PERCEIVING THE PROVIDENTIAL HAND OF GOD
Ex. 2:1-10
Intro:
1. The citizens of Feldkirch, Austria, didn’t know what to do. Napoleon’s massive army was preparing to attack. Soldiers had been spotted on the heights above the little town, which was situated on the Austrian border. A council of citizens was hastily summoned to decide whether they should try to defend themselves or display the white flag of surrender. It happened to be Easter Sunday, and the people had gathered in the local church. The pastor rose and said, “Friends, we have been counting on our own strength, and apparently that has failed. As this is the day of our Lord’s resurrection, let us just ring the bells, have our services as usual, and leave the matter in His hands. We know only our weakness, and not the power of God to defend us.” The council accepted his plan and the church bells rang. The enemy, hearing the sudden ringing of the bells, concluded that the Austrian army had arrived during the night to defend the town. Before the service ended, the enemy broke camp and left.
2. God is always working out His will in our lives; we need to stop being preoccupied with visible people and circumstances, and by faith start believing in God’s invisible Hand.
I. FIRST, GOD’S PROVIDENCE THROUGH A MAN FROM THE TRIBE OF LEVI.
A. He is Alive.
And a man – his name is Amram (Ex.6:20). God determined if, and when, and where this man would be born. I have often thought about God’s providential hand in allowing us to exist. My dad, before he was my dad, when he was just a boy was riding a girl on the handle bars of his bike, when a drunk driver hit him. They did not think he would live through the night. At first he was kept in the hallway so as not to waste a room. He was in a comma for a month. He obviously lived. But, if he had died I would not be here this morning preaching God’s Word! We are here simply because God decided to give us life (Ac. 17:25).
B. He is A Little man.
of the house of Levi – first he is a slave and from an insignificant tribe. Keep in mind it is not until later that they are given the priesthood. At this time the prominent tribes were Judah and Joseph. God’s providence doesn’t work like mans – He rarely goes after the rich and famous. Gideon was “the least in his father’s house.” David was the last of 8 sons and was considered so insignificant that he wasn’t even brought in at first. God providentially uses insignificant people (1 Cor. 1:26-31).
C. He is Allowed to marry a godly woman.
went and took as wife a daughter of Levi – her name was Jochebed (6:20).
He who finds a wife finds a good thing, And obtains favor from the LORD. Proverbs 18:22
Reminds me of a man who put an ad in the paper, “Wife wanted.” He received about 100 letters which all read, “You can have mine!” Whether we realize it or not it was God’s providential hand that brought you and your wife together.
D. He was Able to have children.
We have seen over and over again couples that could not have children, and God is presented as the one who decides who can have children (Gem/ 30:1-2).
Trans: This man had much to thank God for! How about us? Has God not made us Alive? Are we not All Little? Has God Allowed you to get married? Has He enabled you to have children? These we unfortunately take as common place. Emerson said that if the stars came out only once a year, everybody would stay up all night to behold them. We have seen the stars so often that we don’t bother to look at them anymore. We have grown accustomed to our blessings.
II. FURTHERMORE, GOD’S PROVIDENCE THROUGH MOSES’ MOTHER. 2-3
A. The Birth of Moses.
So the woman conceived and bore a son – as we have already seen this was a gift from God (Psa. 127:3/Num. 18:6).
B. The Beauty of Moses.
And when she saw that he was a beautiful child – I think she saw him with her eyes of faith and realized that there was something special about this baby (Ac. 7:20/Heb. 11:23). I do not think that this is simply saying that they thought the baby was beautiful! Every parent thinks their baby is beautiful! The key is the word “by faith” which is not talking here about Moses’ faith but that of his parents. Now the principle is always the same, faith has to be based on God’s Word, God’s promise (Rom. 10:17). I believe God spoke to them through His Word [which at that stage they only had through word of mouth] that this was going to be the one who fulfilled the promise of taking them out of Egypt. They knew that God had told Abraham they would be in Egypt, as slaves for 400 years (Gen. 15:12-21) and they knew that time was just about up; They knew the words of Joseph’s prophecy also (Gen. 50:24,25). The Beauty of Moses was seen in the fact that he would be used by God to fulfill His promise of deliverance from Egypt. I believe someday soon God is going to raise up a Beautiful Someone, who is going to by faith proclaim that God is about to remove His church and the Tribulation is about to ascend upon this world. It is God’s providential hand that fulfills all of His promises. We hear about Promise Keepers, there is only One ultimate Promise Keeper – it’s God Himself.
