Exodus 2:1-10 – Being God’s drawn-out people

Pharaoh was desperate, whatever he tried had failed to suppress the growth of the Hebrew population. He tried oppression, it didn’t work, so he tried infanticide. Even that didn’t work. The two midwives refused to collaborate with him, so his plan failed. Finally, in Exodus 1:22, he resorted to genocide. He left a decree to his people saying, “Every son who is born you are to cast into the Nile, and every daughter you are to keep alive.”

In the first two verses of Exodus 2, we are introduced to the parents of Moses, though their names were not revealed until later. Moses’ parents hailed from the tribe of Levi. Not dissuaded by the tough time they were encountering, they went ahead, got married and soon his mother was pregnant and gave birth to him. Verse 2 tells us that the baby Moses was a fine child. But he was born with a death sentence on his head. And like most protective mothers would, his mother chose to take the risk and nursed him under extremely harsh, risky and perilous circumstances. If she was discovered, both she and the baby would surely be executed. This shows us that genuine faith in God demands boldness. So, Moses’ parents’ faith in God made them fear Him more than they feared men. Here we learn a lesson about faith in God. Faith makes one willing to risk everything for God. And Moses’ parents show us that genuine faith in God will exact a bold commitment. It makes one willing to stand out for the Lord, even if it means risking one’s life.

For three months, baby Moses survived, undetected. But as he grew in size, it became more difficult to nurse him in those strenuous circumstances. So, his mother had a papyrus basket made, coated it with tar and pitch, placed the child Moses in it and left him floating among the reeds by the bank of River Nile. And as an extra measure to keep the baby safe, Moses’ mother had his sister watching him in the basket from a distance. As divine providence would have it, Pharaoh’s daughter came to take her bath in the Nile. She spotted the baby while walking along the bank. So, she had one of her maids brought the basket to her. As she opened the cover of the basket, her eyes caught the lovely crying baby. She knew that he was one of the Hebrew boys and took pity on him. Immediately, Moses’ sister, who stood a distance watching, sprang into action. Wisely, she came forward and offered to find a nurse to help Pharaoh’s daughter to look after the baby whom she had found. She immediately agreed. So, Moses’ mother was brought to the princess who entrusted her with the task of looking after her own baby. The arrangement had to be God. It is difficult to think that Pharaoh’s daughter didn’t know her father’s order to kill every male child. Why did she defy her own father’s order? These are hard questions, but with God nothing is impossible. He was engineering the arrival of a savior.

Moses’ name was given by the princess. It means “one drawn out of the water.” It was truly a befitting name for him. For we will see that many times in the book he would be drawn out. Here he was drawn out of the water of death. Then he would be drawn out into the desert to save himself from the wrath of Pharaoh for killing the Egyptian taskmasters. Then He would be drawn out and called into divine service through a burning bush. Then again, he would be drawn out to go up into the mountain to encounter God. And finally, he would be sent to draw others to worship and serve the one true God.   

The birth of Moses and his preservation is the continuation of God’s redemptive act to save the world. It started with a promise in Genesis 3:15 to mankind. It continued with the call of Abraham and the growth of his family through Isaac and Jacob and the formation of the Hebrew nation. Moses was a savior but he was not THE Savior. He was just the prototype of Jesus, the Savior who eventually came. Moses’ mission was to lead the people of God out from their bondage of Egypt. Jesus, the Savior, came to draw us out of our the bondage of guilt and condemnation of sin. Moses was drawn out to demonstrate the power of the one true God to save. Like him, we are also drawn out of the world of darkness to proclaim the excellencies of Him who has drawn us into the Kingdom of His marvelous light. What a privilege!