The Birth of Moses

Exodus 2:1-10

SS Lesson for 10/02/2022

 

Devotional Scriptures: Acts 7:20-22

Lesson Background and Key Verse

Background from the NIV Standard Lesson Commentary

Centuries before the events of this lesson’s Scripture text, God had promised Abraham, a nomadic herdsman from Mesopotamia, that his descendants would be numerous (Genesis 15:5). One such descendant, Joseph (25:24), was removed from his ancestral land and taken to Egypt. Through God’s power and directives, Joseph ended up in a position of high regard in service to the Egyptian pharaoh (41:41-57). Ultimately, Joseph brought his extended family to live with him in Egypt (Genesis 50:22; Exodus 1:1-5). His descendants would become the Israelites. Centuries later, they “were exceedingly fruitful, multiplied greatly, increased in numbers and became so numerous that the land was filled with them” (1:7). God’s promise of numerous descendants had become a reality. Jacob’s descendants would be in the land of Egypt for a total of 430 years (see Exodus 12:40). Eventually, a new pharaoh came to power, and was concerned regarding the growth of the Israelite population (1:8-10). The exact identity of the pharaoh in question is unknown. The construction of cities Pithom and Rameses (Exodus 1:11) has led some scholars to estimate that the pharaoh in question was Rameses II (approx. 1290–1224 BC). He oversaw vast construction projects and kept numerous slaves, realities that align with the first chapters of Exodus. However, Scripture describes how Solomon began construction on the temple 480 years after the Israelites left Egypt (1 Kings 6:1). This timing would place the exodus at approximately 1447 BC, outside of the reign of Rameses II (compare Exodus 12:40-41; Galatians 3:17). Specific details regarding the exact timing of the exodus and the pharaoh involved may never be recovered. The pharaoh in question saw the growing presence of Israelites as a threat. To suppress their increase in number and to exert power over them, the pharaoh established hard labor for the Israelites and placed slave masters over them (Exodus 1:11-14). The pharaoh’s oppressive treatment intensified in his declaration that “every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile” (1:22). Despite this oppression, God blessed Jacob’s descendants. Because of the shrewdness of Hebrew women (see Exodus 1:15-20), more Hebrew boys survived infancy than the pharaoh intended. This lesson highlights the response of several women to the pharaoh’s unjust declaration. A seemingly small event, the birth of a child and his upbringing—served as the way by which God provided a just response to an unjust situation.

 

Key Verse: Exodus 2:2

So the woman conceived and bore a son. And when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months

 

Major Theme Analysis

(Scriptural Text from the New King James Version; cross-references from the NIV)

Birth and Protection of Moses (Exodus 2:1-4)

 

1 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.

 

Born as a Levite (1-2)

Levite father and mother (Exodus 6:20)

20 Amram married his father's sister Jochebed, who bore him Aaron and Moses. Amram lived 137 years.

Levites were the main tribe to choose following God over the golden calf (Ex 32:25-35)

25 Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies. 26 So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, "Whoever is for the Lord, come to me." And all the Levites rallied to him. 27 Then he said to them, "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.'" 28 The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died. 29 Then Moses said, "You have been set apart to the Lord today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day." 30 The next day Moses said to the people, "You have committed a great sin. But now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin." 31 So Moses went back to the Lord and said, "Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. 32 But now, please forgive their sin — but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written." 33 The Lord replied to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book. 34 Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin." 35 And the Lord struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.

Levites were to be in charge of the tabernacle (Num 1:48-50)

48 The Lord had said to Moses: 49 "You must not count the tribe of Levi or include them in the census of the other Israelites. 50 Instead, appoint the Levites to be in charge of the tabernacle of the Testimony — over all its furnishings and everything belonging to it. They are to carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings; they are to take care of it and encamp around it.

