Mother's Day Service

Introduction

Good morning, everyone and Happy Mother’s Day Weekend.

I don’t always stop to teach on a holiday topic but since our series ended last week I would take this opportunity to highlight God’s good design in mothers and the unique “mom” instinct that he has placed inside of women.

Of course I have to begin with what I would think would be an obvious disclaimer… I have no experience with being a mother. I know shocker. But even though experience is a great teacher in many ways.... it is not our ultimate source for truth. God has given us the gift of His word for our ultimate guide in all matters of belief and behavior…even something like a mother’s love.

So I thought that I would walk us through two short stories in th Bible involving 5 different women who displayed “A Mother’s love” in various ways. These are not well known Bible characters, in fact you probably don’t know most if any of their names, but their actions changed the course of history in such a way that it has had a ripple effect that travels all the way to us here in 2024.

Tension

Last week we finished our series on the Old Testament books of Samuel, but today we are going to go back much further than the days of Kings of Kingdoms of Israel. In fact the people of Israel have not even become a loose coalition of tribes yet. For these two stories are taken from the beginning chapters of the book of Exodus, the second book in the Bible.

Genesis

You may know this, but the book of Genesis, the first book of the Bible, covers a lot of human history. It goes from Adam and Eve in the garden through Noah and the flood through God calling Abraham and promising to make him into a chosen people even though he was old and had no children.

But then in his very old age, God miraculously gave Abraham a son whom he named Isaac who grew up to know God and have a son named Jacob who grew up to know God and had 12 sons. So our God was often called “The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”

God changed Jacob’s name to “Israel” and his 12 sons become the 12 tribes of Israel. But Jacob’s favorite son was named Joseph and this favoritism caused lots of family fights so much so that eventually his 11 brothers ended up selling him into slavery in Egypt… which turned out to be the way that God would save his people once again.

And if you grew up going to Sunday School you might have recognized all those stories.... but you may not have made the connection that they all happened in just the first book.

But it is good to have that reminder as we dig into this next book of the Bible because it continues the same story. We see this right from the beginning as it opens up with the words…

Exodus 1:1–5 (ESV)

These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each with his household: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. All the descendants of Jacob were seventy persons; Joseph was already in Egypt.

So we have the beginnings of the Tribes of Israel, but at this point they are just a extended family group, 70 persons in all. Through the miraculous events of Joseph’s life, his 11 brothers arrived in Egypt desperate for food because of a famine…which you might remember from last week is a catastophic not casual event. It was there that they were reuinited with their long lost brother Joseph who had become second in command of all of Egypt. So these 70 people moved to Egypt with the favor, protection and even financing of the King of Egypt… the Pharoah.

And God’s chosen people joyfully flourished in the land of Egypt… until things drastically changed…

Exodus 1:6–7 (ESV)

Then Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation. But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.

In other words, there were a lot of mothers having a lot of babies, which was great news… to everyone except the new Pharoah...

Exodus 1:8–10 (ESV)

Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.”

So God’s people no longer enjoyed the favor of the governing class, instead they were seen as a threat that had to be dealt with. As often happens, the threat to this people group was began subtly, but eventually grew into full born genocide.

At first they just tried to slow the baby boom by wearing them out by subjecting them to hard labor. But the babies kept coming. Then they ramped things up by turning them all into slaves under cruel merciless slave masters. But still momma’s kept having babies.

The problem that the Egyptians had is that they were working directly against God’s covenantal plan. To be fruitful and multiply was a part of the covenant that God made with Adam and Even, with Noah and with Abraham. About Abraham’s family specifically God said…

Genesis 22:17–18 (ESV)

I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”

So Pharoah was not wrong to fear the grow in numbers of God’s people in his land, it’s just that since God was doing it there was nothing that Egypt could do to stop… still they kept trying.

It is in this next attempt that we see the stories of these mothers come into play.

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And what I find both interesting and inspirational is that these women had this enormous impact without having big names, roles or titles. They were simply responding the “Mother’s Love” that God had placed in their hearts and in a very real way, it served to usher in world events that will cripple and crush the most powerful empire in their world!

It makes me wonder which one of simple decisions that we might make in our lives will ripple out to make a much bigger impact that we ever imagined. God only knows, but we are all given the task to do what is right in the life that God has given us and then trust Him to weave it into this perfect plan as He sees fit.

Let’s stop and pray, and then we will see how God weaved together the stories of these 5 women in A Mother’s Love.

