“When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, ‘“I drew him out of the water.’”
~ Exodus 2:10
Hi James and Ellen,
Do you know when you are born what is going to take place throughout your lives? Do you know when you are born what you will do throughout your live? Moses was born over 3500 years ago. Moses’ dad and ma – Amram and Jochebed, lived in Egypt. Amram and Jochebed were from the Levite tribal clan. Moses’ dad and ma were part of a growing nation of guys, gals and kids called the Israelite people group. The Israelite people group’s guys, gals and kids were God’s specially chosen guys, gals and kids. The Israelite people group’s growing nation of guys, gals and kids who were living in Egypt was getting to be too many for the Egyptians to control. A law was made by an Egyptian Pharaoh that all Israelite people group’s boy babies were to be killed when they were born. When Moses was born and because Moses was a boy, Moses’ dad was to kill Moses. Jochebed – when Moses was born, sensed that her baby boy was a special kid. Jochebed did not want Moses killed. Jochebed kept Moses for three months in her house. Jochebed – after three months, knew that she had to do something else with her baby boy. Jochebed built a tiny boat basket out of papyrus reeds. Jochebed coated the tiny papyrus reed boat basket that she made with pitch and tar so that the tiny papyrus reed boat basket would float on water and not sink. Jochebed put the tiny papyrus reed boat basket that she had made among some reeds along the Nile River – near where the Pharaoh’s daughter would go down to the river to take baths. Jochebed had told her daughter – Miriam, to stay near her little kid bro to see what would happen if the Pharaoh’s daughter found the tiny papyrus reed boat basket. When the tiny papyrus reed boat basket was spotted by the Pharaoh’s daughter and when the Pharaoh’s daughter found a baby boy crying inside the tiny papyrus reed boat basket, the Pharaoh’s daughter felt sorry for the baby boy and . . . when Miriam saw that the Pharaoh’s daughter was showing sympathy towards her baby bro and then when Miriam realized that the Pharaoh’s daughter knew that the baby boy who she had found floating in the tiny papyrus reed boat basket was a Hebrew baby boy, Miriam asked the Pharaoh’s daughter if she should find a Hebrew ma to care for the little boy. Miriam suggested her ma Jochebed to the Pharaoh’s daughter as someone who could care for her little bro. Jochebed took care of Moses until Moses was old enough to go live with the Pharaoh’s daughter and her family. This story about Moses is found in Exodus 2. Verse 10 tells how Moses got his name, “When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, ‘“I drew him out of the water.’”
Moses’s life can be divided into three life chapters. How many life chapters do you think that your lives are going to have? You will have a life chapter while growing up where you are living with your dad and ma. Moses spent thirty years living in the Pharaoh’s home. Moses learned a lot while he lived with the Pharaoh. If you were to spend thirty years living with your dad and ma in their home, your grandpaa is sure that you would learn a lot, too. Moses did not just learn about Egyptian cultural norms during the first forty years of his life; Moses learned about the culture of the Israelite people group’s guy and gals, too. When Moses was growing up, the Egyptians called guys, gals and kids in Israel’s or Jacob’s extended family Hebrews. When Moses was growing up, Egyptian guys used Hebrew guys as slaves to do their work for them. When Moses was forty years old, Moses one day saw an Egyptian guy beating up a Hebrew guy. Because Moses thought that no one was watching him, Moses murdered the Egyptian guy. Moses hid the Egyptian guy’s body in the sand. Moses the next day saw two Hebrew guys fighting. When Moses tried to stop the two Hebrew guys from fighting, the guy who was beating the other guy asked Moses who Moses thought he was that he could rule and judge whoever and if Moses wanted to do so, Moses could kill him, too, just like he had killed the Egyptian guy the day before. This really scared Moses. Moses knew that he had to run for his life away from Egypt because he knew that a lot of guys living in Egypt probably knew by then that he had killed an Egyptian guy. Moses headed for Midian – where Moses would live for the next forty years.
Midian was not a fun place to live. Midian was a very hot, dry desolate desert land area. Midian is located in southeastern Sinai and central Arabia. The land was lush and green where Moses lived in Egypt near the Nile River. Moses’ life was turned upside down after he did something that he should not have done when he slew an Egyptian guy. When Moses arrived in Midian, Moses stopped at a well. While Moses was sitting next to the well, Reuel’s seven daughters showed up with their dad’s flock of goats. Reuel – or Jethro, was a Midian priest who had a friend relationship with God. While Jethro’s seven daughters were giving water to their dad’s flock, a group of shepherds showed up at the well. These shepherds drove away Jethro’s seven daughters and Jethro’s flock. This did not make Moses happy. After Moses drove away the mean shepherds, Moses drew water from the well and watered Jethro’s flock. Jethro invited Moses to live with him and his family. Moses ended up marrying Zipporah – one of Jethro’s daughters. Moses and Zipporah had a son who Moses named Gershom which means ‘I have become an alien in a foreign land’. During the time that Moses was in Midian, the Egyptians would make life for the Hebrews more and more miserable. God had a plan to save the Hebrews from the Egyptians. God first had to prepare Moses to be the guy to complete the plan that God had. God has plans for your lives. God is preparing you – as He did Moses, to complete the plans that He has for your lives. Your grandpaa is very grateful for the plan that God has for his life.
Exodus 2 (217)