Exodus 2:1-10

¹And a man of the house of Levi went and took as wife a daughter of Levi. ²So the woman conceived and bore a son. And when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months. ³But 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. ⁴And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him. ⁵Then 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. ⁶And 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.” ⁷Then 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?” ⁸And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the maiden went and called the child’s mother. ⁹Then 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. ¹⁰And 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.”

Dear friends, in this teaching, I want to share with you how important it is to understand that God carries out his plans very carefully. He is responsible for the results, and He will always make sure that we are able to fit in and do exactly what He asks of us.

In the story of the birth of Moses, there are several points that we can learn from. Let me begin with an event that occurred when Pharaoh began to decrease the nation of Israel out of fear that they would grow stronger than the Egyptians. That’s when God stepped in to stop this evil thing. If you think about it, the real reason why Pharaoh tried to decrease the nation of Israel was because the devil was trying to put a stop to what God was going to do. We encounter the same battles in our lives. The devil knows that God has a plan for you and I, and he will do anything he can to stop you or try to stop you from achieving what God has called you to do.

We will always have victory if we learn to recognize these moments and prevent them by leaning on God by faith – not looking at our circumstances. We are not alone as we work to achieve God’s plan for our life, God moves with us, and He is the Commander in Chief marching before us. Pay close attention to what Pharaoh was trying to do. He wanted to kill every firstborn son of Israel. He decided to play a very dangerous game with God’s chosen people. As we know, just before Israel left Egypt with a great victory, God punished Pharaoh and the entire nation of Egypt by doing exactly what Pharaoh tried to do to the Israelites – killing the firstborn son of every Egyptian family, including Pharaoh’s family. My friend, when the devil is attacking you, I want you to know that the very thing that he is doing to you, God will turn it around and do it to him. You will have victory, and he will suffer defeat. The bible says that whatever the enemy has stolen will be returned seven times more. James 1:2-4: 2My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

Let’s move on to the next segment of this teaching. Take note of the beginning of Chapter 2, where we learn that Moses was conceived out of a family of the tribe of Levi. The reason for this is because God rules according to His plan. It is interesting to note that the law had not been given yet. The order of priests and Levites was not yet established, but we can clearly see that, in choosing to have Moses born into a family of the tribe of Levi, God is giving us an indication that the leader and the priests of Israel will come from that tribe.  Why am I showing you all of this? Because I want to encourage you, my friends, by revealing to you that God’s plan for you will never fail. God is faithful, and He will bring it to pass.  The next important point is that Moses was put in danger when his mother placed him in a basket in the water. The Nile is a dangerous river full crocodiles and snakes and other creatures that could have harmed the child. But I strongly believe that she was led by the Lord to do this, because we know that God chose Moses from before his birth to lead His people Israel out of Egypt. Therefore, nothing could happen to him.

Thirdly, when the daughter of Pharaoh came to the river, she didn’t come alone, but was accompanied by her maidens. And when she found Moses in the basket, God drew her attention to him. Don’t forget, she recognized him as a Hebrew child at a time when Pharaoh was still murdering the firstborn sons of the Hebrews.

The next interesting point is that, with so many maidens around her, she could have given Moses to any one of them to nurse, but she decided to have Moses raised by a Hebrew woman. For this purpose, God sent Miriam – Moses’ older sister, who was probably 10 to 12 years old at the time – to Pharaoh’s daughter to suggest a nurse from among the Hebrew women. Of course, this nurse was the mother of Miriam and Moses. My friends, when I look into the scriptures, I am amazed at how God arranges things. It also gives me great joy to know that God is carefully looking after the plans that He has for our lives. There are no coincidences with God. He is never surprised with what happens or what comes into our lives. God knows our future, because our future unfolds according to His will. Praise be to God!

The next point of this teaching is that Pharaoh’s daughter had no choice but to accept an offer. In verse 9, it says: “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. In verse 10, we read “that the child grew and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son”.

We don’t know how old Moses was when he came back to Pharaoh’s house, only that it was after the child had grown. But the Bible tells us that Moses knew that he was a Hebrew.

He knew that his people were slaves in Egypt, and in the book of Hebrews, we read the following in Chapter 11, Verses 24-25: “by faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasure of sin.”

I believe that Moses was raised by his own Hebrew mother so that, through her love and care, he would be introduced to and become attached to his own roots, and so that, when the time came, he would know in his heart when God was calling him to be the leader of Israel, and that he would have to leave the pleasures of Egypt to follow God and His plan without hesitation.

My friends, I pray that this teaching will greatly encourage you to trust in God even more, and not to fall back, but to believe in the mighty hand of God. He is the God who never fails, and He will bring to pass everything He has promised for you. Just continue to trust Him.

Shalom.

By: Messianic Rabbi Gennady Livshits