Exodus 2:1-10 [2:1] Now a man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman. [2] The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. [3] When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank. [4] And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him. [5] 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 up, 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." (ESV)
Mother's Day is always the second Sunday in May. The first Mother's Day observance was a church service honoring Mrs. Anna Reese Jarvis, held at Anna Jarvis's request in Grafton, West Virginia, and in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on May 10, 1908. Canada was one of the first nations to pick up the US version of Mother’s Day, making it a national holiday in 1909, one year later the United States did. Even though few know the name of Anna Reese Jarvis, her legacy remains. (Pulpit Helps, May, 1991 as found in Galaxie Software. (2002; 2002). 10,000 Sermon Illustrations. Biblical Studies Press.)
Names mark out the unit in this section of Exodus. Verse 1 names the house (tribe) of Levi as the genealogical locus for the story, and v. 10 ends with the naming of Moses and an explanation of his name’s meaning. The name that is the agent of faith for this story however is a name not even mentioned.
On one hand, the story concerns a baby born a humble Israelite but, surprisingly, adopted as a royal Egyptian. On the other hand, it forms part of a cheering story of God’s careful provision of a deliverer for his people. Of course, at this preliminary point in the book the reader has not yet learned formally that Moses will function in the role of deliverer of God’s people. But that is of little consequence since the earliest readers were already familiar with Moses, who wrote this story only after he had become Israel’s divinely-designated leader. The story of his birth is thus both a prelude to his call and, in part, an indication of his call. Although this portion of the overall narrative features Moses, it is also the story of how God uses three women to save a baby from death. It features two mothers and two daughters, with the daughter of Pharaoh in two roles, initially that of daughter and eventually also of adoptive mother. Moses’ biological mother, later identified as Jochebed in Exod 6:20 and Num 26:59, also figures prominently in these events as the one who not only did everything she could to preserve the life of her child, but also as the woman who ended up being able to nurse and thus substantially rear (see vv. 7–10) her own little boy.
The final major figure is this woman’s daughter, that is, Moses’ sister, who will be identified later as Miriam, one of the leaders of the exodus. Miriam is first named in Exod 15:20–21 as the leader of the Israelite women singing the battle victory song recorded in that chapter; she is identified as a leader of Israel in Mic 6:4 (“I sent Moses to lead you, also Aaron and Miriam”). Miriam’s oversight of Moses as he floated among the rushes of the Nile and her quick thinking in proposing an Israelite nurse for the baby (knowing full well she would “recruit” his own mother) helped preserve Moses for her family and for Israel’s salvation. God is in control, guiding, directing and working out all things for the good of His people. Thus, no matter how the ungodly, the seed of the serpent, attempt to thwart God’s plan (chapter 1), they cannot and will not succeed (chapter 2). (Currid, J. D. (2000). A Study Commentary on Exodus: Exodus 1–18 (Vol. 1, p. 58). Darlington, England; Carlisle, PA: Evangelical Press.)
The motives of all these women appear to have been pure and appropriate. God used them to do what they were good at and what their culture especially honored in women: preserving and raising a child. Their faithfulness to that noble role parallels in no small degree the faithfulness of the Israelite midwives to theirs as described Exodus 14. In each instance children were preserved from the death the pharaoh had decreed by women who defied his repugnant command. Pharaoh’s daughter could do so by reason of her privileged status; Moses’ mother and sister, by reason of their wit and fortitude and—though it is only implicit at this point in the narrative—their faith.
In celebrating “A Mother's Faith” we see 1) Faith in Perception (Exodus 2:1-2) , 2) Faith in Planning (Exodus 2:3-7) and finally, 3) Faith in Providence (Exodus 2:8-10).