Levites were appointed to be priests by God (Num 3:10)

10 Appoint Aaron and his sons to serve as priests; anyone else who approaches the sanctuary must be put to death."

Levites had God as an inheritance instead of land (Deut 18:1-2)

1 The priests, who are Levites — indeed the whole tribe of Levi — are to have no allotment or inheritance with Israel. They shall live on the offerings made to the Lord by fire, for that is their inheritance. 2 They shall have no inheritance among their brothers; the Lord is their inheritance, as he promised them.

 

Hiding of Moses (3-4)

Hidden because of not being an ordinary child (Acts 7:20)

20 "At that time Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child. For three months he was cared for in his father's house.

Hidden because of fear of the kings’ edict (Heb 11:23)

23 By faith Moses' parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king's edict.

Hidden to protect like Rahab did the two Israelite spies (Josh 2:3-6)

3 So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: "Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land." 4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, "Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. 5 At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, the men left. I don't know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them." 6 (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid out on the roof.)

Hidden to protect like Joseph did Jesus (Matt 2:13-15)

13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him." 14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son."

 

Nursing and Adoption of Moses (Exodus 2:5-10)

 

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."

 

Finding by Pharaoh’s daughter (5-6)

Found because Pharaoh's daughter took him as her own (Acts 7:21)

21 When he was placed outside, Pharaoh's daughter took him and brought him up as her own son.

Found because God was his refuge (Ps 46:1)

46 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

Found because God controls authorities hearts (Prov 21:1)

1 The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.

Found because God always provides a way of deliverance for His people (Jonah 1:17)

1 But the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.

 

Moses sister’s intervention (7)

Intervention because God hears His people cries (Ps 69:33)

33 The Lord hears the needy and does not despise his captive people.

Intervention because God looks down from on high (Ps 102:19-20)

19 "The Lord looked down from his sanctuary on high, from heaven he viewed the earth, 20 to hear the groans of the prisoners and release those condemned to death."

Intervention because God rescues His people (Col 1:13)

13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,

Intervention because God upholds His people causes (Ps 146:7)

7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free,

Intervention because of God’s favor (Isa 49:8-9)

8 This is what the Lord says: "In the time of my favor I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you; I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land and to reassign its desolate inheritances, 9 to say to the captives, 'Come out,' and to those in darkness, 'Be free!' "They will feed beside the roads and find pasture on every barren hill.

 

Moses’ mother assigned as nurse (8-9)

Mother assigned because God sustains and never forsakes (Isa 46:3-5)

3 "Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all you who remain of the house of Israel, you whom I have upheld since you were conceived, and have carried since your birth. 4 Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. 5 "To whom will you compare me or count me equal? To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?

Mother assigned because God keeps His covenants (Ezek 16:8)

8 "'Later I passed by, and when I looked at you and saw that you were old enough for love, I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness. I gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Sovereign Lord, and you became mine.

Mother assigned to teach Moses about his people (Heb 11:24)

24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter.

 

Adoption of Moses (10)

Adopted because of being redeemed (Rom 8:22-23)

22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

Adopted because of being blameless and pure (Phil 2:14-15)

14 Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe

Adopted because of bringing God’s children to glory (Heb 2:10)

10 In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.

Adopted because of participation in sufferings (1 Peter 4:12-14)

12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.

 

Conclusion and Other Thoughts

 

Commentary Thoughts from Bob Deffinbaugh

Moses—Out of the Water (2:1-10)

The previous chapter ended with the decree of Pharaoh to all of his people: “Every boy that is born you must throw into the river, but let every girl live” (Exod. 1:22). This command is the backdrop for the first 10 verses of chapter 2, where Moses, a newborn Hebrew baby boy, is “thrown into the Nile” in a basket, in token obedience to the Pharaoh, and taken out of the river by none other than the Pharaoh’s daughter.

It may seem needless to say, but the account is not only portrayed as history, but it is history and not myth. Unfortunately, some “scholars” find themselves unable to accept the biblical account as accurate and authoritative.

We are told that a particular Hebrew man of the tribe of Levi married a woman who was also of the same tribe (v. 1). Later on, we learn that the man’s name is Amram and the mother’s is Jochebed (Exod. 6:20). The fact that both the man and his wife are of the tribe of Levi is a point which Moses wants us to view as significant.

