Two Mothers, One God, and a Savior

Good evening, Church of the Advent.

Okay, I'm going to try that one more time.

This doesn't count against my sermon time.

I'm just saying good evening.

Good evening, Church of the Advent.

All right, amen.

It's good to be back with you again this week

to open God's Word and bring a message from the book of Exodus.

As you can see, and as Pastor Dan has said,

our message comes from our Old Testament reading.

This evening, Exodus chapter 2, verses 1 through 10.

Exodus 2:1–10

And the title of the sermon is

Two Mothers, One God, and a Savior.

Two Mothers, One God, and a Savior.

And as we will see in this message,

as we work our way through this text,

is that God is pleased to regularly work through the ordinary

to bring about His extraordinary purposes.

Would you bow your heads and pray with me as I begin?

Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name belongs the glory.

We thank you for this, your Word, that is not dead, but that is living, active,

sharper than any double-edged sword.

Lord, that pierces to the division of soul and spirit and joints and marrow

and judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Lord, we are all naked and exposed to you,

the one to whom we must all give account.

So be pleased, Lord, through the preaching of your Word

to meet us where we are and give us what we need,

faith and encouragement, hope and love,

correction, conviction, whatever it is, Lord God,

that we would be people who live not for our praise,

but for the glory and praise of Jesus Christ, our King.

Amen, amen, and amen.

Well, James Weldon Johnson is probably most well-known

as the man who wrote the lyrics to the song that came to be known

as the Negro National Anthem, Lift Every Voice and Sing.

However, almost 95 years ago, in 1925,

he and his brother, John Rosamond Johnson,

published a two-volume work called

The Books of the American Negro Spirituals.

They labored to compile all the Negro spirituals

into this two-volume work

and set them to appropriate musical arrangements.

And unlike other Christian hymnals,

there aren't any authors listed for any of the songs.

That's because no one knows who first penned the words

of any of the spirituals,

but they came to be embraced by a community

that was enduring suffering.

James Weldon Johnson opens the preface to the book

with the words of a poem that he had written

20 years before the book was published.

The title of this poem is

O Black and Unknown Bards.

And here's some of what he writes in that poem.

Heart of what slave poured out such melody

as steal away Jesus?

On its strains his spirit must have nightly floated free,

though still about his hands he felt chains.

Who heard great Jordan roll?

Whose starwood eye saw chariots swing low?

And who was he that breathed that comforting,

melodic sigh?

Nobody knows the trouble I see.

What merely living cloud,

what captive thing could up toward God

through all its darkness grope

and find within its deadened heart

to sing these songs of sorrow,

love and faith and hope.

And he ends the poem with these words.

You sang far better than you knew.

The songs that for your listeners hungry heart sufficed still live.

But more than this to you belongs.

You sang a race from wood and stone to Christ.

The words of this poem were on my mind

because of this question that Johnson asks in the poem.

What captive thing could up toward God

through all its darkness grope

and find within its deadened heart

to sing these songs of love and sorrow,

faith and hope?

There is a reason why

the black American slave

found particular intimacy

with the book of Exodus

and the plight of the children of Israel in Egypt.

We have in our text

what we might call the audacity of hope.

We see two mothers in our text.

One who is groping through the darkness of captivity

with the audacity in her desperation to have hope.

The other who is in the seat of privilege

but whom God uses to answer that hope

with the most surprising form of help.

Through this help, God brings a hero.

Those are the three H's I want to talk to you about

this evening.

Hope, help, and the hero.

And I also want to invite you

to see another H in our message

even though it's not one of my points.

There is a deep, deep humanity

that permeates this passage of Scripture.

We don't just go looking for theological facts

or life application points.

I want us to come into

the rich human experience of this story.

God is not mentioned at all

in these ten verses.

He's there but he is behind the scene

putting before us the people

and how he directs lives for his good purpose.

And we're clued into this

in the very first verse of the passage.

We're told that a man from the house of Levi

went and married a daughter of Levi.

And this is not a throwaway verse.

It's significant because the Levites

are going to be the tribe

through whom the priests come.

It's the tribe of Levi

that will have the responsibility

over the holy objects in the tabernacle.

The priests from the tribe of Levi

will stand as intercessors.

