Day 893: A godly upbringing - Exodus 2 vs 1 - 10

1-4 Now a man of the house of Levi married a daughter of Levi, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him for three months. But when she could no longer hide him, she got him a papyrus basket (ark) and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in the basket and set it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. And his sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him. 5 Soon the daughter of Pharaoh went down to bathe in the Nile, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. And when she saw the basket among the reeds, she sent her maidservant to retrieve it. 6 When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the little boy was crying. So she had compassion on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrew children.”

7-9 Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call one of the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” “Go ahead,” Pharaoh’s daughter told her. And the girl went and called the boy’s mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child and nurse him for me, and I will pay your wages.” So the woman took the boy and nursed him. 10 When the child had grown older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses and explained, “I drew him out of the water.” Exodus 2:1-10 Berean Bible (For ESV)

In a letter in the New Testament which the apostle Paul wrote to a younger man named Timothy, he said: “I'm reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I'm persuaded, now lives in you also. As for you, continue in what you’ve learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 1:5 & 3:14-15) Timothy had the great privilege of being brought up by a God-fearing mother. Today's reading suggests that this happened also to the man named Moses.

Chapter One ended with Pharaoh's command that every son born to the Hebrews must be thrown into the Nile, but daughters were allowed to live. It was a cruel policy, as cruel as when Communist China allowed only one child families and daughters were often discarded. Certainly no less heartless than the cruel push for abortion in our times. But see how a mother from the tribe of Levi responded? (vs 1-4)

She refused to throw her child into the Nile where crocodiles lurked. Having hid him as long as she could, she placed him in a basket among the reeds of the river bank. I suggest she also placed him into the hands of the God she revered. And the story shows how God wonderfully intervened. What do you think happened in the years which vs 10 implies must have passed by?

We’re not told, so I can only make another suggestion. I suspect that the Levite mother spent those years teaching her growing son about the God who had made Himself known to people like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. She grounded her son in the events described in Genesis. And, like Timothy in the New Testament, Moses heard from infancy the Holy Scriptures which are able to lead to salvation. There would come a day when he would meet the Author of those Scriptures in a personal way.

How is it with you? Are you someone who was privileged to have a God-fearing mother or father? Have you continued in what you learned? Have the Scriptures they shared with you led you to salvation in Jesus Christ? If so, that is something to be deeply thankful to God for. But perhaps that was not so with you. You may have grown up with little Bible instruction in your youth and in your home. Even so, the Scriptures can lead you to the same salvation Moses experienced and which Timothy embraced.

Do you perhaps have young children to care for, or input into the life of a grandchild? We live in a world where draconian Pharaoh like rules are increasingly being passed. Will you do what you can, as granny Lois and mother Eunice did for Timothy, to help the little ones to understand the grace of God in the Lord Jesus Christ? It may take courage in the days we are entering.