Exodus 2:5-10, “Now the daughter of
Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside
the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and
she took it. (6) When she opened it, she saw the child, and
behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, "This is one
of the Hebrews' children." (7) Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter,
"Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child
for you?" (8) And Pharaoh's daughter said to her,
"Go." So the girl went and called the child's mother. (9)
And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this child away and nurse
him for me, and I will give you your wages." So the woman took the child
and nursed him. (10) When the child grew older, she brought him to
Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses,
"Because," she said, "I drew him out of the water."
The first half of Exodus chapter 2 is loaded with emotion and
anticipation. We cannot imagine the grief that faced this couple, God had
blessed them with a child and yet they knew that should the Egyptian
authorities hear of the birth of this baby boy, the boy would be lost. How
difficult it must have been to place this helpless infant in a basket and then
on to the river! But then imagine the joy, when Miriam returns with the infant
boy, carrying the instructions of Pharaoh’s daughter; that she is to care for
and nurse the child.
This incredible event causes the reader to ask, who might this baby
grow up to be? Spared from certain death at the hands of the Egyptian
authorities, survived being set in a basket and put into river, fortuitously
being found in the river by no one less than royalty and subsequently being
adopted into the house of the Pharaoh. With all this having occurred within the
first few months of this baby’s life, what will come of the rest of his life?
We know that this is more than good fortune or mere coincidence; this
is providence, the sovereign hand of God working so as to accomplish the
impossible. Of course we have the benefit of knowing that this infant boy,
Moses, will go on to be mightily used by God so as to redeem Israel out of
Egypt. But in order for Moses to be used by God to this end, he must first be
physically saved by God himself, which is what happens in these verses. Moses’
life is saved from the hands of the Egyptian authorities, Moses’ life is
plucked up out on the waters of the river. This physical salvation (Moses’
true, spiritual salvation will come later) comes through a demonstration faith
and trust by his parents. When Moses was born they in faith trusted God for the
protection of their child in the first few months, and then in an act of
resolute trust in God, Moses is placed quite literally into the merciful hands
of God. Set adrift in that river, his parents trusted that God would not just
preserve their child, but that God would ensure that Moses would be led to the
right place and person, who would save him and treat him as a true son. The
result of this is that God responds by doing even more than what Moses’ parents
could have ever expected.
This chapter in Exodus serves as a stunning example of God’s
providence, of God’s ability to take sovereign control of human lives and of
physical elements so as to accomplish His will. It is also a challenging
example of what it means to resolutely trust in God, not just for our own lives
and well-being, but for the life and well-being of our children. It encourages
and challenges us, for we have a God that has such exclusive power and control,
and therefore He can truly be trusted in and rested upon. The challenge comes
to us to trust in and rest on Him completely, and also to be willing to then
take bold steps of faith in our service of God, steps that might appear to be
costly, difficult, maybe even dangerous, but to take them wisely and trusting
in God’s sovereign will and power.
Our great God of salvation, we praise You
for Your great and awesome power, that You exercise sovereign control over all
things. We pray that we might rest more in You and learn to trust You more than
what we do. We pray that as we rest and trust in You, we will be willing to
step out in bold faith, knowing that You are at work in and over our lives.
Amen
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