Exodus 2:1-25

2:1-10 | Beautiful means “favored.” For Moses’ parents to hide him for three months until he was in safe hands was an act of faith lauded in Hebrews 11:23.

2:3 | The word ark (in this case, a floating basket) alludes to Noah and, as in his day, served here as a vessel of divine deliverance. The basket was placed securely among the reeds by the bank of the Nile where the current was slight, so it would not wash out to sea. It was also placed where the women of the palace would see it when they came to dip in the waters of the Nile as part of their religious ritual.

2:5-10 | The daughter of Pharoah (probably Hatshepsut) knew immediately that this child was a Hebrew because he was circumcised (Gen. 17:9-14). Her adoption of Moses as her son, along with the selection of Moses’ own mother as his wet nurse, are two ways God preserved the infant. Moses in Egyptian most like means “born,” but the Hebrew equivalent means “to be drawn out.” God would later use him to draw His people from the water.

2:11-15 | This Pharoah (likely Thutmose III) had been raised with Moses. The murder of a slave master by a privileged member of the royal family would not have warranted a death sentence, so Pharoah’s desire to kill Moses was about removing him as a potential successor to the throne. The land of Midian is in present-day Saudi Arabia, the land east of the Gulf of Aqaba.

2:16-22 | Moses spent most of his first 40 years in Pharaoh’s palace, learning to be a student, a statesman, and a soldier. He spent the next 40 years of his life in the desert, taking care of his father-in-law’s sheep. From prince to shepherd was a demotion, yet Moses learned the qualities he would need as Israel’s future emancipator, including humility and patience. In the desert, God teaches people who He really is. It is only when we are totally yielded to Him that our giftings become graces.

2:21 | Much like Jacob with Laban, the runaway Moses was not financially able to enter into an independant marriage, so he became Jethro’s adopted son. He then became his son-in-law upon marrying Zipporah. After 40 years of service, the flocks he tended would still belong to Jethro.

2:23-25 | Heard and remembered indicate that the Lord’s time had come: He would return Moses to Egypt and send Him as the answer to the people’s prayers (3:7-10). God always has someone ready when His people cry out to Him in their need. More importantly, Yahweh revealed Himself as the One who hears, remembers, sees (looked upon), and knows (acknowledged) His children.