Truth

When we meet the first two women in our text they are not mothers yet, but they were known for exhibiting the motherly instinct to many young mothers and their children. All of this in an environment bent on trying to eliminate these babies.

So the first thing we see is how...

A Mothers love protects the life of a child (Exodus 1:15-16)

This is how their story went…

Exodus 1:15–16 (ESV)

Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, “When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.”

It is important to remember that at this point in history God had not given his people the written law. The only things that they knew about God was what was passed on through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

These stories actually lead us into the events that will bring the law... but that is getting ahead of ourselves.

In the absence of God’s law, societies are left to make our moral choices according to a lower tier of authority. So the person or persons with the most power determine what is right and wrong. Throughout history this has always gone bad. It typically degenerates into some verson of “might makes right” which always leads to conflict, battles and bloody wars.

(This is why even many atheists today, who don’t believe in any god, are glad that a lot of people do… because they can foresee the devastating effects of living in a society ruled by the moral compass of “might makes right”)

All that is to say... since Pharoah held the most powerful position in the land, and to some was even seen as a god himself, his orders were obeyed as law…usually.

But not for these brave women...

Exodus 1:17 (ESV)

But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live.

These women were given a direct command by their governing authority and they refused to carry it out. But it’s important to recognize why they refused to do what they were told to.

Was it because they thought the command was just stupid? no.

Was it because it was unfair? no.

Was it because it was unthinkable to kill innocent babies? no.

No don’t get me wrong, they certainly did believe that this command was stupid, unfair and unthinkable but that is not the reason that they didn’t obey it.

These women chose to protect these children because they had a right and reverent fear of our holy God. They feared God more than they feared Pharoah.

Sadly, many people in their day and even today have little regard for the life that God has given to babies. In the ancient world unwanted babies were often discarded and left out to die. Some people even believed the lie that you could sacrifice your child in a pagan ritual that would somehow make your life better by either pleasing or appeasing a “god” of some sort.

People today believe lies just as devastating. They believe the lie that an unborn baby with distinct DNA, blood type and heartbeat is somehow just a disposable part of the mothers body that can be discarded and pulled out to die. In many states, the governing powers will pay to do this for you in their abortion clinics.

But this is all one big pernicious lie that must be rejected, but not just because someone has come to believe that they are stupid, unfair and unthinkable…which they are... but because the God who created that life is watching how we treat it.

To destroy a life that God has created, no matter the circumstances, is to treat with contempt the one who gave it and has His purposes for it. Now, there is forgiveness for mistakes made in this and any area but that doesn’t erase the fact that to ignore God’s design and plan for any life is to swim in the most dangerous waters.

These women did not want to go there. They feared God rightly and so they would not obey the command of the King of Egypt.

And of course the decision of these women probably went unnoticed for a little while, but eventually the King found out and called them to appear before him.

I wonder what went through their heads and hearts as they made their way to appear before the King. They had disobeyed him and the King of Egypt was not used to having his orders disobeyed. As they made their way to the judgement seat, did they see the faces of those baby boys that they had handed over to their mothers? Did they realize that they had very likely exchanged their lives for the lives of those baby boys? Did they even question if it was worth it? I imagine they did cry out to God, pleading their innocence before him because they did the right thing...

Exodus 1:18–19 (ESV)

So the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this, and let the male children live?” The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.”

Now because of it’s larger implications, there are a lot of different views on whether or not this was a outright lie, a partial truth or a completely true statement that still somehow led to deception. I am not going to go into all of that here, but what we know for sure is that God was pleased with these women because He rewards them in the best way imaginable… especially for a Mother’s Day message...

Exodus 1:20–21 (ESV)

So God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families.

In the ancient world women typically dedicated themselves to being midwives only after it was discovered that they could not have children of their own. So God rewarded the faithfulness and “Mother’s Love” of these women with the honor of becoming mothers themselves.

But conflict remained because Pharoah is not finished trying to eliminate the growth of the Hebrew people and God was not finished growing them.

So chapter 1 ends with these ominous words...

Exodus 1:22 (ESV)

Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.”

I am sure in our darkest thoughts we probably could not wrap our minds around the levels of conflict that erupted between Egyptians and Israelites at this point, but chapter 2 zooms us in from the two midwives working to save all the Hebrew baby boys, to the story of the salvation of just one particular baby boy.

