This morning I’ve brought along something to show you. Does anyone know what this is?
It’s a Moses basket. And what is it for?
The Moses basket is to put a baby in, a safe place for the baby to sleep.
This morning, we’re going to hear about the very first Moses basket. And to do that, we’re going back to Exodus chapter 2, to the land of Egypt.
Has anyone ever been to Egypt? Maybe you’ve been there on holiday. Or maybe you’ll plan to go some day, to see the pyramids...
Well back at the start of Exodus, the people of Israel are in Egypt. But they’re not there on holiday. They were slaves in the land. At the end of Genesis, the people of Israel went into Egypt through the dreams of Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. There were 70 (or 75) people, just one extended family.
By the start of Exodus, there are more than 1 million Israelites. And the Egyptians were afraid of the Israelites. They were scared in case the Israelites would turn around and help Egypt’s enemies. And so they made the Israelites slaves.
They forced them to work long hours, making bricks and building cities. All day every day, that was all they did. Can you imagine living as a slave?
Now that was bad enough. But what came next was even worse. Pharaoh the king of Egypt decided that he wanted to get rid of the Israelites. So he said that any baby boys that were born should be killed. Girls could live, but not boys.
And eventually, he told all his people that if they found a baby boy born to the Israelites (the Hebrews), they were to throw him into the river Nile.
In our reading today, we hear the story of one mother who had faith in God. She had a baby boy, and she decided that she wasn’t going to throw him into the Nile. V2 says that the baby boy was ‘a fine child’. So she decided to hide her baby.
Now, boys and girls. Do you think it would be easy or hard to hide a baby? Who thinks easy? Who thinks hard?
It would be really hard, wouldn’t it? Why? Because babies cry! They make a lot of noise! And so for three months, she hid her baby. Every time he cried, his mother was there to try to settle him quickly, to make no noise, to not let on that he was in the house.
And she managed to do it for three months. But then, she knew she had to do something else. She couldn’t hide him any longer. So she decided to do what Pharaoh commanded. She was going to take her son to the river.
Imagine that! She hid him for three months, and then she was going to take him to the river, like all the other baby boys. Except, she had a plan.
She took a basket, and covered it with tar and pitch. She made it watertight, so that it would float. She then placed her baby into the basket, and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.
Moses was in the river, like all the rest, except he was safe. Now, I’m not very good at Hebrew, but people smarter than me have written books that help to explain the Bible. And the word that says basket here is found in another Old Testament story. Another story involving water, and people being safe inside.
Noah’s ark is the same word here - now Noah’s ark was massive, and saved 8 people and all the animals that were inside. Moses’ basket, his ark, was only big enough for one baby, but it was big enough to save him.
Or, at least, we hope so. In verse 4, it’s as if we’re standing with Moses’ sister, waiting to see what would happen to him.
Now, of all the people in Egypt, who should come along next? Pharaoh’s daughter! Her dad wants to kill all the baby boys, and now here she comes. She’s coming for a dip, to bathe in the river, and she spots the basket among the reeds. She sends one of the slaves to get it.
When she opens it, what does she find inside? The baby! Moses! And, no wonder, he was crying. Now, what would she do? Would she tip him out of the basket into the water?
Thankfully not! She felt sorry for him. She didn’t want to do him any harm. Instead, Pharaoh’s daughter decides that she’s going to keep him. But remember, he’s still only three months old. He needs someone to care for him and nurse him until he’s older.
So Moses’ sister comes along and asks if she can go and get one of the Hebrew women to care for him. Pharaoh’s daughter says yes, and who does his sister bring back? His own mum!
And even better than that, listen to what Pharaoh’s daughter says: ‘Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.’
Pharaoh was paying Moses’ mum to look after Moses. His mum had saved him, and God was even using Pharaoh to care for him!
Later, the time came for the child to go and live in the palace as Pharaoh’s daughter’s son. And it’s now that he gets the name Moses, meaning ‘I drew him out of the water.’ This story in Exodus is why these baby cots are called Moses baskets. A safe place for a baby to sleep.
But this story also tells us about one ordinary woman who trusted God. It was ‘by faith’ that this mother (and father) hid their baby, because they saw he was no ordinary child. Their baby would grow up to be Moses, the leader of the Israelites, the one who would lead them out of slavery when he heard and answered God’s call (eighty years later).
So mums and dads, keep trusting God as you bring up your children. Don’t go the way the world wants you to go - trust God, and look to him to be at work in your house, your family, and your children’s lives.
God is at work. He was at work to use Moses to save his people. And do you remember what happened when Jesus was born? The King at the time tried to kill him as well. Herod wanted to get rid of Jesus, but God saved him in order to save us. God was working to save you through Jesus. You can trust him. Let’s pray that we continue to look to shod.
This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Mothering Sunday, 11th March 2018.
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