Sermon Tone Analysis

October 2

Lesson 5 (KJV)

The Birth of Moses

Devotional Reading: Acts 7:17–29

Background Scripture: Exodus 1:15–2:10

Exodus 2:1–10 1 And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi.

2 And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months.

3 And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river’s brink.

4 And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him.

5 And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river’s side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it.

6 And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept.

And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews’ children.

7 Then said his sister to Pharaoh’s daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee?

8 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, Go.

And the maid went and called the child’s mother.

9 And Pharaoh’s daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages.

And the woman took the child, and nursed it.

10 And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son.

And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water.

Key Text The woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months.—Exodus

2:2

God’s Exceptional Choice

Unit 2: Out of Slavery to Nationhood

Lessons 5–9

Lesson Aims After participating in this lesson, each learner will be able to:

1. Retell the account of Moses’ infancy.

2. Explain how an injustice was avoided.

3. Make a concrete plan to act in response to an identified or potential injustice.

I. Unique Response

(Exodus 2:1–4)

A. Hidden at Home (vv.

1–2)

1.

And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi.

A later genealogical account provides the names this man and his wife: Amram and Jochebed (Exodus 6:20).

Both were from the lineage of Levi (see Numbers 26:57–59).

Visual for Lesson 5. Conclude the lesson by asking the class how Moses was both protected and a protector for God’s people.

After the people left Egypt, descendants of Levi would become priests (Exodus 28–30) and religious leaders (Deuteronomy 10:8–9) for the Israelites.

This child would be in that same lineage.

So sounds like that the lineage of the Levi’s is jewish and that’s how they did things back then even here was the same when we marry we marry in the same lineage black to black and white t owhitesoforth and so on ……..

2. And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months.

The survival of the woman’s son would be in doubt, considering the cruel decree from the pharaoh (Exodus 1:22; see Lesson Context).

The text before us does not speak to the birth order of this child.

Later texts indicate the presence of an older brother, Aaron (7:7), and an older sister (2:4, below).

The description of the child as goodly could speak to a variety of attributes.

The underlying Hebrew word is elsewhere translated as “good”—a descriptor of God’s intentions in His creation (Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, etc.).

In this sense, the word could be describing how this child fulfilled God’s plans.

The Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, translates that same Hebrew word into a Greek word that is used in the New Testament to describe the child as “fair” (Acts 7:20) and “proper” (Hebrews 11:23).

Furthermore, the word could also be speaking of the health of the child (compare 1 Samuel 9:2).

However, physical appeal or beauty is not a measure for God’s call on a person (16:7, see lesson 9).

The child faced the infanticide of Pharaoh’s tyrannical declaration of Exodus 1:16.

The fact that a nursing mother could hide her child for three months implied her ability to avoid long hours of outdoor labor described in Exodus 1:13–14.

The author of Hebrews reflects on the actions of the child’s parents: “By faith Moses … was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid” (Hebrews 11:23).

What Do You Think?

How should believers respond to human laws that contradict God’s moral law?

Since None of us want to ActuAlly go to jail so we have to abide by human laws

Digging Deeper How do Exodus 1:15–21; Esther 3:12–4:17; Daniel 3; 6; Romans 13:1–7; and Titus 3:1 inform a believer’s response to civil obedience or disobedience?

Civil obedience meaning to obey the laws written and approved and disobedience is that so-called law like worshiping false idols .

Or just laws spokenthat they wanted right away to happen like the removal of the sons opposed to the daughters.

B. Sheltered in the Stream

(vv.

3–4)

3.

And when she could no longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes,( bul rushes meaning a tall rush like water plant of the sedge family, it has been used for meaving and is grown as an aid to water purification in some areas meaning it could probably float ) and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river’s brink.

After three months, the baby could no longer stay hidden.

The time had come for his parents to deal with the unjust realities of the pharaoh’s command.

Ironically, the child’s mother did follow the letter of the law of the pharaoh: she did cast her son into the river (compare Exodus 1:22).

However, she did so in a manner that allowed for the child’s survival, thus going against the spirit of the pharaoh’s law.

The underlying Hebrew word translated as ark appears in one other Old Testament narrative: the ark of Noah (Genesis 6–9).

In this verse, the ark was built to hold a small child; it was like a basket.

In both instances, God provided for His people through an ark.

Just as an ark saved Noah and his family from the waters of a flood, this ark would save a child from waters of the river.

The child’s mother built the basket using common materials found in the region of the Nile River delta.

Bulrushes of papyrus would have been obtained from the marshy wetlands of the river delta (compare Job 8:11).

These were also used in the construction of seafaring vessels (Isaiah 18:2).

In order to seal the basket, the child’s mother daubed the basket with slime—a sticky substance used in construction (see Genesis 11:3).

Here, the substance served to bind the papyrus reeds together to form the vessel.

Pitch was added as a waterproofing agent, fit to keep the interior of water-borne vessels and their passengers dry (compare 6:14).

In the harsh desert climate, the Nile River served as a key component of daily Egyptian life.

The river provided water for drinking (Jeremiah 2:18), bathing (Exodus 2:5), irrigating (Isaiah 19:7), and livestock (Genesis 41:1–4).

The river provided sustenance for daily life in general, and God would use the Nile to provide for Moses’ life specifically.

Amid the slow moving, marshy waters of the brink of this river, she laid the papyrus basket.

She would have to trust that God would protect her son.

Along the river’s shore would have grown flags of reeds.

By placing the basket here, the reeds provided protection and concealed the basket.

Just think if you want to hide from an enemy by the river you could do the same thing build u a mini ark with slime to hold the ark together and get some lily pads to cover you up and you will fit right in with the nature flow of the river or do like you did when you were running from the or hiding from the police……..

4.

And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him.

We learn that the child had a sister (Miriam; Numbers 26:59).

At this point in the narrative, specific details about her life are unknown.

In this instance, she stood afar of the basket to keep an eye on her brother and take note of his eventual outcome: survival or death.

What Do You Think?

When, if ever, might it be better for a believer to wait and see God’s provision before addressing a situation?

When you pray just just like the sister probably praying for her brother so she had to wait)wait and see gods work come to past.

As long as you have true faith…

Digging Deeper In what ways does this absolve a believer from action?

By waiting on the Lord!!!!!

In what ways does it not?

By not having patient to wait and see Gods work unfold….. and losing faith ..

II.

Unexpected Rescue

(Exodus 2:5–10)

A. Daughter’s Discovery (vv.

5–6)

5.

And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river’s side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it.

The pharaoh would have had many partners, “wives,” and children.

The relative power of any one child in the pharaoh’s kingdom would have depended on the importance of that child’s mother to the pharaoh.