Israel’s Suffering in Egypt

Exodus 1:21 And so it was, because the midwives feared God, that He provided households for them. 

Here the reason is definitely stated that because the midwives feared God, in spite of their lies, he made them houses, i.e., gave them children, families, and descendants.

Exodus 1:22 So Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “Every son who is born you shall cast into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive.”

Pharaoh then widened his commandment and charged all his people to kill all male babies (of the Hebrews).

But God’s providence prevented this from being universally carried out. God has promised to bless them that bless Israel, and likewise to curse anyone who curses Israel (Gen 12:3).

Moses is Born

Exodus 2:1 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.

The man of the house of Levi in verse 1 was Amram, and the daughter of Levi was Jochebed (6:20). Thus both of Moses’ parents were of the priestly tribe of Levi. 

By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months (Heb. 11:23). This must mean that they received some revelation that he was a child of destiny, because faith must be based on some revealed word of God.

Exodus 2:3 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.

Exodus 2:4 And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him. 

The careful actions of Moses’ mother to construct the ark of bulrushes, to set Moses afloat close to the royal bathing place, and to have his sister watch to see what would happen, indicate a hope that something would work out right for the child.

Exodus 2:5 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. 

Identified possibly as Hatshepsut or another princess; in either case a princess whom God providentially used to override Pharaoh’s death decree and protect the life of His chosen leader for the Israelites.

Exodus 2:6 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.”

Exodus 2:7 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?”

Exodus 2:8 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the maiden went and called the child’s mother.

Exodus 2:9 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.

Exodus 2:10 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.” 

The position of “son” undoubtedly granted Moses special privileges belonging to nobility, but none of these persuaded Moses to relinquish his native origin. 

Rather, as the NT advises, his spiritual maturity was such that when he came of age, he “refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter” (Heb 11:24).

The formal education in the court of that time meant that Moses would have learned reading, writing, arithmetic, and perhaps one or more of the languages of Canaan. 

He would also have participated in various outdoor sports, e.g., archery and horseback riding, two favorites of the 18th Dynasty court.

Moses Escapes from Egypt

Exodus 2:11 Now it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens. And he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren.

Exodus 2:12 So he looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 

We know from Acts 7:23 that Moses was forty years old when he visited his own people. His killing the Egyptian was ill-advised; his zeal outran his discretion. 

God would one day use Moses to deliver his people from the Egyptians, but the time had not yet come. 

First he must spend forty years on the back side of the desert, learning in the school of God. God had predicted that His people would be in the land of Egypt as slaves for 400 years (Gen. 15:13), so Moses’ actions were forty years premature.

He needed more training in the solitude of the desert. And the people needed more training in the brickkiln.

The Lord orders all things according to His infinite wisdom. He is not in a hurry, but neither will He leave His people in affliction one moment longer than necessary. 

Exodus 2:13 And when he went out the second day, behold, two Hebrew men were fighting, and he said to the one who did the wrong, “Why are you striking your companion?”

Exodus 2:14 Then he said, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” So Moses feared and said, “Surely this thing is known!”

Exodus 2:15 When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian; and he sat down by a well.

Exodus 2:16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters. And they came and drew water, and they filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. :17 Then the shepherds came and drove them away; but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.

Exodus 2:18 When they came to Reuel their father, he said, “How is it that you have come so soon today?” :19 And they said, “An Egyptian delivered us from the hand of the shepherds, and he also drew enough water for us and watered the flock.”

Exodus 2:20 So he said to his daughters, “And where is he? Why is it that you have left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread.” :21 Then Moses was content to live with the man, and he gave Zipporah his daughter to Moses.

Exodus 2:22 And she bore him a son. He called his name Gershom, for he said, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land.”

Exodus 2:23 Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage.

Exodus 2:24 So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. :25 And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them.

God Speaks to Moses

Exodus 3:1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 

Moses worked as a shepherd while living with his father-in-law, a life and occupation quite different from the privilege and prestige associated with his life in Pharaoh’s court. 

Horeb. An alternative name for Mt. Sinai (cf. 19:11; Dt 4:10). Traditionally, this mountain has been identified with Jebel Musa, “the mountain of Moses.” “Horeb” is the Heb. for the non-Semitic place-name, Sinai, located in the southern part of the Sinai Peninsula.