EXODUS
CHAPTER
2
1. Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman. 2. The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him three months. 3. When she could hide him no longer she got a papyrus basket for him, and plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the river. 4. His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.
(Exodus chapter 2 verses 1 to 4)
When God saw that His chosen people were in captivity He started working on His action plan in order to free His people out of the bondage of Egypt. However God unlike humans works in a quiet but efficient way, unlike many revolutionaries or groups working for social change. God's ways are sweet. By means of this Levite couple, God gave birth to this baby who would later on be an important tool in God's hand.
In situations of confusion and chaos were nothing seems to be making sense God is at work without our being aware of it. On reflecting after the situation had reached its climax and end, we could still say that the situation could have been worse, had it not been for the help of God who gave us His support by means of other people or even by acting directly in our lives.
As in the case of the sister of this baby who waited amongst the reeds all we have to do is simply nothing in the given situation and simply observe the outcome of the situation. God is on our side. He knows what is good for us in all situation and is never going to neglect us. His love is greater than we can ever perceive. A theory that has helped me in life is the following:
"If you do not know what to do in a particular situation do nothing!
However today I have evaluated and made alterations to this theory:
"If you do not know what to do in a particular situation do nothing, go before God humble yourself face down and pray the following "God let your will be done!"
5. The daughters of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her attendants walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to bring it.
(Exodus chapter 2 verse 5)
God makes use of particular moments and also particular people, so that His plan for our salvation may continue unfolding. We call such circumstances as 'coincidences' or ' acts that happen according to chance'. However coincidences do not exist, because anything that happens is part of God's plan for us.
6. When she opened it, she saw the child. He was crying, and she took pity on him. "This must be one of the Hebrew's children." she said. 7. Then his sister said no Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and get you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?". 8. Pharaoh's daughter said to her, 'Yes'. So the girl went and called the child's mother. 9. Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will give you wages." So the woman took the child and nursed it.
(Exodus chapter 2 verses 6 to 9)
The baby's sister who was watching to see the outcome of this happening now intervened directly and advocated that the mother of the baby who in fact was her mother would take care of the baby. At times we may not notice that we are being observed by others, who at the perfect time will intervene on our behalf and act in our favour in order to uphold our well being. God does this all the time. He is focused on each and every one of us, and if we do not block Him or His ways by means of our disobedience He can accomplish great events on our behalf.
10. When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and she took him as her son. She named him Moses, "because," she said, " I drew him out of the water."
(Hebrews chapter 2 verse 10)
God works slowly but efficiently when acting on our behalf. slowly but steadily by means of Moses God infiltrated the Egyptian administration so that Moses could be more effective in fulfilling the will of God. Moses became familiar with the beliefs customs and rituals of the Egyptians, gathering information that may be useful in his future. God permits us to obtain resources become employed in particular places, gain the necessary skills for reasons that at the time are beyond our comprehension, however when the opportunity arrives according to the will of God we will turn on God and thank Him for having given us such skills and opportunity. God does not waste a second in our lives.
11. One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and saw their forced labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a hebrew, one of his kinsfolk. 12. He looked this way and that, and seeing no one he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
(Exodus chapter 2 verses 11 to 12)
Gradually Moses realised his real identity, that is the fact that Moses was not the son of Pharaoh, but the son of a Hebrew woman. On becoming aware of his line of descent and the anguish they were experiencing as slaves in Egypt empathised so much with them that he even killed an Egyptian who was abusing one of his relatives. Verses 11 to 12 are food for thought and raises many questions that must be answered. Do we stand up in favour of Christianity and its values in the presence of non believers or Christian sceptics or do we remain silent? Are we ready to put our lives at risk in order to protect our belief? Do we consider other Christians as being our brothers and sisters even though they may be of a different race, colour or belief or, do we discriminate negatively against whom we do not approve of?
13. When he went out the next day, he saw two Hebrews fighting; and he said to the one who was in the wrong, "Why do you strike your fellow Hebrew? 14. He answered, "Who made you a ruler and judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?" Then Moses was afraid and thought, "Surely the thing is known." 15. When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh. He settled in the land of Midian, and sat down by a well.
(Exodus chapter 2 verses 13 to 15)
As previously mentioned nothing that happens in life is coincidental. In order for Moses to be prepared to carry out his God assigned role, it was important that Moses left Egypt for some time. Therefore the episode of the Egyptian was purely from God as a reason for Moses to leave Egypt. On leaving Egypt, Moses sought refuge in Midian where he sat down by a well and not died in the drought of the desert. God was Mose's source of sustenance. In order to live Moses needed water, therefore it was not coincidental, that Moses settled down in a location where there was a well.
16. The priest of Midian had seven daughters. They came to draw water, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock. 17. But some shepherds came and drove them away. Moses got up and came to their defense and watered their flock. 18. When they returned to their father Reuel, he said, "How is it that you have come back so soon today?"
