We are indeed able to boldly approach God’s throne, laying our burdens, cries, and groans before Him with the steadfast hope that He will hear, He will see, and He will know. And this hope is rooted, not in God’s remembrance of any good that we have done, for as Jonathan Edwards (I believe) rightly noted that we contribute nothing to our salvation except the sin that made it necessary. Instead, we know God looks favorably upon us as His children through His remembrance of Christ and the covenant that He made through His blood.

Chapters 2 and 3 of Genesis set the scene for the remainder of the book of Genesis as well as the Bible as a whole. Chapter 2 establishes how the world was created to be, the garden paradise that we still yearn for. Chapter 3, however, purposely mirrors chapter 2 because it reveals how paradise was lost to humanity. These first two chapters of Exodus form a similar, though reverse, picture. In chapter 1, we saw the enslavement of God’s people under the wicked hand of Pharaoh, yet when enslavement failed to sufficiently beat down the Israelites, Pharaoh resorted to infanticide. Chapter 2 mirrors chapter 1, giving us a glimpse of how God will rescue His people from their oppression through how God rescues Moses as their future leader. Just as chapter 1 ended with Pharaoh’s attempted infanticide, chapter 2 begins with God’s preservation of Moses in the midst of that slaughter. The account of Israel’s enslavement in chapter 1 then contrasts with Moses’ exodus from Egypt in chapter 2. Finally, just as chapter 1 began with the names of the patriarchs to remind us of God’s providence in bringing them into Egypt, chapter 2 ends with God preparing to deliver His people from their slavery.
Moses & the Ark //Verses 1-9
These first nine verses continue the battle between the Serpent and the woman that was being waged in Egypt. Just as the plans of Pharaoh were undone by the faithfulness of two Hebrew midwives in chapter 1, so too are they thwarted again by three women here.
First, we see the faithfulness of Moses’ mother, later identified as Jochebed (6:20). She begins by seeing that her child was a fine child, which might literally be translated as “she saw that he was good.” There certainly seems to be an echo of God’s pronouncement of the goodness of His creation in these words. If so, this clues us into the fact that Moses’ mother had a godly vision of the value of her child, in contrast to the Satanic anti-natal vision of Pharaoh.
But, of course, it is not enough to simply see the value in what God has made, we must also act in a godly manner. And Moses’ mother did just that. She hid her child for three months, which, given how much newborns cry, must have been an utterly terrifying experience. Nevertheless, she was faithful to protect her child as long as she could, and when she could hide him no longer, she cast him into the Nile. Of course, she did not do so in the manner that Pharaoh had commanded. Instead, she built a basket, although the Hebrew word is the same word used for Noah’s ark and surrendered him into the hand of God. And just as God kept Noah safe from the waters within the ark, so too did he keep Moses safe from the waters of the Nile within his own ark.
Second, we see the faithfulness of Moses’ sister, Miriam, who followed her little brother from the riverbank and then was bold enough to speak of Pharaoh’s daughter. Stuart writes of her bravery, saying that “Miriam’s oversight of Moses as he floated among the rushes of the Nile and her quick thinking in proposing an Israelite nurse for the baby (knowing full well she would “recruit” his own mother) helped preserve Moses for her family and for Israel’s salvation.”[1]

Finally, we see the faithfulness of Pharaoh’s daughter, which is surprising because she was almost certainly not a believer in the LORD. She was, nevertheless, faithful to God’s creational design for women to be givers and nourishers of life, especially toward children. Moses’ crying stirred up pity within her heart that led to her blatant rejection of her father’s command, since she knew immediately that the baby was one of the Hebrews’ children.[2]

Thus, through three women, one of whom was still a child, Pharaoh’s plan was undone, and the future savior of the Israelites was saved from death. And he was saved by being brought into Pharaoh’s own house and educated on his dime. It is also significant that these women defeated the most powerful man in the world by simply doing what they were naturally designed to do. Moses’ mother took care of her child. His sister looked after her younger brother. Pharaoh’s daughter rescued a crying baby. These were three women who faithfully continued to be women, even as the Serpent hissed his threats their way.
Two thoughts.
First, this is a glorious example of God overturning the strong through the weak. Not only were these three women physically weaker than Pharaoh; they also had radically less authority. God, however, chose to work through their lack of strength and lack of authority, giving us a foretaste of how utterly powerless Pharaoh is before the Almighty. Let us not grow weary of doing good nor of being faithful in the ordinary course of life. God very often uses such ordinary faithfulness to overthrow the grandest schemes of the devil.
Second, I pointed out last week that our society has taken up the satanic attack on children via abortion, yet we need to also broaden out our focus to see how we have largely taken the wrong side in the war between the Serpent and the woman. You see, for all the rants against the patriarchy and toxic masculinity, our culture does not respect women; it abhors them. Conservative commentator Matt Walsh recently got suspended from Twitter for making this very point. He tweeted:
The greatest female Jeopardy champion of all time is a man. The top female college swimmer is a man. The first female four star admiral in the Public Health Service is a man. Men have dominated female high school track and the female MMA circuit. The patriarchy wins in the end.[3]
Apparently since the ‘future is female,’ the patriarchy just decided to become female, and in our Gnostic age where the body is nothing more than a machine to be molded as we see fit, why not become female? Feminists bear a significant amount of the blame because rather than fighting for society to place more value upon femininity, they fought for the right to act like and be treated like men (and often the worst kind of men). They ushered in a world where a woman is lauded for doing anything as long as it is not the one thing that only women can do: bearing children. The coming population bust[4] is a direct result of our devaluing of motherhood.