We see A Mother’s Faith displayed through a
1) Faith in Perception (Exodus 2:1-2)
Exodus 2:1-2 [2:1] Now a man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman. [2] The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. (ESV)
Exodus 2:1 might seem at first glance to provide only incidental and minor information to the reader, but it does more. It demonstrates that Moses was a chosen child from the only proper tribe for his future calling, fully in compliance with the law that God had not yet revealed to Israel but would reveal within Moses’ lifetime. In other words, the verse assures the reader that Moses was prequalified for the service God later gave him, even in advance of the revelation that would make that qualification necessary. The house of Levi refers to “the tribe of Levi” in this context, since Levi was a distant ancestor, one of the twelve sons of Jacob. Both the man and the daughter of Levi are to be understood as his descendants and therefore members of the same tribe. “tribe” is a group of people who are descended from the same ancestor. Often, as in the case of the Hebrews, it is further subdivided into smaller groups called “clans.” (Osborn, N. D., & Hatton, H. (1999). A handbook on Exodus. UBS handbook series; Helps for translators (31). New York: United Bible Societies.)
The verse pointedly tells the reader that Moses was fully a Levite, that is, from Levite stock on both his father’s and his mother’s side. This means that he was unquestionably of the tribe that would soon be specially designated by God to provide the religious and spiritual leadership for the people of Israel (Exod 32:26–29; Num 3:12; 8:6–26; Deut 10:8–9)—the tribe that showed itself readily loyal to Yahweh (e.g., Exod 32:26), the tribe that would supply the priests to bridge the holiness gap between God and Israel (Exod 28–30) and the tribe selected to provide most of Israel’s regular court judges (Deut 21:5). Such a genealogy meant much to the Hebrew reader; it indicated that Moses was being set apart for God’s special service, as his tribe would later be set apart. (Currid, J. D. (2000). A Study Commentary on Exodus: Exodus 1–18 (Vol. 1, p. 59). Darlington, England; Carlisle, PA: Evangelical Press.)
• We all come from families that have either aided or hindered our spiritual growth. A wise woman using A Mother’s Faith, will learn from those who have been in her life. She will carry forth the good and learn to drop that which hinders.
In Exodus 2:2 describes that Jochebed conceived and gave birth to Moses. This is the sixteenth and final time that Moses used the expression in the Pentateuch. He had used it fifteen times throughout Genesis to describe important births (From 4:1 (the birth of Cain to Adam and Eve) to 38:4 (the birth of the first two sons to Judah and Shua).). The sixteenth usage describes his own. Thereafter the expression ceases in his writings, suggesting that he understood himself to be the final figure in a long line of persons through whom God had been preserving and preparing the formation of the nation—not merely the family—of Israel. God’s sovereignty is also seen in the fact that the birth narrative of Moses points to the coming of the ultimate Redeemer, Christ Jesus. Moses is a type of Christ. Like Moses, Jesus is born into a situation of severe persecution against the people of God. The ruler in both stories destroys Hebrew infants in order to prevent the coming of a deliverer. Both redeemers escape the holocausts. And it is ironical that in the case of Jesus, he and his family flee the massacre by going to Egypt (Matt. 2:13). God thus lays down a pattern in the early life of Moses that is repeated and heightened in the life of Christ. Indeed, Jesus delivers his people as Moses delivers his, but how much greater is Christ’s redemption! Therefore, Jesus is to be seen as a new and greater Moses (Currid, J. D. (2000). A Study Commentary on Exodus: Exodus 1–18 (Vol. 1, p. 65). Darlington, England; Carlisle, PA: Evangelical Press.).
• That is why we take this day each year to honor godly women of faith in celebration of how God can use them in a mighty way.
Exodus 2 is a celebration of a godly mother in her family. As Heb 11:23 makes clear:
Hebrews 11:23 [23] By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king's edict. (ESV)
• Moses was born soon after the general decree of Exodus 1:22 was given (ca. 1525 B.C.), the issuer of the decree was Thutmose I (MacArthur, J. J. (1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed.) (Ex 2:1). Nashville: Word Pub.).
• Hebrews 11:23 does not imply that Moses’ parents didn’t take Pharaoh’s edict seriously, only that it didn’t scare them into doing the wrong thing, i.e., letting their child be killed. The risk, in other words, was apparent in their plan.
