Introduction: Read Exodus2v1to10.

This lovely passage - familiar to everyone who attended Sunday school as a child - can be dealt with under three headings: Moses was: (1) The object of great faith, (2) The son of two mothers and (3) A saviour in the making.

(2) Moses: the object of great faith.

The events following the birth of Moses illustrate three key aspects of faith:

(a) Its necessity.

Two well known stories are often told to illustrate the nature of faith. One involves an American promoter who challenged a tightrope walker to push a wheel barrow blindfolded across the Niagara falls. The promoter didn't believe the tightrope walker could do it. After completing the amazing feat successfully the stunt man asked the promoter: "Now do you believe I can do it." "Well, yes," he replied, "I just saw you do it!" "So, you really believe I can do it," said the tightrope walker. "Yes, yes - of course I do," was the response. "Good," said the man, "then you get in the wheel barrow."

But I do not accept the promoter showed lack of faith because there was no necessity for him to get into the wheel barrow. The tightrope walker might repeat his amazing feat 99 times out of 100 but there is no guarantee that on the 100th occasion he might not fail. The promoter was exercising understandable caution in not getting into the wheel barrow because there was no urgent necessity for him to do so.

This is a very, very important point. I can remember an occasion several years ago when it was proposed to extend our chapel. I opposed the proposal and was accused of lack of faith. It was an unjust accusation! The reason I was against spending thousands of pounds enlarging our premises was because there was no need. It would have been very different if our chapel was full to bursting - but it was not.

If you are still in doubt consider Jesus' response to Satan after he had been taken to the highest point of the temple and urged if he was the Son of God to throw himself off. God's angels would come to his rescue. See Lk4v9to13. Jesus refused - not because he had doubts about the sovereign protection of his heavenly father - not because he lacked faith - but because he had no necessity to do such a thing - no need to put God to the test.

Here is the other story told to illustrate faith:

A man fell off a cliff, but managed to grab a tree limb on the way down. The following conversation ensued:

"Is anyone up there?"

"I am here. I am the Lord. Do you believe me?"

"Yes, Lord, I believe. I really believe, but I can't hang on much longer." "That's all right, if you really believe you have nothing to worry about. I will save you. Just let go of the branch."

A moment of pause, then: "Is anyone else up there?"

In this instance we have a man who really needed to exercise faith. It was a necessity. He would only be saved if he let go and reached upward. He had to chance it!!

Moses' mother needed faith. She gave birth to a son and Pharaoh had ordered that baby boys be drowned in the Nile. He was a particularly fine baby: strong, beautiful and with a special aura. Jochebed did not want to lose her baby boy; she was determined to do all she could to save her lovely son. She had faith that God would help her to accomplish this task. It was a necessity to believe God would help bring her plan to a successful completion.

There are other instances in the Bible where faith was an absolute necessity. Gideon needed faith to save his people from the Midianites. David needed faith to slay Goliath and deliver the Israelites from the Philistines. Mordecai told his lovely cousin, Esther, that she must intercede for her people who were threatened with genocide. Esther knew the risk of anyone going un-summoned into the presence of king Xerxes. It was possible he or she would be put to death. However Mordecai pressed her. He said: "And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" So, Esther, under necessity did as her cousin said and saved her people.

Every man and women has an urgent, pressing need to be saved from God's wrath. There is nothing anyone can do to save themselves except believe in Jesus. We are saved by grace and through faith. Jesus offered himself as a sacrifice for our sin and God in grace accepted it. All we have to do is to submit to Jesus and trust in the great work he accomplished on the cross. It is a necessity. There is no other way to be reconciled to God and accepted into his family except through Christ mankind's only saviour.

(2) Its resourcefulness.

William Booth said: Faith and works should travel side by side, step answering to step, like the legs of men walking. First faith, and then works; and then faith again, and then works again -- until they can scarcely distinguish which is the one and which is the other.

Faith is inseparable from action. What is often called faith is nothing of the sort because it does not involve action. People say to me, "Why can't you believe that God created all the fossil bearing rocks in six days like it says in Genesis. I can believe that because God can do anything. You lack faith, John." But a belief in a six day creation is not faith because no works are involved. I am afraid that many who take the Genesis account of creation literally do not show much faith in Jesus words: "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Mt6v19to21. A belief in the truth of Jesus' teaching does involve action.

Moses' mother believed it was God's will that her fine looking son should live. Her belief was accompanied by works. She was able to hide her baby for 3 months, but as her son grew and became more active this was harder and harder to achieve. So Jochebed devised a cunning plan. First of all she made a small waterproof boat out of reeds smeared with mud and daubed with pitch. (Why the NIV says it was coated with tar and pitch is beyond me! It is like saying it was coated with tar and tar!!)

