Great Bible Stories: Moses, part 1 (Exodus 1-2:10)

Remember Joseph? Today I want to talk about another Bible story that flows straight from that one.

By Genesis 50, things are looking pretty good. The Israelites are settled in Egypt, thanks to Joseph. Joseph has forgiven his brothers and everyone is thriving.

We then get to Exodus. We learn that the Israelites have multiplied greatly in Egypt, and then we learn that there is a new pharaoh, one who wasn't around at the same time as Joseph and is afraid that the Israelites will become too powerful. He commands that all male Israelite children shall be put to death so they will no longer be able to multiply and spread.

A New Baby
And then, there is a specific Israelite woman who gives birth to a son. She manages to hide him for three months, and then she finds another solution:

"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." (Exodus 2:3)

At first glance this seems crazy. Who puts their baby in a basket and floats them away down the river? But this woman knew that it was either this or let her child be slaughtered by the Egyptians. At least this way, he had a chance of survival, slim though it may have been.

And then we see that God was working.

The daughter of Pharaoh happens to come down to the river to bathe. She finds the basket, guesses that the baby is an Israelite, takes pity on it, and decides that she wants to keep it.

And that's not even the best part, because now she needs a nurse for the baby. And Miriam, Moses' sister who was watching from a distance, offers to find a nurse. She gets her mother, so Moses' mother gets to keep her baby after all, and get paid for raising him. It doesn't get much better than that.

What We Can Learn

• God has a plan. No matter how crazy what he is asking you to do may seem, there is always a reason for it and he will work everything to fulfill his plans for you.
• God will always remember his people. Even if it seems that he has forgotten you in a time of trial, he will always be there for you and help you.
• God is protecting you. In dangerous situations, he will watch over you and bring you to safety if it fits his purposes.

I will hopefully continue with this series next week or the week after and we will learn more from the story of Moses, which is so jam-packed with amazing miracles and truths about God that we can't cover it all in one post!

What do you think? Do you like this story? What other lessons do you think can be drawn from it? What other stories would you like to see?