• Faith is not a leap in the dark, as I heard a liberal say some years ago. God asks us to believe that which is good and solid. God never asks us to do foolish things. Jochebed did a sensible thing. She made a little ark and put Moses in it (McGee, J. V. (1997). Thru the Bible commentary (electronic ed.) (Ex 2:3). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.).
• There are many dangers in being a mother with many challenges. True faith is awareness of them yet striving to do the right thing in God's eyes.
• Moses’ mother resisted Pharaoh’s command and risked the threat of death. What is there in your life that threatens you? Are there lurking fears that are keeping you from doing what you have already determined is right for you? Moses’ mother’s faith tells us that we can (rely) completely on God (Dunnam, M., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1987). Vol. 2: The Preacher's Commentary Series, Volume 2 : Exodus. The Preacher's Commentary series (40). Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Inc.).
Please turn to Psalm 127
There is an interesting expression in Hebrews 11:23 and here in Exodus 2:2, that Moses was beautiful/ a fine child. The fact that the infant was seen by his mother to be ???? “good,” that is, healthy, gave her all the more resolve to protect him from the Pharaoh’s condemnation of drowning, and so she hid him away quite tenderly with the stealth and care a treasure would demand. The Hebrew for “hid” (???) actually has the fuller sense of “hid for safekeeping” and usually is applied to situations of hiding something of great value, i.e., “treasuring away.” Thus it might be possible to translate here “she hid him like a treasure” or even “she kept her little treasure secret.” Moses here credits his mother with doing what any responsible, caring mother would have done, loving her baby and trying to keep it alive. (Durham, J. I. (2002). Vol. 3: Word Biblical Commentary : Exodus. Word Biblical Commentary (16). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.).
Neither a blight on the planet nor a burden to a family, it is interesting to note the important place of children in the Israelite family.
Psalm 127:1-5 A SONG OF ASCENTS. OF SOLOMON. 1 Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. 2 It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep. 3 Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. 4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. 5 Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate. (ESV)
• These parents in Exodus 2 put their own lives in danger in order to have children and protect them as God’s highest earthly blessing. What a contrast to our society today, when people actually murder unborn gifts of God, very often simply because children are no longer wanted! (Wendland, E. H. (2000). Exodus (2nd ed.). The People's Bible (15). Milwaukee, Wis.: Northwestern Pub. House.)
The phrase “For three months” in Exodus 2:2 may be a somewhat rounded or approximate figure, indicating the period of time when a newborn could be expected to sleep extensively. He would be small enough to be hidden easily in the home, would not move around much, and usually could be kept from crying by nursing or rocking. Thereafter, it would become harder to hide a baby from prying eyes and ears, so the actions as we will see in v. 3 represent the logical next step taken by Jochebed. When, with the passage of three months, the little boy had grown too active and too noisy to be hidden at home any longer, his mother very cleverly decided to hide her son in the one place no Egyptian would bother to look: in the river Nile itself, exactly where Hebrew boy-babies were supposed to be cast. With the sparkle of shrewdness that typifies the relationship of the Israelites with their Egyptian neighbors (as opposed to the cruel force of Egyptian bureaucracy) all through the Book of Exodus, Moses’ mother thus may be said to have obeyed the Pharaoh’s grim command. But she did so with the all-important provision of a papyrus-reed container, carefully waterproofed with “hot tar and pitch.”(Durham, J. I. (2002). Vol. 3: Word Biblical Commentary : Exodus. Word Biblical Commentary (16). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.)
• Jochebed gives us an example of faithfulness in perceiving her situation and using godly wisdom in taking action. It is not that she could tell the future, but that she did the right thing at the right time until circumstances changed and her actions had to as well. Irregardless of the circumstance that any mother would encounter, the first duty is of love and care. It is most tragic when sheer business would crowd out this basic duty.
Illustration: ("The Greatest Are Those Unknown")
This first section of Exodus described so many wise actions, yet did not reveal the mother's name: Ilion Jones writes that “On the great biographer Ida M. Tarbell’s 80th birthday, someone asked her to name the greatest persons she had ever met. She responded, ‘The greatest persons I have ever met are those nobody knows anything about.’