The baby was put in the little boat and placed among the reeds growing on the margins of the Nile at a well known bathing spot of an Egyptian princess. This particular daughter of Pharaoh may have been known to be sympathetic to the Hebrews. She may have had Hebrew slaves. The princess does name the baby Moses - an Egyptian word meaning 'birth' but also sounding like a Hebrew word meaning 'to draw out'. It is also possible Pharaoh's daughter was childless. Miriam, Jochebed's daughter, was posted as a look out some distance from the princesses' bathing pool. She was primed to intervene if things went well and offer to find a wet nurse among the Hebrews for the baby.

This was a good plan and so Jochebed put it into practice with some confidence. This is another characteristic of faith. I like this story told by Edna Butterfield: My husband, Ron, once taught a class of mentally impaired teenagers. Looking at his students' capabilities rather than their limitations, Ron got them to play chess, restore furniture and repair electrical appliances. Most important, he taught them to believe in themselves. Young Bobby soon proved how well he had learned that last lesson. One day he brought in a broken toaster to repair. He carried the toaster tucked under one arm, and a half-loaf of bread under the other. The half-loaf of bread was a measure of his confidence and faith that he would succeed.

The young shepherd boy, David, was not without resources when he took on the Philistine giant, Goliath. He had his trusty sling and five smooth stones and a lifetime's practice guarding his father's sheep from dangerous predators. Esther did not go blithely into the presence of king Xerxes without a plan of campaign. She organised two banquets for the king and Haman before pleading for her life and the lives of her people. The organisers of the great evangelical rallies conducted by Billy Graham in this country did so in faith - but this did not stop them planning meticulously for those campaigns.

(3) Its reliance.

It is hard to sum up this characteristic of faith in one word. The writer to the Hebrews has a very succinct definition: Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Heb11v1.

The African impala can jump to a height of over 10 feet and cover a distance of greater than 30 feet. Yet these magnificent creatures can be kept in an enclosure in any zoo with a 3-foot wall. The animals will not jump if they cannot see where their feet will land. Faith is the ability to jump where we cannot see. Faith frees us from our inhibitions and fears.

Faith often involves relying or depending on another - something this story illustrates: The following letter was found in a baking-powder can wired to the handle of an old pump that offered the only hope of drinking water on a very long and seldom-used trail across Nevada's Amargosa Desert: "This pump is all right as of June 1932. I put a new sucker washer into it and it ought to last five years. But the washer dries out and the pump has got to be primed. Under the white rock I buried a bottle of water, out of the sun and cork end up. There's enough water in it to prime the pump, but not if you drink some first. Pour about one-fourth and let her soak to wet the leather. Then pour in the rest medium fast and pump like crazy. You'll git water. The well has never run dry. Have faith. When you git watered up, fill the bottle and put it back like you found it for the next feller. (signed) Desert Pete. P.S. Don't go drinking the water first. Prime the pump with it and you'll git all you can hold."

A thirsty man will be very tempted to ignore the instructions of Desert Pete and drink the bottle of water. If, however, he has faith the man will rely on the veracity of Pete and do as he advises. He will take a risk on Pete.

Jochebed did all she could to ensure the preservation of her son. However, there was no absolute guarantee of the success of her plan. The ark containing her baby might have been discovered by someone other than the princess. Perhaps, Pharaoh's daughter would be so afraid of her father that she ordered the baby to be drowned. Lots could have gone wrong with Jochebed's plan good though it was. Ultimately she had to depend upon God for the success of her scheme.

True faith is always reliant on God for success. Gideon, Esther and David all depended upon God for victory over the enemy. They were all aware that their efforts could come to nothing without God's help.

Robert and Mary Moffat were missionaries in what is now known as Botswana. For 10 years the couple laboured faithfully without one ray of encouragement. They could not report a single convert. Finally the directors of their mission board began to question the wisdom of continuing the work. The thought of leaving their post, however, brought great grief to this devoted couple. They believed that God would eventually bless their labours. They persevered for a year or two longer without success. Then one day a friend in England sent word to the Moffats that she wanted to mail them a gift and asked what they would like. Such was the faith of Mrs. Moffat that she replied, "Send us a communion set; I am sure it will soon be needed." God honoured that dear woman's faith. The Holy Spirit moved in the lives of the villagers and soon a little group of six converts formed the first Christian church in that land. The communion set from England was delayed in the mail; but on the very day before the first celebration of the Lord's Supper in Botswana, the set arrived.

(2) The son of two mothers.

Moses owed a lot to both his mothers.

His adoptive mother was:

• Compassionate. When she lifted the lid off the ark and the baby cried Pharaoh's daughter felt sorry for it. Thank God for human compassion - compassion that today ministers to babies with AIDS, malnourished babies and abandoned babies.

