Exodus 2:1-10 And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi. And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. 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. And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him. And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river's side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews' children. Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee? And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child's mother. And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child, and nursed it. And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water."
Pharaoh had commanded all of his people that if they discovered any Hebrew baby boys, they were to cast them into the river to drown. Yet, God continued to bless the Hebrew women with sons, and He preserved their lives. This particular child was of the house of Levi. The law of God would someday come through him to the children of Israel.
There are so many ways that the hand of God is evident in these verses. All the Israelites had taskmasters set over them. Still, the mother of this child was able to hide her pregnancy. She was able to hide her delivery. She was able to hide a crying, growing baby for three months. Who do you suppose made that possible?
When he had grown to the point that she could no longer hide him from the Egyptians around her, she put him in an ark (basket) of bulrushes (papyrus). History tells us that the Egyptians and others used papyrus for a number of things from making paper, to building boats, to making cloth. It is very probable that this type of basket was something that Moses’ mother was familiar with making. Can you imagine the hope and the fear in her heart as she placed her baby boy in this basket along the edge of the river?
Miriam (the baby’s sister) kept watch from a distance so that she would not be immediately associated with him when he was discovered. The basket was placed near a location where historians tell us a bath of sorts was made in the river for the royalty to bathe themselves. Pharaoh’s daughter saw the basket and sent one of her maids to get it. She opened the basket and discovered the baby boy, recognizing that he was a Hebrew child.
In spite of her father’s (the king) decree, she rescued this baby. His sister was close enough to offer to get a Hebrew woman (their mother) to nurse the baby for Pharaoh’s daughter. Pharaoh’s daughter gave the baby a Hebrew name, Moses, because she had rescued him from the water. Moses’ own mother was not only able to nurse him and see him grow up, but she was paid out of the king’s coffers to do so.
Dear ones, there is nothing too hard for God! There are no coincidences with Him. These events did not “just happen,” but were guided by His providential hand. The same God that kept the baby, Moses, and all the Israelites is the God that keeps you today. Do not fear your circumstances but trust Him to rescue you!