“Once the New York Times was asked to help a group of club women decide on the twelve greatest women in the United States. After due consideration, the editors replied, ‘The twelve greatest women in the United States are women who have never been heard of outside of their own homes.’”
Jones concludes, “I ask you, who was greater, Thomas A. Edison or his mother? When he was a young lad his teacher sent him home with a note which said, ‘Your child is dumb. We can’t do anything for him.’ Mrs. Edison wrote back, ‘You do not understand my boy. I will teach him myself’. And she did, with results that are well known”. (Morning Glory, January 8, 1994 as found in Galaxie Software. (2002; 2002). 10,000 Sermon Illustrations. Biblical Studies Press.)
• Don’t worry about your popularity. Do the right thing, when nobody but God is looking.
We see A Mother’s Faith displayed through a
2) Faith in Planning (Exodus 2:3-7)
Exodus 2:3-7 [3] When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank. [4] And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him. [5] 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?" (ESV)
The term used in Exodus 2:3 for what Moses’ mother put him in, “a basket made of bulrushes” (tebah ) is, found elsewhere in the Bible only in the flood story in Genesis 6–8, where it is translated “ark.”. It was almost surely a covered papyrus box (possibly modified for the baby with air holes and/or insect netting), giving protection from insects and the sun much better than a typical basket would. This ark (??????, the same word used for Noah’s ship, Gen 7, 8, 9) is not a means of exposure but a lovingly made means of salvation, over which a careful watch was to be kept from a distance. Moses’ sister is the one guardian mentioned, but others would certainly be assumed, as well as periodic stealthy feedings of the baby and relocations of the container. The author of Exodus, Moses was apparently consciously drawing the reader’s attention to the fact that God, through Moses’ mother’s actions, was graciously protecting him from death by a small ark, just as God had protected Noah and the animals by a great ark in the days of the great flood. Indeed, it is hard to imagine that Moses was not keenly aware of the obvious comparison between himself and Noah. They both were deliverers/rescuers who were called by God to lead people and animals through and out of danger into a new location where those people and animals would become dominant in establishing a new stage of God’s unfolding plan of redemption of the world. (Durham, J. I. (2002). Vol. 3: Word Biblical Commentary : Exodus. Word Biblical Commentary (16). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.).
This ark was made of papyrus (bulrushes) (as perhaps were many items of furniture in Egypt since virtually all of the population lived close to the Nile, where papyrus grew abundantly; wood was very costly, available mainly by importation by sea). It may have been a piece of storage furniture that Moses’ parents already owned or that they bought for this new, special purpose. Jochebed’s special contribution was sealing it with tar (bitumen/asphalt, abundant in many places in Egypt) and pitch (a term used for various sorts of tar mixtures and tarry substances, possibly plant sap, though less likely actual tree sap in light of the paucity of larger trees in Egypt). Nothing in the text suggests that this was an especially brilliant or especially desperate method of attempting to hide a baby—only that Moses’ mother was doing her best to protect him. This involved concealment in perhaps the best place to hide something outdoors in Egypt and not actually bury it, but still be able to watch it and care for it—the reeds along the Nile. Here Jochebed would be able to retrieve her baby to nurse him and give him love when no Egyptian police/soldiers were around. But here she also could quickly place him where, should he cry, his cries would be muffled by the enclosure of the ark, the thickness of the reeds, the general outdoor noises, the nearby sound of the Nile waters [he would not have been out in the current itself, of course], and at such a distance from where police/soldiers would normally be likely to walk that they likely could not hear him. There was faith here, which Moses’ parents exercised in God, believing that He was able to work out all things for them. It was faith that was tested by Pharaoh’s decree; how long these days seemed! In one sense, it was easy to have faith when Moses could be seen and protected at home, but it was something else to commit him to God’s care and the waters of the Nile! Yet God gave grace for this trial. (Campbell, I. D. (2006). Opening up Exodus (p. 27). Leominster: Day One Publications.)