• Unprejudiced. Pharaoh's daughter realised at once to whom the little boy belonged. "This is one of the Hebrew babies," she said. v6. The princess didn't despise the baby because of his race. It made no difference to her intent to adopt him as her son. In this she was very different to so many since who have hated Jews. As I have already indicated I think the Egyptian name the princess gave the baby which sounds like a Hebrew word for 'draw out' is indicative of her Jewish sympathies.

• Practical. She was happy to pay his natural mother to wean the baby boy.

• Committed. Pharaoh's daughter brought Moses up as her son. He was raised as a prince of Egypt. He would be highly educated in the Egyptian language, Egyptian culture, warfare, administration and arbitration. According to Stephen, "Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action." Acts7v22. I am certain Moses learned lessons during his time as an Egyptian prince that stood him in good stead when he negotiated with Pharaoh for the release of the Israelites and later when he lead his people in the wilderness.

  I thank God regularly for my excellent education. I acquired discipline, study skills, organisational ability and confidence that have proved invaluable in Christian service.

His biological mother:

• Used the limited time available on his spiritual education. I expect she told him the stories about Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. Jochebed wanted Moses to realise he was a Hebrew and, as such, one of God's chosen people. God had made promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. A day would come when the Jews would enter the land God promised to them and that land was not Egypt.

• Was an honourable woman and when Moses was five or six she handed her boy over to Pharaoh's daughter - his benefactor.

LESSONS:

(a) Many Christian parents are keen to give their children a good start in life. They provide for their material needs, give them a wide range of experiences and do all they can to ensure a good education.

Moses' mother considered the most important thing she could do for her son was to tell him about the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

The priority of all Christian parents should be to tell their children about Jesus. The most important thing a father or mother can do for their children is to make Jesus loveable and provide the opportunity to believe in him. This is what my parents did for me and I am eternally grateful to them for doing so.

(b) After Jochebed had made the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob real to her son she was willing to hand him over to an Egyptian princess knowing that subsequently Moses would be exposed to a pagan educational system. As we have noted already, this provided Moses with certain benefits.

I believe that there is a lesson here for Christians who insist on home schooling for their children. I am glad of the secular education I had. It toughened me up. I became resilient. I learned to cope with difficulties myself. Many parents today are much too protective of their children.

(3) A saviour in the making.

We see God's providence at work during the early years of Moses' life. Rev James Orr in the old Pulpit Commentary on Exodus makes the following helpful points about God's providence:

(a) The variety of means by which God achieves his purpose: a king's edict, a mother's love, a babies tears, a girl's sassiness, the childlessness and pity of a princess. I wonder what might have transpired if the baby had not cried when the lid was removed from the ark?

When I look back through the years I can see how a series of small events were absolutely necessary to bring me back home after my time at university. For example, when I asked my old headmaster of the local grammar school for a reference preparatory to applying for teaching jobs he said that a long serving Geography master was retiring that year and was I interested in taking his place?

(b) God achieves his purpose without compromising human freedom. Moses, the son of slaves, ends up a prince of Egypt by entirely natural means; no miracles were involved. That is nearly always how God works. It is how he has worked in my life. After I took a break from teaching to care for my father I needed to secure a new post when he died. I applied for a job at Debenham High School. The head of the faculty I hoped to join had attended a course I organised five years previously. He had been very impressed. This stood me in good stead - I got the job that God always intended me to have.

Wordsworth put it like this:

Though the mills of God grind slowly;
Yet they grind exceeding small;
Though with patience he stands waiting,
With exactness grinds he all.

When the early Christians were persecuted it did not extinguish the Faith, it just meant it spread far and wide throughout the Roman Empire. When dissenters were persecuted in England they took the Faith to North America. When Christian missionaries were expelled from China and Mao tse Tung persecuted believers, the house church movement was born and spectacular growth ensued.

The supreme instance of God bringing good out of evil occurred at Calvary. Wicked men crucified Jesus but there on the cross he offered himself as the ultimate sacrifice for sin - a sacrifice God was gracious enough to accept. So Peter was able to say to the crowd at Pentecost: "This man (Jesus) was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross." Acts2v23.

(d) God's deliverance exceeds our expectations. He does more than we ask or think. The outcome of Jochebed's faith surpassed her wildest dreams. Perhaps she hoped that Pharaoh's daughter might spare her son to be a household slave. She didn't think the princess would adopt him and then pay her to nurse her own baby. God gives to faith even more than it asks for. Moses invited the people of Israel, in faith, to give toward the construction of the Tabernacle. Their giving exceeded his expectations. In the end he had to stop them giving because they already had more than enough to do all the work. Ex36v6.