Moses: Exodus 1-2

The life of Moses is such an important part of God’s story of redemption. He is mentioned in the Old Testament 810 times, and his part of the Grand Story follows Joseph’s story of God’s provision for the Hebrew people. When Joseph’s family entered Goshen, there were 70 total Hebrews in Egypt. That numbered swelled to millions, which cause the Pharaoh to become concerned. He made the Hebrews slaves, “and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the filed.”

Exodus 1:15 says, “Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, ‘When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.” The midwives feared God and didn’t follow the king’s orders and let the children live. “Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, ‘Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile but you shall let every daughter live.'”

Chapter 2 begins with the birth of Moses. At 3 months old, his mom builds a basket and puts Moses in the basket instead of throwing him in the Nile. The basket winds up at the bathing pool of Pharaoh’s daughter and she unknowingly asks Moses’ sister, Miriam, to find a midwife. Miriam takes Moses back to his own mother to be raised for the next 3-4 years before he became Pharaoh’s daughter’s son.

• This story reveals human nature that when we feel like everything is falling apart, we often ask, “Where is God in this”? God is hardly mentioned, but He uses the bad to bring good. The slavery of the Hebrews grew them to great numbers and to be very resilient.

In Chapter 2:11, Moses is now 40, he kills an Egyptian, is seen, and flees to the desert in the land of Midian. He meets his wife, Zipporah, and has a son. Verse 23-25 says, “During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God.”

• God uses everything in Moses’ story to prepare him for the calling. He meets him in the desert. The tough times take him to where he needs to be as a man and a leader. He learns humility.
• God is working through the weak and not the strong.
• All the key players in this story are women (Shiphrah, Puah, Moses’ mom and sister, Pharaoh’s daughter

Remember, Moses points us to someone else…

1. The king demands that all the boys should be killed and yet the boy lives and sets the people free.
2. He is rejected by his people, goes into the desert, is anointed by the Spirit, and comes back to lead the people to freedom.

Verses 24-25 say, “And God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel and God knew. God tells Abraham about all of this when He made a covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15. God played the role of both parties in that covenant because He was going to take care of everything Himself!

If you are tired and weary, God sees you and knows you in the deepest of ways. Even when we don’t understand, we can trust. He always has your best in mind.