Moses’ Story: Delivered to Deliver

Exodus 1:15-2:10

Ten Signposts of Scripture
CAMDE—400—CALY
Creation. Abraham. Moses. David. Elijah. 400. Christ. Apostles. Letters. Yet-to Come.

Here’s what we’ve covered and where we are on our journey together:

CREATION                               ABRAHAM                              MOSES
Adam and Eve                       Abraham and Sarah             Israel Enslaved
Cain and Abel                        Lot
Noah and the flood               Isaac and Rebekah
Lamech and Enoch               Jacob, Rachel, and Leah                     
Tower of Babel                      Joseph            

In our study of Genesis, we learned that God is El Shaddai—the all-sufficient, all-powerful, sovereign God. He accomplishes his work in his own time. We have observed this in Scripture and know it to be true in our lives today. 

When God establishes his covenant to make Abraham’s family into a great nation that will bless all people, God also told Abraham that his offspring would be “sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years” (Gen. 15:13).

Four hundred years! 

God’s promises are sure, but they seldom come by overnight delivery. Four hundred years is a long time to wait for the promise to be fulfilled! But now, as we continue studying God’s story in God’s people, the time for Israel to realize this covenant promise is at hand. 

After Joseph and his generation died, the nation of Israel began to multiply in Egypt. They lived in Goshen in northern Egypt and numbered between one and two million people. 

Some two hundred years after Joseph, a new king came to power who viewed Israel as a major threat. He enslaved them, making “their lives bitter with hard service” (Ex. 1:14). Yet “the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied” (Ex. 1:12). 

Pharaoh came up with another idea to reduce the number of Hebrew males. 

Pharaoh told the midwives who assisted the Hebrew women in childbirth, “When you. . . see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live” (Ex. 1:16). Boys, who would grow up to be warriors and work the fields, were to be eliminated. This would provide a long-term solution to Egypt’s perceived threat. 

However, Shiphrah and Puah, the senior midwives, put their lives on the line and became heroes. Exodus 1:17 tells us, “The midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live.” They explained to Pharaoh that the Israelite women were “vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them” (Ex. 1:19).

We don’t know whether that was entirely true or whether it was what the midwives said to protect the vulnerable. They chose to obey God, saving the male infants at the risk of their own lives. They refused to participate in Pharaoh’s evil plan, and God protected and blessed them. It was customary for midwives to be women who could not have children; however, God graciously gave them families of their own (Ex. 1:20-21). 

When his first attempt at population control failed with the midwives, the king got everyone involved. Can you imagine the shock, fear, and desperate wailing when he commanded, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live” (Ex. 1:22).

Why did he command that the baby boys be thrown into the Nile? People lived near the Nile, so it was convenient. The swift waters would wash the bodies away. Also, the Egyptians viewed the Nile as a god, so if the Nile god received the baby, they reasoned it was that god’s decision, thereby removing blame from whoever threw the child into the water. No doubt it was not the parents who complied, but those willing to take boys from their families’ care. Imagine the chaos, grief, and terror resulting from Pharaoh’s death edict. 

But one Hebrew family devised a different plan. Here’s where God’s story in Moses begins.

A husband and wife from the tribe of Levi had a baby boy. Their names are not mentioned here, but later we learn that the couple were Amram and Jochebed. Three years earlier, they had a son named Aaron, and before that, a daughter named Miriam.

In the New Testament, Stephen describes Moses as “beautiful in God’s sight” (Acts 7:20), and the writer of Hebrews notes that Amram and Jochebed were “not afraid of the king’s edict” (Heb. 11:23). They kept Moses hidden for three months, but when they could no longer hide him, Jochebed made a basket of papyrus reeds, and “daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank. And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him” (Ex. 2:3-4). This was a carefully chosen location.

In God’s perfect plan and perfect timing, Pharaoh’s daughter went to the Nile to bathe and spotted the basket. She had compassion for the baby and for the parents who had done everything they could to save their child.

Remember, Miriam was standing nearby so she could keep watch over her baby brother. At the opportune moment, she boldly approached Pharaoh’s daughter and asked whether she could find a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby. 

Pharaoh’s daughter agreed to the plan (Ex. 2:7-9). Moses was rescued from the Nile and allowed to remain with his family for a while longer.

Exodus 2:10
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 Egyptian word mose means “son,” and the Hebrew word moseh means “to draw.” Moses was an appropriate name for the adopted son of Pharaoh’s daughter. She had no idea that God had orchestrated the entire sequence of events. 

In today’s story, we see God’s sovereign work in Moses’ life from infancy. Rescue and deliverance are themes throughout the book of Exodus, beginning with Moses’ salvation from certain death. The sovereign God is always in charge of writing our stories.  

PERSONAL TIME WITH GOD
Reading and reflection: Exodus 1:15-2:10:  What fears (rational and irrational) are competing with your fear of God?

Talking to God: Ask God to help you take courageous steps of obedience. 

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SAVE THE DATE: Bible Immersion trip to Israel: November 4-14, 2026.

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