Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Let’s turn in our Bibles to Exodus 2.

The Bible preserves for us the story of many well-known mothers.

Can you think of some of the mothers spoken of in the Bible?

Eve - the wife of Adam, the “mother of all living”

Sarah - Isaac’s mother

Hannah - Samuel’s mother

Naomi - a mother-in-law to Ruth

Elizabeth - John the Baptist’s mother

Mary - the mother of Jesus

What about a grandmother - Lois.

And Eunice, the mother of Timothy?

These mothers, mother-in-laws, and grandmothers are named among several others in Scripture, who are important to the story of our faith in God.

In fact, out of all the motherly qualities that exist, the one I believe God is most pleased with is a mother’s faith.

Many of these mothers in Scripture demonstrated great personal faith themselves.

They passed on their faith.

While this is Mother’s Day, it is first and foremost the Lord’s Day.

So let us honor mothers, and motherhood by considering from Scripture the faith of one of the lesser known mothers in the Bible — the mother of Moses and how that faith trusted in God to save not just a baby boy, but also an entire nation and through Christ the world.

Before God spoke to Moses from out of the burning bush in Exodus chapter 3, God saved Moses from certain death in Exodus 2, because of the faith of Moses’ mother and father.

Moses’ mother is not named in Exodus chapter 2.

And by the way, that’s how it is for most mothers of faith.

They don’t get named or recognized this side of heaven as they ought to.

But through their strong and sometimes silent faith, they lead many to God.

Moses’ mother is not named in Exodus chapter 2, but other scriptures do reveal her name to be Jochebed.

But Exodus chapter 2 is not about Jochebed, but instead about her faith in God and what she did because of that faith.

May God help us see the faith of this mother, and father, and lead us all to a greater faith in God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!

Prayer

Pray

I.

The Reading

A reading from Exodus Chapter 2, reading from the English Standard Version translation of the Bible.

This is God’s Word:

Say Amen

If you receive this word by faith, as the word of God and not the word of man, would you say with me, Amen? — Amen!

II.

The Exhortation

When we think about faith, we think about belief, assurance, conviction — as if there is no doubt at all in faith.

But if we are honest, brothers and sisters, we have to admit that faith and doubt co-exist together.

They have to!

If there is no doubt, there can be no faith, because faith overcomes doubt.

Faith acts in spite of doubts.

This is why faith is a powerful witness to the existence and reward of God.

There is an element of not knowing and not seeing in faith.

As a people of faith, we are called to act and obey God even when we don’t know what will happen.

Because our confidence is not in outcomes, our confidence is not in what will happen, our confidence is not in ourselves, or in what we can see, or in what we hope for.

Our confidence, our faith is in God.

Our future is in God.

Our assurance is in God and God alone.

The world Moses was born into was filled with unknowns for the Hebrew people.

The future was uncertain.

A way out of their suffering was not seen.

But yet the Scriptures shine light on a people who acted in faith.

III.

The Teaching

This text begins with:

A. The Faith of Moses’ Parents [ 1-3 ]

Look with me at verses 1-3:

Let’s ask this question —

Does it take faith to get married?

Absolutely!

It doesn’t take faith to “hook up” for an evening.

It doesn’t faith to stay friends forever.

But it does take faith to “put a ring on the finger” as we say in our day.

It takes faith to commit.

It takes faith, when you don’t know what the years ahead will hold, to nevertheless enter into a covenant union, not based on what is foreknown, but based on what is promised —

“for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, for sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until death do us part.”

This traditional marriage vow admits that the future could go many different ways.

The future is unknown!

But by faith, the unknown future will be navigated together, come what may.

Marriage requires enormous faith.

And this man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman.

There was a marriage.

But understand the context of this marriage and what this marriage required.

This marriage was during a time when the act of marriage, was costly.

Back up one verse, to the last verse of Chapter 1.

The Pharoah, king of Egypt, commanded to his people that every son born to the Hebrews should be killed — cast into the Nile.

And you ask, “why the sons only?”

What about the daughters?

Pharaoh wasn’t being gracious toward the daughters by sparing them.

It should be understood that the Egyptians had plans for the daughters.

They were to be slaves, but of a different kind of slavery.

The Egyptians at this time oppressed the people of Israel.

The afflicted them with heavy burdens.

We ask again —

What kind of faith did it take for a man to go and take a wife during such a time?

And for this couple to fulfill the duties of a husband and wife toward each other under such a threat of certain death for a son if she conceives and bears a son?

Certainly, we all worry about the future of our children and grandchildren.

It’s an honest question to ask — what kind of world is this to raise a child in?

What debts will our children have to pay on our behalf?

What suffering awaits them?

Is it better to not have children at all?

This son of this Levite couple, through no fault of his own, would be killed if he were born.

What kind of stress would this place on the child’s mother?

What faith to carry this child every day not knowing his future?

But she did.

Look with me at verse 2 —

The woman conceived and bore a son.

This woman who became a wife, now becomes a mother.

And this man became a father, because of their faith.

By the way, as a matter of biblical instruction here, notice the order of how this comes about.