Exodus 2: 1 – 26
Why do I have to wait?
2 And a man of the house of Levi went and took as wife a daughter of Levi. 2 So the woman conceived and bore a son. And when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months. 3 But when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of bulrushes for him, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river’s bank. 4 And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him. 5 Then the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river. And her maidens walked along the riverside; and when she saw the ark among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it. 6 And when she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby wept. So she had compassion 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 a nurse for you from the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you?” 8 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the maiden went and called the child’s mother. 9 Then 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 And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. So she called his name Moses, saying, “Because I drew him out of the water.” 11 Now it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens. And he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren. 12 So he looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13 And when he went out the second day, behold, two Hebrew men were fighting, and he said to the one who did the wrong, “Why are you striking your companion?” 14 Then he said, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” So Moses feared and said, “Surely this thing is known!” 15 When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian; and he sat down by a well. 16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters. And they came and drew water, and they filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. 17 Then the shepherds came and drove them away; but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock. 18 When they came to Reuel their father, he said, “How is it that you have come so soon today?” 19 And they said, “An Egyptian delivered us from the hand of the shepherds, and he also drew enough water for us and watered the flock.” 20 So he said to his daughters, “And where is he? Why is it that you have left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread.” 21 Then Moses was content to live with the man, and he gave Zipporah his daughter to Moses. 22 And she bore him a son. He called his name Gershom, for he said, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land.” 23 Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage. 24 So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them.
What do you think about having to wait on something? Sometimes the struggle of waiting for the unknown can feel overwhelming.
I strongly believe that all of us in one time or other have been in a stage of waiting—asking God for direction, looking for answers, and expecting some upcoming changes. The hardest part is that they are things that are completely out of my control. For ‘let’s do it now’ individual’s like me, that’s not always an easy pill to swallow. Waiting on God can be really hard.
There have been many different times of waiting in our lives. For some of us we can look back a few years ago at our twenties. It was an entire decade of “waiting.” It was a time of looking ahead at finding the right college, choosing the right major and dreaming of the right spouse. Once we dealt with all that then comes finding the right job, the right community and the right church. Waiting on God seemed to be intertwined with every single milestone of our lives.
Have you ever found it hard to know what it practically means to wait on God? Do you just sit around twiddling your thumbs?
Personally, I found that at certain points in my life, I was so caught up in trying to get to the destination, that I missed the journey. Now that I’m a little older (and praying to be wiser), I see that the process of waiting in my life has been just as important as the end result. I look back at the times of waiting, and I see that God was using the waiting to prepare me, to change me and to use me. Rather than twiddle my thumbs, I wish I would have taken a more active approach of prayer during the way.
That was then and now is what we must face. While we can’t change the past, here are some things we can try to do differently while we wait:
First of all we need to remember what God has done in the past
I worried a lot during the times of waiting—worried things wouldn’t work out, that I would be alone forever or that God wouldn’t come through.
As my life has unfolded, I see that God’s hand has been in every single step, and that His plans were so much better than I even expected. Now, while I wait, I’m learning to deepen my trust in Him, and to remind myself of His faithfulness. If I could know what He knows–I would choose His plan every single time.
The bottom line is that worry equals a lack of trust in God. Do I really trust Him? I want my mind to say yes, even when my heart says no. If God Is God, He can be trusted. I want to move in that direction during my times of waiting.
We next need to deepen our prayer life
Why worry when you can pray? We’ve all heard that one before. But how true is that? Why over-analyze my future, when I have the opportunity to impact my future by calling on the El Shaddai, The Lord Most-High God
God Is so big, I want to learn to connect with Him , to communicate with Him, and to spend time with Him while I wait—because no matter the end result, deepening my intimacy with Him will always be worth the wait. I want the waiting to bring me closer to Him, rather than fill me with bitterness and resentment. And it’s my choice which route I will take.
We next need to take our own inventory
I think the period of waiting can be a huge time of healing and growth. For example, during some time in my life I often felt like I was waiting for nothing. What I didn’t realize is that through that time, God was bringing so much healing to my life, my heart and my perspective. He was working out my sin, refining my heart and fanning the flame of His Spirit inside of my life.
Now when I wait again on something different, I want to ask God to reveal to me the areas of my life that need work and prepare me for what’s to come. I don’t want to waste this time anymore.
We also need to dream big – what do we have to lose?
I am my own worst enemy when it comes to God working in my life, because I am the only one that limits me. I don’t always believe I can do it, or that God can do it through me. I don’t always dream big or expect great things.
But I want to see this time of waiting as a time to ask God to take me where He wants me to go—and to believe for big things that I know I can’t accomplish on my own
We also need to spend time in Thanksgiving and Worship of our Mighty God
This is the part where I have the most regrets. I often worship God when He “blesses” me—failing to realize that He is deserving of my worship no matter what is going on in my life.