Tozer, “What is the promise for? A promise is given to me so that I may know intelligently what God has planned for me, what God will give me and so what to claim. Those are the promises and they are intelligent directions. They rest upon the character and ability of the One who made them.”
C. The Buying of some time for Moses.
she hid him three months – at first she did the only thing that was logical. She hid the baby but obviously that was more difficult as the baby grew.
D. The placing Moses by the river’s Bank.
But when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of bulrushes for him, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river's bank - The Hebrew word used for Moses' basket is the same as that used for Noah's ark. The papyrus used to make the floating cradle was also used in the construction of light boats in Egypt and Mesopotamia. The reed bundles overlapped in three layers, and the pitch would make it watertight. Again, I do not think that it is farfetched to think she got this from God commanding Noah to build the Ark of safety. True, she did not have the book of Genesis because Moses who wrote that book, had not yet written it…but there was word of mouth. She knew the story of the Flood! Principle – we can see God’s providential hand by studying the Scriptures. Take Daniel, it was after he studied the book of Jeremiah that he knew that God was about to deliver them from the Babylonian captivity (Dan. 9:2-3). If you want to know what God is up to get into God’s Word! We can see God’s providential hand working in the (1) Decline of America; (2) The uniting of Europe; (3) The uniting of the Arabs against Israel backed by Russia; (4) The desire for global unity; (5) The emergence of China; (6) The Lukewarness of the Church; (7) The coming together of a one world religion; and (8) the desire of a world leader who can solve the world’s problems. If we can see all of this we should be able to see the nearness of the rapture! Providence and the Promises of God found in the Word of God go hand in hand.
III. THIRD, GOD’S PROVIDENCE THROUGH HER MAJESTY. 5-6
A. She was the right Person.
Then the daughter of Pharaoh – who better to protect Moses then Pharaoh’s daughter! She was born to protect Moses.
B. She was at the right Place.
came down to bathe at the river – this is no accident! God had her come to this river, at this exact time (Eph. 1:11).
C. She was looking in the right Place.
And her maidens walked along the riverside; and when she saw the ark among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it – it would have been easy to miss the little basket, but God directed her to see it.
D. She had the right Pity.
And when she had opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby wept. So she had compassion on him, and said, "This is one of the Hebrews' children – God had filled her heart with compassion for this baby, it wasn’t her baby but it was a precious little life. I thought of something I read about Abraham Lincoln, during the height of the battle of Shiloh, President Lincoln went into the war department office to get some up-to-date information about the war. While he was there, he was confronted by the brother and sister-in-law of General Lew Wallace who was right in the middle of the heaviest fighting. The sister-in-law blurted out to the President, “We had heard that a General Wallace was among the killed, and we were afraid it was our Wallace—but it wasn’t.” To which the President replied, “Ah, but it was somebody’s Wallace!”
Trans: God in His providence makes things happen, He will get the right person, at the right place, at the right time. In World Vision magazine, John Robb wrote about an occasion when he saw God's perfect timing. Robb was in Moscow to teach a seminar at the weeklong Conference on Evangelization. While there he met a man named Mirza who was a doctor from Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan is a Muslim region where there were only 20 known converts to Christ. Robb had an opportunity to tell Mirza about Jesus Christ and he wanted to give him some Christian literature. To Robb's dismay he found he had already given away all the Bibles he had brought, but he had one gospel tract left. Robb writes:
“[Mirza] showed up again the next day at my hotel room just as I was leaving for the airport. He expressed his appreciation for my friendship, saying that he hoped we could meet again. I thought, Lord, what I'd give for a Russian New Testament right now. Not ten seconds later there was a knock at the door. The Russian Gideon’s were there with a whole load of New Testaments. They had just received permission from the hotel management to place Bibles in every room! One of them held out a New Testament, as if to say, "Is this what you wanted?" I handed it to Mirza and we said goodbye.”
God gets the right person, in the right place, at the right time.
IV. FOURTH, PROVIDENCE THROUGH MIRIAM. 4, 7-9
A. Her Paying Attention. 4
And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him – his sister could do nothing but wait to see what the Lord would do. Sometimes all we can do is just wait to see what the Lord might do. I love hamburgers! I like the big double meat with bacon at Sonic. I've learned something about fast food places in general. They are not prepared if you order something different or abnormal. They've got a mass production system going in there and anything that you order out of the ordinary throws them off. So if you want a Number Three, you are supposed to order a Number Three and say nothing else. On several occasions I have ordered something special, something out of the ordinary. On those occasions, I was told to pull up and pull over. In other words, I would have to wait. I had asked for something special and that required waiting. God had a special plan for Moses, and for us and that requires that we pull over and wait.
