Exodus 2:110
The faith of Moses’ parents stands out as an example of overcoming the power of the enemy to destroy their child. Their faith sought to protect this “goodly” child in two ways. First, they protected their precious little son by making the home a sanctuary for him. “By faith Moses, being born, was hid three months by his parents, because they saw the child beautiful; and they did not fear the injunction of the king” (Heb. 11:23 JND). Second, when they could no longer hide him, they put him into the ark in the river, the place where he had been sentenced to die, but where the ark would preserve him from death. God honored that faith.
The example of how Amram and Jochebed protected their precious little son by hiding him in the home from the destroying power of the enemy should encourage us as parents today to boldly stand on the Lord’s side for the good of our children. He will honor such faith. The time given to us as parents to keep the children at home is relatively short in comparison to the time they will be out of the home.
The Ark
There came the time when “she could no longer hide him.” This seems to be a realization on the part of the mother. At that time the faith of Jochebed, the mother of Moses, rose to a power she knew was higher than Pharaoh. The problem of saving the child was beyond her power. They lived in the enemy’s land. The time had come when the parents had to “cast out” the child (Acts 7:21). This was difficult to do because they loved the child and also their God. They would not put the child loved by them and their God in the river without something between it and the waters of death. She prepared an ark to keep the waters of death from her child, and she placed Moses in it. The ark was the sign of their faith in Jehovah. It is a picture to us of the Lord Jesus who went down into death for us and gave us deliverance from its power. Though we and our children are under the sentence of death, the Lord bore the sentence for us and rose again with power over death. It is right for us to trust Him to preserve our families at all times, and especially when circumstances are beyond our power to do so.
“When he was cast out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son” (Acts 7:21). God honored the faith of that family and sent Pharaoh’s daughter to take him as her son. Little did she realize how she was fulfilling the reward of Jehovah for the parents’ faith, nor did Moses’ parents realize how the house of Pharaoh would prepare Moses. But understanding all these things was not of importance, except to the One who was really in control. The Lord was in control, and faith in Him and obedience to Him were what was important. And whoever was on His side would be the ultimate victor.
At the suggestion of Moses’ sister, the mother of Moses was called as a nurse. Pharaoh’s daughter said to the mother, “Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages.” The child was given back to the parents with a new responsibility and reward.
To Whom Does Moses Belong?
To whom does this child now belong? Pharaoh’s daughter had claimed it, but she gave it back to the mother to take away and raise for wages. The parents had given up their own claims to the child and in faith had put him into the ark. The child really belonged to the Lord Jehovah. The parents must consider the child as entrusted to their care to raise for Him. What a blessed thing for us to take our children from the Lord in this way and seek to raise them for Him! Later on, when Moses came to years, he also chose to walk the same path of faith (Heb. 11:2426). So, the example of faith is passed from one generation to the next.
This is a beautiful lesson for us regarding our children. First of all, when possible, we must seek to keep our children from the evil of this world which is under Satan’s dominion. He is the god and prince of this world. We must recognize the Lord’s authority in our home. It is the only way of overcoming the power of the enemy. The Lord desires the preservation of our children more than we do. When they must go out into the world into circumstances that are beyond our control, we should recognize the Lord’s power and authority in every place. This is to recognize the headship of Christ over our homes and over our children wherever they may be. Our place is to own His headship over our children when they are in the home, by bringing them up “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord,” and then to trust in Him when they go out into the world. If we do not own the Lordship of Christ in our homes by seeking to keep our children from evil while they are in our care, how can we trust the Lord to preserve them from evil on the basis of our faith when they leave the home?
Trusting in God’s Goodness
With these thoughts, no doubt we are brought to realize how often we fail in the practical part of faithfully keeping our children. We are made to realize it is only the sovereign goodness of God that can give what we need. The willingness of Moses’ parents to humbly accept from the Lord the difficult situation He had allowed them to be in serves as a lesson for us. They neither blamed others for the situation they were in, nor proudly considered themselves unworthy of such a trial. But rather, by putting their precious little child into the ark, they entrusted him into the same hands that had allowed all the difficulties. They overcame by their faith in the Lord, and their faith in the Lord showed out in their works. There can be no doubt that the Lord was in control of the situation at all times. This should encourage us, in all our weaknesses and failures, to trust Him at all times and to let it show in the order of our homes.
D. C. Buchanan