And in this story we see again… A Mothers love protect[ing] the life of [her] child

Exodus 2:1–2 (ESV)

Now a man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman. The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months.

If we were reading these verses in isolation then the hiding of this child would seem very odd, but in this context it is easily to see why.

But there was no cowardice in this act as the New Testament elevates it as an example of faith and courage. For it says in the book of Hebrews 11:23 that

By faith... when he was born, [he] was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.

So again we have a mother’s love protecting the life of a child… but as children grow up it doesn’t take very long for them to get…verY… LOUD! Which is a big problem when you are trying to hide the child’s existence.

Exodus 2:3–4 (ESV)

When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank. And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him.

Here we find our second theme in how...

A Mothers love propels their child into life (Exodus 2:1-5)

From what I have seen, this second idea is a much more difficult test of a Mother’s love. It’s one thing to call Moms to rise up like mother bears in protection of their cubs…that is a very natural instinct… but to stand up here and talk about the importance of some day letting them go… that message is not nearly as welcomed.

And I don’t know who needs to hear this today, but to launch our children forward into lives of unknown threats, opportunities and consequences takes great faith, courage and love. But God can helps us do it well…

We later learn his mother’s name to be Jochebed, and she had to make this decision much earlier than most. In her case, she had to choose between keeping her child with her and keeping him alive.

And as I was thinking on this familiar story this past week I realized that in a very creative way this woman had done what Pharoah had commanded. Her son was “in the Nile” river… just floating along under the careful watch of his sister.

It’s interesting to note that the same word that is translated as “basket” here in English is used in the story of Noah for the word “Ark”. So once again, against the watery threat of death God works to save life through an “Ark”.

And he does it through igniting “A Mother’s Love” in one more woman...

Exodus 2:5–7 (ESV)

Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it. When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying.

She took pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.”

Our third and final theme for the week is how...

A Mothers love prepares their child for life (Exodus 2:6-10)

I have to admit that among all these unsung hero’s this one surprised me the most. I remembered that she was part of the story, but I never thought about it from her perspective.

Think about the character displayed in her response. She obviously recognizes that this is a Hebrew child, so she must have known of her Father’s decree about them. How was she able to see this baby...as a baby instead of the “sure and certain” threat that her father did? What caused her to not just command her servants to take the basket down river and give this child the same watery grave as the others?

The text doesn’t directly tell us, but I believe that the “pity” that the text says she felt had to at least in part be because of the motherly instinct God has given to women. And here is where the story really begins to shine again…

...because I wouldn’t want to leave you with a downer on Mother’s day! What would my mother say?

So the sister offers to “call...a nurse from the Hebrew women” to care for the child...

Exodus 2:8–9 (ESV)

And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. And 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.

Now we don’t know if Pharoah’s daughter was getting played here or is she was making these decisions in total awareness of what was happening. I tend to think the latter, that this woman knew that this girl didn’t just “happen” to be hanging out by the river and that this woman didn’t just “happen” to be ready to nurse this child. I tend to think that there was a lot of winking and over-acting happening in these interchanges where Pharoah’s daughter knew that she was reunited this baby with his mother.

But either way... what a great ending!

This woman’s perfect little bundle of joy was back safe in her arms and they didn’t have to hide any more. She was even employed by Pharaoh's own daughter to care for this child so no one would touch them now.

But she knew that her time was short. In truth, every mom’s time is short. So I gotta believe that she made the best of it. She taught her son to have right and reverent fear of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. She taught him of how their people were different from the Egyptian people in many important ways but also the same in many others. Most of all she took every opportunity to tell him in her own special way that she was his mother and that she… loved…him.

And then the day came…

Exodus 2:10 (ESV)

When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.”

Moses!?! Do you mean… yes that Moses. The “Let My People Go” 10 Commandments, leading God’s people to the Promised Land Moses. And He almost didn’t happen except for God working through the Mother’s love that he placed in these women.

And think about how God used these events in such a way that these women… and their husbands of course… prepared Moses in both the ways of the God’s people and the traditions of the Egyptians so that would be the perfect candidate to eventually walk into Pharaoh’s courtroom and deliver God’s message to “Let my people go”.

A Mother’s love protects,

A Mother’s love propels

and a Mother’s love prepares…

... and how will you thank your mother for the ways in which she did this for you today?

Let me invite the worship team forward as I pray to the God who is love and has shown us this by sending us His son, Jesus the Christ, to rescue His children.

Let’s pray