To this couple, a child was born. The mother is said to have sensed something special about the child which prompted her to hide him for three months. Verse 2 is rendered several ways by translators: “… he was a fine child” (NIV), “… he was beautiful” (NASB), “… he was exceptionally well-formed” (Berkeley), “… he was a goodly child” (King James). In the New Testament we find the child described thus: “… he was no ordinary child” [margin: “was fair in the sight of God”] (NIV), “… no ordinary child” (Heb. 11:23).

The problem which I have with these translations is that they do not accurately convey the meaning of the original terms, and they do not provide us with an acceptable reason for the actions of Moses’ parents which could thus be considered a commendable act of faith. The two principle explanations of the statement in verse 2 are: (1) that the child was exceedingly well-formed and beautiful; and (2) that the parents somehow perceived that God had a special purpose for this child.

The first suggestion seems to be a takeoff on the old song that goes something like this: “You must have been a beautiful baby …” But dare we conclude that the baby Moses was simply too good looking to throw to the crocodiles? Does this mean that all of the other parents were justified in casting their ugly (and what parent has ever viewed their baby as ugly) babies into the Nile? Surely good looks is not the basis of Moses’ deliverance. The writer to the Hebrews tells us that the parents of the child acted on faith which must preclude outward appearances such as good looks. That Moses was simply “a beautiful baby” is not a satisfactory explanation for the action which his parents took.

Other renderings (e.g. “no ordinary child”) suggest that the parents of Moses saw beyond the child’s good looks to something even more special in him. His parents, we are told, believed God had a special purpose for the child. As Gispen puts it,

The mother … saw that he was ‘a fine child’ … that is, attractive, well-formed, but here perhaps also: robust, promising. The mother saw something special in the child (a future savior?). … The Jewish historian Josephus mentions a separate revelation of God to Amram concerning Moses’ future greatness, but it is not necessary to accept this.

Thus, Moses’ parents would not kill their child because he was special, one for whom God had great plans. But is it commendable to save a child simply because God has certain plans for it? Does not God have a special purpose for every child? If Moses’ parents were motivated by this kind of reasoning, it would seem to justify killing every child for whom greatness was not ordained. Many are the abortions performed with such logic. No, there must be a better explanation.

In Exodus 2:2 the text could simply be rendered, “she saw that he was good.” The Hebrew word rendered “good” is frequently used by Moses in the five books of the Law, and in most it has the sense of goodness which is the result of being made (or given) by God, and/or of being declared good by Him. Thus, the frequent expressions in Genesis 1 and 2, “it was good,” employ the same term. The same sense is suggested by Arndt and Gingrich in their Greek lexicon for the Greek word which refers to the child. Stephen’s words, “he was good, to God” (Acts 7:20), points us in this same direction.

I would therefore suggest that Moses is not telling us that God moved his parents to hide him because they were convinced that there was something very special (either in appearance or in purpose) about him as a particular child, but rather that they saw something special about him as a child, period. You see, the biblical perspective is that children come from God (cf. Ps. 127). Every child is the product of divine creation (cf. Ps. 139:13-14), and thus is “good” in the eyes of God. Moses’ parents refused to put their child to death because God had created him, and because this meant that this child (like every other child ever born) was good in God’s eyes.

How far short of this kind of faith and obedience modern day parents come when they choose to abort the child which God has brought into existence and which therefore is good in God’s sight. The abortionist would have us believe that many children are really not “good” at all and should thus be terminated. This is simply a refusal to see children as God sees them. It may be a bit more sophisticated to vacuum a child from its mother’s womb, or to cut it out, but it is no different from throwing the child into the Nile, to be devoured by a crocodile.

