PHARAOH ORDERS ALL NEWBORN BOYS TO BE KILLED
(Exodus 1)
A new king came to power who did not know about Joseph. He noticed that the number of Israelites was growing large, and in time they might outnumber the Egyptians. Pharaoh worried that if the number of Israelites continued to increase and a war broke out, the Israelites might join the enemies, fight against them, and leave the country.
In order to reduce the number of Israelites, Pharaoh forced them into slavery, making them work very hard. But the more they were oppressed, the more they kept growing and spreading. So Pharaoh said to the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, to kill any boy that was born when they helped in childbirth. But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king had asked. So Pharaoh gave the order to all his people to throw every boy that was born into the Nile.
MOSES’ EARLY LIFE
(Exodus 2)
Around this time, a son was born to Amram and Jochebed. Because of Pharaoh’s orders, Jochebed hid the child for three months. When she could no longer hide him, she got a papyrus basket, coated it with tar and pitch, placed the child in the basket, and set it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. His sister, Miriam, watched from a distance. Then Pharaoh’s daughter came to bathe at the Nile, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and asked her slave girl to get it. When she opened the basket, she saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him.
Miriam went to Pharaoh’s daughter and asked if she could find someone to care for the baby.
Pharaoh’s daughter agreed. Miriam then brought the boy’s mother to Pharaoh’s daughter, and the boy’s mother took care of him. When he grew older, his mother took him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, which means “drawn out,” because she drew him out of the water. Moses was raised by Pharaoh’s daughter and grew up in the palace. He lived there until he was 40 years old and was trained in all the skills of Egypt.
One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to see his own people. There, he saw an Egyptian
beating an Israelite. Moses killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand. When the news spread in Egypt, Moses fled to Midian and lived there. In Midian, Moses married Zipporah, the daughter of Jethro (also called Reuel). They had a son named Gershom.
MOSES AND THE BURNING BUSH
(Exodus 3)
One day, Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro. He led the flock as far as Horeb,
the mountain of God. There, he saw a strange sight: although the bush was on fire, it did not burn up. When Moses went closer to take a better look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses!
Moses!” Moses replied, “Here I am!” God spoke to Moses, “Do not come any closer. Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. I have seen the affliction of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. I am sending you to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.”
Moses tried to avoid the responsibility given by God, saying that he was slow of speech and had
difficulty speaking. God said to Moses that He would help him speak and would teach him what to say. So Moses accepted the great responsibility, and he became the first leader of the people of Israel.
CONCLUSION:
We often see our inabilities and shortcomings, but God knows us and understands what we are truly capable of. So, when God calls us to a task, do we focus on our weaknesses and try to back out? Or should we trust that God knows us and will always be by our side, helping us along the way?
0 Comments