Whenever she sees a nativity scene Maggie (the two year old) says, “Baby Moses!”  Of course the baby in the nativity scene is not Moses, but that does not mean there isn’t a connection.  In fact, the more I ponder it, the more I see baby Jesus foreshadowed in baby Moses.  Here we go:  (1) Baby Moses is born to “no name” parents (literally, they are NOT named! [Exodus 2:1]).  Likewise, Jesus is born to “no name” parents (His dad is a lowly carpenter, and His mother is a teenager).  (2) Moses’ life was threatened (the king of Egypt feared the Hebrews, and thus decreed that all the Israelite boys should be put to death [Exodus 1:16, 22]).  Jesus’ life was threatened (the king of Israel [Herod the Great] feared the reports of Jesus’ birth, and therefore he attempted to murder ALL the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under [Matthew 2:16-18]).  (3) Moses’ mother decided to abandon Moses because it seemed to be the most reasonable thing to do (Exodus 2:3). Similarly, Jesus’ father decided to abnegate Jesus because it seemed like the most reasonable thing to do (Matthew 1:19).  (4) Moses had people looking out for him (while the feeble infant Moses floated in a bulrush basket amongst the reeds of the Nile river, his sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him [Exodus 2:4]).  Likewise, Jesus had people and angels looking out for Him (an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph and convinced him to take Mary as his wife [Matthew 1:20-21]; the wise men who had come from the east to see Jesus ignored king Herod’s command to know the whereabouts of Jesus [Matthew 2:12]; and an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream telling him to take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt [Matthew 2:13]).  (5) Ironically, Egypt became a refuge for Moses (the daughter of the king of Egypt stumbles upon baby Moses floating in the Nile river and adopts him as her own [Exodus 2:5-10]).  Likewise, Egypt became a refuge for Jesus as well (an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” [Matthew 2:13]).  

But here’s the most amazing thing about these babies:  the promise of God’s salvation was contingent upon the survival of a little baby who should have never survived!  Think about it… God planned, and promised, from all eternity to use Moses as His instrument of redemption (see Exodus 3-13), and yet Moses was born in a time when no Hebrew baby boy was allowed to live!  And even if it had been a time of peace, the fact remains that God put all the hope of salvation in an embryo!  God chose that weakest form of human life as the harbor of the promise of salvation for millions of people!  Is it not incredible that this baby, in whom the promise of deliverance was hid, was at one time helplessly stranded - floating in a river as a 3 month old baby!  …How perfectly this baby Moses foreshadows the true Savior of God’s people to come – Jesus Christ!  God’s ultimate promise of salvation was utterly contingent upon a little baby who should have never survived infancy or childhood!  All the promises of redemptive history, which had been prophesied, foreshadowed, and alluded to for thousands of years, were found in this one little (seemingly insignificant) embryo – conceived in the whom of a “no name” teenager, and born in the territory of a ruthless king who sought to slaughtered every boy Jesus’ age.  And as it is nowadays, so it was then – Mary would have been advised to “abort” the child (the only difference is that government funding wouldn’t have been available to Mary as it is available to mothers today).  Think about it.  Mary would have been considered crazy - her story was that she had been impregnated by the power of the Spirit of God.  Mary’s fiancé recognized the disgrace in this, and thus sought to break things off.  But then he had a change of heart, because he claimed that an angel visited him in a dream and told him to stay with Mary.  But does really help matters?  …instead one “crazy” person we now have two “crazy” people!  If this baby is allowed to live, then certainly social services will snatch him away the first chance they get!  Moreover, it’s not just the “mental instability” of Mary and Joseph that would dictate an abortion, it is also the fact that they cannot financially sustain having a child.  Joseph is a carpenter, and he cannot even afford to have the baby in a hospital …Mary gives birth in a barn!  How is social services NOT involved!!!???  And on top of all this there is a merciless dictator in power who wants this baby dead!  All in all, it would seem that this just isn’t the time to be having a baby.  

But this is precisely when God chose to send the baby in whom every promise of salvation exists.  And these are precisely the people God chose to be the parents of the Messiah.  Think about it.  All the unbelievable, incredible, unthinkable, unimaginable, immense promises of redemption are wrapped up in this one little baby!!!  Who would have ever devised such a plan?  …Who would ever be able to pull it off???  The only Living and True God (the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob devised it and pulled it off!  

So when you see a nativity scene during Christmas time, go ahead an think back to baby Moses (seriously – go ahead, it’s okay), because baby Moses so perfectly foreshadows the paradox of that little baby born in a barn in the land of a tyrant who wanted him dead.  

Merry Christmas!!!