Topic: I Will Pay You Your Wages [Thursday 13, April 2017]
Memorise: Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. – Psalm 127:3
Read: Exodus 2:1-9 (KJV)
1 And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi.
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.
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.
4 And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him.
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.
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.
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?
8 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child's mother.
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.
Bible in One Year: Leviticus 25, Jeremiah 13:1-14
MESSAGE:
Many people who are blessed with the gift of children are not conscious of the fact that children are the heritage of the Lord, meaning that God is their rightful owner, and they are gifts from Him. This is why and adage from my village says “Rich people cannot find children to buy in the market.” What money cannot buy can only be obtained from the Almighty God. What then should be the attitude of parents to these priceless gifts? The answer can be seen in the story of the birth, adoption and upbringing of Moses, the child who later become the mouthpiece of the Almighty God. Moses was born at a time when Pharaoh had commanded that every newborn male child should be immediately killed. His mother tried to hide him for three months, but when he could no longer be hidden, she decided to drop him off by the bank of River Nile. Pharaoh’s daughter picked him up from there and adopted him as her own. By God’s providence, the princess gave Moses to a nurse who happened to be his mother. Hear what the princess said to 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.” - Exodus 2:9b
There are many lessons we can learn from this story. By adoption, Moses was the child of Pharaoh’s daughter, but she gave him over to a nurse to nurture him for her. This mirrors God’s divine arrangement, whereby He, being the owner of children, hands them over to parents to nurture them for Him. In other words, just as the princess told Moses’ mother, “nurse this child for me”, God is also saying to parents, “nurse this child for Me.” The princess also told Moses’ mother that she would pay her wages for a job well done. God is equally telling parents that if they properly nurture children for Him and not for themselves, He will reward them well. It is unfortunate that many parents are nursing God’s heritage for themselves or the devil; hence, they are getting their wages from the flesh or from the devil. This is the reason why many children have turned out to be a curse to their parents breaking their hearts because the parents nursed the children for themselves and not for the Lord. On the other hand, godly parents who train their children to fear the Lord are paid the wages of peace of mind from God at old age. The children of such parents prosper under the grace of Jesus, which they have been exposed to from infancy, and they are battles axes in the hands of their original Owner, the Almighty God.
Prayer Point: Father, give me wisdom to nurse the children You have divinely placed in my care, and may I not miss my reward for nursing them according to Your counsel.
Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.
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