We often treat our life with God like a football game, cheering for God when we score or when good things happen. But life isn’t about waiting for the victory—for the marriage, for the job, for the success, for the family—it’s about realizing that over every moment in our lives, He is already victorious.
Right now—through the struggle, through the pain, through the loneliness, through the chaos, through the wait—He has already won, and He’s moving us in that glorious direction. No matter where I am, I want a life that’s marked not by waiting, but by worshiping. He deserves that and so much more.
No matter what you’re waiting for, remember that life is about so much more than waiting—it’s about living. Don’t waste your life away in the wait. Instead, ask God to reveal to you how to live your life in a way that honors Him because life is not just about getting to the final destination, it’s about learning to enjoy the ride.
Moses knew that he was special and that God had something important for him to do. His problem was that he acted too soon. Instead of waiting for God he saw a situation and said to himself, ‘It’s time to act now, big boy.’ Needless to say, it wasn’t the right time to act.
2 And a man of the house of Levi went and took as wife a daughter of Levi. 2 So the woman conceived and bore a son. And when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months.
Two descendents of Levi met and were married. The mother hid her baby for three months to prevent any ill-wisher from throwing him into the Nile. Possibly she stayed hidden in the house and did not announce the birth. She hid him for three months until it wasn’t possible to continue to do so.
Please notice that it was good that Moses was beautiful and not ugly, right? I love the comedian Rodney Dangerfield who commented about his birth. He said, ‘ I was so ugly that after I was born the doctor came up and instead of slapping me he slapped my mom.’ Kidding aside, we see that Moses mom saw something different about him.
3 But when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of bulrushes for him, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river’s bank.
Once the baby was too old to continue hiding she knew that she had to formulate another plan. I do not think this was her plan. I believe just like our Holy God instructed Jacob about the mating of the sheep and goats when he was a servant to Laban, I believe that our Great Master gave some awesome instructions to Moses mom.
Remember that Pharaoh, who was a legend in his own mind, thought he was a god, right? Then it is natural to think that his daughter must be the offspring of a god. In order to pull of the biggest scam relative to the murder of baby boys, he fed the population to believe that the sacrifice of the babies is to the Nile river god. You know it is kind of interesting that our nation is also fed lies as ‘rights’ to the murder of our babies. We buy it, ignore it is happening, and go with our lives just like nothing is happening. This happened in WWII when people were being murdered in concentration camps while everyone acted like they did not know what was going on. They couldn’t smell the slaughter and diseases and hear the noise?
Well anyway back to our study, if a baby is given to the daughter of Egypt’s god –Pharaoh, then it has to be okay.
This is why I believe she made a basket of papyrus (‘an ark of papyruses). It would be made of papyrus strips bound or woven together. She then made it watertight by covering it with bitumen and pitch.
It will be noted that by her action she was technically following the law. To an Egyptian she would be seen as offering him to the Nile god, and by that she could cover herself. But in her heart she was offering him to God. She believed that somehow Yahweh would intervene to save him. It may well be that she had in mind the ‘ark’ through which Noah had been delivered. Certainly the writer, in using the same word for ‘ark’, would have that in mind. Once again then we have a parallel with Genesis.
It seems where she placed the ark may well have been a recognized place for ritual washings among wealthy and distinguished Egyptians, and she may even have known that Pharaoh’s daughter went there to worship regularly.
4 And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him.
Even with a plan from God any mother would keep an eye on what might happen. She had not just deserted her baby in despair. If something didn’t go as planned then the daughter might get him and bring him back home. So the daughter kept watch.
5 Then the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river. And her maidens walked along the riverside; and when she saw the ark among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it.
And so it happened that Pharaoh’s daughter came down to bathe in the Nile. It would be a private place and her maids would patrol the banks to keep prying eyes away while she bathed. It was the princess herself who spotted the basket, for she was the one who entered the water among the reeds in order to bathe herself in the Nile, and she sent her personal servant to obtain it for her.
6 And when she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby wept. So she had compassion on him, and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.”
When she opened it to her surprise she saw a baby. And just then the baby woke and cried. This moved her heart and she clearly determined that she would keep it. She immediately recognized that it was a Hebrew child. But she felt sorry for it and was ready to show it mercy. So she determined to adopt it as her own. Perhaps she herself had proved infertile. It may indeed have been that it was about that that she had prayed as she bathed. And she no doubt felt that she was above the wrath of Pharaoh, and anyway, she knew that she could depict it as a gift from the god Ha‘pi. And it may well be that that was how she saw it.
7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you?”
We are not told the detail of the princess’s decision, except by implication, nor of what was said, but the quick-thinking sister of Moses recognized the situation, and managing to approach her, offered to find a nursemaid for her among the Hebrews. A nursemaid would be needed who could breast-feed the child, for neither the princess nor her maids were in that position, nor would they want the task of nursing the child.