Moses’ parents feared the God who created their son more than the Pharaoh who wished to kill him. Thus they hid the child in their home for the first three months of his life (Exod. 3:2). Keeping the boy-child from being discovered eventually became impossible. The time came when something different had to be done. The result was a feigned obedience to the letter of the Law of Pharaoh. Moses was “thrown into the Nile” but in a woven “ark,” which was sealed with tar. The sister of Moses was tasked to stand at a distance to “see what would happen to the child” (Exod. 2:4).

In the providence of God, Pharaoh’s daughter arrived at the banks of the Nile to bathe. She saw the basket, sent one of her maids to fetch it, and discovered a Hebrew baby boy inside. At this point we should remember the order which the Pharaoh, this woman’s father, had given to all of those in his kingdom which would include his daughter: “Every boy that is born you must throw into the river …” (Exod. 1:22).

The Pharaoh could sit upon his throne and pass down edicts which caused untold sorrow, suffering, and death without ever being touched by the consequences of his decisions. Now, the Pharaoh’s daughter came face to face with the implications of her father’s policy of genocide. Looking into that basket, she saw a Hebrew baby—there was no mistaking its identity (v. 6). The child was crying, perhaps already having been adversely affected by his period of exposure. Nevertheless, this was a pathetic sight, one that tugged at the compassion and maternal instincts of this woman.

What her father, the Pharaoh, had commanded was not only unthinkable; it was undoable. No doubt she was pondering what she would do with the child when Moses’ sister arrived with the solution. How gracious of God to give this child back to his parents for a time and even to pay the mother wages for keeping him. This must have given a year or two, or more, during which they enjoyed their son with the protection of Pharaoh’s daughter. Depending on the age of Moses and the amount of ongoing contact his parents had with him, they must have had some opportunity to instruct him in the ways of the Lord. Let us not forget, however, that God’s plan for the education of Moses included years of instruction at the feet of pagan Egyptians, too (cf. Acts 7:22), which greatly facilitated his future leadership.

When Moses was weaned, he was taken into the household of Pharaoh, where he became her son. She named the boy Moses, a name rooted in the event of her finding him as a baby at which time she “drew him out” of the Nile.

The deliverance of Moses is significant in several ways. First, his deliverance is a beautiful illustration of the truth which we find declared most clearly in the New Testament: “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory …” (Eph. 3:20-21a).

God gave the parents of Moses more than they ever thought possible. Not only was their son spared and now protected by none other than Pharaoh’s daughter’s love, but they were allowed to keep him for a time, train him in the ways of their God, and then, in addition to all these blessings, they were paid for it. What a rebuke to our unbelief! What a challenge to the limits of our faith! What a gracious God we serve!

The second observation which must be made is that the placing of Moses in the river is not the high point of faith in the lives of his parents. Most often this text has been interpreted romantically rather than realistically. We readily choose to believe that the “putting out” (exposing to die) of Moses by his parents was an act of faith, but a little bit of thought raises some serious questions. Why was the baby put “among the reeds” of the Nile? I believe that the reason was to hide the baby from sight. If the parents had cast their son into the Nile, surely no other Hebrew family would want to run the risk of saving the child. Any Egyptian who encountered the child would have been inclined to throw the child into the river, either out of personal prejudice and animosity, or at least out of a fear of disobeying the Pharaoh’s command.

I personally believe that Moses’ sister gasped when she saw the Pharaoh’s daughter spot the basket in the reeds and commanded her servants to bring the basket to her. Of all the people in Egypt, who would you least want to find that baby than a member of the Pharaoh’s household? My concerns are not a matter of mere conjecture, however, for the New Testament commentary confirms what I have suggested. I urge you to think through the biblical commentary on this event before you reject what I am about to suggest.

The writer to the Hebrews chose to cite the hiding of Moses for the first three months of his life as an evidence of his parents’ faith, but virtually ignored the incident of the tar-covered ark in which Moses was put in the Nile: “By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict” (Heb. 11:23). Accepting these verses as divinely inspired and authoritative, I came to the conclusion that the act of Moses’ parents in hiding him for three months was a matter of greater faith than their act of putting him in the basket in the Nile.