(Exodus chapter 2 verses 16 to 18)
Moses who up to know had been observing the situation from near the well rose up and acted in a spirit of justice in favour of the daughters of the priest of Midian. When we close to the well that is God we are full of energy, when we are tired and weak like a plant that needs watering.
As previously God permits such encounters take place for a particular reason that only God has control of. When I met Mr. Clyde Attard who is an active member of a prayer group in Malta, God permitted this encounter to take place for a particular reason, that of starting this on line blog by means of which I am sharing these reflections. Gradually I did not keep on attending this group, but on reflecting once we reach the purpose of the given task God would like us to move on so that his plan for us could continue to unfold.
19. They said, "An Egyptian helped us against the shepherds, he even drew water for us and watered the flock."
(Exodus chapter 2 verse 19)
The priest of Midian who was a person of God sensed that something abnormal had taken place, because Egyptian men do not usually stand up for Hebrew or non Egyptian people. Therefore this intervention in itself was extraordinary. At times we may have gut feelings that this or that person may have come into our lives for a particular reason, later on God shows us the real reason behind the encounter. When I met my wife I was on the way to becoming a novice with the order of St Augustine. If she had asked me to go out with her I would have refused the offer. However years after we met again according to the will of God we started going out together and we were married.
20. He said to his daughters, where is he? Why did you leave the man? Invite him to break bread."
(Exodus chapter 2 verse 20)
The priest of Midian became excited and wished to meet this Egyptian. On being told about God, do we feel this great need to meet Him and have fellowship with Him. We can also break bread with God. However we can easily take God for granted. Our relationship with God can become boring if we do not feel the need to spend time with him so we can use this time to reflect if God is still a priority in our life.
21. Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah in marriage. 22. She bore him a son, and she named him Gershom, for she said, " I have been an alien residing in a foreign land.
(Exodus chapter 2 verses 21 to 22)
It seems that the priest of Midian came to like Moses, so much that he gave him his daughter in marriage, however God had other plans for Moses. Moses was still not that close to God and needed to be prepared for a particular task that of bringing out God's people out of Egypt.
23. After a long time the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned under their slavery, and cried out. Out of the slavery their cry for help rose up to God.
(Exodus chapter 2 verses 23)
Some may say that God really takes His time before intervening in our lives, however when hearing us cry God does not hesitate to intervene in fact He is always many steps ahead of our plans and desires and is fully aware of our wants, needs and desires.
24. God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 25. God looked upon the Israelites, and God took notice of them.
(Exodus chapter 2 verses 24 to 25)
On reflecting on verses 24 and 25 which brings us to the end of this chapter that is Exodus chapter 2, we can note that the word God is repeated four times in these two verses. Thus this shows that God personally takes our salvation personally and is also personally interested in our well being and has our interest at heart.
I would like to end this chapter with the following prayer:
I would like to thank You personally Oh God my loving father for being active in my life. Thanks for showing me that you have control over every detail of my life. Thanks for being a real father and friend and for not being passive. I would like to thank You for being sensitive even to my feelings. Thanks for answering my prayers and for being caring and understanding.
(Exodus chapter 2 verse 5)
God makes use of particular moments and also particular people, so that His plan for our salvation may continue unfolding. We call such circumstances as 'coincidences' or ' acts that happen according to chance'. However coincidences do not exist, because anything that happens is part of God's plan for us.
6. When she opened it, she saw the child. He was crying, and she took pity on him. "This must be one of the Hebrew's children." she said. 7. Then his sister said no Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and get you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?". 8. Pharaoh's daughter said to her, 'Yes'. So the girl went and called the child's mother. 9. Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will give you wages." So the woman took the child and nursed it.
(Exodus chapter 2 verses 6 to 9)
The baby's sister who was watching to see the outcome of this happening now intervened directly and advocated that the mother of the baby who in fact was her mother would take care of the baby. At times we may not notice that we are being observed by others, who at the perfect time will intervene on our behalf and act in our favour in order to uphold our well being. God does this all the time. He is focused on each and every one of us, and if we do not block Him or His ways by means of our disobedience He can accomplish great events on our behalf.
10. When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and she took him as her son. She named him Moses, "because," she said, " I drew him out of the water."
(Hebrews chapter 2 verse 10)
God works slowly but efficiently when acting on our behalf. slowly but steadily by means of Moses God infiltrated the Egyptian administration so that Moses could be more effective in fulfilling the will of God. Moses became familiar with the beliefs customs and rituals of the Egyptians, gathering information that may be useful in his future. God permits us to obtain resources become employed in particular places, gain the necessary skills for reasons that at the time are beyond our comprehension, however when the opportunity arrives according to the will of God we will turn on God and thank Him for having given us such skills and opportunity. God does not waste a second in our lives.