8 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the maiden went and called the child’s mother. 9 Then 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.
Moses’ mother was brought and was passed as suitable. Then she was sent away to look after the child. So our Holy God due to Moses’ mom’s obedience blessed her to allow her to nurse her own son even paying her for doing so, until he was weaned
10 And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. So she called his name Moses, saying, “Because I drew him out of the water.”
When the child had been weaned at about three of four years old his mother brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter who then officially adopted him. It would appear that this is the time at which she named him Moses The name is in deliberate contrast to the fate of other Hebrew males. They were thrown into the water, but Moses was drawn out of the water.
11 Now it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens. And he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren. 12 So he looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
Moses would have been educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, being groomed for high office. Moses’ education from ‘the teacher of the children of the king’, his study under some important court official (with the help of the priestly caste) which would probably include reading and writing, transcription of classical texts and civil and military administration, his experience of courtly affairs, yet he was grounded in the faith of his father’s by his mother, until at last he was ‘grown up’ and had reached manhood. But that he knew his background comes out in the incident here as he goes out to visit his relatives. He saw them as his ‘brothers’. He deliberately aligned himself with the people of God.
And when he saw the burdens they had to bear and especially some particularly vicious treatment from an Egyptian overseer, he could stand it no longer and, after making sure that there was no one around, slew the overseer. Then he disposed of the body in a sandy grave. The arrogance of his upbringing comes out here. He was not afraid to act and he did not feel bound by the law. The beating must have been particularly severe for Moses to act as he did for he must have seen beatings often before. But it does bring out the oneness that he felt with his fellow-Hebrews. Son of Pharaoh he may be, but he loved his kinsfolk, and he loved the God of the Hebrews.
Was Moses wrong in what he did? If the beating might have led to the death of the Hebrew he was surely in the right. However, he had for many years deceived the Pharaoh as to his loyalty. But as we discussed at the beginning of this study his premature action precipitated God’s plans and, as a result, caused a long delay.
13 And when he went out the second day, behold, two Hebrew men were fighting, and he said to the one who did the wrong, “Why are you striking your companion?” 14 Then he said, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?”So Moses feared and said, “Surely this thing is known!”
The following day he again went out among his fellow-kinsmen and he saw two Hebrews fighting together, a situation clearly caused by the particular viciousness of one of them. This concerned him for he felt that they should all work together in harmony, and he felt very much one of them. He thought that they should be looking out for each other. But he was learning the lesson that was to come home to him even more sharply later, that men are self-willed and selfish, and are generally out for what they can get. They did not want his interference.
When he tried to intervene he discovered that the most belligerent one was not grateful to him for the help he had given one of their fellows. Rather the culprit, who two days previously would probably have responded with submission to such an important man, had lost all fear of Moses because he felt that he now had a hold over him. He knew what Moses had done.
We see here however a really good question from one of the men who was fighting ‘Who made you a prince and a judge over us?’ The answer, as the writer knew, and wants us to recognize, was ‘God’, and a prince and judge over them Moses would later be, but he had much to go through before then. Meanwhile the questioner was rather being derisive. Another answer could have been, ‘Pharaoh’. But not when he had disobeyed Pharaoh and betrayed his trust. Once the truth was known he would no longer have the support and authority of Pharaoh. Let him recognize that he who had given him his authority also had authority over him and would call him to account. Or the man may simply have been saying, “Get lost. Who do you think you are? You have no authority over us. We are not your responsibility. And I have enough on you to get you into very serious trouble.”
Moses realized that the man he had saved had probably told someone, and that others also may have seen what had happened. And he feared that the news would spread like wildfire. Many would be jealous of Moses and would not think well towards him, and they would be quite likely to tell others in authority who hated him. Thus he recognized that the news would pass from man to man until it reached the ears of Pharaoh.
15 When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian; and he sat down by a well.
As he might have expected the news inevitably filtered through to the Egyptians and then to Pharaoh himself. We can imagine what Pharaoh thought when he found that one of his princes had taken sides with the Hebrews against an Egyptian taskmaster. This was flagrant opposition to Pharaoh and could not be left unpunished, for if it was the Hebrews might be encouraged and rebellion might ensue. He might indeed have seen it as the first beginnings of a rebellion. Thus his only option was a quick and sharp response. The order went out for the arrest of Moses, with a view to his execution.
Moses main concern was to go where he could not be found. Canaan was under Egyptian jurisdiction but the Midianites, connected with Abraham through Keturah’s son Midian, whose name they had taken, were a roving people and the wilderness was their home. They lived to the south and east of Canaan in the semi-desert. They were not a people who would prove helpful to Pharaoh in his search, or among whom he could pursue enquiries with any hope of finding something out. These people would be inaccessible and uncommunicative, and besides, once he had disappeared Moses was probably not considered to be important enough to make too great a fuss over. No one would know where he had gone. Pharaoh could afford to wait until he surfaced.
