By faith, Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.
Hebrews 11:23
When Moses, one of the greatest messengers of God that ever lived, opened his eyes to this world, the first thing he saw was hatred and hostility. He was born in a powerful nation but was of a foreign, oppressed race during a time when all babies such as himself were under a royal death sentence. Nevertheless, Moses had something special in his favour: he was the child of believing parents. Moses was not the firstborn in his family. He had at least an older brother (Aaron) and an older sister (Miriam), yet his parents will stop at nothing to see this child preserved; even at the expense of their own lives. Why?
Hebrews 11:23 provides two compelling reasons why they did this. The first reason is this: “They saw he was no ordinary child.” They believed he would be a fitting instrument for God to use, and so they hid him in spite of the commandment that every male baby should be cast into the river.
The second reason they hid Moses was as said in Hebrews 11:23, “they were not afraid of the king’s edict.” Josephus, an ancient historian, tells us that the king’s edict did more than just command the death of the Hebrew boys. The full edict of Pharaoh pronounced: “that if any parents should disobey him, and venture to save their male children alive, they and their families should be destroyed.” So, in keeping Moses alive, Amram and Jochebed were taking a real risk here. If their baby was discovered alive, not only would the baby be killed, but the whole family would be killed along with him!
But Hebrews 11 tells us they were not afraid. They had discerned something special about Moses from God, whether through the prophecies or through some general sense of spiritual discernment, and they feared God rather than man. I’m sure friends, families and neighbours would have advised them to be reasonable but they chose that great risk not to obey a command that would go against God. They refused to cower to fear.
Fear is a powerful motivator. Fear can cause us to do things we don’t want to do, or fear can stop us from doing things that we should do. Fear can drive us to action or paralyse us and stop us right in our tracks.
One fear that we all seem to experience to one degree or another is the fear of other people.
We fear what they can do (actions), we fear how they might react (reactions), and we fear what they think (judgement). However, God does not want us to be bound by the fear of man. Rather, he wants us to fear him first and foremost. “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.” (Proverbs 29:25). God wants us to be bold as Christians, to fear nothing but God himself: to stand strong in our Christian testimony, to stand up for the truth of God’s word and what is right.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, please help me to be bold and steadfast in this world that is full of compromises. Help me to always trust you knowing that faith in you casts away all fears. YER:
