Rescue Operation

Exodus 2:1–10 NASB95

1 Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a daughter of Levi. 2 The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was beautiful, she hid him for three months. 3 But when she could hide him no longer, she got him a wicker basket and covered it over with tar and pitch. Then she put the child into it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile. 4 His sister stood at a distance to find out what would happen to him. 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.”

INTRO: We live in an area where, from time to time, hikers get lost in the woods or sometimes hurt and need help to return home safely. As darkness sets in, and sometimes cold temperatures, the reality of danger and the urgency of the situation come into focus.

I know some of you are members of the local rescue squad and I imagine when you are called for this kind of rescue, there is a certain rush of adrenaline, after all the situation is often life or death!

But what all goes into a rescue operation? Well, I believe there are at least three components:

You have to believe there is hope for rescue. You recognize that there is a worthy cause and whatever risk may come on your part is worth it.

You have to have a plan. There are a lot of trails in these mountains- a lot of area and limited time. How on earth will you and your team cover the necessary ground? I am positive that you don’t just all go running wherever your feet lead you.

You have to act. Look, we can lay all the plans in the world, but without action, they are useless.

Today, we get a unique view of a rescue operation of a baby boy. His life was in grave danger, but there was no ‘rescue squad’ to call on. Instead, we see the sovereign hand of God in the midst of a desperate situation, using unlikely people to accomplish an impossible rescue.

The passage is likely familiar to many of you- the image of baby Moses in a basket has been the cover of many children’s books and bible coloring pages. It’s an endearing look at parents’ love.

I was speaking with David earlier this week about the passage and he told me that this was one of the best biblical examples of a business woman. You know, the Pharaoh’s daughter went to the bank of the Nile and walked away with a little prophet…

But this isn’t just a story.

Actually, I believe we see in this historical event, a recipe of sorts for evangelism. In our time together, I hope not just to examine the details of Moses’ rescue, but also to demonstrate how this rescue operation can teach you and me about our role in the rescue operation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Before we get started, let me ask: How many know you ought to be doing evangelism? Jesus said in Acts 1:8 that you will be my witnesses. This is our role as Christians- to take up the mission of Christ.

How many of you are comfortable doing the work of evangelism? I think that we often reduce evangelism to a presentation or have some notion that it is like some high-pressure time-share sales pitch. There’s more to it than this and I hope to shine some light on that as well.

So, let’s learn together. If you have a bulletin, I encourage you to take out the sermon guide and follow along. The sermon is titled “Rescue Operation” and we will see the three components of personal evangelism.

The first component of personal evangelism that we notice in Moses’ story is that:

There is Hope for Rescue (1-4)

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Chapter 2 opens with a description of Moses’ parents. Their names are not given here, but in other texts are identified as Amram and Jochebed. They were from the tribe of Levi, which is the tribe from whom God would assign the priesthood duties later on.

A priest is an intercessor- one who meets with God on behalf of His people. As we’ll learn, Moses acted in this intercessory manner for much of his life. While we are going to focus just on the first few months of Moses’ life, I want to remind you that we read the OT in light of the NT.

In particular, as we have noted, the tribe of Levi which was set apart to be priests and intercessors, but because of the Gospel, ALL Christians have been called into this role as priests.

1 Peter 2:9 NASB95

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

So, YOU, fellow Christian, have an intercessory role in the life of unbelievers.

Now, the times surrounding Moses’ birth were volatile. Pharaoh had passed down an edict that all boys born should be murdered- cast into the Nile to be crocodile food. (1:22) This ruling was intended to protect Pharaoh and his kingdom from being overthrown.

But Amram and Jochebed were God-fearing people. In v. 2, we see that when she laid eyes on her son, she saw that ‘he was beautiful’.

Surely every mother who looks at their newborn baby would say the same. My mom even said that about me, so I’ve been told! Yet, this word is has more to it than good looks. Some of your bibles might say that he was ‘goodly’ or ‘a fine baby’. The point is that she saw something special about this child.

She looked at him and knew that God was going to do something special in his life. I see this as a God-given instinct or divine insight. Whatever it looked like, we can be sure that both parents were convinced that they could not obey Pharoah. They hid him because they had hope for something greater than Pharaoh’s murderous edict - They had HOPE that there would be a rescue!

ILL: Let me just ask you this. If there was no hope, then what is the point of hiding the baby? Would you be willing to risk your own safety if there was not hope of rescue?

By choosing to hide the baby they chose to reject the earthly king’s hopelessness and to trust that God would work a miracle. The writer of Hebrews said it this way:

Hebrews 11:23 NASB95

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

By Faith… what Pharaoh commanded was sinful, but they believed there was hope for rescue because God is faithful.

Here is what I want us to see when it comes to evangelism:

If we are going to be effective witnesses for Christ, we must see the hope for rescue in the lives of unbelievers. We must be able to look at our neighbors and see that the God of creation came to seek and save the lost!

Instead of looking down on sinners, shaking our heads because they are ‘too far gone,’ we must look at them as people whom Christ came to rescue. Yes, they are sinners. Yes, they are engaged in things that God does not condone. Yet, they are prisoners - deceived by Satan and bound by their sins. So too was I! So too were you! The sacrifice of Christ is enough to pay for their sins too!

Finally, we must look at ourselves and recognize that we are in a position to either obey God or allow fear of man to reign over us. Are you willing to risk your comfort for the sake of your neighbor? God wants to rescue them!

Folks, just as Moses’ parents saw the hope for rescue for their baby, so we the church of Christ here in Little River must see the hope for rescue for those around us.

