Limits To Freedom

 The Limits of Freedom

Book of Exodus Chapters 23 and 24

We should understand that our freedom is a gift from Jehovah! The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Joh 8:36  If the Son therefore shall "make" you free, ye shall be free indeed.

Remember our Lord is also our Creator!

Col 1:16  For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 

Col 1:17  And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. 

By nature we are in bondage to sin.

By "Grace" through "Faith" in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are made free from sin!

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 

Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast. 

So, there must be limits to our freedom.

We must understand Jehovah will exalt any nation that diligently listens to His voice.

We can understand that voice as the words that Jehovah gave to all the writers of the Scriptures of which we have a copy.

Deu 28:1  And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: 

Deu 28:2  And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.

It is the blessings of Jehovah that become reality when we love the Lord Jesus Christ!

Psa 33:12  Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. 

We are foolish if we cannot see that Jehovah has removed His hand of blessing from the United States of America, because so many have rejected the voice of the Lord.

You see it does not matter what national laws that exist if those laws are not written according to the voice of God, what we call the Bible.

Not just any book called a Bible, but a Bible that is written according to the received text, the true Greek, and Hebrew Scriptures.

Our freedom must be limited according to the laws of Jehovah!

It is critical to our eternal life that we follow the voice of God! 

False religion, false gods, false worship, will cause us to miss the benefits of living with the Almighty Living God!

*****Exo 23:10  And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof: 

Exo 23:11  But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard. 

Exo 23:12  Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed. 

We hear so much about climate change today. It is mentioned in every conversation and every news broadcast.

We should have listened to the voice of Jehovah on how to take care of our lands.

In our last lesson we talked about a Sabbath Day so now let us see as our God talks about a Sabbath Year.

We all certainly know that without farmers there would be no real food for anyone. Few of us own enough land to grow food to meet all our needs.

Jehovah told the children of Israel that once they entered into the Promised Land, the land promised to the descendants of Abraham, that every seventh year was to be a Sabbath Year and the land was to rest.

Before Israel was allowed to reclaim that land in 1948, we know there was nothing more than a piece of desert where no crops could grow.

Today we see just how fertile that land truly is.

Every seventh year the land was to be unplowed and unused.

This is where crop rotation had its beginning.

That same land left untouched would still feed the poor and the animals.

Why would Jehovah do such a thing? No other nation did such a thing.

Many a farmer today have learned the hard way of the problems of overusing the land.

They plowed too deeply.

They destroyed soil nutrients:

They failed to rotate crops.

The children of Israel did not know about such things, so they had to be taught and their teacher was Jehovah.

This lesson for the land was not the only lesson that was taught.

They had a need to learn compassion because Jehovah is a compassionate God.

Whatever this land produced in the Sabbatical Year was to be shared!

We know that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Lord of life!

Joh 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and "the life": no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

So, this was not just a time to allow the land to rest, it was also a time to get closer to the Lord.

Deu 31:10  And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles, 

Deu 31:11  When all Israel is come to appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing. 

Deu 31:12  Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law: 

Deu 31:13  And that their children, which have not known any thing, may hear, and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it. 

There was to be a special time of worship.

There was to be a time of reading and studying the Word of God.

Remember Moses had written down everything that Jehovah had said.

The key to this worship was learning how to follow the Lord and to live as He commanded!

What do we know? We know that Israel failed to keep this Sabbatical Year for at least 490 years and God allowed Babylon to remove Israel from that land and the land laid at rest for 70 years.

2Ch 36:21  To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years.

We can see that the Word of God is to be obeyed including to allow the land to have her rest every Sabbath Year.

We must understand that God knows what He is doing all the time, and nothing ever surprises Jehovah!

Joshua reminded these children of Israel the importance of the Word of God as they entered the Promised Land.

Jos 1:8  This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. 

And according to the Word of God, we must never turn our backs on those who are poor in worldly things and also those who are poor in the knowledge of Jehovah God.

And again we see that a day of rest is emphasized.