That is, they will stand between God

and the people offering sacrifices

on behalf of the people

and bringing them before God

in prayer and worship.

They are specially set apart

for God's service.

And even though that hasn't happened yet

in the story in Exodus,

it would have been a clear indication

to the original readers

that they were about to see a man

set apart by God for special service.

And this message, it comes

in the middle of the most desperate of situations.

The woman conceives in verse 2,

it says,

and she gives birth to a son

when she saw him,

that he was a fine child,

the ESV translated,

some other English translations,

that he was beautiful.

She hid him for three months.

She gave birth to a son.

The description that he's a fine child

or a beautiful child

is giving us insight

into how this mother felt

about her baby boy.

This is a passion-filled statement.

Her love for him

leads her to act in hope

that things could be different

for her son.

She gave birth to a son

stands in direct contrast

to Pharaoh's decree

in chapter 1, verse 22,

when Pharaoh says,

every son shall be cast

into the Nile.

It's not as though Moses

was the only beautiful

or fine or healthy

Hebrew newborn baby boy.

What's emphasized here

in Exodus chapter 2

Exodus 2 · chapter mention

is mom's love,

her love for her son

that drives her to hope

for something better for him.

Her hope causes her

to stand in opposition

to the king of Egypt.

She opposes the king's law,

just like the midwives

in chapter 1,

mom is on God's side.

How many of you know

that it is hard

to find a human love

that is stronger

than the love

that a mother has

for her child?

That motherly love,

it images God's own love.

In the 131st Psalm,

David pictures himself

at rest and peaceful

as someone who's received

that kind of love

from God.

He says in the second verse

of the 131st Psalm,

but I have calmed

and quieted my soul

like a weaned child

with its mother,

like a weaned child

is my soul within me.

He's saying that

like that weaned child

is content

to just live

in his mother's presence,

he is content

as a faithful worshiper

with God's presence.

He compares the love

and peace

that he receives

from God

to that

of a mother's love.

Do you know,

mothers,

that in your love

for your children,

you are imaging God?

Not only that,

but look at how God works.

We're going to see this again

in the second point,

but the Lord loves

to use the ordinary truths

that he has put in place,

that he has wired

into the fabric

of our being

to bring about

his extraordinary purposes.

God has got a greater purpose

for Moses.

Moses was going to be a savior.

He was going to deliver

his people from bondage

and even more,

God had determined

that Moses was going

to be a prefiguring

of Jesus Christ,

that when we looked

at Moses,

what we would be looking at

is someone

who is pointing us

to Jesus Christ.

But Moses' mother

doesn't know any of that.

All she knows

is that she loves her son.

She doesn't care

that she was a slave

with no rights.

She couldn't bear

the thought

of giving her son up

to be killed

and that love,

it led her

to a desperate hope

when she was no longer able,

we are told,

in verse number three,

to keep him hidden.

She took a little ark.

She took a basket

of papyrus wreaths

and made it waterproof

by sealing it

with bitumen

and pitch

and she put the child

in the basket

and placed it

among the wreaths

by the bank

of the Nile River.

How many

Hebrew baby boys

had been thrown

into the Nile

as it became

a river of death?

Here she is

placing her baby

at the edge

of the Nile

hoping to save

his life,

hoping that the waters

of death

becomes a river

of life

for her son.

Can you feel

her heart

pounding inside

of her chest?

I've got to do

something.

He may die,

but what else

can I do?

What was she hoping

and praying

at that moment?

I would imagine

that she had to say

and pray

what every mother

who trusts

in the Lord

will have to say

and pray.

At some point,

Lord,

I place him

in your hands.

Would you guard

his life?

I do not have

control over

what will happen

to him,

but you do.

Take care

of my child.

Mothers,

have you ever

had to pray

like that?

If you have not,

yet you will.

Her hope

had to be

in the Lord

even as she

dispatched

his sister

to stand

at a distance

to find out

what would

happen to him.

And from the

most unexpected

place,

God provides

help

in response

to her hope.

And I love

the way the story

breaks in the fifth

verse.

It says,

Now,

Pharaoh's daughter

came down

to bathe at the

river,

and her young

women were

walking beside

the river.

