A Deliverer Prepared

God did not save baby Moses only for Moses' sake. He saved him so that one day Moses could help save a whole nation.

Born in danger. Pharaoh had commanded, “Every son who is born you shall cast into the river” (Exodus 1:22). Moses was born under that law.

Pleasing to God. Stephen said, “At this time Moses was born, and was well pleasing to God; and he was brought up in his father's house for three months” (Acts 7:20).

Raised as a prince. “But when he was set out, Pharaoh's daughter took him away and brought him up as her own son” (Acts 7:21).

Well taught. “And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds” (Acts 7:22). God used Egypt's schools to train Israel's leader.

A mother's lessons. Before he went to the palace, Moses lived with his own mother (Exodus 2:9). There he could learn about the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

A mother's influence. God used the faith of an ordinary Hebrew mother to shape the man who would lead a nation. Small acts of faith matter to God.

A big choice. “By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:24-25).

Treasure. He esteemed “the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt” (Hebrews 11:26). Esteemed means counted. Reproach means shame.

Too soon. When Moses was forty, he tried to help by killing an Egyptian. “He supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand” (Acts 7:25). God's timing had not yet come.

God's deliverer. Stephen said Moses was “the one God sent to be a ruler and a deliverer” (Acts 7:35). A deliverer is someone who rescues.

Years of waiting. Moses spent forty more years as a shepherd in Midian before God called him at the burning bush (Acts 7:30). God was still preparing him.

What we learn. God prepares His servants over many years. Nothing in Moses' life was wasted: the river, the palace, the mistakes or the waiting.

What to do. Ask God to use your life to help others. Look for one way to serve someone this week.

Many years after Moses, another baby was born under a cruel king. His name was Jesus, and He is the greater Deliverer.

A Savior born. The angel said, “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11).

A cruel king again. King Herod “sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under” (Matthew 2:16).

Kept safe. An angel told Joseph, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt” (Matthew 2:13). God protected Jesus, as He had protected Moses.

Out of Egypt. Jesus stayed in Egypt until Herod died, “that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, ‘Out of Egypt I called My Son’” (Matthew 2:15).

Both kept safe. Pharaoh's river could not destroy Moses, and Herod's soldiers could not destroy Jesus. No one can stop God's plan to save His people.

God's Son. God called Israel “My son, My firstborn” (Exodus 4:22). Jesus is the true Son who always obeyed His Father.

A Prophet like Moses. Peter said, “For Moses truly said to the fathers, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren’” (Acts 3:22). That Prophet is Jesus.

More glory. “For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses” (Hebrews 3:3).

Servant and Son. “Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant… but Christ as a Son over His own house” (Hebrews 3:5-6).

Law and grace. “For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17).

He came down. Moses left a palace to share his people's troubles (Hebrews 11:25). Jesus left heaven to share our life and to die for us.

A greater rescue. Moses led Israel out of slavery in Egypt. Jesus rescues us from slavery to sin. “He has delivered us from the power of darkness” (Colossians 1:13).

The price paid. Jesus came “to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Moses could lead people out, but only Jesus could pay for their sins.

Alive forever. Moses died, but Jesus rose from the dead and lives forever. He is a Deliverer who will never leave us.

What we learn. God saved Moses to be a deliverer. God sent His Son to be the Deliverer of the whole world.

What to do. Thank Jesus for rescuing you. If you have not trusted Him yet, you can ask Him today to forgive your sins and be your Lord.