And there was to be no talk about false gods.

*****Exo 23:13  And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth. 

To be circumspect is to reverence the Word of God, guard it as the truth, be obedient.

That word circumspect means to be cautious, carefully examining all the circumstances that affect our lives.

These children of Israel would have to admit they had seen some of the awesome power of God and those false gods of Egypt had done nothing for them except to place them in bondage.

God decided that they needed a law concerning false gods.

1) They must obey Jehovah.

2) They must not call on false gods.

In fact the names of false gods must never be heard from their lips.

It is no different for us today. We are to obey all the Word of God, rightly divided.

2Ti 2:15  Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 

Today we should lean on that phrase "What Would Jesus Do" being cautious in every situation that we face in this world.

We must be fully awake to the importance of the Word of God!

We should give no thought to false gods they are fantasies that deserve no mention. By the way this includes Allah, and Budha and all others!

We must be careful to remember the commandments of God and do them!

Eph 5:15  See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 

Eph 5:16  Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 

Eph 5:17  Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. 

We must spend time with our Lord!

*****Exo 23:14  Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year. 

Exo 23:15  Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:) 

Exo 23:16  And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.

Exo 23:17  Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD. 

Three times each year each male of a certain age was to make the journey to the Tabernacle. 

No matter where they were nor how far away, they were, they were commanded to appear before Jehovah.

By reading the Scriptures we know that most of them took their families with them as they traveled to the Tabernacle and later to the Temple.

They were to thank the Lord for their bountiful harvest.

They were to praise the Lord for His deliverance.

They were to never come before the Lord empty handed.

**The "Feast of Unleavened Bread" began with the Passover.

The Passover commemorates God's deliverance of Israel out of Egypt.

The Passover meal commemorates the deliverance of the children of Israel from slavery.

The annual Passover was a memorial to these truths, but they were also symbolic.

A memorial in memory of that first Passover night in Egypt.

Symbolic because its ultimate fulfillment was at Mount Calvary, where the lamb of God (Jesus Christ) took away the sin of this entire world in all its Ages.

Joh 1:29  The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. 

1Co 5:7  Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: 

1Co 5:8  Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 

On that first Passover Jehovah revised the Hebrew calendar.

On Mount Calvary the Lord Jesus Christ revised the calendar that the world still uses today.

Today the Jews use two calendars:

Their legal documents are dated by the Civil Calendar.

All religious events are dated by the Sacred Calendar.

This first feast began with Passover, but it continued for seven days.

They worshipped Jehovah on the first day and again on the last day. 

The unleavened bread reminded then to flee from slavery not even taking the time for the leaven to cause the bread to rise.

Notice also that Jehovah said no man was to appear before Him empty handed, but this offering was to still be a freewill offering.

Jehovah had done far too much for this people for them to offer nothing!

Deu 16:17  Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee. 

**There was then the Feast of the Harvest:

This Feast is also called the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost, or the Latter First fruits.

This Feast commemorates the "Giving of the Law" to the children of Israel and these laws were given to the Children of Israel.

We need to rightly divide the Scriptures to know which laws affect which people.

The three groups in the world are the Jews, the Church, and those who are Lost and without the Lord Jesus.

It was a time to present an offering of the new grain of the summer harvest to the Lord.

This Feast is tied to the Ten Commandments.

We are always to thank Jehovah for the harvest He gives to us, for the income and blessings He pours out upon us, and the offerings due to Him!

Mal 3:10  Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. 

**There was the Feast of Ingathering:

Also called the Feast of Tabernacles because the people were commanded to make small booths or lean-toos to live in during the time of this feast.

This feast was to remind them of that 40-year journey to the Promised Land.

This Feast celebrated the harvest of the grape vines and orchards and lasted for seven or eight days.

Neh 8:17  And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths: for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness. 

Neh 8:18  Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner. 

We can see that the Children of Israel were lax at keeping these feasts.

Jehovah demanded the observance of these feasts:

1) To bring these people together in the spirit of unity and oneness to build a strong, unified nation.

