A future leader of God’s people was to be killed, but before that could happen he was placed in a basket which was used to transport him to safety. Of course I’m talking about the baby Moses. It was his mother who placed him in a basket in the River Nile to save him from death as commanded by Pharaoh. But there’s another future leader of God’s people who also was saved by a basket. We’ve read about it today in Acts, about Saul’s escape from Damascus. “After some time had passed,” we reading Acts, “the Jews plotted to kill him, but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night so that they might kill him; but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket” (Acts 9:23-25).
Okay, so maybe it’s a stretch, but both Moses and Saul were called away from their previous lives to a form of service that neither had expected. Moses would lead the people out of slavery and on toward the promised land. Saul—later to be called Paul—would become a missionary evangelist for the gospel and an organizer of churches throughout the known world. In each case these men had to prove themselves to skeptics, had to overcome obstacles, had to show patience and determination. That each was saved at one point in part with the use of a basket seems very appropriate.
Scripture relates stories to us that are full of depth and texture. But we should expect that because the overall story is about a real God acting in the midst of real people.
Prayer: Lord, you have cared for us these many years, sharing your word with us through prophets, kings, apostles, missionaries, councils, men and women, young and old. Continue to bless us with your word, for it is the source of our strength and our salvation. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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