A Grace Case: Moses (Part 1)

This morning we continue our series “Grace that is Simply Amazing.”   In yesterday’s message I told you that the three major authors of the Bible (Moses, David and Paul) were all murderers.  I am led to take a “deep dive” into the lives of each of these men and I will highlight how each is a grace case.

The Israelites did well in Egypt while Joseph had favor with Pharaoh.  But eventually a new Pharaoh took over who disregarded what Joseph had done for Egypt and he turned the Israelites into slaves.  However, since the Blessing of the Lord was still on them, the Israelites kept growing in number, even as slaves.  The Egyptian leadership grew concerned about the number of Israelites and they wanted to thwart the growth.  So the king called in Shiphrah and Puah, the two women who helped the Hebrew mothers give birth and he instructed them to kill every Hebrew boy at birth.  The women were too faithful to the God of the Hebrews to do it.  When they were called on the carpet, for not killing the male babies, the women said, “The Hebrew women have their babies much quicker than Egyptian women. By the time we arrive, their babies are already born.”  It was a lie, but it kept them alive.  Because they stood in faith for the Hebrews the Lord blessed these two women to have children of their own.  But the king was still upset and he gave a command to everyone in the nation, saying, “As soon as a Hebrew boy is born, throw him into the Nile River!  But you can let the girls live.”  This is the setting in which Moses was born.

I can only imagine what Moses’ parents, Amram (father) and Jochebed (mother), felt like when they got pregnant.  The excitement normally associated with pregnancy was tempered by the anxiety of possibly losing a son.  They did not have access to a sonogram and the text does not tell us that the Lord spoke to them concerning the gender of the baby, so as far as we know they did not know if they were having a boy or a girl.  Although boys were normally a family’s pride and joy back then, I am sure Amram and Jochebed secretly wanted a girl.  No one wants to lose their children and I can only imagine the agony associated with losing a baby.  So after 9 long months their wait was over and their worst fears were realized; they had a bouncing baby boy.  Baby Moses did not have a care in the world, but his parents knew he was born with a death sentence hanging over his head.  They hid him as best they could, but the more the baby ate, the more he grew and there came a point where he could no longer be hid.

Jochebed made a basket out of reeds and covered it with tar.  Ironically, she chose to put the baby in the Nile River, the same place the king wanted the boys to die.  But instead of becoming Moses’ cemetery, the Nile became the place of his “second birth.”  Moses’ life took an incredible twist of grace in the river.  ‘It just so happens’ that one of the king’s daughters was taking a bath in the river at the same time when baby Moses was passing by.  The king’s daughter sent a servant after the basket and when she opened it and saw the baby boy she said, “This must be one of the Hebrew babies.”  She knew what was supposed to be done, she knew this baby was sentenced to die, and she knew her own father had issued the death warrant.  But in an remarkable act of grace – completely unmerited, unexpected and unbelievable – the king’s daughter decided to adopt the baby as her own.  And to make a good story even better, she wound up hiring Jochebed, Moses’ own mother, as his nanny.  Jochebed got paid to take care of her own son.  I will stop here for today.

So what does this mean to you today? A few quick things:
1.  God had plans for you before you were ever born.
2.  The greater the assignment, the greater the attack.
3.  The enemy’s poison can’t stop God’s purpose.
4.  Grace is unmerited, unearned, unexpected, and seemingly unbelievable at times; that’s why it’s AMAZING!

Closing Confession:  Father, I thank You for making plans for me before I was ever born.  You destined me before the foundations of the earth.  I am not a mistake.  I was born when I was supposed to be born, in the right place, for the right things the happen to me.  The enemy has tried, time and time again, to derail me from my destiny, but his plans have failed and will always fail.  I am Your child, called according to Your plans and purposes for my life, and I declare by faith that I will arrive at Your desired destination.  I do my best to live by faith, but I can’t count the times when Grace stepped in and gave me what I did not deserve.  Or when mercy stepped in and kept me from receiving what I did deserve.  You have been so good to me.  Like Moses, I have a story and it is unquestionably a GRACE CASE.  Help me to share my story today.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen!