December 9th: Baby in a Basket

Exodus 2:1-10

The Birth of Moses

2 About this time, a man and woman from the tribe of Levi got married. 2 The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She saw that he was a special baby and kept him hidden for three months. 3 But when she could no longer hide him, she got a basket made of papyrus reeds and waterproofed it with tar and pitch. She put the baby in the basket and laid it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile River. 4 The baby’s sister then stood at a distance, watching to see what would happen to him.

Years later…

7 Then the Lord told him (Moses), “I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land. It is a land flowing with milk and honey—the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live. 9 Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them. 10 Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”

Moses’ life got off to a rocky start.  He was born in a time when the Pharaoh didn’t want any more baby boys in Egypt because he thought they would grow up to be more powerful than him one day.  Moses’ mother hid him so that Pharaoh’s soldiers couldn’t take him away. But just like you did, that baby boy grew and grew, and his cries got louder and louder when he was hungry or stinky or sleepy, so his mother could not hide her beautiful little boy any longer.  She had to make a plan and make it quick!  

So the Bible tells us that his mother made a waterproof, floating basket and sent it down the river, praying that he would be okay and some kindhearted  Egyptian would find him and adopt him.  She had to give up what she loved most, her child, so that he could live.  She had no promises from God that everything would all work out like Noah, or Abraham or Jacob did… and there were lots of bad things that could have happened.  The basket could have sprung a leak and sank, a Nile Crocodile (the biggest crocs in the world) could have thought that little basket looked like a tasty snack, or a soldier could have found it. But as it happened, God led that little basket past every twist, turn and crocodile and right into the arms of an Egyptian princess.  Moses would have his Hebrew mom as his nanny and a royal mommy who would raise him as a prince!

In some ways, Moses would live in two worlds: the world of Egyptian privilege (super rich royalty) and the world of Hebrew oppression (really poor slaves). Eventually he would have to choose which life he would live.  He ran away from Egypt thinking he could escape the cries of his people but you can never run so far that God’s love can’t reach you. 

And it just so happened that God’s love reached Moses at the top of a mountain in the form of a burning bush. This bush was on fire but it was not burning up. No, it was on fire with the power and presence of God! That kind of fire creates something new instead of destroying what it touches.  And the new thing that it created was Moses.  

Moses was no longer the confused young man who was hiding from God and Pharaoh. He was now a new man who had seen God! After literally coming face to face with and talking to God in a burning bush, Moses had to choose whether he would do what was hard and follow God’s call for him to rescue the Hebrew people or he could live a poor but comfortable life herding sheep and goats while God’s people worked themselves to death as slaves.  

You see, God’s people thought that God had forgotten about them.  They had cried out and gotten no answer, but God hadn’t forgotten them, he had chosen to use one of them to lead his people to freedom, and just like you, it took a while for Moses, their rescuer, to grow up. And that’s what he did, he finally grew up, manned up and chose to be the man who God would use to save God’s people.  He would be the one to take them to a new place, a new life and teach them a new way to worship God and God only.  But first that baby had to grow up!

Everyday and every choice you make is important because even through the smallest of choices, your talents and your passions (things that make you excited and happy when you do them) God is forming and molding you like clay to become a rescuer.  You may not rescue a whole race of people from slavery, but perhaps God has called you to rescue someone from loneliness, friendlessness, or sadness.  Or maybe, just maybe, God will use you to bring his love and rescue to someone who is a slave to sin and doesn’t know that Jesus can save them.  So you have a choice to make: will you run from God’s love or will you take it to a world that needs rescuing?

Discussion Questions:

1.  Who are some people that you know who are rescuers for God? 

2.  Can you think of a time that God used you to be a rescuer to someone?

3.  What are some ways that you think God might be able to use you to carry His love to those in need?

Family Activity:  You will need a measuring tape. Measure the kids in your family.  How tall are you?  The average height of an adult woman is around 5.5 feet and the average man is between 5.8 and 6.0 feet tall. How tall do you think you will grow to be?   Take a minute to imagine what you might look like when you grow to your tallest height.  How do you imagine God might use you then to be a rescuer? Go around your family and share how you think God might use one another to be a rescuer for Him.

Prayer for the World: Pray for the 100 Bible College students where we teach - that they’d have a vision for Kingdom expansion in their communities and country that’s as large as God’s. (Revelation 7:9-10)