1 Now a man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman. 2 The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. 3 When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank. 4 And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him. 5 Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it. 6 When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took 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 you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” 8 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. 9 And 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 When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.” (Exodus 2:1-10 ESV)

The people of Israel have now spent many years in the land of Egypt. What once was a great place for them to live has now turned into a place of oppression and distress. The Israelites are slaves being held captive, and God sees that His people are in need of help.  They need someone who will plead for them, serve them, and ultimately guide them through their affliction. Israel needs a leader, so God sends one. Even from the birth of Moses we see God’s sovereign hand playing a key role in his life.

Pharaoh had issued an order that all male Hebrew babies be thrown into the Nile River. Moses’s mother, afraid for his life hid him for three months before finally making a basket and sending her baby down the river. Along the way the daughter of Pharaoh discovered crying Moses in the basket and sent for a woman to nurse and take care of him. Moses’s nurse ended up being his own mother, and the child she was willing to relinquish was the child she began to see grow into God’s chosen man to lead His people.

Parents: Throughout our church’s current sermon series we have seen that kids are to parents like arrows in the hands of a warrior; they are to be sent as ‘weapons’ for God’s Kingdom. The mother of Moses risked so much in letting her child go. Moses could have been harmed or even killed, but the only way he could fulfill God’s purpose was to let him go and see God use Him. While she didn’t know the fullest extent of how God would use him, she took the risk anyway.

Challenge: will you commit to praying that your children will be like arrows in the hand of a warrior (Psalm 127:4)? Not to live a secured & protected life, but rather that you could raise them in such a way that builds God’s Kingdom?

For the rest of you: what are you willing to risk to serve God’s mission? With risk often comes great reward. A great leader was born and raised by the risk of a faithful woman; do you have this same potential? What is God calling you into that seems risky? Remember, in serving Christ the reward ALWAYS outweighs the risk.