In this passage we have the birth of Moses. Many of us have seen the movie “The Ten Commandments” with Charlton Heston as Moses. The movie got some things wrong, but one thing it got right was the stature of Moses. From Adam to Christ we find none greater than Moses in the Scriptures.
Moses is a type of Christ, meaning he foreshadowed some of the truths about the Lord Jesus. Moses was essentially prophet, priest, and king to the Israelites; functions that would later be separated to different people before Christ came into the world. He was savior or a deliverer of God’s people, one who was fixated on God’s glory. Yet Moses was a sinner whose purpose and life pointed to a greater Savior, the sinless Son of God.
We see in our passage Moses was born in lowliness. The king of Egypt had enacted a policy to kill Israelite boys. The Israelites are under cruel oppression and bondage. Despite this, Israel will be preserved and delivered because of the promise of God.
There are two promises (that are connected) that assure this.
One is the promise to Abraham that his descendants will inherit the land where Abraham was buried. God told Abraham that his people would be in bondage for 400 years and then he would bring them into the land (Genesis 15). The other promise is that the seed of the woman will crush the head of the serpent (Genesis 3). The “seed” referred to is the Lord Jesus Christ, and his ancestry line is Israel. In view of this, there is no doubt that Israel, though stricken and afflicted, will rise up and shake their shackles off.
When Moses was born, we read that his mother saw that he was a fine child. The word for fine is “good.” This doesn’t mean a moral assessment or that he was healthy or that he was attractive in physical appearance. The implication here is that his parents saw that Moses was connected to the promise of God. In Acts chapter 7 we read Stephen say when Moses was born he was beautiful in God’s sight, meaning God had a special purpose in mind for him.
How did the parents know about Moses? We aren’t told, but we do read they were commended for their faith in Hebrews 11. To be commended for your faith means you not only believe in God’s ability to do something, but believe the veracity of God’s promise no matter the circumstance. The parents of Moses hid him not only because they loved him, but because they believed he was an instrument to be used by God.
When Israel was at its lowest, and Egyptian cruelty at its height, God’s deliverer was born. In an amazing display of faith, Moses parents were expecting it. God was preparing deliverance in the midst of great travail. The greatest deliverance God gives us is our souls saved in Christ which is eternal life. No trial in this world (they are momentary) can compare to the value of salvation. This is a truth we live by.
Yet if you belong to Christ you are warranted when you are in affliction to believe God is taking this approach with you of preparing deliverance for you. I use deliverance with a little d, meaning a help that brings relief in this life. It may not be to alleviate your circumstance such as heal your body, or rescue you from persecution, or heal the land you live in, or give you a better job.
Things such as this God can do, and has done many times for his people, but he has also not given these things to many of his most faithful people. We read of the travail his apostles went through, most martyred by the enemies of God. Nevertheless, we also read of them singing joyfully in prison, and rejoicing they were worthy to suffer for the name of Christ.
The deliverance God prepares for you in affliction is a greater light of the gospel truth. Not only a greater view of the sufficiency of Christ and certainty of his love, but a greater light to your need of his atoning work. This will enable you to put in perspective the travail you are in, and rejoice in Christ despite the hardship.
This is not something you can produce. It is a gift of God. It is God preparing and delivering it to you. But if you know Christ you should ask for it and expect it.
