Exodus 2:1 – 10 “Now a man of the house of Levi married a daughter of Levi, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him for three months. But when she could no longer hide him, she got him a papyrus basket and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in the basket and set it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. And his sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.
Soon the daughter of Pharaoh went down to bathe in the Nile, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. And when she saw the basket among the reeds, she sent her maidservant to retrieve it. When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the little boy was crying. So she had compassion on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrew children.” Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call one of the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” “Go ahead,” Pharaoh’s daughter told her. And the girl went and called the boy’s mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child and nurse him for me, and I will pay your wages.” So the woman took the boy and nursed him. When the child had grown older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses (meaning “to lift out”) and explained, “I drew him out of the water.”
This story about the birth and deliverance of Moses has fascinated believers for thousands of years. Why was Moses’s mother so afraid? Had things gotten worse? Had Pharaoh succeeded in killing some Hebrew boy babies? Was this family in a position of prominence so that they might receive more unwanted attention? Only God knows.
What must this mother have been thinking as she left her three month old son in that basket among the reeds at the edge of the Nile? Moses’s mother must have been a godly woman who trusted that the God who had brought Joseph and then Jacob and his family to Egypt would watch over her son. Notice also that she chose a strategic location in which to put Moses. The bathing place for Pharaoh’s daughter was probably well known. Miriam, Moses’s sister could have easily stood at a distance without raising any suspicions; after all, little girls are notably curious. But even then, Moses’s mother was taking a huge risk; what must she have thought as she walked back up the river bank away from that reed bed?
How did Pharaoh’s daughter know that Moses was a Hebrew baby? Perhaps it was the quality of the material in which Moses was wrapped. Recognizing that this was a Hebrew baby, why did Pharaoh’s daughter decide to save him? Evidently God gave baby Moses favor with Pharaoh’s daughter. At any rate, Moses was saved and his mother became his paid nurse until the time that Moses was old enough to join his royal foster mother.
APPLICATION: God’s hand of mercy is very evident in this story:
1. Moses’s mother was a highly intelligent woman who loved him and who did everything she could to save him.
2. God protected Moses while he was in that basket at the edge of the Nile. Moses could easily have been eaten by a crocodile.
3. God gave Moses favor with Pharaoh’s daughter.
4. Moses’s mother becomes his paid nurse, allowing her to care for him and to begin his training before sending him to the royal palace.
5. Thanks to being adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter, Moses will receive a top – notch Egyptian education.
Sometimes we face challenges that appear insurmountable! Circumstances threaten our safety or the safety of our families. Perhaps we lose jobs or retirement savings evaporate in a Ponzi scheme. The important lesson to learn from Moses’s mother is this: No matter how bleak things may appear, God is still a God of mercy and a God of infinite resourcefulness. The Bible assures us that God is no respecter of persons; in other words, that the same God who saved Baby Moses can also deliver you and help you.
PRAYER: Father God, help! Many of us feel that we have been squeezed until there is nothing left. We feel we have nowhere to turn. Lord, you are the same yesterday, today and forever. You never change. Please help us as you helped Moses’s mother and Moses so long ago. Raise up help for us, and when you do, please help us to be grateful. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.
Burunche's Blog 
Leave a comment