Nations are fashioned on the laps of Mother
This Sunday we celebrate our mothers and grandmothers. For those of us who have a mother … umm … that’s all of us, we treasure them.
About 3,500 years ago a princess found a treasure she had wanted for so long. She found a baby in a basket by the side of the river bank. The treasure was a Hebrew infant. The familiar story is found in Exodus 2:1-10.
Moses was the infant. His father was a Levite named Amran and his mother was Jochebed, meaning “Yahweh is glory”. His mother was a slave working for the Egyptian Pharaoh. Slaving in the fields or brick yards, while in her last trimester, she would have worried that her unborn child might be a son. A previously passed edict declared all newborn Hebrew sons would be killed. Bravely opposing the Pharaoh’s edict, Moses’ parents release their son in a basket, down a river, believing in God’s protection and providence. Their incredible act of faith would be declared by God for all posterity in the Heroes’ Hall of Faith passage. Check out Hebrews 11:23.
“It was by faith that Moses’ parents hid him for three months when he was born. They saw that God had given them an unusual child, and they were not afraid to disobey the king’s command.”
An ordinary mom, acting in an extraordinary way to protect her little boy. Then, becoming his nurse-maid and preparing and shaping him to be attuned to God’s call in his life. Someone has said the destinies of nations are fashioned on the laps of mothers. At first reluctant, Moses would respond to God’s call (Exodus 3:10).
“So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”
A son, a treasure left on the riverbank by a mother trusting in God. This treasure would become a saviour to his people.
Fifteen hundred years later a similar incident takes place. A young mother and her husband escape to Egypt with their newborn son because another king threatened to kill their little boy. Another mother protects her son and raises him in a godly home preparing him for His ultimate calling.
While there are many similarities that can be made between these two treasures and these two mothers, it is clear that Moses came to be a deliverer of the Hebrew people, while Jesus came to be a redeemer of all people.
Jesus came to be our Saviour. This is the greatest treasure we can share with family, friends, colleagues, and strangers this week.
An estimated $4 billion in lost treasure is scattered throughout the United States today. There is buried loot from thieves who never retrieved it, misers, hoards, ship wrecks or gold mines full of gold which prospectors hid before dying. The Jesse James gang buried $1 million in gold in the Wichita Mountains of Oklahoma — none of it has been found. A Wells Fargo stagecoach was robbed of $250,000 in gold and the thieves hid them in the murky waters of Mud Lake, Idaho. Three of the gold bars were hauled out in 1902, the rest uncovered. During the American Civil War, $5 millions in gold was stolen from Emperor Maximilian of Mexico and buried near Castle Gap, Texas, never to be found again. People now are searching with old maps, secret hints, and metal detectors. You’re probably planning your summer vacation right now!
So many are trying to find that elusive treasure in life and they are coming up empty. Let’s be vigilant in taking every opportunity to share the treasure found in Christ. People, although unaware, are counting on us to help them to discover the treasure found in knowing Jesus.