Wondering in the Wilderness Part 4, Moses' Mothers

0:00 For the past few weekends, we've been listening to, looking at, and learning from the children of Israel as they wander in their wilderness experience between the delivery from Egypt and their entry into Canaan, the promised land. Today, as we get into part four of that wandering in the wilderness, I want to put a little Mother's Day spin on it. I'm going to ask, if you will, to turn in your Bibles or on your devices to the second book of the Bible, the book of Exodus. If we'll turn to the second book, why don't we go ahead and go to the second chapter. Exodus chapter 2, beginning in verse number 1. This morning I'm reading out of the New International Version. Listen for the word of the Lord as I read aloud. Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman. 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. But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch.

1:00 Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile River. His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him. 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. She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying and she felt sorrow for him. This is one of the Hebrew babies, she said. Then his sister asked Pharaoh's daughter, shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you? Yes, go, she answered. So the girl went and got the baby's mother. 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. And when the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son.

1:58 She, meaning Pharaoh's daughter, named him Moses, saying, I drew him out of the water. On this Mother's Day, as we continue looking at and listening to and learning from this wilderness, I want to talk to you about Moses' mothers. Moses' mothers.

2:22 I think it can be said without little debate and discussion that central to the children of Israel and their journey from Egypt to Promised Land is but one figure. His name is Moses. Moses, whom God calls at the burning bush and challenges him to go before mighty Pharaoh, saying, let my people go. Moses, whom God empowered to do miracles through his hands. Moses, who stood at the bank of the Red Sea and had to trust God in ways that no one had ever trusted God before. Moses, who endures patiently with the children of Israel as they complain and grumble and wander their way through the wilderness. Moses, who was said to be so unique that he sat face to face with God, heard the voice of God, received the laws of God, proclaimed the word of God.

3:19 Moses was so unique that when you get to the end of Deuteronomy and Moses dies, you'll find out that God alone buried Moses. Read the end of the book of Deuteronomy. God eulogizes Moses. God is the pallbearer. God is the funeral director. God is the attendant at the cemetery. Nobody knows where Moses died and was buried, because God buried him. Moses is unique in all the history of Israel. As a matter of fact, at the end of Deuteronomy, the only thing you read on the obituary of Moses is that no prophet in Israel ever did what Moses did. None of them ever displayed the power of Moses. None of them were ever as close to God as Moses. Above David, Moses. Above Elijah, Moses. Above Isaiah and Jeremiah and Ezekiel stands Moses.

4:14 There's no one in the history of Israel as great as Moses. And what you might find surprising about the greatness of Moses, if you read your Bible, you'll be a better Christian, but you'll also find out that Moses was never shaped by his relationship with a man. Hear me, the greatness of Moses, according to Scripture, is not influenced by his relationship with a father or a grandfather or a preacher or a Boy Scout leader or a principal or a basketball coach. No, Moses is influenced more by the women in his life than by anything else he comes into contact with. In particular, there are five women who play a mothering role in Moses' life. I want you to know their name and say them with me.

5:11 Shipra, Pua, Jochebed, Bethiah, and Miriam. Let's say them again. Shippah, Pua, Jochebed, Bethiah, and Miriam.

5:33 Now, unless you are a Bible scholar, you probably have never heard too many of those names. Because sadly, the greatness of a man or a woman is too often detached from the names of the women who ought to receive credit for the contribution they made to make them great. Let me say that again. Too often, the greatness of a man or a woman is sadly detached from the name of another woman who ought to receive credit for the contribution they made to make someone great. Can I teach the Bible for a little bit? That's why you turned into Alfred Street. In your Bible, your Old Testament, in its original form, are the unique scriptures for our Jewish sisters and brothers. In its original form, it's called the Hebrew Bible, not the Old Testament.

6:31 And when you do your research, you'll find out that the Hebrew Bible is subtly different from the Old Testament in a few ways. Number one, the number of books are different. There are fewer books in the Hebrew Bible than the Old Testament because in the Old Testament, we divide out books. And so, give you an example. First and second Kings in the original Hebrew Bible is just called Kings. We made two, what is only one in its original form. Not only are the number of books different, but the ordering of the books are different. In the Old Testament, we move from Genesis to Malachi. But in the original Hebrew Bible, they move from the Torah into the prophets, into the writings. And so when you look at the structure, you'll find it's different. But the third difference that's most intriguing are the names of the biblical books.

