SPIDER'S WEB with CHEELA CHILALA
I have talked before of how one opportunity, one event, can change the destiny of a person.
Today, however, I would like to focus on how destiny can be changed or influenced by one person, particularly one whose time has come. There are people raised for particular times and particular missions.
I write this article from my hotel room in Cairo, the capital of Egypt, one of the most historically significant nations on earth.
Egypt is mentioned many times in the Bible, and being here reminds me of the story of one man who was raised for a particular mission at a particular time: Moses.
Egypt was once a powerful civilisation with far-reaching influence. The Israelites were held in bondage in Egypt for up to 400 years – a very long time indeed.
According to the biblical account in the book of Exodus, after the passing of Joseph the children of Israel had become too powerful and too successful for the liking of the Egyptians.
When a pharaoh “who did not know Joseph” (Exodus 1: 8) came to power, he decided to oppress the Jews, turning them into slaves. Fearful of the Jews, the new pharaoh said to his people: “Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country” (Exodus 1: 10).
Pharaoh, however, went beyond enslaving the Jews – he also commanded his people, particularly the midwives who helped the Jewish women to deliver, to only allow girls to live. They were to kill every baby boy at birth.
Thus every baby boy was thrown into the river Nile. It was in such circumstances that Moses was born. His mother decided to hide him and bring him up secretly.
She managed to do this for three months, after which it was difficult to hide the baby – so she decided to move him.
She made a papyrus basket and coated it with tar, then placed the child in it and hit it among the reeds growing along the banks of the river.
The baby was however discovered by Pharaoh’s daughter, who adopted him despite being a Jew and brought him up in the palace as her own child. Later, as we know, he was used by God to deliver the Jews from Egyptian bondage.
The story of Moses is characterised by indicators of the power of destiny. First, God moved Moses’ mother to keep the baby despite the risks involved.
Would the history of the Jews have been the same if the mother had not hidden him? Second, the baby was discovered and taken into pharaoh’s palace instead of being killed.
Third, being in the palace prepared Moses for leadership, and he was able to help the Jews out of bondage. God raised Moses for the purpose of delivering the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage.
The destiny of the many enslaved people lay in the hands of one man, Moses.
Human history is filled with stories of individuals, both men and women, who influenced and changed the course of history. Men and women whose lives were tied to the destiny of others. Men and women raised for their times, to fulfil a particular mission and a particular time in history, and then step aside.
Be careful how you live your life because your decisions might affect the destiny of other people whose destiny is tied to yours.
If you are a parent, watch the decisions you make because they can impact the destiny of your children. Even your actions, good or evil, can affect the direction of their lives.
cheelafkc@yahoo.co.uk
