God's Provision

As you may know, God has reminded us recently of His provision- that He always provides! We cannot count the ways He has provided for our lives, but we have begun to journal and account for them in order to preserve a legacy of faith for our children.

Today, as I continue in my ongoing study of the women of the Bible, I began reading about the mothers of Moses, Jochbed and Pharaoh's daughter. I had read the story of Moses birth many times, had done Sunday School or VBS lessons about him in the past, but somehow, I had missed what to me is a very important line in his story. What to me is the key to God's provision in this story. The heart issue of how our obedience to God done in faith of His provision, results in His inconceivable blessing.

The birth of Moses is accounted in Exodus 2:1-10. Pharaoh had issued a decree that all Hebrew newborn baby boys be killed by the Hebrew midwives in attempt to control the population. God in His faithfulness, continued to multiply. So Pharaoh then commanded that all baby boys be thrown into the Nile River, but all girls may remain alive.

Jochbed, mother of Miriam and Aaron, had given birth to a boy who was now about three months old. She had hidden him as long as she could and so, in faith that God would protect him and provide for his life, as he had with the child Isaac, she placed him in a papyrus basket, sealed with tar and pitch, and placed the baby in the basket in the Nile. Miriam, the baby's older sister, ran along the river bank, watching as he floated along. Pharaoh's daughter saw the basket and had her servant go and fetch it. She opened it and found the baby and immediately knew she would keep him and raise him as her own. Miriam, the Hebrew slave girl, approached Pharaoh's daughter, and offered to find a Hebrew women to nurse the baby. Pharaoh's daughter said yes and Miriam ran and brought her mother back, the baby's own mother, and Pharaoh's daughter asked her to nurse and care for him and she would pay her for this service.

Exodus 2:7-10
"Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee?
And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child's mother.
And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give [thee] thy wages. And the woman took the child, and nursed it.
And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water."

I am ashamed to admit that I miss this key truth in this story for so many years, but am ever thankful for God's grace and through it, this morning the Word became alive and spoke to my heart in a new and profound way. For that, I praise Him this morning!

God, in His great wisdom, provided for Jochbed's son, for the baby Moses, for the Hebrew nation in that He planned and orchestrated the care and well-being of this baby. He blessed Jochbed in an unimaginable way as a direct result of her obedience and faith in Him.

Pharaoh's daughter did not allow just any nursemaid to care for this child, but his very own mother! What a blessing for Jochbed, who knew the stories of the father's of the faith, including when Abraham was obedient to God in even being willing to sacrifice Isaac. God provided another sacrificial lamb in place of Isaac, therefore preserving Abraham's lineage and the promises he had given Abraham.

Jochbed was given back her son, to nurse, care for and raise for the early, most formidable years of his life. How great is our God!

Be encouraged today, in the Great Provider, who cared enough about Jochbed, a Hebrew slave, to bless her faith and obedience, and cares about you today, to bless your faith and obedience to Him. Be faithful to Him who is rich in mercy and has a great love for you. (Ephesians 2:4-5)