Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Prayer Meeting Lesson Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/pm/pm20051228.htm

EXODUS: FUNCTIONING WELL IN A HOPELESS GROUP ASSIGNMENT
Part I: God's Great Deliverance Of Israel Amid Humanly Hopeless Trials
A. God's Production Of A Human Leader Amid Great Opposition
(Exodus 1:1-2:10)
  1. Introduction
    1. Around the world, Christian groups have spoken of the need for effective leaders. This need is augmented by obstacles from the angelic conflict and growing apostasy in the world.
    2. However, the development of good leaders regardless of the hurdles involved is no problem to God, a fact that becomes evident in our study of Exodus 1:1-2:10 (as follows):
  2. God's Production Of A Human Leader Amid Great Opposition, Exodus 1:1-2:10.
    1. Four hundred years before the trials of Exodus 1, God had mentioned their arrival back in Genesis 15:13.
    2. God had then predicted Abraham's seed would leave a Gentile nation after He had judged it, Gen. 15:14.
    3. Yet, when those descendants of Abraham we know today as the "children of Israel" in Exodus witnessed the fulfillment of Genesis 15:13, their deliverance from bondage seemed humanly hopeless, Ex. 1:1-22:
      1. Initially, under "Israel's" son, Joseph who was nationally highly regarded as second in rule to Pharaoh (Genesis 45:8), the "children of Israel" were free to flourish in the land of Egypt, Exodus 1:1-7.
      2. However, when Joseph died, a pharaoh arose who did not know him and who felt threatened by the great numerical growth and resulting increased manpower of the sons of Israel, Exodus 1:8-9.
      3. Worried the children of Israel might side with Egypt's enemies in a time of war, this new Pharaoh put taskmasters over Israel to subjugate the people and cause their numbers and power to diminish, 1:10f.
      4. This labor only led to an increase in growth in Israel, so the Egyptians increased their toil, Ex. 1:12-14.
      5. Also, Pharaoh ordered the Hebrew midwives to kill the sons born in Israel while preserving the daughters in an effort to diminish the numbers and military might of the children of Israel, Ex. 1:15-16.
      6. This effort failed, for the midwives revered God and so kept the Hebrew male infants alive, Ex. 1:17.
      7. When Pharaoh ordered these midwives to explain why the Hebrew male infants survived, they claimed the Hebrew women were hardier than Egyptian women, that the Hebrews delivered their babies before the midwives arrived, Ex. 1:18-19. We do not know if the midwives lied or if they intentionally came late for the deliveries; regardless, for not killing the Hebrew male infants, God blessed the midwives, giving them families, and the children of Israel became all the more numerous and mighty, 1:20-21!
      8. In desperation, Pharaoh then ordered all of his countrymen to throw any male Hebrew infant they knew into the Nile River where they would be destroyed, Exodus 1:22!
    4. Amid this "cold war" between the sons of Israel and pharaoh, a godly Hebrew couple in faith in GOD worked not only to preserve their male infant, but to put him into a position where he might function as had Israel's "favorite son," Joseph before him and deliver Israel from such cruel Egyptian bondage:
      1. Hebrews 11:23 reveals Moses was hid by his parents from Pharaoh in faith in God, for he was a very beautiful child who appeared to have a purpose in living because of the good looks God had given him;
      2. apparently, they trusted he might be used of God as had Joseph before him to give help his people!
      3. Thus, Moses' mother hid him for 3 months so he would not be thrown into the Nile River, Ex. 2:1-2.
      4. When his cries became so loud she could no longer hide him, Moses' mother planned to move him into Pharaoh's court as Joseph before them had ended up there for Israel's good: she floated him in a little ark in the Nile where Pharaoh's daughter went to bathe in hope she would see, love the beautiful infant and adopt him as her child, Ex. 2:3. Moses' mother had his sister, Miriam stay close to care for Moses and to suggest his mother be the nurse for Moses until he was weaned, Exodus 2:4, 7-10.
      5. The plan worked: Moses was taken into Pharaoh's palace as Israel's future human deliverer, 2:5-10!
Lesson: Though the hurdles to developing an effective human leader for Israel seemed to be beyond human ability, (a) in FAITH in GOD and (b) in ACCORD with PRECEDENT, (c) Moses' mother put him in the best position she could to be most effectively used of God, and (d) God honored her effort!

Application: May we like Moses' mother (a) TRUST GOD (b) while following historical PRECEDENT to (c) put ourselves and our offspring into the position to be most effectively used of God, (d) and see Him honor the effort in developing effective leaders in us and in our offspring.