Exodus 2:4 provides several useful bits of information. First, unless this sister is one who is otherwise unknown and unmentioned in the narrative, it introduces Miriam (whose name will be provided first at 15:20) as an important person in Moses’ life. Second, it shows that the family was together involved in protecting Moses, as would be expected. Third, it suggests that Miriam was older even than Aaron (who was already three years old at this time; cf. Exod 7:7), but not so old that she would be expected to be working as the young women did at home and field tasks. In other words, she was old enough for the responsibility of watching her little brother in his ark and to have the ability to do so without drawing attention to his presence, but not old enough that her lingering for long periods of time along the Nile would raise questions about an older girl doing no work. Thus, she was perhaps between six and twelve years old. Her presence of mind and capable conversation with the daughter of Pharaoh in vv. 7–8 suggest she may have been closer to the upper limit of this age range. Her courage and initiative place her too among the ranks of the women who are here portrayed as acting in defiance of the oppressive edicts of Pharaoh. ( Mackay, J. L. (2001). Exodus (p. 49). Fearn, Ross-shire, Great Britain: Mentor.)
• This is a tremendous lesson for the family in general. Here is a story of a young girl that God uses to continue the lineage to Christ. Don’t think you are too young to be used by God. Instead of just waiting for a time to come, consider right now in the place that you are in how you can be faithful to God. God can do mighty things through a faithful surrendered young saint.
The expression in Exodus 2:4 “to know what would be done to him/to see what would happen to him” (NIV), might mistakenly come across as mere spectatorship. But she was not merely watching to see what happened but was on guard so as to know anything that would happen and be able to act accordingly.
• A wise mother will enlist the help of others to aid in the tasks to be done. It is foolish to personally take on the all the workload when, through God's grace, there are others to aid in the exercising of duties.
In Exodus 2:5–6 there was surely no attempt to place Moses in his little ark at a location where he was likely to be discovered. The implication is that discovery was not a part of the plan, for an Egyptian discovery certainly put the baby in harm’s way. The suspense of the discovery is that it was unintended and dangerous. The delight of the discovery is the totally unexpected way it turned out. The discovery by an Egyptian, under other conditions likely to lead to the boy’s death, leads instead to a perfect protection of his life. This is God at work, providing deliverance in an unanticipated yet wonderful way. (Durham, J. I. (2002). Vol. 3: Word Biblical Commentary : Exodus. Word Biblical Commentary (16). Dallas: Word, Incorporated).
The unnamed daughter of Pharaoh here is possibly the famous Hatshepsut, daughter of Thutmose I, later wife of Pharaoh Thutmose II (1512–1504 B.C.), her half brother. (Believer's Study Bible. 1997 (electronic ed.) (Ex 2:4). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.) God providentially used the princess to override Pharaoh’s death decree and protect the life of His chosen leader for the Israelites (MacArthur, J. J. (1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed.) (Ex 2:5). Nashville: Word Pub.). The daughter of Pharaoh is described as going “down” to the Nile simply because that was always necessary, all housing being built on higher ground as protection against the Nile’s overflowing its banks annually. We have no way of knowing how many daughters this pharaoh had, but there may have been dozens. Treaty intermarriage was a common practice in the Ancient Near East. Kings forming alliances would each give the other a daughter as a wife so that each king would be the other king’s son-in-law and father-in-law, thus providing the added surety of a family relationship to the political alliance. This practice was the primary reason Solomon, e.g., had so many wives. (J. Feather, “The Princess Who Rescued Moses: Who Was She?” ExpTim (1931–1932): 423–25).
Nevertheless, to be seen/found and then cared for by one so highly placed could result at least in protection from the pogrom against the Hebrews and guarantee at least a fine opportunity for survival. That the princess would choose to bathe in the Nile as opposed to a bathtub reflects the esteem of the pantheistic Egyptians for the sacredness of that river, an issue only hinted at here but of great importance to the later aspects of the story (chaps. 4; 7).
• A Mother of Faith through wisdom will understand that God often used means beyond those of Christians to accomplish His tasks. It is not that the actions of Non-Christians honor Him, but through the outworking of His providence, they, even Satan himself, will accomplish God's sovereign will.
