and the camp and holiday club, I spoke about King Josiah and that young king,
eight-year-old king, the one that reformed Israel,
and he who had found the workers in the temple had found the book of the law,
and they brought it to him, and then he brought it before the people.
And I remember saying that, well, we hope and pray that the young ones that would find and have be shown the Bible,
and that they too would embrace it and understand it and look at it and say,
why are these things not being taught?
And that they would hold it high and regard it as high in their lives
and show forth to others how to live their lives.
And like I was thinking of the influence that children can have in our lives,
the providence that God gives us.
It was amazing to have all these children with us last week,
and how God brought them to that place,
some from church backgrounds, others from unchurched backgrounds.
It was wonderful to have them,
and you can't help but wonder afterwards what influence these children will have when they leave.
And it is important for us to remember to keep praying for these children and the families that they go back to.
And in our two passages tonight,
we meet with two young girls,
two little girls.
We're not entirely sure of their ages.
In Exodus,
we have Moses's sister.
And in second Kings,
we have the slave girl who worked in the house of Naaman.
And each,
we'll take each in turn.
We'll start with Moses's sister.
But before we do this,
there's things that are common between the two of them,
and apply in the same.
Both their situations are far from ideal.
They're far from comfortable.
They're far from good.
One,
Moses's sister,
had her brother cast out into the water,
for fear of him being murdered.
And the other
was captured as a slave to the Syrians from the land of Israel.
But both of them,
notably,
are
Hebrews or
Israelites.
Both within the promises of God,
both God's people.
Whether they realized it or not in their young lives,
they were marked by God and set aside for his purposes.
But in the
childish ways
and the innocence of the child,
they can
bring before us things that are hugely profound.
They reason in ways that we don't seem to reason,
and they can
leave us stumped by the questions they bring to us.
And we can say,
well,
I didn't quite think of it like that.
But it is worth thinking about.
We can be refined
how they think and how they reason.
And the child has an approachability that some others won't.
Even we as adults,
we don't have the same
approachability to,
could be our own families,
or those we come into contact with as a child.
We have a voice that can be heard in a way that
others can't.
Their innocence
can have a huge influence
on the lives of many.
And there are many who can probably voice that sentiment,
that it was their own child
that brought them to Christ,
or made such an influence on them
to bring them to hear more
about the Word of God.
And we see the placement
of these children.
Children who are of
God's,
within the promises,
placed into
hard situations.
And we don't know the situations
that our children go home to.
And we must remember
they may not be as comfortable as ours.
But
we continue to pray for them.
And that they too
are loved by God.
And that they are too
may be within the providence
and found,
providence and promises
of God.
When we think of all the children
who have attended camps this summer,
who attended various holiday clubs,
those who come to
Twini Sunday School,
Creche,
and they're all being taught
about the good news
and the gospel,
what Jesus Christ
has done for them.
However,
or however,
they came,
it is God's purpose
and God's providence
that they all
are there
to hear the gospel
and the good news
of Christ.
and we pray
that they may
may voice
in their innocence
faithfully
the life
and the good news
of Jesus Christ
to others,
maybe in places
that we
can't even
get to.
So first,
we'll consider
Moses'
sister.
Read there
in verse
Mark 7,
Then his sister
said to Pharaoh's daughter,
Shall I go
and call
you a nurse
from the Hebrew woman
to nurse
the child
for you?
That's a remarkable
statement
when we actually
consider it,
which we will do
in a second.
Moses'
big sister,
and we know
when we look at
1 Chronicles 6,
verse 3,
it gives us
the family line.
Their father
was Amram
of a Levite,
their mother
was a Levite
as well,
we heard here.
And they had
three children,
Miriam,
Moses,
and Aaron.
So we know
that this girl
is Miriam.
And
we understand
that she is
old enough
to grasp
what is going on.
knowing that
there is a risk
to her
baby brother,
that he must
be hidden,
the family
must hide her
and keep him
safe.
And now
the childlike
innocence,
of maybe not
understanding
everything,
leaves her
watching
this basket,
or leaves
even her
watching her
parents making
the basket,
and winding
the rushes
together,
and
putting
bitumen
and pitch
on the
inside of
it to
protect it.
