Promise Keeper: Moses- God promises we can trust Him
Over the last few weeks, we’ve examined the lives of the patriarchs of Israel - Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel). Genesis 49 tells us that Jacob blesses each of his sons and that-
Genesis 49:28a | These (Jacob’s sons) are the twelve tribes of Israel.
We will continue to see these tribes throughout the Old Testament and the rivalry that existed between the brothers will transfer to a rivalry between the tribes. But for now, Jacob and his sons live in Egypt with Joseph.
The book of Genesis ends and the start of Exodus notes–
Exodus 1:6-7 | In time, Joseph and all of his brothers died, ending that entire generation. But their descendants, the Israelites, had many children and grandchildren. In fact, they multiplied so greatly that they became extremely powerful and filled the land.
Truly, God is the Promise Keeper–
Psalm 145:13b | The Lord always keeps his promises; he is gracious in all he does.
He keeps His promise to Abraham that his descendants would be numbered like stars in the sky or sands on the seashore. But because the second part of God’s promise – the land of Canaan – hasn’t been given to the Israelites yet, the nation has a new problem:
Exodus 1:8 | Eventually, a new king came to power in Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph or what he had done.
This king, or pharoah, feared that because of the number of Israelites in Egypt, if the Israelites wanted, they could overtake Egypt and remove him from control (Exodus 1:9-10).
Exodus 1:11 | So the Egyptians made the Israelites their slaves. They appointed brutal slave drivers over them, hoping to wear them down with crushing labor.
But despite the pharoah’s efforts, the Israelites kept growing in number, even as their slave drivers became more and more cruel (Exodus 1:12-14). So the pharaoh issues a heartless decree to weaken and shrink the Israelite nation, or the Hebrews. He tells the midwives –
Exodus 1:16 | “When you help the Hebrew women as they give birth, watch as they deliver. If the baby is a boy, kill him; if it is a girl, let her live.”
The midwives want nothing to do with defying the God of the Israelites (Exodus 1:17), so they let the boy babies live. So rather than trying to hide his attack on the Hebrew boys, the pharaoh gives everyone in the land, even the Israelites, this order–
Exodus 1:22 | Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Throw every newborn Hebrew boy into the Nile River. But you may let the girls live.”
Right after this, God blesses a family with a special baby boy (Exodus 2:2) that they can’t keep hidden from the Egyptians. The boy’s mother hatches a plan that lets her obey the Pharaoh's order to throw the boy in the Nile River while still giving the boy a chance to live–
Exodus 2:3b | She got a basket made of papyrus reeds and waterproofed it with tar and pitch. She put the baby in the basket and laid it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile River.
Moses’ mother must be terrified, but she trusts the Promise Keeper. God had promised to care for Abraham’s descendants, to bring them into a promised land, and that kings would come from them (Genesis 12) so she knows she can trust God with her son and his future.
God rewards her faith in a huge way! Pharaoh’s daughter, the princess, finds baby Moses in the Nile and decides to adopt the Hebrew baby into her family. She needs a nurse to care for the baby and she chooses Moses’ mother!
Exodus 2:10 | Later, when the boy was older, his mother brought him back to Pharaoh’s daughter, who adopted him as her own son. The princess named him Moses, for she explained, “I lifted him out of the water.”
Our timeless truth for the birth and rescue of Moses is: God promises we can trust Him. Moses’ mother could have never imagined how God would care for her son; Moses grew up as royalty, rather than in a life of slavery. Moses’ mother trusted that God could care for Moses even better than she could.
But while Moses lived a life of luxury, the rest of the Israelites were still in slavery. Even in their suffering, God promised they can trust Him too! He has a plan to rescue His people, and you guessed it, Moses will be an important part of it.
When moments in your life seem hopeless, like Moses’ at his birth or the Israelites’ while in slavery, remember, God promises we can trust Him. He has a plan and because he is God and He is good, we can trust that His plan is good too.
Jeremiah 29:11 | For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
Like Moses, his mother, and the Israelites, we might not know how God’s plan for our lives will unfold, but God promises we can trust Him!
What did you learn or what stood out to you from the life of Moses?
What struggles did Moses’ mother face?
Why was Moses’ mother able to trust God in the middle of her struggles?
God promises we can trust Him, but that isn’t always easy. What are some things that make trusting God difficult for you?
How can remembering Moses’ story help you trust God in your struggles or despite the difficult things that you named?