11. One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and saw their forced labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a hebrew, one of his kinsfolk. 12. He looked this way and that, and seeing no one he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
(Exodus chapter 2 verses 11 to 12)
Gradually Moses realised his real identity, that is the fact that Moses was not the son of Pharaoh, but the son of a Hebrew woman. On becoming aware of his line of descent and the anguish they were experiencing as slaves in Egypt empathised so much with them that he even killed an Egyptian who was abusing one of his relatives. Verses 11 to 12 are food for thought and raises many questions that must be answered. Do we stand up in favour of Christianity and its values in the presence of non believers or Christian sceptics or do we remain silent? Are we ready to put our lives at risk in order to protect our belief? Do we consider other Christians as being our brothers and sisters even though they may be of a different race, colour or belief or, do we discriminate negatively against whom we do not approve of?
13. When he went out the next day, he saw two Hebrews fighting; and he said to the one who was in the wrong, "Why do you strike your fellow Hebrew? 14. He answered, "Who made you a ruler and judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?" Then Moses was afraid and thought, "Surely the thing is known." 15. When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh. He settled in the land of Midian, and sat down by a well.
(Exodus chapter 2 verses 13 to 15)
As previously mentioned nothing that happens in life is coincidental. In order for Moses to be prepared to carry out his God assigned role, it was important that Moses left Egypt for some time. Therefore the episode of the Egyptian was purely from God as a reason for Moses to leave Egypt. On leaving Egypt, Moses sought refuge in Midian where he sat down by a well and not died in the drought of the desert. God was Mose's source of sustenance. In order to live Moses needed water, therefore it was not coincidental, that Moses settled down in a location where there was a well.
16. The priest of Midian had seven daughters. They came to draw water, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock. 17. But some shepherds came and drove them away. Moses got up and came to their defense and watered their flock. 18. When they returned to their father Reuel, he said, "How is it that you have come back so soon today?"
(Exodus chapter 2 verses 16 to 18)
Moses who up to know had been observing the situation from near the well rose up and acted in a spirit of justice in favour of the daughters of the priest of Midian. When we close to the well that is God we are full of energy, when we are tired and weak like a plant that needs watering.
As previously God permits such encounters take place for a particular reason that only God has control of. When I met Mr. Clyde Attard who is an active member of a prayer group in Malta, God permitted this encounter to take place for a particular reason, that of starting this on line blog by means of which I am sharing these reflections. Gradually I did not keep on attending this group, but on reflecting once we reach the purpose of the given task God would like us to move on so that his plan for us could continue to unfold.
19. They said, "An Egyptian helped us against the shepherds, he even drew water for us and watered the flock."
(Exodus chapter 2 verse 19)
The priest of Midian who was a person of God sensed that something abnormal had taken place, because Egyptian men do not usually stand up for Hebrew or non Egyptian people. Therefore this intervention in itself was extraordinary. At times we may have gut feelings that this or that person may have come into our lives for a particular reason, later on God shows us the real reason behind the encounter. When I met my wife I was on the way to becoming a novice with the order of St Augustine. If she had asked me to go out with her I would have refused the offer. However years after we met again according to the will of God we started going out together and we were married.
20. He said to his daughters, where is he? Why did you leave the man? Invite him to break bread."
(Exodus chapter 2 verse 20)
The priest of Midian became excited and wished to meet this Egyptian. On being told about God, do we feel this great need to meet Him and have fellowship with Him. We can also break bread with God. However we can easily take God for granted. Our relationship with God can become boring if we do not feel the need to spend time with him so we can use this time to reflect if God is still a priority in our life.
21. Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah in marriage. 22. She bore him a son, and she named him Gershom, for she said, " I have been an alien residing in a foreign land.
(Exodus chapter 2 verses 21 to 22)
It seems that the priest of Midian came to like Moses, so much that he gave him his daughter in marriage, however God had other plans for Moses. Moses was still not that close to God and needed to be prepared for a particular task that of bringing out God's people out of Egypt.
23. After a long time the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned under their slavery, and cried out. Out of the slavery their cry for help rose up to God.
(Exodus chapter 2 verses 23)
Some may say that God really takes His time before intervening in our lives, however when hearing us cry God does not hesitate to intervene in fact He is always many steps ahead of our plans and desires and is fully aware of our wants, needs and desires.
24. God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 25. God looked upon the Israelites, and God took notice of them.
(Exodus chapter 2 verses 24 to 25)
On reflecting on verses 24 and 25 which brings us to the end of this chapter that is Exodus chapter 2, we can note that the word God is repeated four times in these two verses. Thus this shows that God personally takes our salvation personally and is also personally interested in our well being and has our interest at heart.
I would like to end this chapter with the following prayer:
I would like to thank You personally Oh God my loving father for being active in my life. Thanks for showing me that you have control over every detail of my life. Thanks for being a real father and friend and for not being passive. I would like to thank You for being sensitive even to my feelings. Thanks for answering my prayers and for being caring and understanding.
Thank You God
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