And then
watching her
parents lay
in this
basket in
the river
amongst the
reeds with
her baby
brother in
it.
And after
that,
the parents
left,
it would
seem.
Possibly it
was that there
would be no
attention drawn
to the site
where they
had left
the baby
Moses.
Maybe they
couldn't
bear to
stay there
and see
what happened.
But the
sister stayed
on and
watched.
She maintained
from afar
an eye upon
the basket
where her
brother was.
And you can
picture the
scene as
she watches
Pharaoh's
daughter and
her,
I don't
name for them,
the ladies
that were
with her,
come walking
along the
riverside.
And you
can imagine
Miriam there
seeing them
coming with
fear.
Because this
would have been
the last
person she
would have
wanted to
come.
Hearing maybe
her brother
crying,
if you picture
the scene.
This is the
worst of
situations.
in her
mind.
Surely
he will
be taken
and killed.
But she
makes a
bold approach
into this
situation.
Situation that
could have so
easily turned
on its head
for her.
She walks
into it.
She says
there that
the Pharaoh's
daughter had
pity when
she saw
the child.
When she
opened it,
she saw
the child
and behold,
the baby
was crying
and she
took pity
on him
there in
verse 6.
And the
baby is
identified
clearly as
one of the
Hebrew
children.
Whether or
not Miriam
realised the
pity she
had,
she surely
sensed it.
And children,
we don't give
them credit
at times
how they
sense
things.
But they
can pick
up on
things like
maybe we
don't.
And they
can trust,
they know
who to
trust and
know who
not to
trust.
And she
knew this
woman had
pity on
her brother.
And she
placed
ignorance to
knowing the
baby.
pity.
And in
the situation
walks in
seeing that
she had
pity and
says,
shall I
go and
call you
a nurse
from the
Hebrew
woman to
nurse the
child for
you?
to say
this to
Pharaoh's
daughter is
quite
remarkable.
But she
went straight
into that
tender
situation
where the
life of
her brother
hanged on
the edge
of a
cord and
said these
things.
That she
would go and
get a
Hebrew
woman from
the Hebrews
whom they
hated,
the Hebrews
whom they
wanted to
reduce a
number.
That she
would go
and get
one of
them.
And likewise
that she
would go
and risk
others
Hebrew
child
given to
her that
you should
be killing.
But how
to come
into this
situation
and say
these things?
It's
unfathomable.
We
wouldn't
say it.
It's just
too far
beyond our
understanding
that no
one would
respond to
it in
such a
way.
We
would maybe
get a
hostile
retaliation
to suggest
to get
a Hebrew
mother to
look after
the Hebrew
child that
should have
been killed.
In a sense
no one else
could have
said it but
a child.
And the
words that
she heard
from the
Pharaoh's
daughter was
go.
So she
went and
she had the
wisdom to
discern that
she could get
her mother
as the
best of
woman to
look after
her brother.
And you
can imagine
the joy
she had
in running
to get
her mother
to come
and nurse
her brother
and her
son.
He was
within moments
of death.
We have
here the
most wonderful
restoration of
the greatest
love, of
one of the
greatest loves
that we
can know
in our
existence.
A mother's
love for
a child
who she
had to
painfully
abandon,
who she
had to
lift,
she had to
leave there
because she
had done all
she could
for the
child and
she couldn't
do any
more for
it.
Her heart
would have
been broken
putting the
child into
the river.
But we
have this
restoration
made through
this child
of one of
the greatest
loves that
we can
know.
This child
in the
providence of
God
faithfully
kept an
eye upon
the child
and responded
with these
childlike
impulses
to restore
that love.
And the
situation
which was
so bleak
and so
hopeless
before
is turned
on its
head
to give
an unspeakable
joy,
because it
was really
an unspeakable
joy.
They
couldn't
say of
whom their
love was
for each
other.
It had
to be a
secret.
And his
sister,
Miriam,
whatever
she had
been taught,
this young
girl had
witnessed,
well,
strange things.
She witnessed
the faith
enacted by
her parents
for making
the basket,
placing her
brother in
it,
and leaving
him there
in the
river.
