Mothers Day 98 - An Illegal Mom

Reading: Exodus 2:1-10
When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, “I drew him out of the water.” Exodus 2:10 (NIV)

I.   Love beyond the Law

     A.  Love sees a Fine child

           1.  Through the eyes of love a threat becomes a person.

           2.  Love sees the hand of God on an infant.

     B.  Jochebed makes a Decision

           1.  Jochebed decides to obey God rather than Pharaoh.

                 a.  Though “You shall not kill” would only later be given to God’s people through her son.

           2.  Thoughts of personal safety take a back seat.

           3.  This was a decision of Faith

By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. Hebrews 11:23 (NIV)

     C.  It is always right to Love

           1.  No law is above the law of love.

           2.  Love is the fulfillment of the law.

Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Romans 13:10 (NIV)

II.  Love that Empowers

     A.  A mother Nurses her child

           1.  A physical giving of mother to child

           2.  Also a personal and spiritual giving of mother to child.

     B.  A Short time

           1.  The time of motherhood was very short for Jochebed and for every mother.

                 a.  In every moment nursing, cleaning playing and sleeping Jochebed must have been conscious of how little time she had.

                 b.  Every mother (and father) has only a short time with their children.

           2.  Though at times it may seem too long, it is always shorter than we need.

                 a.  There isn’t enough time to give our children everything — especially since we know we pass on what we pass on imperfectly.

     C.  Time Well spent

           1.  The evidence of how Jochebed spent those few short years are the years that followed.

                 a.  Moses wasn’t a perfect man.

                 b.  Moses was still a man with a passion for justice for God’s people.

                 c.  Moses was a man with a passion for God.

           2.  Though Moses was raised by someone else, his mother’s instruction stayed with him.

                 a.  If he was to go as soon as he was weaned he would have gone to Pharaoh’s court at about 2 or 3.

                 b.  It may have been later, though. We’re not really sure.

           3.  He resisted the temptations of power and wealth.

By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. Hebrews 11:24-26 (NIV)

III. Love that Trusts

     A.  Turning Over the child

           1.  I’m sure that handing the weaned child over to Pharaoh’s daughter was not easy.

                 a.  Did she think back to Abraham sacrificing his son, only to get him back again?

                 b.  Did Jochebed remember the story of Joseph: You intended this for one thing, but God intended something else.

           2.  Every mother faces the frightening duty of letting their child go into a hostile world.

                 a.  While we don’t turn over a 2 or 3 year old to a pagan king, we may face turning over a teenager to a university.

                 b.  The world is hostile. It threatens a child’s life, health and spirituality.

           3.  Moses’ Mom turned him over, not only to Pharaoh’s daughter, but to God too.

                 a.  The words in our passage don’t tell us what was in her heart and prayers that day.

                 b.  But, whether she realized it or not, she handed him over not only to the care of Pharaoh’s daughter but to God himself.

     B.  Trusting God

           1.  This act of letting go is an act of tremendous trust in God.

                 a.  It is the nature of love to hang on.

                 b.  Love cannot let go, unless love trusts.

           2.  Sometimes the child rejects his/her parents teaching (for a while, or longer).

                 a.  There are prodigal children who stay away for a long time.

                 b.  It is because we know this that we find it so difficult to let go.

           3.  Still, the final duty of mother hood is to trust God to continue to be faithful to His children.

                 a.  The children with whom we are entrusted are God’s children before they are ours.

                 b.  They are God’s children while they are ours.

                 c.  They are God’s children long after they are ours.

     C.  Continued Prayer

           1.  If we were to peak into the room while Jochebed was attending to her son, might we overhear her praying?

           2.  If we were to look in on her after her son was in the royal palace, might we find her holding his things and praying some more?

           3.  The task of motherhood doesn’t end when the child leaves the nest.

                 a.  The great task of motherhood that a child never outgrows a need for is the task of prayer.

The Bottom Line:

Hymn: Red #525 “A Christian Home”

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