Next, Moses’ story shows us how:

There is a Plan for Rescue (5-6)

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We can infer that Jochebed, Moses’ mom, knew the patterns of the Pharaoh’s daughter. She may have lived close by the path to the river where Pharaoh’s daughter bathed, or perhaps was even a servant to the Pharaoh’s family. Either way, this was a deliberate plan.

Jochebed placed the child in a basket- (BTW- the word basket here is the same word as “ark” used in Genesis - don’t miss how the vessel for rescue for Moses bears the same description as the vessel of rescue for man in Genesis!)

Anyway, she strategically positioned the basket where it would be both safe- observable by Miriam, and visible and accessible to the Pharaoh’s daughter and her maidens. In case you are wondering, this basket was not floating in the middle of the river haphazardly -but placed among the reeds- probably right at the bank of the river.

So, this wasn’t a reckless abandonment with hopes something good might happen. No, this was calculated. It might have seemed like a random occurence, but as we think through the details, we see that Jochebed was intentional and strategic.

Now, we don’t know much about Pharaoh’s daughter… why would she pay attention? How did Jochebed know she wouldn’t just command the maidens to dump the crying baby somewhere or call guards to take care of things?

This plan was one with great risk, but it was necessary to save the child from being ripped away by Egyptian guards at a later time. You see, for a time, you can’t readily tell if a baby is boy or girl, but those days were numbered.

But who in all the kingdom could get away with having a male child? Only those in the king’s household. Pharaoh’s daughter was the intentional target of Jochebed. She had to be strategic and trust that God would work out the details.

Ultimately, the pity Pharaoh’s daughter felt for the child was stirred by God- perhaps he allowed her to see the same special feeling that Jochebed saw. But, if this had not been planned, if the timing was off or another group came to the water that day instead, the plan would not have worked.

God had a plan to rescue Moses all along. The strategic planning of Jochebed allowed for Moses to be in the right place at the right time.

As we think about our witness, our plan is the Gospel. Jesus has already done the hard part! All we need is a strategy that creates an opportunity.

I recently read a book called “Conspiracy of Kindness” and the author, Steve Sjogren likens evangelism to golf. (Hang with me here!)

In golf, the goal is to get the ball into the hole. Now, you have a lot of clubs- each with a particular design and angle meant to advance the ball toward the hole. And each hole is different… it requires a different strategy. There are hazards, boundaries, and all the rest. So, you have to choose your shot. My point: You don’t use the same club every shot. You know- I often have to hit 2 or 3 (maybe more) different clubs before I get to use my putter.

In evangelism, we have to recognize the club to play. Perhaps it’s a full gospel presentation. Perhaps it’s an act of kindness or generosity that helps open the door for a deeper conversation. The goal is the same- help them see and respond to Jesus; our strategy is to create the opportunity.

God has a plan for rescue for our neighbors: Jesus accomplished all that was necessary for the people in this community to be saved. And he has put you and I here to strategically create opportunities to share this hope.

There is a hope and a plan for rescue. Finally, as we look back to baby Moses, we see:

There is Action for Rescue (7-10)

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In many instances, timing is crucial. That is true in sports - if you are a QB and your timing is off, you are going to throw an interception. It’s true when telling jokes - I’m still working on this one. It’s true in emergency response - you only have so long before time runs out! And it was true in the case of baby Moses.

Part of the plan was for Moses’ sister, Miriam, to both watch over the baby until the Pharaoh's daughter came and to interject at just the right time in just the right way.

Imagine the scene: A little girl playing nearby. She was innocent and posed no physical threat. But as she watched the baby being pulled from the reeds and the compassionate reaction of the Pharaoh’s daughter, she boldly approached the Pharaoh’s daughter and offered to find a Hebrew lady who could help nurse and ween the baby for her until she could properly adopt him.

The plan was laid, God did the work in Pharaoh’s daughter, but now there was a necessary interjection to complete the rescue operation.

HOW could Moses be saved? Only if he was adopted by the Pharaoh’s daughter. But, there was one major problem: she couldn’t nurse the baby. This was a stumbling block to her compassionate response. Enter Miriam to boldly interject and lay out a pathway for success.

God used Miriam to interject and save Moses. All of this was part of his perfect plan to rescue Moses and use Him for great things later on.

It’s ironic to look at Moses’ story- when Joseph came to Egypt and was shown favor, God blessed the land. Now that Pharaoh has chosen, out of fear of losing this blessing, to oppress God’s people, they will experience a curse. And God would use the very baby doomed for death at birth, but raised in the house of the king who tried to kill him.

When we connect this to our evangelism, we must note that you and I are here to ACT in such a way to show lost people the pathway to salvation. Paul said in Romans 10:14 “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?”

When we have a hope for rescue for the lost, a plan and strategy to connect the unsaved to Christ, we must interject and show them the way of salvation.

Church God has called us to this great work- the deliverance of a people we may not see right now. Moses’ parents likely did foresee the Exodus, but their faith and actions were instrumental in bringing it about.

God has really been breaking my heart in this area. Folks, every single day there are people dying and going to hell, but I believe there is a hope for their rescue! I believe that Jesus Paid it ALL and that we MUST be busy doing the work of evangelism!

You are going to hear more about this in the coming months, but I want to ask you to pray about how God will use you to be the intercessor- the priest who proclaims the excellencies of Him who has call you from darkness into His glorious light.

In our time of response, will you pray to see the hope for rescue for the unbelievers in our community? Will you ask God to prepare you and use you to bring hope to them?

[PRAY]

A great kickoff to readying your heart and honing your skills is to attend our evangelism training on 9/21.

Discuss: When you see unbelievers, do you believe that God can change them? Why or why not?

Discuss: How can you strategically plan to connect with unbelievers?

Discuss: How are you preparing to share the hope of the gospel with unbelievers?