And wouldn't

you know it,

she saw the

basket among

the reeds,

and she sent

her servant

woman to go

and get it.

Now,

upon initial

reading,

that doesn't

quite sound

like help.

But when she

opened it,

and she

seized the

child,

it says,

and behold,

the boy

was crying.

she took

pity on him

and said,

This is one

of the

Hebrews'

children.

The help

for Moses,

the hope

of his

mother's

prayer,

is going

to come

from Pharaoh's

own household.

The help

comes from

the most

unexpected

and least

likely of

places God

has determined

to use

Pharaoh's

daughter to

help a

Hebrew boy

who would

later deliver

his people

from bondage

to Pharaoh.

Pharaoh

has been

trying to

play God

and declare

himself as

the one who

has authority

over life

and death.

And the clear

message of the

text is that

no king,

no leader,

has absolute

authority and

power.

Absolute power

and authority

belong to

God and God

alone.

He's not

mentioned in

the text,

but it's clear

who is calling

the shots.

Pharaoh can't

be everywhere

and see

everything.

He doesn't

even know

what's going

on with

Moses and

his own

daughter,

but God

does.

How does

God help

Moses?

The answer

is through

the same

means that

Moses came

to be in

that basket

in the first

place through

a mother's

love.

The hinge

in the story

are the

words in

verse number

six,

she took

pity on

him.

This isn't

her simply

feeling sorry

for this

baby.

It is pity

with a deep

sense of

compassion.

One of the

hardest words

to appropriately

translate into

English is the

Hebrew word

that is

translated as

behold.

In verse

six, it's

regularly translated

as behold,

and sometimes

it's left

untranslated.

It can often

carry the

sense of

an assertion

of truth

with emphasis,

which is why

we often see

behold.

But to get

at the reaction

of Pharaoh's

daughter,

behold,

doesn't quite

cut it for

me.

When she

opens the

basket and

saw the

child, her

reaction is

like, look,

look, oh

my goodness,

a baby boy

and he's

crying.

And you

picture the

scene, her

heart, her

heart was

knit to

this baby

boy.

I do not

know if this

is the case

at the

church of

the Advent

here in

this parish,

but I know

that in every

church that I've

had the privilege

of serving,

either as a

pastoral intern

or as a

pastor to

this point in

my ministry,

we've always

had some

adoptive

mothers,

some women

who have

adopted

children or

who desire

to adopt.

And what

is it like,

what is it

like for an

adoptive

mother the

first time

that she

lays eyes

on the

child whom

God would

bring into

her home?

For those

who desire

to adopt,

what would

you imagine

it will be

like when

you lay

your eyes

on him

or her?

You know

that God

will knit

your heart

to that

child.

You know

that there

will be a

deep sense

of compassion

and love.

If you can

picture yourself

in that

scenario,

you know

what happened

to Pharaoh's

daughter.

God provided

Moses with

two mothers,

a birth

mother who

out of a

deep love

and a

desperate

hope for

a better

life for

her son

was willing

to let go

of him

and give

him up.

And he

provided for

Moses,

an adoptive

mother,

who the

moment she

laid eyes

on him

knew,

this is

my son.

But you

love God

and how

he works.

Do you

understand?

This is not

a case of

mistaken

identity.

Pharaoh's

daughter knows

that this

is a

Hebrew

boy and

he's

supposed to

die.

He's

supposed to

be killed.

But she

doesn't care.

His

ethnicity was

not nearly

as important

to her as

his humanity.

It's his

condition that

has reached

her heart.

She does

not care

what her

father's law

is.

And guess

what?

She doesn't

know what

God has in

store for

Moses either.

the Lord

decided to

provide Moses

the protection

and the

covering that

he needed by

giving him

an adoptive

mother.

Praise God

for mothers

who adopt.

Look at

the covering

and protection

that Moses

receives because

of Pharaoh's

daughter.

His sister

has been

standing at

a distance

waiting in

the wings

if you

will.

And when

she sees

what happens

she goes

to Pharaoh's

daughter and

says do you

want me to

go and get

one of the

Hebrew women

to nurse the

boy for you?

Because of

Pharaoh's

decree there

are probably

any number

of Hebrew

birth mothers

who are

available to

nurse a

baby because

their own

son has

been killed.

