Well, I just adore where this narrative goes now. I'm going to entitle our next study, "Miracle on the Nile." Let me read from chapter 2, verses 1 through 4.
Now a man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levi woman. The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. (You remember, she hid him because Pharaoh's command was to murder all of the male newborns.) When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen (or tar) and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the riverbank. And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him.
Not only is this one of the best-known stories in the Old Testament; it's one of the most amazing. This is clearly an "Only-God Story!" You would think that if you place your newborn son in a basket in the Nile, both the story and his life are over-short story-but God! Because of the power of God's divine plan, the power of his divine sovereignty, the reality of his almighty power and his willing intervention, this story was far from over because of four things. Here's the first one. By God's plan, the sister of the baby boy decided she would just stand and sort of, in hiding, watch what would happen to him.
By God's plan, this is the second thing, it was Pharaoh's daughter (How amazing is that?) who would discover the baby boy in the floating basket. You just have to smile. Pharaoh's daughter? Come on, what's the chance of that happening? Well, God's the chance; God's the reason.
Here's a third thing. By God's plan, Moses was chosen to be nursed by a Hebrew woman. And that Hebrew woman, because Pharaoh's daughter talked to Moses' sister, was Moses' mother. So, it looks like this baby is being abandoned; but placed in God's hands, he's rescued by Pharaoh's daughter, who wants somebody to nurse this baby. And Moses' mother becomes the lady who does this. This story is just amazing upon amazing!
Fourth, and by God's plan, this boy would be raised in Pharaoh's palace. Seriously? Now, why did these four things happen? Because the baby boy was Moses. Because Moses was the one God had chosen to lead his people out of slavery and into the promised land.
You see, God works in the ordinary, a basket, a river, a sister, a woman bathing in the Nile, to do what is absolutely extraordinary! And the God who rescued and cared for Moses is your Lord. In the ordinary moments of your life, don't underestimate God's power and willingness to do extraordinary, unexpected things. Rest in him; he is worthy of your trust!
Questions for Personal Reflection or Group Discussion
1. Even though you might be familiar with this story from Exodus 2, as you have slowed down to see what God actually did at the beginning of Moses' life, what stands out to you as absolutely extraordinary? If you are familiar with this Old Testament story, what details might you have either missed or forgotten as you've reacquainted yourself with it? To you, in what ways is this story amazing upon amazing?
2. In what ways have you seen God use the seemingly ordinary to do extraordinary things in the lives of others? In your own life?
3. What have been some examples in your life of how you have underestimated the power of God? Looking back on those examples, what weren't you willing or able to see that you do see now about how God worked?
4. Why will God always be worthy of your trust? Think through some specific examples that have occurred in your life, and then think about the gospel itself. Now take some time to pray and thank the Lord for how he has worked in your life, both specifically in your own circumstances, and also through the work of his Son--the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus.
Conversation Prompts to Use with Children
For Younger Children:
1. Why is the story of the birth of Moses such a wild one? Can you help me point out some of the extraordinary things that happen at the beginning of Moses' life?
2. Why do you think it's important to remind ourselves that the God who did all these extraordinary things in the life of Moses is the same God who we know and worship today?
For Older Children:
1. Why can familiarity with a Bible story actually be dangerous? How does your familiarity with the story of the birth of Moses make it difficult to see all the amazing and extraordinary things about it?
2. Why is God always going to be worthy of your trust?
3. Why do you think it's important to remind ourselves that the God who did all these extraordinary things in the life of Moses is the same God who we know and worship today?
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