But this does not go far enough when we take into account the words of Stephen:

“Then another king, who knew nothing about Joseph, became ruler of Egypt. He dealt treacherously with our people and oppressed our forefathers by forcing them to throw out their newborn babies so that they would die. At that time Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child. For three months he was cared for in his father’s house. When he was placed outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son” (Acts 7:18-21, NIV, emphasis mine).

Stephen, like the writer to the Hebrews, refers to the three month period when Moses was hidden in the house of his parents. Unlike Hebrews, Stephen does obliquely refer to the placing of the ark in the Nile but in such a way as to suggest a very distressing thought: this was more an act of unbelief than it was an act of faith. The translation of the NIV blunts Stephen’s point by translating the same Greek term by two different words (“throw out,” v. 19; “placed outside,” v. 21). The NASB brings the force of Stephen’s words home much more literally and precisely by rendering the same term “expose” in both verses. The point, disturbing as it may be, is this: Just as Pharaoh commanded that Hebrew boy babies be “put out to die,” Moses’ was “put out to die” by his parents.

No wonder the writer to the Hebrews chose not to include the placing of Moses in the River Nile as an example of Old Testament faith, which we should strive to imitate. Moses’ parents were at first unwilling to put their child to death, hiding him at home in defiance of Pharaoh’s decree. But, when this seemed impossible, they weakened to the point where they were willing to put their child in the Nile, in partial obedience to Pharaoh’s order. They were unwilling to put their child to death and thus put him in that woven basket. In their hearts, I believe that there was some hope that something might happen to save their child’s life, but mostly there was the fear that he would die (to which Stephen refers). The writer to the Hebrews thus rightly passes over this occasion, for it is not a model of biblical faith.

Third, described in these verses is not just “the deliverance of the deliverer,” but the deliverance of the Hebrew boy babies for drowning in the Nile. Not only did God deliver Moses, but through his deliverance it appears that the Pharaoh’s policy of genocide was set aside. Pharaoh had decreed that every boy baby born to an Israelite was to be cast into the Nile, but Pharaoh’s own daughter defied this order, thereby making it virtually impossible for the Pharaoh to enforce his own decree.

Think about it for a moment. Pharaoh’s daughter refused to abide by her father’s orders by taking Moses out of the water, and then she takes a Hebrew child home with her as her son. Now, in the palace of the Pharaoh whose orders were, “Throw them in the water!”, there is a Hebrew boy whose name means “Taken from the water.” There is, in my mind, no way that Pharaoh could have enforced his decree when his own daughter disobeyed it when living testimony of this disobedience (namely Moses) lived in the palace of Pharaoh, under his protection. Once again, Pharaoh’s efforts to destroy the people of God are turned inside-out, resulting in the fulfillment of His promises concerning the blessing of His people, Israel.

Once again, God has providentially preserved and prospered His people. Moses has been spared, and so have the other Israelite boy babies; now there is a Hebrew living in the palace, part of the royal family.

 (Adapted from URL:https://bible.org/seriespage/preservation-and-preparation-israel%E2%80%99s-deliverer-exodus-2)

 

Concluding Thoughts from the NIV Standard Lesson Commentary

The story surrounding Moses’ birth and upbringing triggers more questions than answers. One of the biggest unknowns concerns the motives of the pharaoh’s daughter and her desire to help. Scripture does not indicate whether she feared God or not. Despite her connection to the governing power, she was not overcome by its brutal demands. She was a beneficiary of the same system that allowed the pharaoh to act oppressively. But she managed to defy her upbringing and provided a just response to an unjust situation. However, the real heroines of this story are the child’s mother and sister. They took great risk to protect Moses. They trusted that God would see their response to the injustice and provide a way out. Their bold actions gave way to the bold actions from the daughter of Egyptian royalty. God provides justice where injustice reigns. He invites his people to reflect his character by taking bold (and sometimes risky) steps to protect and care for vulnerable individuals. The justice that God requires of his people is not hypothetical​, it is active and embodied.