She was
the one
that waited
on their
faith.
She waited
to see
what would
be the
outcome of
the parents'
faith.
She could
stay,
and so
she remained
there.
waited to
see what
would come
of it.
And she
saw the
favour of
God acted
in faith.
And she
spoke herself
out of
faith,
and knowing
a joy to
have a love
restored,
she saw
faith being
acted out,
and she
herself acted
out faithfully,
and drawing
near into
that tender
situation.
And by
trusting in
God,
was able to
restore the
greatest love.
And it is,
in a sense,
what we have
in the
gospel.
It may be
a weak
image,
in a sense,
but we
have here
in the
girl,
like the
gospel message.
that Christ
is like
the child.
And we
are the
ones,
as the
parents,
that have
been pushed
away because
of sin.
The sin,
the Pharaoh
had sinfully
said that the
children should
die.
And we
have been
pushed away
from that
love.
We have
been separated
from the
greatest love
because of the
sins of men
and the sins
of our own.
sin.
But the
believer
who knows
Christ,
who has
that blood
connection
with Christ,
holds on
throughout the
situation,
though it
would be
fearful,
though it
would be
difficult.
And they
can see
that the
son,
whom they
have been
faithfully
watching on,
has been
uplifted from
death and
rescued.
and we
can run
and say
to each
other,
he is
alive,
he is
alive.
How
beautiful were
these feet
that brought
the good
news to
that mother.
As if
the spirit
at work
asking,
that gospel
message asking,
shall I
go?
And God
saying,
go,
go and
tell the
people
that their
love can be
restored.
and that
men and
women can
have the
greatest love
restored in
knowing Christ
Jesus.
Maybe it's a
love that we
don't know
in full.
But through
the gospel,
and through
the ones who
brings it,
and through
the ones who
faithfully keep
their eye on
Christ,
we can say
to one
another,
to come.
but he
calls us
to himself.
No greater
joy is
there to
know the
love of
God in
our lives.
A love
that was
known in
past ages.
God
dwelt with
man in
the Garden
of Eden.
And through
that son,
it is
restored to
us a
great love.
For Moses
became the
ruler,
defender,
deliverer,
intercessor for
the people.
And so
Christ is
to us
the source
of all
hope,
as Moses
came to
be for
the people
of Israel.
And in
Christ he
is the
source of
our hope.
And great
joy we
find when
we know
that we
are called
and we
know that
the love
of Christ
is restored
to us.
through that
young girl
who held
on in
faith,
saw an
enacted
faith,
and went
boldly into
situations that
were terrifying
for her,
but received
great joy
in restoring
love.
Wouldn't it be a
great joy for
us if we
saw people
coming to
know of that
love?
boys and
girls,
men and
women,
to know
the
restoration
of the
great love
of Jesus
Christ for
when.
We'll turn
now to the
book of
2 Kings.
And there's
a passage
there about
the girl
who was
captured
by the
Syrians.
And let's
read there
in verse
3 what
she says.
Would
that my
lord were
with the
prophet who
is in
Samaria,
he would
cure him
of his
leprosy.
This young
girl, as we
said, is
not in the
preferred
conditions that
she would
have liked,
far from
ideal,
captured from
Israel,
likely to
have been
separated from
her parents,
but again
this mouthpiece,
and little
mouthpiece as
it is,
placed by
God, by
his providence
again,
among the
esteemed of
the world,
to give
them
direction.
We
couldn't have
been there.
It could
only have
been a
child.
She has
identified
the plight
of Naaman
by being
in that
household,
by being
in that
esteemed
household,
working
alongside
his wife,
and
confidently
declared a
message of
hope there.
in verse
3.
And there's
a message
of hope
that draws
them closer
to the
enemy,
of whom
they had
been
stealing
from,
and plundering
many a
times,
and she
herself had
been plundered
from them.
And there
she brings
this message
of hope
to be
found
amongst
that land.
And you
wonder why,
or how did
she know
these things?
How did
she know
that the
prophet
would save
and cure
Naaman's
leprosy?
We don't
know for
sure,
but we
know that
she knew
about the
prophet,
and she
knew that
he could
do miraculous
works and
signs.
she had
been taught
things of
God.
