Reading Exodus 2:1-10
Paddington
Introduce Paddington Bear
Tell the story (with questions?)
From – Darkest, Peru. After their Marmalade factory is destroyed in an earthquake and his uncle killed, he is put in a lifeboat on a ship headed to London, by his Aunt Lucy.
Parent (Mother) – Aunt Lucy
Sent – Put on a boat to London for a better life
Does Aunt Lucy love Paddington when she puts him on a boat?
- Get answers
Found – By the Brown family at Paddington Station
Slaves in Egypt
The Israelites were slaves in Egypt at the time, Moses was born. They were having more babies than the Egyptians, so there would soon be more of them than there were Egyptians. If that happened, the Egyptians feared it would be too difficult to keep them under control and there would be a revolution. So, pharaoh had taken a decision that all the young boys should be killed as soon as they were born.
Kill Order
He ordered the midwives that if the woman gives birth to a boy, kill him, if she gives birth to a girl, let her live. But they didn’t obey the order, because they love God more than they fear the Egyptians.
Moses Mother
Jochebed, Moses mother, (Numbers 26:59) already had at least two children when Moses was born. His big brother Aaron was just a few years older and had not been subject to this order. And his sister, Miriam, who was quite a lot older. She would help out with the saving of Moses.
Baby Noticeable
Moses is now 3 months old, and Jochebed and the family have so far succeeded in keeping him hidden, but that’s now becoming impossible. Something has to be done. I’d love to know how much of what follows is the plan that was discussed by the family. If it was their plan, it is certainly high risk. If it wasn’t, what were they expecting to happen?
Crocodiles
So, his mother gets a basket, and makes it waterproof, puts him in it, and puts it in the reeds at the edge of the river.
In those days, it is believed that there were crocodiles along much of the river, covering a much greater area than they do today. There’s the first risk – the baby is eaten by a crocodile. There’s not much that the watching Miriam could have done about that. Crocodiles are not known for being easily shooed away.
Pharaoh’s daughter
Pharaoh’s daughter came down to the river to bathe, probably not to wash herself, most likely some sort of religious cleansing ceremony. We must assume that this was something she did regularly and Jochebed knew roughly when she would arrive. There is still the risk that she might not notice the basket, or might not take any interest in it.
Her attendants stay on the bank, perhaps keeping an eye out for crocodiles, and to ensure she remains safe and undisturbed by the Israelite slaves.
At least one of the attendants (all probably slaves, but probably not Israelites) gets wet retrieving the basket, Pharaoh’s daughter is immediately in love with the child. Even though she knows he is a slave baby, she decides to keep him.
Back with his Mother
Then Miriam plays her part, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?”. He is not on solid food yet, and there was no baby formula milk in those days, so someone had to be found who could feed the baby, and the obvious choice, is his mother.
But there is still the risk that Pharaoh’s daughter could have decided to take him to the palace and find someone who could feed him there.
Now, as a bonus, Jochebed is being paid for a few months to look after her own son. He is protected from the Egyptian order to kill the baby boys, because he belongs to Pharaoh’s daughter. Now he will get an Egyptian education, which will be of great use later on.
Parallels
There’s a boat in each story and a baby or child is sent away by a mother, in order to keep them safe.
There’s a new chance at life, safety.
A mother acts out of love.
There’s a new family caring for a child – who remembers their roots.
Where is God?
You may have noticed that God is not mentioned in this passage. Maybe we would expect a prophet, or at least a warning, or even a plan for the baby’s rescue. There is no evidence of a direct word from God to Jochebed, which surely would have been recorded if it had happened. So where is God? Is He just an observer, watching and waiting?
What God is doing
That’s not the God I know. The God I know, has his eye on the baby, and is looking after him. We know that Moses frees his people from the slavery they are experiencing in Egypt. He will be the man that future generations look back to, and the model for how to be a good Israelite. God will have been there, working to ensure that the right things happen at the right time. Making sure that Pharaoh’s daughter goes to bathe just as the baby is put in the water. Making sure that she notices the basket and is curious enough to look inside. Making sure that the baby is crying at just the right time. Maybe making sure that the local crocodiles, if there were any, are well-fed and sleepy.
How God works
When we look back on things, that is how we see God working in our own time. We rarely get a message from a prophet or a vision of angels, but somehow the things God wants to happen just seem to work out. He shows his love for us in many ways, sometimes that is by providing us with a loving mother like Jochebed, or someone who takes the place of a mother, like Aunt Lucy, or pharaohs daughter.
Mother God
We see in this story that God can be mother for us just as well as he can father for us. (Why not? He created both mothers and fathers). We see His provision of motherly care for Moses, not only by his birth mother, but also by pharaoh's daughter, who became his adoptive mother.
Moses didn’t forget
We are not told any more about Moses’ upbringing, but we know that he knew he was a Hebrew (an Israelite), and worked with Aaron to free the Israelites from slavery.
We also know that Paddington remembered Aunt Lucy, and in the second film was trying to bring her to London. When he couldn’t, he bought a book to send to her.
God in Control
The Egyptians wanted to reduce the numbers of the Israelites, and make them easier to manage, but God had other ideas, other plans for his people and especially for this family. Out of their number, from the tribe of Levi – the priestly tribe – God chose new leaders in a way that showed His supremacy over the Egyptians. So much so, that He even made them pay for the baby’s care for a few months.
That’s the God that I know!
Amen.
For references, see https://3cephas-notes.blogspot.com/2023/03/god-cares-like-mother-8am.html
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