Moses 2:1-10
A man from the Levi tribe married a woman from the same tribe, and she later had a baby boy. He was a beautiful child, and she kept him inside for three months. But when she could no longer keep him hidden, she made a basket out of reeds and covered it with tar. She put him in the basket and placed it in the tall grass along the edge of the Nile River. The baby’s older sister stood off at a distance to see what would happen to him.
About that time one of the king’s daughters came down to take a bath in the river, while her servant women walked along the river bank. She saw the basket in the tall grass and sent one of the young women to pull it out of the water. When the king’s daughter opened the basket, she saw the baby and felt sorry for him because he was crying. She said, “This must be one of the Hebrew babies.”
At once the baby’s older sister came up and asked, “Do you want me to get a Hebrew woman to take care of the baby for you?” “Yes,” the king’s daughter answered.
So the girl brought the baby’s mother, and the king’s daughter told her, “Take care of this child, and I will pay you.” The baby’s mother carried him home and took care of him. And when he was old enough, she took him to the king’s daughter, who adopted him. She named him Moses because she said, “I pulled him out of the water.”
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
This is one of the most amazing stories of motherhood I know. To think that Moses’ mother loved him so much that she risked everything for him speaks to the incredible love of a mother for her children. Moses’ mother had the courage to place him where she knew the king’s daughters bathed. She trusted that one of the daughters would discover this beautiful baby and be smitten with him. She risked this to save his life. And she did so at the expense of her own feelings. She sacrificed her own heart to save Moses’ life and ensure his future.
This mother couldn’t possibly know that the king’s daughter would return Moses to her for child-rearing. She also probably didn’t anticipate how heart-wrenching it would be to return him to the king’s daughter someday for adoption. Still, she did all of this to ensure the safety and wellbeing of her child. And God blessed her – and Moses – because of her courage and her unselfishness.
Even though God is our heavenly Father, He loves us with the love of a mother, as well. He wants the best for us, and He considers our well-being at every turn. God loves us unselfishly. He also loves us unconditionally. And He provides us with earthly mothers of biology… and heart.
Today, as we pause to honor the mothers in our lives… those who gave us birth and those who give us unconditional motherly love and support… let’s also thank God for His incredible gifts. God could just as easily have spoken each one of us into existence and provided other ways for us to be nurtured and reared, but He chose mothers as the vehicle for this. The “motherly instinct” is so incredibly important that we see it even in nature… from the bird who sits on a nest to a cat guarding her kittens to the goose who guides her goslings across a busy highway and more. Surely God meant for mothers to be respected and revered – He gave them such important work. Have you thanked Him for your mom lately? Shouldn’t you?
©2012 Debbie Robus
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