7:30 Hear me, the names that we give in English are not necessarily the original Hebrew names. In our Old Testament, we tend to name, especially the first five books of the Bible, by events that happen in that book. Stay with me. But in the Hebrew Bible, the books are not named after events. The books are given titles based upon the Hebrew wording that shows up in chapter 1, verse 1. Pastors, say that again. In our Old Testament, we tend to name the books of the Bible based upon an event that happens in that book. But in the original Hebrew Bible, the first five books of the Bible are named after the Hebrew words that show up in chapter 1, verse 1. Let me give you an example. So we call the first book of the Bible Genesis.

8:23 But in Hebrew, the first book of the Bible is called Bereshit. And Bereshit literally means in beginning. because chapter 1, verse 1 of Genesis reads, in the beginning. Okay, give you another example. We call it the book of Numbers. And the reason we call it the book of Numbers is because in that book, there's a census taken and all the people are counted or numbered. But in the original Hebrew, book is not called Numbers. It's called Bar-Mitbar. And Bar-Mitbar literally means in the wilderness because chapter 1, verse 1 of the book of Numbers says in the wilderness. Are you with me? If you're not lost, then the book of Exodus will teach you something because the book of Exodus, in English we call it Exodus because of the event of the children of Israel leaving Egypt. But according to chapter 1, verse 1, which gives us the Hebrew title, the book of Exodus is called Shemot.

9:26 Shemot. and Shemot literally means names. Watch this. The book of Exodus is literally a book of names. Why? Because chapter 1, verse 1 starts by saying, here are the names of the sons of the children of Israel who made their way into the promised land. So Exodus is a book of names. And in chapter 1, it begins to list all the names and all the names are male. as if the men get there without any women. And if you keep reading, the insult to the injury is not only that there are only male names given, but when we are introduced to women, beginning in chapter two of Exodus, the women remain nameless. They're anonymous.

10:19 Beloved, I understand the patriarchy that was existent when scriptures read. I understand that it was a male dominant society. I understand that women weren't afforded the same equal privilege as men. But I would suggest to you that there's something fundamentally wrong about telling the story of a people and leaving out the names of the women who are responsible for that story even going down. And maybe, just maybe, the 2020 lesson of the book of Exodus is that we should never tell our story of greatness and leave out the names of the women God has used to fulfill his greatness in our own story. What a sad thing to edit and omit and leave anonymous the names of the women whom God has used in your life.

11:14 There's something wrong with leaving the women's names out. You know, one of the things I was amazed about in church history, especially black church history, if you go back a couple generations, you'll find that most pastors, most male black pastors in the black church, they were known by their initials and not their name. Give you an example. Our church, our pastor was L.R. Jackson. And it took me till I was a grown man to know that L.R. stood for Lawrence Robert. I once asked the question, why did senior black male pastors go by their first initials? The answer was because they were raised in a racialized and segregated society where black men, even as pastors, were continuously disrespected by their male Caucasian counterparts. And so watch what our forefathers did.

12:09 They went by the names L.R. rather than Lawrence Robert because they understood that if their white male counterparts knew their real name, they were disrespected by giving them a nickname. So if a preacher's name was Thomas Robert, he would go by TR because he knew that if his white male counterparts knew his name was Thomas, they'd call him Tommy. Or if they knew his name was Robert, they'd call him Robbie. And so they understood that if you don't know my name, you can't disrespect my name. I came here to tell you today that names matter. You may not know this, but the term Howard John with a hyphen, Those are both my grandfathers. Howard is my maternal grandfather. John is my paternal grandfather. And the one thing they raised me up was never let anybody disrespect your name. So no, you can't call me Howie.

13:03 You can't call me Hojo. And yes, we will correct you if you call me John Howard. That's not what my mama named me. My name is Howard John, and I demand that my name be respected. But beloved, I would suggest to you that even more disrespectful than misnaming someone is to not name them at all. That maybe the greatest disrespect we've heaped upon our women is allowing them to remain anonymous and nameless and tell our story without highlighting the women whom God has used to make us great. I suggest to you that if you pull Moses from the sideline of heaven and put him on the witness stand and asked him to testify about how God got him to where God got him, Moses would tell you, I wouldn't have gotten here were it not for five mothers and mother figures that God used in his life.

