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MOSES Exodus 1 & 2 In just less than a week into this year’s advent season, much has been revealed throughout the pages of this devotional. Today, we see how Moses chose the will of God, rather than to enjoy the pleasure of sin for a season. God amazingly prepared the way for Moses. He does the same for you and me. Now the Egyptian king, who did not understand the ways of the Lord, became fearful of losing his leadership and authority to the children of Israel. The Israelites were “fruitful, increased abundantly and multiplied, became exceedingly numerous, and filled Egypt.” The thought of losing the life he presently enjoyed resulted in a decision by the king to afflict the Israelite slaves “with their own burdens.” The affliction, he believed, would keep them in bondage, keep them from growing and multiplying, keep them under the authority of Egyptian rule, and keep them slaves to Egypt forever. And so the king afflicted, but the Israelites built store cities for the kingdom; the king afflicted more, and the Israelites grew more numerous; the king afflicted even more, and the Israelites served with more vigor. The king’s heart was not One with God. Then the king declared to the Hebrew midwives the edict for the murder of all sons born to Israelites. But, “the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them…” When confronted by the king, the midwives replied, “The Hebrew women are lively…,” referring to preserving life, to be whole, to save. “And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that He made them houses.” God provides a place for you and me and our families, to be His holy temple, whether a slave in prison or a king in a palace. Jesus wants to grow and multiply, be fruitful, and be full in His people. In the midst of the king’s determination to kill the spirit of the Jewish nation, God had a plan and a purpose. It was, and still is Life Eternal. “The mother of Moses hid him three months. When she could no longer hide him, she put him in an ark of bulrushes and daubed it with slime and pitch, and put the child therein…It came to pass in the process of time, that the king of Egypt died, and the children of Israel cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage." And so at age 80, Moses was sent by God to redeem His people from Egyptian bondage. The king ruled according to his desires and in the process of time it brought death. The Israelites feared God and cried out to God, and in the process of time, it brought life into the Promised Land. Fear the Lord and birth comes. Keep ourselves unto Him and immerse ourselves in Him, and a saving grace and a feeding upon Him comes. Growth pursues and an adoption into His kingship transpires. Let go of our own agenda, seek Him, sit down and wait upon Him for His living water, as Moses did, and it will come to pass in the process of time…. It has come to pass that Jesus has prepared the way for the redemption from our bondage. God has a plan – choose Life in Jesus Christ. ~ Cheryl Helgert
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