5 The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the Nile, with her maidens walking alongside the Nile; and she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid, and she brought it to her. 6 When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the boy was crying. And she had pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” 7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women that she may nurse the child for you?” 8 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go ahead.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. 9 Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. 10 The child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. And she named him Moses, and said, “Because I drew him out of the water.”
11 Now it came about in those days, when Moses had grown up, that he went out to his brethren and looked on their hard labors; and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren. 12 So he looked this way and that, and when he saw there was no one around, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13 He went out the next day, and behold, two Hebrews were fighting with each other; and he said to the offender, “Why are you striking your companion?” 14 But he said, “Who made you a prince or a judge over us? Are you intending to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and said, “Surely the matter has become known.”
15 When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, and he sat down by a well.
16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters; and they came to draw water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. 17 Then the shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and helped them and watered their flock. 18 When they came to Reuel their father, he said, “Why have you come back so soon today?” 19 So they said, “An Egyptian delivered us from the hand of the shepherds, and what is more, he even drew the water for us and watered the flock.” 20 He said to his daughters, “Where is he then? Why is it that you have left the man behind? Invite him to have something to eat.” 21 Moses was willing to dwell with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses. 22 Then she gave birth to a son, and he named him Gershom, for he said, “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land.”
23 Now it came about in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry for help because of their bondage rose up to God. 24 So God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 25 God saw the sons of Israel, and God took notice of them.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
I can only imagine how difficult it would have been for Moses who would have grown up in the most luxurious lonely prison ever. Except for those first few years of life, he would have been estranged from his family and people. Then, note that Moses wasn't married while in Egypt. How angry would the Pharaoh have been at his daughter, and how much would he have hated Moses! So Pharaoh jumped at the "justified" chance of killing him, but God had other plans for Moses.
Moses was literally "born" to do the job that was about to be given him. While still an Israelite, he knew the ways of the Egyptians having lived with them for about 40 years. And coming up, God was going to allow him to tend ornery sheep for 40 years in preparation of leading the grumbling Israelites through the wilderness for 40 years! How apropos!
We need to understand very clearly, it is never God's will that others sin against us, or that we ourselves sin and create bad situations. Because God is sovereign, all-knowing, all-powerful as well as loving, He created all of us with a free will. Mankind chose sin which separated everyone from God (bringing in death and spiritual death). So we live in a fallen world where we all sin. God is well aware of all of this, and does allow some bad and evil things to happen. Not His doing, but He allows some things to happen.
We can choose to be angry at God and continue living in a sinful state, even though God isn't the one who caused or committed the sin, or we can choose to go to God for His salvation and His help in moving forward in His will! In this, being sovereign, the Lord is completely able.. As we strive to live in His will, in His strength, wisdom and love, we can not only have victory over all bad experiences, but we can in some way use what we learn for good. Consider all tests and trials as a chance to grow in our faith and learn something valuable. God just might be preparing us for a very particular purpose or ministry!
(Romans 8:28) And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
No comments:
Post a Comment