14:06 Can I share with you the five women that have shaped Moses to help you see the five women God has used in your life? The first ones are a pair of Hebrew midwives named Shipra and Pua. Shipra and Pua. When you go back to chapter 1, you'll find that there is a pharaoh on the throne by the name of Amenhotep I. And Amenhotep is concerned about the fecundity, I love big words, about the fertility of the Israelites. they are multiplying. And so he initiates infanticide by demanding that these two Hebrew midwives, that when they deliver Hebrew women, if they find out that the child is male, they are to kill the child on the spot. Imagine the audacity of being told by the government that you have to kill young black children.

15:07 Shippah and Pua refuse to do it because the Bible says they fear God more than they fear Pharaoh. And because of Shippah and Pua's disobedience to Pharaoh, a generation of Hebrew male children are allowed to live and survive. Fast forward some 70 years, there's another Pharaoh on the throne. Thutmose the first. He is Pharaoh when Moses is born. And by the time Moses is born, watch this, Jeff, Shippah and Pua are already dead, which means that Shippah and Pua didn't deliver Moses. Shippah and Pua never put their hands on Moses. Moses never laid eyes on Shippah and Pua, but yet he's responsible to them. Why?

15:58 his father Amram. Amram is delivered by Shipprah and Pua. So follow the train. If there's no Shipprah and Pua, there's no Amram. If there's no Amram, there's no Moses. And so even though Moses is detached from Shipprah and Pua, Moses has to realize that the life I live is directly responsible for Shipporah and Pua. They may be gone. I may not have met them. They may not have laid hands on me. But if it wasn't for those two sisters, if it wasn't for their sacrifice, if it wasn't for their courage, if it wasn't for their diligence, I wouldn't be living the life I live right now. And beloved, I came by to tell you that in 2020, with all the benefits we have, with this equal society we profess we live in, we can now go in the front door of any hotel, sit at any restaurant. We can stay at hotels so nice we can't even fit the towels in our bags anymore. And yet we owe all of that to some shipwras and puas. I've been blessed recently by a book called Of Water and the Spirit. And the author Maladome Somme traces some African religious rituals. And what's important about the book is that it helps you see how some of African American Christianity incorporated African rituals and tradition to dispel this myth that Christianity is some white man's religion given simply to make the slaves docile. No, our slave mothers and forefathers received that Christianity and blended it with their African traditions and created something the slave masters could not control. But what I also like is that it highlights that in some of our African traditions, there's a ceremony of naming the dead. Because when we name the dead, they never truly die. When we name the dead, we remember that the life we live is in no small part due to the sacrifice they made. So on this Mother's Day, I want to name

18:05 some of the sisters who are responsible for the life we live. I want to name Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth. I want to name Ida B. Wells and Angela Davis and Rosa Parks. I want to name Fannie Lou Hamer and Shirley Chisholm and Dorothy Height and Marian Wright Edelman and Ruby Dee and Barbara Jordan and Mary McLeod Bethune and Madam C.J. Walker. I want to name Doris Ashton and Deacon Mary Ware and Reverend Dr. Faye Savage-Gunn and Judy Frentress-Williams. And I want you to take a moment and just name some of the shipwras and puas that you know if it had not been for them, if they hadn't had courage, if they hadn't stood up, if they hadn't lifted their voices, if they hadn't sacrificed themselves, if they hadn't been pioneers, if they hadn't done the unprecedented, if they hadn't opened doors, that none of us would be where we are right now. Thank God for Shipra and Pua. Not only is Moses indebted to Shipra and Pua, but Moses is also mothered by Jochebed. Say it with me, Jochebed. Jochebed is the name of Moses' birth mother. She's the one who carried him and delivered him. And the one thing all of us have in common across the face of this earth is that some woman somewhere at some time carried us and even sacrificed her body that we might be birthed and born. Today we honor those mothers who birthed us.

19:46 Now I acknowledge that for some people Mother's Day is difficult because you find it hard to honor Jacobed. Let me tell you about Jacobed. Jacobed gives birth to Moses and nurses him for three months. And then she realizes that she can't protect him, that she can't raise him, that she's done the best she can. And after three months, one way of looking at it is that she decides she can't do this mothering thing anymore. She runs out of options. So she makes a decision that many of us would question.

20:30 Jochebed decides to give Moses away. Jochebed goes down to the river, creates a makeshift raft, puts her baby in it, takes an innocent, helpless infant, and casts him out on the Nile to fiend for himself. She releases him before he's ready to protect and provide for himself because she doesn't know what else to do. And she releases her child into the world.