2) To show the people the great blessings of Jehovah, His deliverance, and His guidance day by day.

3) To cause this people to give thanks, to praise Jehovah and to give their tithes and offerings to Him.

Today, the Church can grow through our association with other true believers.

When we surround ourselves with other Christian believers we benefit from their wisdom and counsel.

Pro 11:14  Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety. 

We benefit from encouragement and edification.

We benefit from encouragement and edification.

Heb 10:24  And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 

Heb 10:25  Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. 

We benefit from safety and protection.

Gal 6:1  Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. 

Gal 6:2  Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. 

We benefit from unity and a common purpose.

Mat 18:19  Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. 

We benefit from worshipping our Lord Jesus Christ with like-minded people!

Php 2:1  If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, 

Php 2:2  Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 

Jehovah had these same intentions for these Children of Israel!

*****Exo 24:3  And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do. 

Exo 24:4  And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. 

You see, the Lord genuinely wants us to know about Him!

The Lord wants us to understand why His Word involves commandments and not suggestions!

This group of people did not think the Word of God was too harsh and they all agreed they needed to be obedient to the Word of God.

Jehovah is seeking a people committed to being obedient to all the things He says, and it is really not that hard.

We must overcome the pull of our own flesh to do terrible things that go against the Word of God!

Moses declared all the things of Chapter 19 and all the things of Chapters 21 through 23 and these people agreed that they needed to be obedient to all the Word of God.

These were the laws that were to govern their nation and they agreed that these were good laws.

This is the one thing that Jehovah wants from us all, "obedience"!

Deu 5:29  O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever! 

For a brief period of time all of Israel was in one mind and one accord with Jehovah God.

*****Exo 24:5  And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the LORD. 

Exo 24:6  And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 

Exo 24:7  And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient. 

Moses sealed this agreement with Jehovah and now the Mosaic Covenant was made.

Remember a covenant is a mutual agreement between two parties with each bound to fulfill certain agreements.

Moses wrote down all the words of this covenant so everyone could see what this agreement consisted of.

It was then that all people needed to study the Word of God so we could know this agreement.

2Ti 2:14  Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers. 

2Ti 2:15  Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Moses sealed this agreement by making it public.

Moses built an altar to sacrifice unto the Lord, a blood sacrifice.

In the Old Testament, to approach God required a sacrifice.

The burnt offering was a freewill offering.

The animal had to be a clean animal. Free from defects.

The blood of that animal was a substitute.

So we know all these sacrifices pointed these children of Israel to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Rom 5:8  But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 

Rom 5:9  Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 

When Moses read all the Word of God to the people, he was giving them the words they had committed themselves to, so there would be no confusion.

We know that in order to keep the Laws of God, we need to hear God's Word over and over again!

These children of Israel needed to learn those Ten Commandments.

They needed to base their civil laws upon that Word of God.

Moses then sprinkled the blood of the sacrifice upon the people saying this blood confirms this covenant between them and Jehovah God.

Lev 17:11  For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. 

Jehovah is very serious concerning the covenants He makes with any and all people!

We have come to understand the Laws of Moses as a symbol of a schoolmaster who brings us to the Lord Jesus Christ!

Amen

In Bondage to the Will of This World

 The Yoke of Bondage

Book of Exodus Chapters 1 and 2

Since we have learned again all the good things that come with our salvation provided by our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ, we can now look through the eyes of the Old Testament and see example after example of how God deals with not only His people but also the great fear that the world has for God's people.

We should not forget the world is afraid of Christians!

The world is afraid of the Word of God!

It is this fear of God's people that brings persecution, and oppression, and in many cases death.

Satan has only one goal and that is to rid the world of God's people in some sense of victory for himself, but he can never have victory over Jehovah as we have just witnessed in the death, the burial, and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

One of the great lessons in the Bible is the story of Joseph whom his own brothers sold into slavery, but God had another plan.

Gen 50:20  But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. 

Gen 50:21  Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them. 