But his

sister knows

exactly who

she's going

to get.

The birth

mother and

the adoptive

mother meet.

One a

slave and

the other

royalty.

Nurse him

for me

she says

and I will

give to you

your wages.

Moses'

birth mother

gets paid

to nurse her

own son

and help

raise him.

She can do

it out in

the open

without fear

because he's

being adopted

into the

royal family.

No Egyptian

is going to

come and

kill him

now.

Because of

this adoption

the hero

is able to

live.

Moses is the

hero.

Make no

mistake about

it.

He's the

one who's

going to

grow up

and save

his people

but he is

a hero

who needed

help.

He is a

hero who

was vulnerable

and who

needed God's

protection

through the

love of

two mothers

and even

in this

listen

even in

this

he directs

our gaze

toward Jesus

Christ.

For when God

wanted to save

us from our

desperate condition

of enslavement

to our own

sinful hearts

when he

wanted to

save us

from the

path of

destruction

that our

sinful rebellion

against him

has us on

he sent

his son

born of

a woman

born as

a baby

as the

Bible says

for unto

us a

son is

born a

child is

born unto

us a

son is

given.

His name

is Jesus

Christ.

The story

of Exodus

Exodus 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2

is repeated

in our

gospel reading

from Matthew

Matthew 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2

King Herod

is threatened

by the birth

of the one

who has been

born king

of the Jews

and he

institutes

the same

murderous

program

killing

all the

male children

in the

region of

Bethlehem

who were

two years

old or

younger

and the

angel of

the Lord

warns

Joseph

Jesus'

adoptive

father

in a

dream

and the

family

runs away

to Egypt

to escape

the murderous

decree.

Listen,

the salvation

that God

provides,

the deliverance

that God

provides

comes through

the vulnerability

of our

savior

Jesus

Christ.

God

had Moses

go into

the Nile

into the

place

of his

people's

suffering

that he

might be

able to

identify

with their

sufferings

but the

ultimate

hero

is not

Moses

the ultimate

hero

is Jesus

Christ.

God

had Jesus

enter the

sufferings

of his

people

to bring

to us

an even

greater

salvation.

The

deliverance

that Jesus

brings

is greater

than the

deliverance

Moses brought.

As the

writer to

the Hebrews

says in

Hebrews

Hebrews 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2

and verse

3,

Jesus has

been counted

worthy of

more glory

than Moses

as much

more glory

as the

builder of

a house

has more

honor than

the house

itself.

Moses was

faithful in

all God's

house as

a servant

to testify

to the

things that

were to be

spoken later

but Christ

is faithful

over God's

house as

a son.

The

Savior

Jesus

Christ

the hero

who came

to us

as a

vulnerable

baby boy

in need

of God's

protection

in order

to enable

him to

identify

with us

in every

way.

He is a

greater hero

with a

greater salvation

than Moses

because he's

building a

house for

God.

And this

house is

built with

you and I

with living

stones,

people that

God

indiscriminately

brings in

from every

ethnic group

and social

class.

do you

know

what every

member

of Jesus'

house has

in common?

Do you

know other

than the

fact that

we're people?

We all

come in

through

adoption.

We all

come in

through

adoption,

through

Jesus.

God

bestows

on us

that love

we see

in adoptive

mothers who

lay their

eyes upon

children in

need of a

home and

say, I'm

bringing her

in, I am

bringing him

in.

If you belong

to Jesus

Christ, do you

know that is

the kind of

love that

God looked

at you with?

faith, you

are lost and

going astray

and God

says, I

take pity

on you, move

with a deep

sense of

compassion for

you as you

are and

says, I'm

bringing you

in.

I'm bringing

you in.

Do you

know, do

you know the

adoptive love

of God who

has entered

into our

suffering?

Are you

able to

rejoice tonight

in being

adopted by

God?

through faith

in Jesus

Christ, knowing

that once

you're in, you're

never out.

Once you're in, you

will never be

cast out.

No one is

strong enough, not

even you in your

own fight against

your sin is

strong enough to

take yourself out

of God's adoptive

love.

Amen, amen, and

amen.

Would you pray

with me?