Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman, 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. – Exodus 2:1-2

Today's Scripture Reading (September 19, 2021): Exodus 2

All babies are beautiful unless you are a comedian. I realize the birth process itself has the power to really mess up the looks of a newborn child. The head is often misshapen, and, of course, the child is covered with bodily fluids. And yes, it takes a few days for the baby to recover from the process and gain its childhood shape, but still, I maintain that all babies are beautiful. I have never met a baby that didn't make me want to protect it and ensure that it got all of the advantages that life can give. But maybe the real beauty of a baby is that they are a clean slate. Everything is in front of them, and a world of possibilities is open to them. And that, all by itself, is beautiful.

At the beginning of the story of the Exodus, we are told that a Levite man and woman marry, and their union brings forth a child. Actually, there was more than one. The family already had two children in it, Aaron and Miriam, when the third child showed up. And that child was fine, or maybe better translated, beautiful. The problem was that the child was born under a royal death sentence; all male children had to be executed. I am sure that the execution order they knew was hanging over them had bothered this Levite mom and dad throughout the pregnancy. Maybe they spent time praying and hoping that the child would be a girl, but their prayers went unanswered. Mom gave birth to a fine (beautiful) baby boy. He was healthy, with all the required fingers and toes, and the parents were proud to have their third child, even if he was a boy. The couple looked at their child and thought that he was beautiful. And they knew that they would do whatever they could to protect the child.

In Jewish folklore, there are many fanciful stories that attempt to prove how unique the child was, possibly explaining why this child needed to be protected. Some argue that the birth process was painless for Moses's mom. Or maybe that Moses's face was so beautiful that the room was filled with light that equaled the sun and the moon combined. Other stories say that baby Moses could walk when he was only a day old and that he refused to nurse and immediately following his birth began to eat solid food. And from the first moment of his life, the baby could talk. For all these reasons and more, the child had to be protected.

But the truth is that Moses, like every other child, was beautiful, especially to his parents. He was worthy of a chance to be born and grow up to become a man who would change the course of the world. But Moses's parents didn't know what Moses would become. Yet, he was still their beautiful child, and from the day that they met him, Dad and Mom knew that, as parents, they had to do whatever they could to protect their beautiful baby so that he would grow into a handsome man.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Exodus 3