Wednesday: Making a Way
Read the Scripture and devotional either on your own or with your people (family, small group, roommates), and then come together for the discussion each day.
Exodus 1:12-2:10
12 But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more the Israelites multiplied and spread, and the more alarmed the Egyptians became. 13 So the Egyptians worked the people of Israel without mercy. 14 They made their lives bitter, forcing them to mix mortar and make bricks and do all the work in the fields. They were ruthless in all their demands.
15 Then Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, gave this order to the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah: 16 “When you help the Hebrew women as they give birth, watch as they deliver. If the baby is a boy, kill him; if it is a girl, let her live.” 17 But because the midwives feared God, they refused to obey the king’s orders. They allowed the boys to live, too.
18 So the king of Egypt called for the midwives. “Why have you done this?” he demanded. “Why have you allowed the boys to live?”
19 “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women,” the midwives replied. “They are more vigorous and have their babies so quickly that we cannot get there in time.”
20 So God was good to the midwives, and the Israelites continued to multiply, growing more and more powerful. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.
22 Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Throw every newborn Hebrew boy into the Nile River. But you may let the girls live.”
2 About this time, a man and woman from the tribe of Levi got married. 2 The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She saw that he was a special baby and kept him hidden for three months. 3 But when she could no longer hide him, she got a basket made of papyrus reeds and waterproofed it with tar and pitch. She put the baby in the basket and laid it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile River. 4 The baby’s sister then stood at a distance, watching to see what would happen to him.
5 Soon Pharaoh’s daughter came down to bathe in the river, and her attendants walked along the riverbank. When the princess saw the basket among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it for her. 6 When the princess opened it, she saw the baby. The little boy was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This must be one of the Hebrew children,” she said.
7 Then the baby’s sister approached the princess. “Should I go and find one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?” she asked.
8 “Yes, do!” the princess replied. So the girl went and called the baby’s mother.
9 “Take this baby and nurse him for me,” the princess told the baby’s mother. “I will pay you for your help.” So the woman took her baby home and nursed him.
10 Later, when the boy was older, his mother brought him back to Pharaoh’s daughter, who adopted him as her own son. The princess named him Moses, for she explained, “I lifted him out of the water.”
Moses only arrived at the burning bush because many people had stepped in to save his life. Before Moses was born, Pharaoh decreed that all the Israelite baby boys should be killed. His life was under threat of death before it began. However, the Hebrew midwives refused to participate; they would not kill the babies. Moses’ mother accepted the risk that saving her son would bring to herself and kept him as long as she could before putting him in the basket in the river.
When she put him in the basket, his sister remained to watch over him. When Pharaoh’s daughter found the baby, Moses’ sister offered the services of their mother to care for the child. Moses’ existence was a testament to the women who had stood guard over his life. He would have never arrived at the burning bush except for their sacrifices.
When we arrive at places of consecration where God invites us into His work we have gotten there because of other people. God has put people into our lives to care for us, teach us, and stand guard over us. Often, they have loved us even at cost to themselves. This is part of the work that we are called to as believers. In 1 John 3:16-17, John says, “We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?” Part of following Jesus means caring for the people that God puts into our lives, even when it costs us something.
Knowing that we have arrived at consecration because of the giving of others keeps us humble. It lessens the chance that we will become puffed up, sure that our own talents have won us a spot. Instead, we will see God’s grace in all our lives caring for us through the people around us. The work of others in our lives should also remind us to pass that gift on to others. There are people in our lives who need the care we could give them. They will arrive at their moment of consecration and we will have been part of their story because we loved them. God is doing a work in us and asking us to participate in His work in others.
Discussion Questions
Who has invested in you? Can you send an email or a text? Can you make a phone call and thank them?
Who should you be investing in?
For your kids: Color a card to give to a teacher or loved one, thanking them for caring for you.
Prayer Prompt
Isaiah 43:19 See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.
Praise God for all the times He has made a way in the wilderness. Ask for opportunities to partner in His work.