“And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river’s brink.” – Exodus 2:3 (KJV)
The baby is Moses.
His desperate mother is Jochebed.
She floated him in a papyrus basket in the river.
His sister is Miriam. She stood by. Waiting in the bulrushes.
The daughter of the Pharaoh finds him. Legend names her Bithiah.
Miriam offers to find a nurse to help the daughter of the Pharaoh.
She runs off and brings her mother, the baby’s mother.
That’s clever resistance.
Here is what interests me.
The word for ark in Hebrew is TEVAH.
There are only two times the word TEVAH is used in the Bible.
We have Noah’s Ark, holding a community in flood waters.
And the “papyrus basket” (the modern translation) where the story unfolding through Moses is kept alive.
Two times an ark held people when dangerous waters crashed about.
Two times an ark offered support in times of threatening and monumental change.
There are still arks.
Yes, there are still baskets.
We have only to name the graces that keep us alive in times of hardship and struggle.
What gifts are helping you hold your head above the waters?
What is your TEVAH?
“Blogging one verse from every book of the bible in 2018.”
with humble gratefulness give thanks to our LORD… in absolute wonderment…. of HIS love, HIS Grace and… how HIS love, being emulated in the souls of all those HE has continually around me as a shield of protectiveness, my entire life! With those, HE has drawn me deeper still….. I gaze up at the night sky, filled with wonder at HIS majesty, overwhelmed by HIS love, HIS forgiveness…LORD I am your vessel, use me, mold me as YOU will for your glory!
My gift of tevah is a community of spiritual friendships that keep encouraging me to trust that all shall be well. They have been a lifeline in times of struggle thru angst of inner turmoil and health issues. I am blessed to have found such a community . the ark is a wonderful image of their journey with me. Thank you.
Faith and the assurance that I am never alone and am being held in the “everlasting Arms…” Truly wondrous gifts to be sure.