21:07 Somebody, I want to acknowledge that Mother's Day is hard for you because you realize you didn't get Claire Huxtable. You got Jacobin. and there's a hurt and disappointment you carry in your heart because the one who birthed you didn't raise you. Jochebed didn't bake cookies for you on your birthday and take you to church on Sundays. Jochebed skipped parent-teacher's conferences and didn't show up to your school plays. Jochebed was physically and verbally abusive to you. Jochebed put you in harm's way and never apologized. Jochebed neglected you and left you to be raised by family or even through adoptive parents. Jochebed knew you were being molested and ignored it anyway.

22:12 Jochebed cared more about her job and her boo than she did her child. Because of Jochebed, you had to grow up too soon, too fast. You lost your childhood caring for your siblings because Jochebed wouldn't. You gave Jochebed chance after chance after chance after chance, and Jochebed could never change. And I would suggest to you that one of the most painful moments in the life of any child is to recognize that your mom is a Jacobin. That your mom is a human being who had her own issues and things that hindered her from being the mother you desire. To realize that your mom wrestled with her own demons and her own trauma.

23:07 That she had the ability to carry you but not the capacity to love you and raise you. That she had some things that happened in her past that hurt her in ways that she could never express, never got therapy for, never apologized for. What do you do when you recognize that your mom was a Jacobin? I know that's hurtful. I know it's disappointing. I know it scars us for life. The word of God that I feel pressed to share into you if your mom was a Jochebed is this, that the Lord says on this Mother's Day, love her for who she is and forgive her for who she wasn't.

23:56 Love her for who she is and forgive her for who she wasn't. because here's the reality my brothers and my sisters Jochebed may have had to give Moses away but can you imagine the pain in her heart as she released Moses right there at the water she may never have been able to express it may never have understood it but can you imagine the pain and the agony of realizing that the best I can do is to let them go and beloved you may never understand the pain in Jochebed's heart You may never understand the trauma and the tragedy that made her the way she is. You may never understand what pushed her into addiction, what made her walk away. So God says, listen, here's what I need you to do to be a real Christian. I need you to look past your hurt and see her humanity, to look past your pain and see that she's a person.

24:59 and that maybe, just maybe, Jochebed did the best she could with what she knew. Love her for who she is and forgive her for who she isn't. But thanks be to God, Moses' story doesn't end with Jochebed because the Bible says that when Jochebed releases Moses into the water, Pharaoh's daughter sees him. Her name is Bethiah. Say Bethiah. And Bethiah picks Moses up out the water. And Bethiah says, listen, I didn't birth him, but I'm going to love him. Bethiah says, he's not my birth child, but I'm going to provide a home for him. And thank God that even when Jochebed released us and hurt us, that God somehow prepared a Bethiah by the river to pull us in. This Mother's Day is not only for the Shipras and the Puas and the Jochebeds, But this Mother's Day is for Bethiah, the women who didn't birth us but fed us, the women who didn't deliver us but made room in their houses for us, the women who brought us to their dinner tables, the women who paid the tuition when they didn't have to, the women who took us into their homes, raised us with their own children, showed up at parent-teacher conferences, were there when we walked across the stage.

26:20 is there anybody watching today who can thank God for Bethiah? That when Jochebed couldn't, Bethiah did. And oh, I thank God for those women that stepped up and adopted us and loved us and protected us and taught us and walked with us and held us. Thank God for Bethiah.

26:47 Moses has Shippah and Pua. He's got Jochebed. He's got Bethiah. But can I tell you who the real hero to me is? It's his last mother figure. Her name is Miriam. Now, you should be familiar with that name. Miriam is technically Moses' sister. But watch what Miriam does. When Jochebed releases Moses in the water and before Bethiah picks him up, the Bible says that Miriam is running alongside the water watching Moses sail down the Nile because Miriam has made a decision. That child will not die on my watch. Miriam has decided that if I get to run, I will run to be certain that that child lives. Praise God for the Miriams who said, I didn't birth him and I may not raise him, but I'm going to protect him and make certain that nothing happens to that child. Thank God for that Miriam in the classroom. Thank God for that Miriam in the principal's office. Thank God for that Miriam at the counselor's desk. Thank God for the Miriams that ran alongside and said, I will protect that child. Miriam is such a bad mamma jamma that when Bethiah picks Moses up out the water, Bethiah knows that Moses needs to be fed. But since Matthias has not had a child, Matthias cannot breastfeed him. And so she says, listen, is there anybody you know who can take care of Moses? And Miriam raises her hand and says, I know just the sister. And she goes back and gets Jacobin. And watch this. Now Jacobin is paid to raise her child that she had to release all because of Miriam. Miriam is a bad mama jamma.

