Peter Howard
The Next Best Thing to Christmas
And a man of the house of Levi went and took as wife a daughter of Levi. So the woman conceived and bore a son. And when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months. But when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of bulrushes for him, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river’s bank. Exodus 2:1-3
The lives of both Moses and Jesus show the importance of families. The next best thing to Christ is a family…a family who loves you.
Moses was born during a trying time in the history of the children of Israel. Joseph had long been forgotten and the current Pharaoh was afraid because the Israelites were so numerous. In an effort to control their numbers he eventually decreed that all the baby boys were to be thrown into the river. Amram and Jochebed hid Moses in the bulrushes where he was rescued by Pharaoh’s daughter. Jochebed was able to continue caring for Moses until he was twelve years old at which time he went to live in Pharaoh’s palace. He would eventually free the Israelites from Egypt.
Jesus was also entrusted to an earthly family. His family had to flee to Egypt because of Herod’s degree to kill all baby boys under the age of two years, in an effort to get rid of the King of the Jews. At the age of twelve Jesus attended the Passover in Jerusalem, amazing the Rabbis with his knowledge. However, Jesus did not attend the rabbinical schools but remained at home with his parents, learning both the Bible and the trade of being a carpenter. His last thoughts on the cross were of his mother, placing her in the care of his disciple John.
Some of us may not have earthly fathers or mothers, brothers or sisters, uncles or aunts. However, we have a church family to love and support us, and we have the love of God, which outweighs even the love of a mother for her baby.
“God had heard the mother’s prayers; her faith had been rewarded. It was with deep gratitude that she entered upon her now safe and happy task. She faithfully improved her opportunity to educate her child for God. She felt confident that he had been preserved for some great work, and she knew that he must soon be given up to his royal mother, to be surrounded with influences that would tend to lead him away from God. All this rendered her more diligent and careful in his instruction than in that of her other children. She endeavored to imbue his mind with the fear of God and the love of truth and justice, and earnestly prayed that he might be preserved from every corrupting influence. She showed him the folly and sin of idolatry, and early taught him to bow down and pray to the living God, who alone could hear him and help him in every emergency. ” E G White – Patriarchs and Prophets page 243