Baby moses was born at the height of genocide when lives of Hebrew boys was worthless and expandable. Yet, the message that comes to us from the Bible is, ‘You are special and precious.’ When boys life becomes worthless, God's message is, 'you are special. (Moses) When girls life becomes worthless Bible's message is, ‘you are special’ (Hagar). Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman, 2 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. 3 But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket[a] for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. 4 His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him. 5 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. 6 She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said. 7 Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?” 8 “Yes, go,” she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother. 9 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. 10 When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses,[b] saying, “I drew him out of the water.”11 One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. 12 Looking this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13 The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?”14 The man said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “What I did must have become known.” 15 When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian, where he sat down by a well. Some cultures in the world favour boys over girls. Also, extreme feminism favours girls over boys. Bible's message is simple: 'You are created in the image of God and therefore you are special and equal. 1. Born Special Important question is, as a boy and a girl, who are you primarily special to? Answer: To parents and to God 1. Special To Parents Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman, 2 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. 3 But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket[a] for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. The greatest blessing for a child is; love, care, protection and guidance they receive from their parents. The greatest challenge for the parents is to live up to a standard of good parenthood. On the other hand the greatest challenge for a child is to be grateful. 2. Special To God 3 But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket[a] for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. 4 His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him. There comes a time when parental care becomes limited and child is launched into the world. For parents there are two major concerns once children outgrow their childhood: Who they will marry and what they will do in life? We are going to look at the second one now. 2. Born For What? Person's specialness comes from two sources. a) An Intrinsic Value which is independent of your work b) What You Do In LIfe Both of these are essential in possessing values on which human life depends. Moses experienced three life's pathways. Career Path, Social Activism, God's Call to Mission. 1. Career Path (Prince of Egypt) “When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son.” Moses became the prince of Egypt. He began to pursue the career of a prince which might potentially have led him to become the Pharaoh of Egypt. a) Positives of Career Pathway: Opportunities given, prestige, wealth, influence, comfort, glory. b) Negatives of Career Pathway: Politics, Treachery, Power struggle, Power corruption, Ignorance of plight of ordinary people. Typically, career oriented people are self-oriented. Because, carer people are highly motivated there is a constant danger of engaging in: politics, treachery, power struggle, corruption and being ignorant of the plight of ordinary people. Moses, the prince lived this kind of life and became ‘sick of it.’ 2. Social Activist (SJW) ”One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. 12 Looking this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. What made Moses change? Seeing politics, corruption treachery and injustice made him change. Moses became frustrated that he could not change things. He became angry because of injustice. This all led him to become a murderer. a) Positives About Moses as SJW He was others oriented and stood against injustice. b) Negatives About Today's SJW: 1. They Become Unjust Egyptian's crime does not fit the right punishment. 2. They Make Things Worse Moses becomes an outlaw & fugitive and people worse off. 3. Morally Selective and Not Comprehensive 4. They Make Us To Be Enemies 5. There is no God in It 3. God's Call to a Life of Mission a) Orientation from self to others b)Sense of Justice It's a comprehensive justice c) Universal sinfulness and universal salvation