In Eden, God gave Adam the task of working the garden and Eve the task of bearing children. Together, they would fulfill the Creation Mandate of being fruitful, multiplying, filling the earth, and subduing it (Genesis 1:28), which itself is a reflection of how God created the world by forming (masculine) and then filling (feminine). Yet notice that three words are used for the same action of bearing children (fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth), while only one word is given for Adam’s task of working the ground (subdue it). Just as God formed the earth on days 1-3 in order to fill the earth on days 4-6, so too are men called to subdue the earth to make ready to be filled by women and the children that they bear.

Now do not hear what I am not saying. A woman that never gives birth is not a lesser woman. Especially under the New Covenant, we now have an even greater mandate to make disciples of all nations. I am speaking, instead, on a societal level, and a society that has rejected the value of the uniquely feminine work of motherhood is a society that has abandoned the Creation Mandate and has taken the Serpent’s side. May God grant us repentance rather than the judgment that we so rightly deserve!
Moses in the Wilderness // Verses 10-22
Verse 11 jumps to Moses as an adult.
One day, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their burdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people. He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
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God is still omnipotent: there is no one on earth more powerful than him. He is still omnipresent: he is everywhere. He can hear the cries and prayers in Canada, Russia, Ukraine, and everywhere in the world. God is still omniscient: he knows what we need before we even ask him. He is still sovereign: He works all things—even tyranny, invasions, and wars—together for the good of those of us who are called according to his purpose.

Some of the events in our nations and around the world are tempting many of us to become anxious and afraid.
After two years of suffering from COVID, restrictions, and vaccine mandates—because of Justin’s Trudeau’s tyrannical actions over the last couple of weeks, many Canadians are more anxious and afraid than ever before.
Then earlier this week, Russia invaded Ukraine. The last time an invasion like that happened in Europe, it started the Second World War.
Naturally, many of us are anxious this could be the beginning of another world war.
2021 was a difficult year, but 2022 is looking like it could be an even more difficult year. Inflation is higher this year than at any point over the last 30 years. The price for food and gas are getting worse. And there’s no sign our bills will get less expensive.
In Canada, the federal vaccine mandates are still in effect, and there’s no indication they will end anytime soon. Many Canadians hoped the Freedom Convoy would end all the vaccine mandates, but Justin Trudeau’s tyrannical use of the Emergencies Act banned peaceful protests on the mandates and effectively shut down the Freedom Convoy.
Trudeau also froze bank accounts of protestors and people who donated to them, and he instructed police to arrest and detain protestors in Ottawa—including the organizer of the protest, Tamara Lich. She’s been denied bail, and she faces up to 10 years in prison for organizing a peaceful protest that essentially half of Canadians sympathize with.
And significantly worse in Ukraine—millions of people are fleeing from their homes to seek asylum in neighbouring countries like Moldova, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia because of Vladimir Putin’s apparent mission to restore the Soviet Union.
Ukrainian husbands, fathers, and sons have tearfully said their goodbyes to their families as they prepare to fight for their lives, families, and nation. And many vulnerable Ukrainians are forced to hide in train stations and tunnels as the Russian army attempts to take over their country.
In just a matter of weeks and days, the world has changed.
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In most crucial areas of life, neutrality is a myth. It either does not exist, or seeking to remain neutral will just cause harm and hurt. We all must get involved, take a stand, and take sides. That certainly is the case with our eternal destiny. But it also matters in things like the culture wars. And as we read and study Scripture, we must admit that none of us are completely neutral and untainted by the ideas and input of others.

Can and should the Christian be neutral? Well, it depends on what we are talking about. Let me first deal with the term being used here. One online dictionary offers two senses of the word “neutrality”:-The state of not supporting or helping either side in a conflict.-The absence of decided views, expression, or strong feeling.
In some areas there can indeed be such neutrality, and it does not really matter if it is there. If a sporting event is on with two archrivals battling it out, and you are keen on that sport, and especially support (or hate) one of the teams, then you will not remain neutral. But if you are not into that particular sport, or have no favourite teams, then you can easily stay neutral, in the sense of not having strong feelings either way as to who wins or loses.
For the Christian, the idea of complete neutrality is quite questionable – at least in various key areas. Here I will offer three such areas, and show how taking sides is in fact what we are called to do, and refusing to take sides can be an indication of our lack of love for God and others.
The Myth of Spiritual Neutrality
In terms of the spiritual war that is taking place all around us, we have to go along with the words of Jesus: “Whoever is not with me is against me” (Matthew 12:30a). There are only two sides in this cosmic conflict that we all find ourselves in: God’s side and the devil’s side.
The Bible makes it clear throughout that if we are not on God’s side, then we are on Satan’s side. This is especially the case when it has to do with those who are God’s children, and those who are not his children. You either is or you ain’t, to put it simply.
One way of putting this is to say that there are only two humanities: the redeemed and the unredeemed; the saved and the lost. And there are only two eternal destinies that people will find themselves in. So we all must choose, and choose carefully.
Sure, some people do not find such a black and white polarity to be to their liking. But repeatedly in Scripture we find this very thing. And I have written on this issue before, so have a look there for the numerous passages that make this so very clear: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2017/06/07/two-humanities-two-destinies/
Before moving on, let me say that some people are moving closer to God or further away. Conversion CAN be a process, something that may occur over time. So I am not saying all people MUST be able to pinpoint the exact moment that they passed over from death to life, from darkness to light.
The apostle Paul could certainly pinpoint the time and place, but for others, such as the apostle Peter, they may have been on a bit of a journey to get there. See more on this here: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2022/07/17/on-becoming-a-christian/
The Myth of Cultural and Political Neutrality
My second area has to do with things like political involvement and the culture wars. These are matters I have of course written on quite frequently.
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