Gen 50:22  And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father's house: and Joseph lived an hundred and ten years.

We may not ever understand why God allows so much evil to continue to exist, but we must see that God also continues to cause good to come from that evil.

If good were not destined to conquer evil, then it would seem that God could be conquered which would mean there is no God at all!

To be a Christian means that we are to strive to be more like God!

We must endure to draw good out of evil.

This is what the Holy Spirit does and also why the Holy Spirit abides in us after we come to know the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ.

2Th 2:5  Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? 

2Th 2:6  And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. 

2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 

2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 

2Th 2:9  Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 

2Th 2:10  And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 

When we understand these things, we also understand that the Rapture of the Church comes before the years called the Tribulation and the Great Tribulation.

We must always strive to be a part of the "Good" of the Lord and the destruction of the "Evil" of Satan, knowing it is the sin that is evil, and the sinners are the ones we need to reach in the name of Jesus Christ, obeying His command as we learned in the final passage of the Book of Matthew.

In reality we see that not only Joseph had died but all his brothers and the Bible says even all that generation.

In typology this represents the Rapture of the Church and then the Tribulation years as a new Pharoah (a type of the Antichrist) who has so much fear of even those who are lost because he knows the love God has even for the lost, he will bring on extreme persecution.

The people of God are ensnared into bondage.

Egypt in type becomes a picture of the world today which opposes God and enslaves God's people.

The lost are still enslaved in bondage to sin and then death!

The Book of Exodus becomes a great book of deliverance, of salvation, and of deliverance by the hand of a loving God named "I Am", Jehovah.

*****Exo 1:6  And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation. 

Exo 1:7  And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.

The purpose of the Church is to multiply and grow as one generation ceases to exist and the new generation takes over.

This cannot take place unless we teach the young ones the Word of God as they grow to do the same.

The Church is to always make disciples.

You see God wants a people who love Him and serve Him according to His Word.

God wants a people who will make disciples to go forth throughout the world as the Lord Jesus instructed.

God wanted a people through whom He could send His only Son and release them from the bondage of this world.

God wants a people who can preserve His written but unchanging Word, the Holy Bible.

God wants a people through whom He can demonstrate the truth of life here on earth and the truth of heaven and eternal life.

We know that life and salvation are not of this world.

We must know that life and salvation are Spiritual, and they are eternal.

We must know that these things are secured by "Faith".

Israel would be a "New Race" of people created to carry forth the truth of God.

To do this they, by the hand of the Lord must overcome bondage!

The first theme of the Book of Exodus is "deliverance".

*****Exo 1:8  Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. 

Exo 1:9  And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: 

Exo 1:10  Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land. 

Today the Church is in more danger from treachery from the outside world and government inspired hatred and cruelty, but we must not forget God's people cannot be defeated by Satan or his followers!

Mat 16:18  And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and "the gates of hell shall not prevail against it".

We see today the open war as the Church who is the enemy to this evil and wicked world battle.

The world is in bondage to sin!

The Church must multiply and stay strong but our strength still remains with our God, the Lord Jesus Christ who cannot be defeated.

Jehovah had proven "faithful" to Abraham who was faithful and the standard for us even today.

Gen 12:1  Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 

Gen 12:2  And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 

Gen 12:3  And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. 

God had promised Adam:

Gen 1:28  And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. 

God had promised Noah:

Gen 8:15  And God spake unto Noah, saying, 

Gen 8:16  Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee. 

Gen 8:17  Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.

God always does what He says He will do because God is "Faithful"!

What is another promise God has made?

Joh 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

Joh 3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 

Joh 3:18  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

The fear of God's people first brings enslavement. (Notice even in America our own government is trying to enslave the Church today)

*****Exo 1:11  Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses. 

Exo 1:12  But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel. 

Exo 1:13  And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour: 

Exo 1:14  And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour. 

Why is it that governments resort to persecution and oppression towards those who disagree with them?

It most always makes things worse, and those governments become totalitarian and usually fail.

