Exodus Week 5 Sermon Notes - Pastor Johnny Scott
Happy Mother's Day!

Exodus 2:1–4
Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman,
2 and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son.
When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months.
3 But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.
4 His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.

Jochebed
“A Mother Trusting God in Impossible Circumstances”
Parenting is NOT passivity

Can you think of a more crisis-filled environment?
-Baby genocide is happening

If there was ever a moment to throw up your hands…
BUT:
-She hid him
-Protected him
-Prepared the basket
-Waterproofed it
-Strategically placed him

Bigger Than Her Story
There’s something for you here…
But there’s also a larger story always being told.

The Basket
The word for “basket” here
is the same word used for Noah’s ark

-Carried through judgment waters
-Preserved by God
-Carried future deliverance

Parenting Tension
Some parents swing toward:
-Total control
OR
-No responsibility

Jochebed Shows Us:
Do everything you can…
then trust God with the rest

Big Truth
“Faith is not doing nothing.
Faith is doing everything you can…
and trusting God for what you can’t.”

There Is A Moment To Let Go
“But when she could hide him no longer…”
That phrase is emotionally loaded.

Every parent eventually realizes:
-You cannot control every outcome
-You cannot protect forever
-You cannot walk every road for them

Modern Riverbank Moments
-First day of school
-Driving
-College
-Bad influences
-Heartbreak
-Prodigals

Exodus 2:5–10
Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank.
She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it.
6 She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him.
“This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said.
7 Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter,
“Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?”
8 “Yes, go,” she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother.
9 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her,
“Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.”
So the woman took the baby and nursed him.
10 When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son.
She named him Moses, saying,
“I drew him out of the water.”


Early Years Matter
Moses’ mother must have profoundly shaped him
Because later:
-He rejects the palace
-Rejects Egyptian luxury
-Chooses the Hebrews

Moms Matter
The early years count
-Teach them Scripture
-Pray over them
-Create a spiritual atmosphere
-Model faith

God Was Already In The Water
Before Moses arrived:
-Pharaoh’s daughter was there
-Compassion was there
-Provision was there

Mom couldn’t see:
-The palace
-The provision
-The future

But God already had it arranged.

Wild Detail
She was paid to raise her own son.
Pharaoh funded the education
of the future deliverer of Israel.

Application
What do you need to set into the water?
-A marriage
-A dream
-A future
-A loved one
-A calling
-A situation

Big Truth
God wants whatever you love most.
“We all eventually come to a riverbank moment…
Where we’ve done everything we can do…
And now we have to trust God with the outcome.”

Jochebed’s Story Is Really About:
Surrendering what you love most to God.
That’s:
-Abraham & Isaac language
-Jesus language
-Discipleship language
-Every believer’s journey


Moms:
We honor you today
-The institution of motherhood
-Those who are moms but didn’t give birth
-Those praying for a baby

Psalm 78:4
“We will not hide them from their descendants;
we will tell the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord,
his power, and the wonders he has done.”