

66. I. An Evil Command Given Moses thrust his hand into his coat and when he drew it out it was leprous. Moses took up the serpent and it became a rod. He thrust his hand back into the coat and it came out disease free. Even the assurance of divine enablement and the miraculous signs were not enough to overcome Moses’ feelings of inadequacy. He pleaded guilty of slowness of speech.

67. I. An Evil Command Given This, however, belied Stephen’s description of Moses in Acts 7:22: “Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.” God overruled his excuse. “Who hath made man’s mouth?... Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say” (Exodus 4:11-12). Then Moses overstepped the bounds of God’s patience and pleaded that He choose another man for the mission.

68. I. An Evil Command Given In anger God told Moses He would give the necessary words both to Moses and to his brother Aaron, for God said, “I know that [Aaron] can speak well” (Exodus 4:14). It is interesting that Moses did take Aaron, and Aaron did speak to the Hebrew people, but it was always Moses who spoke to Pharaoh. Could it be that Moses was more intimidated by his own people than by a powerful, irate, and stubborn Pharaoh?

69. C. God’s Assurance God promised Moses He would always be with him. (See Exodus 3:12.) God granted divine authority and empowerment and assured Moses that if he went to Egypt, his people would listen to him. And God would, through Moses, give Israel a mighty deliverance. Feeling the need for something concrete with which to face his people, Moses asked for the name of the “God of his fathers.”

70. I. An Evil Command Given God revealed to him His powerful and meaningful identity: “I AM THAT I AM.” It signified that He is not only the God of the past and the God of the future, but He is the God of the present. At the moment when Moses desperately needed the strength of God, he learned that his God was “I AM,” the ever- present One. The faith of our fathers will not do for us today. We need to know God personally and intimately as the God who will supply our present needs.

71. I. An Evil Command Given Internalizing the Message God inclined His ear when He heard Israel’s cries ascending out of the cruel bondage of Egypt. They needed deliverance. When the time was right, God prepared and sent a man to lead Israel out of slavery and into the freedom and blessing of a land of promise. (See Exodus 3:7-8.)

72. I. An Evil Command Given Today’s world is in the bondage of sin. God prepared a Savior, the man Christ Jesus, to deliver mankind from spiritual and emotional bondage. Jesus stated this mission in a synagogue when He read to the people from Isaiah 61. (See Luke 4:18-19.)

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74. I. An Evil Command Given Jesus Christ has already provided for redemption. Jesus came to die on the cross so He might save the world from sin and the results of sin. He has gone away physically, but He is still with us as the Comforter and Encourager. This Redeemer was born, grew to manhood, and died to save humankind; now He has entrusted the mission to us to carry on His work of redemption. God always works through humans to minister and to save mankind.

75. I. An Evil Command Given One of the greatest aspects of this redemptive ministry is that of being a parent. God desires to give to every child a godly parent, and parents should not take this responsibility lightly. In their arms they hold the potential for good or for evil. As did Jochebed, they should nurture their children lovingly, train them carefully, and protect them physically and spiritually from this evil world as long as they can, and then release them into the arms of God.