Although the daughter of Pharaoh had gone done to bathe, her steps were directed:
Jeremiah 10:23 [23]I know, O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps. (ESV)
The young women/attendants were on guard, thus not bathing; the princess alone was in the water and able to spot the little ark from her angle. Sending a servant girl to retrieve it merely reflects the fact that the ark would have been placed where it could be reached from the shore, and the princess did not choose to wade through several feet of reeds to get it herself when it could be easily pulled from the water by one of those already on shore. What a remarkable providence it was that brought Pharaoh’s daughter to the very spot where Moses lay in the basket. God’s timing and His methods are all exactly right. In what way but this might it have been possible for Moses’ own mother to bring him up? And who would have thought that the redeemer of God’s people would have been nurtured and trained in the palace of the very king who was trying to oppress them! (Campbell, I. D. (2006). Opening up Exodus (p. 27). Leominster: Day One Publications.)
The fact as Exodus 2:6 indicates, that the boy was crying when the princess opened the lid may be a clue to how she noticed the ark in the first place; she may have heard the crying and then looked for its source. At any rate, here was not a woman inclined toward her father’s cold-blooded population control program. She simply felt concern for a little boy who was crying. She took pity on him. God can use the weakest things to defeat the mightiest enemies (1 Cor. 1:25–29). A baby’s tears were God’s first weapons in His war against Egypt. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1998). Be delivered (p. 14). Colorado Springs, CO: Chariot Victor Pub.)
Please turn to 1 Corinthians 1
A weeping babe seems so helpless, yet in this case it was so strong that it eventually brought destruction to a mighty nation. God delights to use the weak things to defeat the mighty of the world:
1 Corinthians 1:27-29 [27]But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; [28]God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, [29]so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. (ESV)
One imagines, in fact, Moses’ adoptive mother telling him the story of his rescue many times—and how precious he seemed to her the first moment she set eyes on him. Her recognition that Moses was a Hebrew boy probably was predicated on four things at least: the general physical differences between Hebrews and Egyptians, the type of baby clothes used, the fact that her discovery occurred in an Israelite settlement area, and the general situation (the need to hide Israelite baby boys but not Egyptian baby boys). Furthermore, a Hebrew baby would have been circumcised on the eighth day. Although circumcision was practiced in Egypt, it was not done to infants. Upon unwrapping the infant’s clothing, the women would have seen his “special mark.” (Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1997). The Nelson study Bible : New King James Version (Ex 2:6). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.)
Moses must have heard this story many times, and not merely from his adoptive mother but from Jochebed and, indeed, from Miriam herself. We see in Exodus 2:7 that Miriam controlled the action: she apparently didn’t run when the Egyptian women arrived but remained at her post and affected curiosity when the baby was found. She must have gotten close enough to the action to overhear the princess’s various expressions of concern for the boy (e.g., “He’s crying!” “He must be hungry!” “I can’t leave him like this!”), and Miriam wisely volunteered a wet nurse she knew well (her own mother). The origin of the scheme was most probably owing to a divine suggestion, as its success was due to an overruling Providence, who not only preserved the child’s life, but provided for his being trained in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Hence it is said to have been done by faith (Heb 11:23), ... the pious couple gave a beautiful example of a firm reliance on the word of God, united with an active use of the most suitable means (Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., Fausset, A. R., Brown, D., & Brown, D. (1997). A commentary, critical and explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments (Ex 2:6). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.).
Poem: What is: "A Mother’s Influence": “I took a piece of plastic clay And idly fashioned it one day; And as my fingers pressed it still It moved and yielded at my will. I came again when days were past, The form I gave it still it bore, And as my fingers pressed it still, I could change that form no more. I took a piece of living clay, And gently formed it day by day, And molded with my power and art, A young child’s soft and yielding heart. I came again when days were gone; It was a man I looked upon, He still that early impress bore, And I could change it never more”. (Author unknown recorded in Galaxie Software. (2002; 2002). 10,000 Sermon Illustrations. Biblical Studies Press.)