B. Her Plan of Action. 7-9
1. Her Proposal.
Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you?"
2. God’s Provision.
And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Go." So the maiden went and called the child's mother. 9Then Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages." So the woman took the child and nursed him – wow! Moses is going to be raised by his own mother during his formative years and Pharaoh is going to pay the diaper bill! God in His providence will also provide for us. Some people don’t get it, reminds me of the young woman who brings home the man she is engaged to, to meet her parents. After dinner, her mother tells her father to find out more about the young man. The father invites the young man into his study. "So what are your plans?" the father asks the young man. "I am a Bible Student," he replies. Her father says, "A Bible scholar. Hmm, well that’s admirable but what will you do to provide a nice house for my daughter to live in as she's accustomed to?" The young man says, "I will study, and God will provide for us." Her father says, "And how will you buy her a beautiful engagement ring such as she deserves?" The young man says, "I will concentrate on my studies, and God will provide for us." The father continues, "How will you support children?" The young man brimming with confidence in God says, "Don't worry, sir, God will provide." Later his wife asks, "How did it go?” He said, "He has no job and no plans, but the good news is he thinks I'm God!"
V. FINALLY, GOD’S PROVIDENCE THROUGH MOSES. 10
A. His Nurturing.
And the child grew – Moses grew up in a godly family! There is a difference of opinion as to how long he stayed with his parents most think it was 2-3 years, some as high as 12 years.
B. His Numbering among the nobility.
and she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son – talk about from rages to riches!
F.B. Meyer, “The cream of all Egypt was poured into the cup of Moses. He was brought up in the palace, and treated as the grandson of Pharaoh. If he rode into the streets, it would be in a princely chariot, amid the cries of “Bow the knee!” If he floated on the Nile, it would be in a golden barge, amid the strains of voluptuous music. If he wished for aught, the almost illimitable wealth of the treasures of Egypt was within his reach. When old enough he was probably sent to be educated in the college, which had grown up around the Temple of the Sun, and has been called “the Oxford of Ancient Egypt.” There he would learn to read and write the mysterious hieroglyph; there, too, he would be instructed in mathematics, astronomy, and chemistry…”
B. His Naming.
So she called his name Moses, saying, "Because I drew him out of the water – the next time we see Moses, he will be 40 years old.
Trans: Is not Moses an amazing story of God’s Sovereignty? See Psa. 75:6/ 1 Pet. 5:6.
Con:
1. God’s Providence through a Man, a Mother, her Majesty, Miriam, and Moses. You could put your name in there also!
2. God’s Providence is working in your life also!
3. Out of the history of Napoleonic France, Leonard Griffith has given us a moving story of a political prisoner by the name of Charnet. Charnet was thrown into prison simply because he had made a remark that offended the emperor Napoleon. Cast into a dungeon cell, presumably left to die, as the days and weeks and months passed by, Charnet became embittered at his fate. Slowly but surely he began to lose his faith in God. And one day, in a moment of rebellious anger, he scratched on the wall of his cell, “All things come by chance,” which reflected the injustice that had come his way by chance. He sat in the darkness of that cell growing more bitter by the day. There was one spot in the cell where a single ray of sunlight came every day and remained for a little while. And one morning, to his absolute amazement, he noticed that in the hard, earthen floor of that cell a tiny, green blade was breaking through. It was something living, struggling up toward that shaft of sunlight. It was his only living companion, and his heart went out in joy toward it. He nurtured it with his tiny ration of water, cultivated it, and encouraged its growth. That green blade became his friend. One day it burst through and there bloomed from the little plant a beautiful, purple and white flower. That warmed his heart and he was confronted with the providential hand of God. He scratched off the thing he had scribbled on the wall of his dungeon and in its place wrote, “He who made all things is God.” Somehow the story of his little flower reached the ears of Josephine, Napoleon’s wife. She was so moved by it that she persuaded Napoleon to release him. Satan wants you to think that everything is happening just by chance – but God’s Word stands, waiting for us to stand upon it that a wise, loving, good, and powerful God is working all things for our good and His glory.
Johnny A Palmer Jr.
