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*At Home in the Ark*
*Exodus 1:1-2:10 January 31, 1999*
Many of you may have now seen the new animated video, “The Prince of Egypt.”
In the introduction to that movie, the producer makes admission that they have taken literary and historical license with the biblical text.
It was a good show, inspiring in many parts with the glory given to God in the account of His power, preservation, and miracles on behalf of His people, but I was left wondering if I had all the facts straight myself.
I certainly knew that there were some accounts that were off track, but you know Hollywood – they always seem to think they can make the truth more believable by changing it; at least they think it will sell better.
I needed to review the biblical account again for myself just to make sure I would not be led astray.
This led into the idea to do a several sermon series on the life of Moses.
*Illustration: Hollywood’s Tactics*
/Title: Greatness of Christ/
/ /
/ The Sister stood before her very young parochial-school class.
She held up a shiny silver dollar and said, "I'll give this silver dollar to the first boy or girl who can name the greatest man who ever lived."
/
/ "Was it Michelangelo?"
asked a little Italian boy.
/
/ "No," replied the Sister.
"Michelangelo was a brilliant artist but he wasn't the greatest man who ever lived."
/
/ "Was it Aristotle?"
asked a little Greek girl.
/
/ "No," the Sister answered.
"Aristotle was a great thinker and the father of logic, but he wasn't the greatest man who ever lived."
/
/ Finally, after several more incorrect answers, a little Jewish boy raised his hand and said, "I know who it was, Sister.
It was Jesus Christ."
/
/ "That's right," she replied and promptly gave him the dollar.
/
/ Being somewhat surprised at the Jewish boy's answer, she approached him on the playground at recess and asked, "Nathan, do you really believe Jesus Christ was the greatest man who ever lived?" /
/ "Of course not, Sister," Nathan replied.
"Everybody knows Moses was the greatest.
But business is business."
/
/ /
/ -- Michael Leboeuf, The Greatest Management Principle in the World (G.P. Putnam, 1985), p. 26.
/
/ /
Who was Moses?
Moses was a Levite.
Levi was one of the 12 sons of Jacob.
He was the third of Leah’s sons.
The lineage follows from Levi to Kohath to Amram, but there may well be more generations that are not listed.
Amram married Kohath’s sister, Jochebed, to which was born Aaron and Moses (Ex.
6:13-27).
Moses was a Levite to the core – a double compound Levite.
All of Moses’ fathers that were listed lived to over 130 years old.
Moses himself lived 120 years (Deut.
34:7).
The early account of the slaughter of the Shechemites in Gen. 34 sets the stage for much of what follows.
In that account, Levi and his brother, Simeon, take vengeance on Shechem and his clan for defiling their only sister, Dinah.
Their vengeance was deceptive, spiteful, retaliatory, and cruel.
Perhaps the Shechemites had it coming because of their own deceit (vs.
23), but the fact remains that the action by Levi and Simeon was done in a way that did not bring honor to God’s people (vs.
30).
Their father, Jacob, did not forget his displeasure with this when it came time to bless his sons in Gen. 49:5-7, just prior to his death.
In his prophecy regarding Simeon and Levi, he condemns their traits of anger, violence and cruelty, which made their company a liability.
His prophecy about them was that they would be scattered throughout Israel.
In fact, the Levites were not given a tribal allotment as the other tribes, but only towns to live in (Josh.
14:4; Num.
35:1-7).
This action fit their call as a non-political entity within Israel as caretakers of the tabernacle and aides to the priests, which were the sons and descendants of Aaron (Ex.
28:1).
So there was the priestly class of Levites descended from Aaron within the Levite tribe.
The Levite quality of steadfast loyalty in the extreme was turned to blessing by God in the account that followed the image of the golden calf that Moses found when he came down the mountain with the ten commandments (Ex.
32:25-29).
In that account, Moses called out in the midst of rampant anarchy for all those on the Lord’s side to come to him.
Only the Levites responded.
Zeal was an element in their character that now had opportunity for God’s purpose, not withstanding that they were most closely related to Moses and Aaron.
Moses ordered them to take swords and go throughout the camp killing the offenders at random – those who were committing idolatrous revelry.
After about 3,000 had died, Moses pronounced that they were then set apart unto the Lord because of their zeal.
Our zeal can go the way of the flesh or the way of God.
Sometimes this may be a fine line.
After Moses had lived 40 years in Pharaoh’s court (Acts 7:23), fleshly zeal leading to murder against the Egyptian who was beating one of Moses’ countrymen (Ex.
2:11-12) led to his 40 year escape into Midian, but prepared him to return as God’s servant.
Indeed, the Scripture says that Moses was the most humble man on the face of the earth, probably learned by the 40 years he was put out to pasture with the sheep.
But Moses’ zeal would still tend to be influenced by the flesh as in the incident at the waters of Meribah (Num.
20:7-12).
God’s judgment because of Moses’ disobedience would keep him from entering the Promised Land toward which he had been laboring through the desert – this too ultimately for 40 years.
Moses, in spite of his share of the failings that all men have, was one of the most capable leaders of all time.
(Pentateuch) Here closes the first fourth of the Old Testament (almost as large as the entire New Testament), all written by one man, Moses.
What a man Moses must have been!
How intimate with God! What a work he did!
What a benefactor to mankind! 40 years in the Palace of Pharaoh, 40 years a refugee in Midian, 40 years leader of Israel in the wilderness.
Delivered a nation of some 3,000,000 from servitude; transplanted them from one land to another; organized for them a system of jurisprudence that has been a fountain source of much of the world's civilization.
-- Halley's Bible Handbook, p. 156.
But we must not miss the amazing story of Moses’ beginnings in Ex. 1:1-2:10.
Truly great lives most often come forth from truly humble beginnings.
The Bible is full of them.
Truly humble beginnings are those submitted and devoted to God in faith.
Last week we had a baby dedication.
Firstborn male offspring of both man and animal were to belong to the Lord (Ex.
13:15).
The firstborn male animals were to be sacrificed.
The firstborn male children were to be redeemed because they were saved when the death angel passed over Egypt.
At our dedication, the parents agreed to raise the child, named Levi, in the fear and admonition of the Lord.
In short, the child was dedicated to God’s purpose and glory that he might be redeemed from sin and death.
We see a particularly powerful account of this act of faith by Moses’ parents.
He didn’t happen to be the firstborn male in his family.
His brother, Aaron, was three years older (Ex.
7:7).
But Moses was God’s choice for this experience in faith.
All of our children are to be devoted to the Lord.
Surely he was saved by faith from Pharaoh just as Chicago Care Pregnancy Centers saves babies by faith from the abortionists.
Moses would be an example of the greatness of one who was saved from abortion.
That was Pharaoh’s intent - abortion.
His was of a different dynasty than the one who knew Joseph.
He felt threatened by the Hebrews and the blessings God gave them.
The more they were oppressed, the more they increased.
Pharaoh’s (Clinton’s) decision to have the midwives perform partial birth abortions, as it were, on the baby boys was met by shrewd civil disobedience (Acts 5:29).
The midwives let God deliver the babies and they got there late after they were born.
God honored their godly fear and courage by giving them their own families.
Perhaps they were midwives because they had no children of their own.
This must have given them a particular reverence for life.
Just like we still uphold rights for babies after they are born, this must also have been the law of the land in Egypt.
So Pharaoh’s fear and pride usurped the law of the land and he went for outright murder.
Every baby boy was to be thrown into the Nile; sacrificed to the god of the culture.
This was double jeopardy to the Hebrews.
Not only would it wipe out half the population, but also it would eventually lead to their extermination as a people.
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