Exodus 2:1-10
I. Introduction
The
Advent season turns our thoughts to deliverance. And this morning we have the great story of
God providing a deliverer for us from a watery grave. The fact is plain to see. But the way that God does it is just as important.
1. Our passage is part of the larger section in
which God calls and commissions Moses as a deliverer (2:1-4:31). It is the wonderful reminder that when the
people of God are in distress, God acts to deliver them, and that he uses men
and faith to affect the deliverance. We
will begin by looking at the fact of deliverance.
2. The remarkable thing about the fact of
deliverance is that the name of God is nowhere to be found and yet is found
everywhere. It is subtle yet
deafening. The first instance of his
presence is vs. 2 with the phrase “that he was beautiful.” The Hebrew is ki tob. Literally, that (ki) he was good (tob). See Genesis 3:6 and 6:2. This is the reminder that appearances are
deceiving. But the phrase is also used
in Genesis one (4, 10, 18, 21, & 31 [very good]). And the latter is more informative for our
text because it is the creation story of God’s sovereign power. This is a creation story of redemption by
God’s sovereign power. The reader of the
MT would make this connection and see the hand of God in providing for the
nation in the birth of the child. It is
subtle yet profound for God is now on stage orchestrating salvation history. He is present with us too! The second instance of his presence is in vs.
3 with the word “basket.” It seems
inconsequential and innocuous. But it is
the same word used in Genesis 6:18 (ark).
God is going to re-create the world from the watery chaos of the
flood. It brings to mind the original
creation. See Genesis 1:2. Yet, God will preserve Noah and his family in
a basket because of his covenant. As the
water prevailed, the ark floated on the surface of the water. And the climax is in 8:1. God remembered Noah. It is not that he had forgotten him. But that God is now moving to re-create to
fill the earth with Noah. It is so with
our story. The young child is preserved
from the watery chaos by God’s sovereign hand, and God will create the nation
and fill Egypt with her presence. The
final instance of the divine presence is in the word for reeds. The ark is placed among the reeds by the bank
of the Nile. The word “reeds” is used in
the name of the Sea from which the nation is delivered. Literally, the name is the Sea of Reeds. See Exodus 13:18. As God delivered the infant from the Nile, he
will deliver the nation from the watery grave of the Sea. God delivers us as well. See Revelation 13:1 & 17:1.
3. Yet, as important as the fact of deliverance
is, so too is the way in which God delivers.
Appl: Sovereignty and faith.
4. The great object of redemption and salvation
is the God of grace who acts to deliver.
But it is always apprehended by faith.
Men and women must trust God. And
this is another reason that this story is so grand. It is the lesson that God uses means. And that means is faith. Appl:
Calvinism.
5. The first great instance of faith is the
mother of Moses who refuses to give in to the edict of Pharaoh. See Hebrews 11:23. The mother acts on faith. And her faith leads her to take specific
steps. This is so critical. We can trust God, but we must also apprehend
that our faith must be active. She could
have said God will somehow work it out.
But this is not the beauty of the story.
It is that she acts. Her faith
informs action. She hides Moses. When this is no longer practical, she builds
an ark and places him in the Nile. This
is a profound act of faith; yet, she is doing all she can do in recognizing
that God uses means. I think the
placement of the ark is not fortuitous.
It is not chance. She knew that
the women of the court often used this place to bathe. Therefore, it was a calculated act of faith. Too, she is willing to commend her child to
the hand of the enemy trusting that the women would have compassion as they saw
her beautiful child. It happens. It is a great expression of sovereignty. We must know that the place of danger can be
made by God to be a place of safety. The
child was already in danger of death.
There can be no greater danger in the camp of the enemy. The court knew he was a Hebrew by his
circumcision. God is sovereign in
overruling the hearts of men.
Ironically, he will use one from the court of Pharaoh to destroy the
court. The court will preside over its
own executioner. I think the daughter of
Pharaoh wanted a son perhaps because she could not have one. And God gave her one. And the mother stations her daughter to watch
and to appeal to the princess with the logic that a nurse could be found among
the Hebrew women. And then Moses is
taken back into his home, and we should well suspect that his parents trained
him in the way that he should go. In
other words, she is taking every precaution, using every means possible, and
leaving it all in the hands of God.
Appl: we often err here. See Philippians 2:12-13. Thus, God will use a child to beat Pharaoh at
his own game. It is the object of faith
and also the way of faith.
6. We too must trust in a child during the
advent season. He comes out of Egypt
(Cf. Matthew 2). And he rules over the
chaotic waters. See Mark 4:37-41. Christ is not frantic with worry. He is the sovereign creator of the storm. See also Mark 6:45ff. Christ dispatches his disciples. He sends a storm. They are fearful of a watery grave. But he conquers it (48-51). Thus, the advent season is the fact of a
birth and faith in what it means.