Since we can know the ending before the beginning, we know that this Pharoah was destroyed along with his mighty army and Egypt has never really been much of a power in this world since that time period several thousand years ago.

This is why history is being erased.

All Marxist states will eventually fall!

All these things this Pharaoh tried was overcome by God's purpose and the simple fact that Jehovah keeps all His promises!

He could not stop Israel's population growth.

He could not break their spirits.

He could not cause great numbers of them to die using his methods.

How many of the rich in our world today are deliberately trying to stop population growth in every way they can today.

We hear so much about slavery today, but we do not hear about the slaves of Israel.

Israel had lost all freedoms they had while Joseph was still living.

While in slavery it was the Israelites who built the cities of Pithom and Rameses and who knows what else.

This Pharaoh was willing to bring any evil on his mind toward these people when he had no reason at all.

Let us make some comparisons.

Pharaoh was prince of Egypt; Satan is the prince of this world.

Pharaoh oppressed the people of God, Satan also oppresses the people of God

Pharaoh held to people he could rule, Satan clings to the lost people he rules.

Pharaoh enslaved people to do his will, Satan enslaves people to do his will.

This is why the Pharaoh is a type of the Antichrist.

This Pharaoh started what is called today "Abortion at full term".

*****Exo 1:22  And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive. 

When governments give out laws that allow certain individuals to murder innocent people it just proves how wicked they are.

These are not doctors they are murders for hire!

Many Muslim countries ok the freedom of its citizens to murder, maim, and persecute anyone who goes against their beliefs in a false god who was a murderer, a rapist, a child molester himself.

But there are other countries that allow the persecution and murder of innocent people.

Even in America persecution is allowed and it will not be long till murder will be considered in the hatred of Christians.

The Egyptian people could take young Israelite male children and drown them without repercussions.

The daughters were saved with the intention of making them slaves and sex slaves.

This type of action is even defended by other governments, or it is not considered when negotiating with those governments.

This law was overcome by true mothers, one of those being the mother of Moses, but there were other mothers who did what they had to preserve the life of their children.

You know what, I serve a God who overcomes persecution!

We must boldly take a stand on all laws that go against the Word of God!

2Ti 4:18  And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

2Pe 2:9  The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: 

The birth of Moses.

*****Exo 2:1  And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi. 

Exo 2:2  And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. 

Exo 2:3  And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink. 

Exo 2:4  And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him. 

Can you just imagine wicked men, hired by Pharaoh, patrolling the streets listening out for crying babies to take and then drown them?

Today in America the sanctity of life is under attack and most people do not even care!

It was this way in Egypt in the time of Moses, but the mother of Moses had a plan.

It is the call of God's people to stand up for our God, our children, and our families!

Moses was delivered because God had a purpose for his life just as God has a purpose for each of His children.

Most will not be called for such a task as Moses, but some will.

The story of Moses is fascinating!

Moses was chosen by God to single-handedly save these people who would be known as Israel.

1) The birth of Moses is a picture of the believer and "saving faith".

2) We know that Moses had to change his way of life, a picture of being "Born Again".

3) We see in Moses the ability to have a close and personal relationship with God.

4) We in Moses how God works through the use of His people.

5) We also see how God will fight for those who trust Him!

We first see a mother doing everything in her power to save the life of her newborn baby.

We should understand that as far social ranking of adults, the female Israelite was at the bottom of the list.

Godly mothers are the foundation of most societies today!

This woman who trusted God had no decent clothes and could not buy replacements; she was a slave.

This woman had no possessions and could not own anything, she was a slave.

The woman had no rank or position, she was just a slave with a loving husband and a God who cared!

All through the Bible we see that God uses this type of woman in places where no one else could do what needed to be done.

You will see in this woman was truly a courageous and righteous woman.

Moses was a goodly child!

Act 7:17  But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt, 

Act 7:18  Till another king arose, which knew not Joseph. 

Act 7:19  The same dealt subtilly with our kindred, and evil entreated our fathers, so that they cast out their young children, to the end they might not live. 