She had
been taught
about the
power of
God,
and she
had no
doubt about
it.
She did
not waver
in it,
but she
had confidence
in this
time to
say that
Naaman can
be healed
of his
leprosy if
he would
meet the
man of
God.
And God's
providence,
she is
there.
To bring
hope to
this man.
She had
been prepared
and taught
likely by
her parents
she would
have seen
these things
beside her.
Whether she
valued it at
the time when
she was younger
or not,
we do not
know.
But she
remembered it,
and she
remembered the
effects of
the man of
God,
and the
power of
God,
and what
God could
do.
she remembered
it in her
own affliction,
no doubt,
and she
had confidence
to say
that in the
afflictions of
Naaman,
and the
saving of
him from
his own
leprosy,
the confidence
of a child
who knows
the truth,
who has
been taught
the truth,
and has
that childlike
faith not
to doubt
it.
It's a
situation
where you
think a
man or
woman,
had they
said such
a word,
would have
doubted that
well, if he
went, will
he come
back healed?
They would
have to face
the retribution
of a
returning
commander if
he came
back unhealed,
and what
would that
mean for
them?
But the
child,
just out
of faith
and
confidence,
plainly
stated,
that Naaman
can be
healed if
he goes
to the
prophet who
is Samaria,
he would
cure him
of his
leprosy.
She had
confidence
in the
man of
God,
and she
sets forth
a hope
to Naaman
that otherwise
he did
not have,
a hope
that he
could not
find in
anywhere
else,
and the
influence
again
of the
innocent
child's
voice.
It's
remarkable.
And of
course she
returned
cleansed,
so we
know the
story.
And I
wonder what
joy it
brought to
the family
of Naaman,
the household
of Naaman,
I wonder
what joy it
brought to
the girl,
in knowing
that God
did not
fail her,
in knowing
that she
was assured
of God's
power,
that she
would have
been confident
again to
speak and
trust in
that God
of whom
she had
been taught.
The children
who are set
aside as the
Lord's
children,
these two
voiced hope,
and they
brought joy.
And we
pray that
the children
whom we
teach,
whom we
meet,
whom we
know in
our families,
would do
likewise,
that they
would bring
hope into
this world,
that they
would bring
hope to
the souls
of men
and women
who are
suffering,
and they
would,
in their
childlike
faith and
confidence,
speak of
the healing
of sin
that we
can each
know,
and the
peace of
heart,
and the
freedom from
the world's
oppressions,
and the
eternal
security that
we can
have,
trusting
in God.
There is a
man,
there is
Christ,
he died for
your sins,
he is one
that will
restore your
life,
and restore
and give
you the
greatest love
that you
will ever
know.
In the
providence of
God,
these children
are set
in their
midst,
maybe they're
in an
experience in
situations that
are not
favourable,
we don't
know,
yet we
pray that
they will be
ones who
will trust
in God,
and to
understand
what we
teach them,
and understand
what Christ
has done
for them,
and that
they will be
prepared in
their young
lives,
we don't
know where
God will
lead them,
but the
providence of
God will
take them
to the
people that
they would
meet,
but we
pray that
they will
not forget
what they
were taught,
and they
would remember
in their
afflictions,
and in
other
afflictions,
that they
too would
have
confidence
to turn
and direct
others to
the man
of God,
with great
trust and
faith,
that they
would likewise
know the
joy of
one's
returning,
who knew
the cleansing
of their
sin,
who knew
a restored
joy,
that they
would set
their hearts
on God's
word,
and trust
in it,
we would
be witnesses
of the
goodness of
God in
all things,
and we
likewise
would know
joy in
seeing them
grow,
the importance
of teaching
our children,
the influence
that they
can have
in our
lives,
and in
the lives
of others,
they can
go into
places where
we cannot
go,
and they
can speak
to people
that we
cannot speak
to,
so we
must be
mindful to
be praying
for them,
that they
would bring
the gospel
to others,
and that they
would likewise
share in the
joys of
knowing God
and trusting
in him.
May these
thoughts be
blessed to
us.
we'll
conclude
our
wash.