MOSES DRAWN OUT OF THE WATER

Passage: Exodus 2:1-10

Key verse: 10

NIV

The Birth of Moses

2 Now a man of the tribe of Levi(A) married a Levite woman,(B) 2 and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine(C) child, she hid him for three months.(D) 3 But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus(E) basket[a] for him and coated it with tar and pitch.(F) Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds(G) along the bank of the Nile. 4 His sister(H) stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.

5 Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank.(I) She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it. 6 She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said.

7 Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?”

8 “Yes, go,” she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother. 9 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took the baby and nursed him. 10 When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named(J) him Moses,[b] saying, “I drew(K) him out of the water.”

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Footnotes
  1. Exodus 2:3 The Hebrew can also mean ark, as in Gen. 6:14.
  2. Exodus 2:10 Moses sounds like the Hebrew for draw out.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

The Birth of Moses

2 Now a (A)man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman. 2 The woman conceived and bore a son, and (B)when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. 3 When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes[a] and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the (C)reeds by the river bank. 4 And (D)his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him. 5 Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it. 6 When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity 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 you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” 8 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, “Go.” So the girl went and called the child's mother. 9 And 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 When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became (E)her son. She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I (F)drew him out of the water.”[b]

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Footnotes
  1. Exodus 2:3 Hebrew papyrus reeds
  2. Exodus 2:10 Moses sounds like the Hebrew for draw out
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

Moses was born to be thrown into the Nile and die. But God used three women to deliver him from such a fate. First, his mother saw that he was a fine child and hid him for three months. It was her faith in God that she feared Him more than the king’s edict (Heb. 11:23). Second, Pharaoh’s daughter had compassion on the Hebrew baby and delivered him from drowning (v. 6). Third, Moses’ sister Miriam (15:20) had wisdom and courage to talk to Pharaoh’s daughter so she would agree to hiring a Hebrew nurse, who was Moses’ own mother.

No human being is born by accident. We are born for God’s sovereign purpose. However, because we are born in sin at birth, we need deliverance from our own sin and this sinful world. Everyone needs to be delivered from drowning to death in sin, so to speak. And in turn, they will serve God’s purpose of being used in His redemptive history. God uses his servants to deliver one soul at a time, who will act with courage, wisdom, and faith.

Prayer: Father, thank you for having a great purpose for my life. I also thank you for those who you used to bring the gospel to me, which delivered me from drowning to death in sin. May I also be used and led to those who are drowning in sin that I may give them the gospel of salvation. Amen.

One Word: “I drew him out of the water.”