28:35 Let me tell you something else I believe Miriam does. Moses, Moses goes out one day out of the palace. We don't know how old he is. Let's say 20. He goes outside the palace. He wants to see his people. And he sees a Hebrew being beaten by an Egyptian. and Moses sides with the Hebrew. Now, I want to push this. I want to make sure you get it. Moses leaves the palace, sees a brother getting beaten, and says, that's my people, and intercedes because he sides with the Hebrew. I want to push this a little bit.

29:23 Moses is born in Egypt. And I know this may shock some of the people who want to detach Egypt from its continent, But Egypt is in Africa. Moses is African. Moses is African. Sorry, Charleston, Heston, and Ten Commandments. That's not an accurate portrayal. Moses is African. And this African who's raised in the palace knows that he's got to leave the palace to go see his people. and when he sees his people in oppression, he sides with them and intervenes. Moses is an African raised in the palace, but leaves to see his people and intervenes when his people are struggling. Shame on any African who makes it to the palace and doesn't care about his people.

30:21 Shame on any African that allows their prosperity to cause you to ignore somebody else's poverty. Shame on any African. that's climbed up the ladder, made it through an open door, kicked the ladder down, and closed the door. Shame on any African who allows your job security to make you negligent of somebody's food insecurity. Shame on any African who won't leave the palace to care about his people. This African Moses not only leaves the palace, but this African Moses sees his people and identifies with them. I want you to see the setting. Moses is raised as an Egyptian, but he goes outside and identifies as a Hebrew. How does Moses know he's Hebrew? If he's raised in the palace, if he's raised with Pharaoh, if he's raised with money in his pocket, how does he step outside and see a Hebrew and say, that's my people. Real simple. Miriam. Miriam works for Pharaoh's daughter. And I would argue with you that Miriam made certain that Moses knew who he was, that Miriam made certain Moses knew you are not Egyptian, you are Hebrew. She gave him a sense of identity. She gave him a sense of responsibility. She made sure that Moses knew you've got to care about your people when they're being oppressed. Praise God for the Miriams who gave us a sense of identity and responsibility to our own people. And could it be that when God calls Moses in chapter 3 at the burning bush, Moses says yes, because Miriam had already told him who your people are. And without Miriam, there may have been no Moses. Miriam is a bad mama jamma. Let me tell you the reason why I love me some Miriam, and this is good news for somebody. When you go home and you read your Bible and you

32:26 do your commentary work and your scholarship, here's what you're going to find out about Miriam. You ready? Miriam never got married, and Miriam never had a baby. Miriam is not married, and she never has a child, but she yet is critical in the delivery of an entire nation of people. This sister, with no ring on her finger and no child from her womb, is directly responsible for an entire nation being delivered out of slavery. I know who I came to encourage this morning, and I dare not say that I understand the complexities of being a woman nor the struggle. But I do want to give a word of encouragement to a sister out there who's a little disappointed that the ring hasn't come yet. A sister who's a little pressed about making certain you give birth to a child.

33:26 I don't understand all of that. I'm a man. I'm not going to speak on what I don't know. But I do want to encourage you to look at Miriam because I came by to tell you that matrimony and marriage and motherhood and maternity are not the only ways you are great in this world. That without that ring and even without that child, Miriam is a model of God's ability to use you in ways that this world has yet to value. Your life has value without that ring. Your life has value before that child. If you never give birth, if you never get married, know this, that God has potential and possibility and power for your life. And so I've got the audacity to say happy Mother's Day, Miriam. Happy Mother's Day, Shippor and Pua. Happy Mother's Day, Jacobad.

34:20 Happy Mother's Day, Bethiah. Without you, we would not be. In Jesus' name, amen. I pray that you continue to be blessed by the word of God. next week we're going to continue on in our series Wandering in the Wilderness as we look at the children of Israel when they are in exile and hear what God tells them to do in the meantime until then when we gather together again may the grace of God be with you and happy Mother's Day to all the Shipras, the Pua's the Jochebeds, the Bethias and the Miriams