Moses’ position was precarious. But God had not forsaken him. And he would soon raise him to a position where he could prepare for his future.
16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters. And they came and drew water, and they filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. 17 Then the shepherds came and drove them away; but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.
When the seven daughters of the priest of Midian arrived at the well they went through the same routine as they did every day. They tried to water their sheep before others arrived. But once they had filled the stone troughs male shepherds arrived and forced them away. And the young women had to stand by. They could do nothing about it. They had to watch in frustration while the water they had drawn was being utilized by others. It was not the first time. They thought that it was to be just another day of submissive waiting. But then to their surprise the young Egyptian who was standing by, well armed and clearly capable of looking after himself, stood up and defended them and enabled them to water their flocks straightaway, even assisting them in their task.
Moses was a young man at the height of his manhood, and would feel no fear in dealing with bullies, any more than he had when he dealt with the taskmaster. He had not yet learned what it was to be afraid of men. And the shepherds would see by his clothes that he was an influential Egyptian, possibly even a prince. They would recognize that to offend him might bring the wrath of Egypt on their heads. And besides he might have soldiers nearby. They would be very hesitant in their dealings with him.
18 When they came to Reuel their father, he said, “How is it that you have come so soon today?” 19 And they said, “An Egyptian delivered us from the hand of the shepherds, and he also drew enough water for us and watered the flock.” 20 So he said to his daughters, “And where is he? Why is it that you have left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread.”
The daughters returned to their camp where their ‘father’ Reuel (also named Jethro) was waiting, and they were so early that it caused their father to comment. But when he heard the reason for their early return he was concerned that they had not extended to the Egyptian the courtesy that was due to him. So he told them to fetch Moses so that they could extend hospitality to him in recognition of his help and friendship.
Again we find a man with a dual name. This appears to have been fairly commonplace at the time, occurring when men had had a special experience of God or had been given leadership. ‘Reuel’ means ‘a friend of God.’ And that was what he proved to be that day. This may have been the name given to him when he became ‘the priest of Midian’, used here rather than his personal name Jethro because Moses was being officially welcomed. (the name Jethro means ‘pre-eminence’.
21 Then Moses was content to live with the man, and he gave Zipporah his daughter to Moses. 22 And she bore him a son. He called his name Gershom, for he said, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land.” 23 Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage. 24 So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them.
You talk about hospitality from Jethro - ‘He gave Moses Zipporah his daughter.’ Zipporah means ‘Little Bird’ She gave birth to a boy and ‘Called his name Gershom.’ ‘Ger’ means a foreigner, a sojourner, a stranger. Moses’ comment suggests how painfully he felt his exile. For a time he longed to be back in Egypt.
Back in Egypt time passed, and the death of a new king probably raised hopes of more leniency. However, it was seemingly not to be, and the heaviness of the Israelites bondage weighed them down.
A major point we all need to learn from the Israelites time in Egypt is this, they could have left after the famine ended and returned back to the Promised Land. Nowhere does it say that God was going to make them stay for over 400 years. The issue was all on them. They flourished greatly in Goshen. Everything was super so why pack up and go back to Canaan? They got comfortable where they were at.
The Holy Lord God Almighty knows all things as He Is Omniscient. Therefore He didn’t put a time limit for the Israelites to stay in Egypt. He knew that they would not budge so He knew that He would have to step in personally and free them.
We run into this in our lives also. Oh sure we are not in Egypt but in a way we are. We get stuck in dead end jobs or careers or other things in our lives. The door is open for us to say, ‘You know what I can’t stand where I am at and I want to do some other things.’ Then we quit and try our hand at what we feel that we would love to do. Unfortunately we never do and just waste away until we die. How sad?
The king who had enslaved the children of Israel died. The death of a king was often a time of hope to those who suffered under the king, but it appears in this case that his death was simply a reminder to them of their continuing bondage. They found that their bondage did not cease. It possibly even became worse. Their sufferings continued under the new Pharaoh and their cry, re-aroused by their disappointment in the non-improvement of their lot, went up to God.
The suffering and bondage went on for a long time, All the time that Moses was in Midian (probably seen as ‘forty years).
God was not oblivious to their situation, but things had to fall into place and lessons had to be learned. God is never in a hurry. He just ensures that His purposes go forward smoothly. Yet He had not forgotten His promises to the fathers of these people. And now He positively chose to ‘remember’. Note the fourfold repetition of ‘God’. There is an emphasis on Who it was Who specifically called them to mind. In other words it was ‘God Himself’, the only God, Who began the process which would bring about their deliverance, a process which, unknown to them, was taking place in far off Midian. As a result He will soon reappear under His old covenant name of Yahweh, for to Moses there was only one God. Then they will know that the day of deliverance is at hand.