Finally, we see A Mother’s Faith displayed through a
3) Faith in Providence (Exodus 2:8-10)
Exodus 2:8-10 [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 up, 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." (ESV)
The turning point of the story is contained in a one-word command, that of the princess: “Go”. With that decision of the king’s daughter, Moses’ protection was assured. Miriam obviously knew Egyptian well enough to converse with the princess; most Hebrews probably knew Egyptian relatively well, in light of their long history in the country, notwithstanding their partial geographical confinement. It may have been difficult for Jochebed to process what she first heard from Miriam, breathlessly arriving at the home to summon her. Egyptians—the enemy—had found the baby she had so carefully hidden! But Miriam was obviously able to convince her mother that there was no harm—at least not yet—in following through with the offer to become her baby’s nurse. After all, that immediately legitimized her caring openly for her own child and eliminated the need to hide him any longer. So, the determined mother met the daughter of the source of her worst fears, God having turned the circumstances toward hope and salvation. He is working here, and all things are under his control. Even in the tiniest details of this story the sovereignty of God is evident. None of the events of the birth episode happened by chance, but God was making preparations for the redemption of his people. (Currid, J. D. (2000). A Study Commentary on Exodus: Exodus 1–18 (Vol. 1, p. 65). Darlington, England; Carlisle, PA: Evangelical Press.)
From Exodus 2:9–10, the concluding portion of the passage, God’s special provision for Moses cannot be missed. The baby boy once in grave peril received royal protection, his own mother raised him in his early years, she was actually paid to care for him, and the princess formally adopted him as evidenced by her giving him an Egyptian name. There are two purposes in this adoption. First, the human purpose. Our text does not speak of this purpose, but history will give us some insight as to the purpose of the adoption. According to some ancient historians, Pharaoh’s daughter had been long married without children. It is, however, important that royalty have children, so she adopted Moses. Second, the heavenly purpose. God would train Moses in government policies just like He trained Joseph before he became a high ruler in the land of Egypt. When Moses came back to Egypt as the emancipator, he would know the ‘ins and outs’ of the royal palace which would give him wisdom in dealing with the king of Egypt. God is not in the habit of putting people in places of service without duly training them. The rejoicing in Amram and Jochebed’s home would be tempered only by the realization that eventually their son would be transferred to another home; but he was alive, and now he had every opportunity to survive into adulthood. (Butler, J. G. (2008). Analytical Bible Expositor: Exodus (20). Clinton, IA: LBC Publications.).
• Isn't that what a Mother of Faith desires for her child. Even when we might want to hold on to our children forever, there is a time of maturing that we must trust God and let them go. It of course doesn't mean we stop loving them. Godly parenting always has the objective of having the child one day leave.
The nursing contract described in v. 9 presumably took a standard form in which the wet nurse was compensated for caring for a child, but the legal possession remained with the one making the payment. Because in ancient times children were nursed for three or four years before being weaned, the princess realized that she would have actual physical custody of the boy only later. It presumably would not have been thinkable that a Hebrew wet nurse would reside in the royal housing as a full-time caregiver; and most wet nurses would have families to care for at any rate. So, the princess does not say “Come with me” but “Take this (child) boy away” (the literal meaning of the Hb. hiphil of halak). The Godly nurture Moses received during the three years of his life before he went to live with the princess in the court of Pharaoh shaped him for receptivity and response to God’s call. (Gruber, “Breast-feeding Practices in Ancient Israel,” 61–83; Stuart, Hosea-Jonah, 32; some of the key evidence comes from 2 Macc 7:27 and 1 Sam 1:23, as well as from the Egyptian “Instructions of Ani” (ANET, 420).)
• Nothing you do for your children, nothing you give them is as important as making them aware of God’s presence in their lives and their dependence upon God. It is not trite or superficial to say that the destinies of nations are fashioned on the laps of mothers and fathers (Dunnam, M., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1987). Vol. 2: The Preacher's Commentary Series, Volume 2 : Exodus. The Preacher's Commentary series (40). Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Inc.).