Act 7:20  In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father's house three months: 

Act 7:21  And when he was cast out, Pharaoh's daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son. 

Act 7:22  And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds. 

God had this plan from the beginning.

We should ask ourselves what do we do when our own government deliberately goes against the Word of God?

We should see that God's purpose is far more important than our love for our children.

We should see that God only hears the voice of those who believe in Him!

Deu 5:28  And the LORD heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; and the LORD said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all that they have spoken. 

Deu 5:29  O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever! 

We see that this precious mother had a plan that began with her complete trust in God.

She made a "watertight ark-like basket"

She placed baby Moses inside that basket and then placed that basket in the reeds of the Nile River.

We should know that the Nile River was worshiped as a god to the Egyptian people.

No doubt she knew something of the schedule and the bathing place where Pharaoh's daughter came to bath.

She knew that Moses could only be saved by some Egyptian official.

Once baby Moses was placed in the River and this princess came to bath, then God took over and caused that ark to float gently right up to this princess of Egypt.

Moses' older sister Miriam was placed close enough to see what happened.

Remember the female children were mostly safe from harm by the Egyptians.

In the midst of all these things we see that it was "faith" that was the power behind the rescue of baby Moses.

No doubt this precious mother had asked many questions in her prayers.

No doubt the Holy Spirit had placed these thoughts into the mind of this mother.

No doubt this mother's "faith" would increase as she saw her prayers being answered in a way she could never have dreamed of.

*****Exo 2:5  And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river's side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. 

Exo 2:6  And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews' children. 

Exo 2:7  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? 

Exo 2:8  And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child's mother. 

When we pray believing we know our prayer reaches into heaven and we know our prayer will be answered.

Sometimes God says yes.

Sometimes God says no.

Sometimes God says wait a little longer.

Sometimes God says, "I did this yesterday".

Sometimes God says "I have a better plan"

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 

We will find that this Scripture becomes so true in our life that we just cannot doubt God!

We should understand that no matter what we see on a map of Egypt in the time of Moses, Egypt is a desert.

True Egypt is that narrow strip of land that borders both sides of the Nile River.

The Nile River was the greatest of the false gods of Egypt!

The Nile has always been a river that overflowed in certain seasons and deposits its mud everywhere.

Rain is not something you see in Egypt it is rain from a far country that feeds the River Nile and brings nourishment to Egypt.

The Egyptians look down to all their gods while believers look up to Heaven.

These things are important as we see this Egyptian princess fin the baby Moses.

Even knowing that this was a Hebrew child she looked upon Moses as a gift from her god!

This is why the mother of Moses, Jochebed placed her baby in this strategic location and had Miriam watching.

Jehovah God was in this thing from the start.

Now watch God work:

This princess did not have time to take care of a small child and neither did she know how.

It was God who pinched baby Moses to cause him to cry.

God is always behind the scenes making sure things go His way and His purpose is fulfilled!

Miriam went and got Moses’ mother Jochebed to nurse and care for her own child in the palace of the King, Pharaoh and paid her big wages to do this.

Only the Lord God of Heaven could cause such things to happen!

*****Exo 2:9  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. 

Exo 2:10  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. 

God rewards faith!

Jochebed was hired to nurse her own son and got paid big wages to do so.

While Moses was taught the things of God, he was also taught the politics of the world and the workings of the mighty armies.

Act 7:21  And when he was cast out, Pharaoh's daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son. 

Act 7:22  And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds. 

Moses was taught "faith" by a mother who had seen the results of her own "faith".

Heb 11:24  By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; 

Heb 11:25  Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; 

Heb 11:26  Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. 

This brings us to another truth for our children.

Pro_22:6  Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Why was Moses called Moses? 

In many ways Moses was a type of the Christian maybe at the end of the seven years of Tribulation.

Isa 49:22  Thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders. 

Isa 49:23  And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me. 

Isa 49:24  Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? 

Isa 49:25  But thus saith the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children. 

Amen