Finally, Exodus 2:10 says that When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. The position of “son” undoubtedly granted Moses special privileges belonging to nobility. The formal education in the court of that time meant that Moses would have learned reading, writing, arithmetic, and perhaps one or more of the languages of Canaan. He would also have participated in various outdoor sports, e.g., archery and horseback riding, two favorites of the 18th Dynasty court (MacArthur, J. J. (1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed.) (Ex 2:10). Nashville: Word Pub.).
Please turn to Acts 7
Is it reasonable to suppose that Pharaoh, who had ordered the death of all male Hebrew children, would permit Moses to live (1:16)? Yes. Ancient parallels exist in which governments raised and educated select young males of hostile cultures. Daniel and several other young Israelites were raised and educated in Babylon so they could serve as government officials (Daniel 1). Similarly, Moses’ life was apparently spared by Pharaoh in order to prepare him as an administrator over Egypt’s Hebrew slaves (Cabal, T., Brand, C. O., Clendenen, E. R., Copan, P., Moreland, J., & Powell, D. (2007). The Apologetics Study Bible: Real Questions, Straight Answers, Stronger Faith (86). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.).
Acts 7 presents the inspired commentary of the situation:
Acts 7:17–22 17 “But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt 18 until there arose over Egypt another king who did not know Joseph. 19 He dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, so that they would not be kept alive. 20 At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God’s sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father’s house, 21 and when he was exposed, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. 22 And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds. (ESV)
• Here Stephen emphasizes that the one who delivered Israel was educated in a secular setting, hence God accomplished salvation in an unexpected way, as He has now done through Jesus of Nazareth. (Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 2094). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.). Stephen shows how there can be no doubt that, as the adopted son of Pharaoh’s daughter, Moses received a thoroughly Egyptian training, and was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, as Stephen states in Acts 7:22 in accordance with Jewish tradition. Through such an education as this, he received just the training required for the performance of the work to which God had called him. Thus, the wisdom of Egypt was employed by the wisdom of God for the establishment of the kingdom of God. (Keil, C. F., & Delitzsch, F. (1996). Commentary on the Old Testament (Vol. 1, p. 279). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson.)
This process of nurturing did not persuade Moses to relinquish his native origin. Rather, as the NT advises, his spiritual maturity was such that when he came of age:
Hebrews 11:24 [24] By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, (ESV)
• The hardest reality for a mother of Faith is the reality that the children given to us are not our own. We are stewards of God's children and we must remind them of the privileges and responsibilities of being a part of His family.
The emphasis of Exodus 2:10 rests on the adoption, with requisite Egyptian name. “Moses” follows the typical pattern of ancient naming in which a name (usually an existing, known name) was not selected prior to birth, as in modern Western practice, but only after birth and suggested by some sort of circumstance or speech experienced or heard at the time of birth—in this case at the time of the child’s discovery. So a relatively common Egyptian name, meaning “son” or “to beget a son,” is chosen as appropriate because it sounds something like mošeh, the active participle of the verb mašah, “draw out,” which connects to the circumstances of Moses’ discovery and being “drawn out” of the water. Through this name, the princess both consciously honors the Hebrew origins of her son and also makes him legitimately Egyptian with a name in her own language that emphasizes that she is adopting a son (J. G. Griffiths, “The Egyptian Derivation of the Name Moses,” JNES 12 (1953): 225–31.).
Poem: In all of this, Jockabed displayed remarkable faith in the midst of such great pain. What is that: "Mother’s Love"? A Mother’s love is something that no one can explain, It is made of deep devotion and of sacrifice and pain, It is endless and unselfish and enduring come what may For nothing can destroy it or take that love away...It is patient and forgiving when all others are forsaking, And it never fails or falters even though the heart is breaking...It believes beyond believing when the world around condemns, And it glows with all the beauty of the rarest, brightest gems... It is far beyond defining, it defies all explanation, and it still remains a secret like the mysteries of creation...A many-splendored miracle man cannot understand And another wondrous evidence of God’s tender guiding hand”.(Author unknown as recorded in Galaxie Software. (2002; 2002). 10,000 Sermon Illustrations. Biblical Studies Press.)
(Format note: Some base commentary from Stuart, D. K. (2007). Vol. 2: Exodus (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (84–93). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
