Exodus 2

The birth and rescue of Moses (vs. 1-10)—We aren’t told here the names of Moses’ parents, but that information is revealed in Exodus 6:20: "Now Amram took for himself Jochebed, his father’s sister, as wife; and she bore him Aaron and Moses.” And a daughter named Miriam, as we will subsequently learn. The birth of Moses was during the time of Pharaoh’s decree to kill the male children. His mother hid him for as long as she could, then put him in an “ark of bulrushes” and “laid it in the reeds by the river’s bank” (v. 3). “And his sister”—that would be Miriam, though she in not named here—“stood afar off, to know what would be done with him” (v. 4). In the marvelous providence of God, the babe was discovered by the daughter of Pharaoh when she came to the river to bathe. She had compassion on the child and, upon Miriam’s request, had the child weaned—by his mother, though whether Pharaoh’s daughter knew it was Moses’ mother who cared for the child is unknown. When finished with her work, Jochebed “brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son” (v. 10). So he was raised in the court of the Pharaoh, with all the splendor and wealth that would entail. But somehow he still knew he was a Hebrew, and he eventually chose that course of life. The writer of the book of Hebrews has this marvelous statement about this great man: “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 pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward” (Hebrews 11:24-26). Moses couldn’t have known about the Christ, though he may have had some knowledge of the Messianic prophecies given to his forefathers. Still, it was an amazing choice—to give up the riches of the most glorious kingdom on earth at the time in order to cast his lot with slaves. But, “he looked to the reward.” An eternity in heaven is worth sacrificing a few years of earthly pleasure. How few make that choice.

Pharaoh’s daughter named him Moses, which is an eminently Egyptian name. For example, “Rameses” could equally be spelled “Ramoses”; modern Egyptologists have to supply some of the missing vowels. We don’t really know how the name “Moses” was pronounced. I do find it interesting that whatever Jochebed named him in those first three months is lost to the historical record. The man is known by his Egyptian name and we have no idea what his Hebrew name was.

Moses flees Egypt (vs. 11-15)—He had to because he murdered an Egyptian. One day, he saw an Egyptian—probably an overseer—beating a Hebrew. Moses slew the Egyptian, “and hid him in the sand” (v. 12). The next day, he saw two Hebrews fighting, tried to stop it, and was rebuked: “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” (v. 14). So obviously, Moses’ foul deed became known—even to Pharaoh, who thus “sought to kill Moses” (v. 15); the king couldn’t have Hebrews killing his guards. Whether this is Moses’ Egyptian “grandfather” or not, we don’t know, but it’s immaterial to the story. Moses fled to the land of Midian (v. 15). He was 40 years old at the time (Acts 7:23).

Moses in Midian (vs. 16-22)—Upon arriving in Midian, Moses helps the seven daughters of a Midianite priest to water their flock; they had been under some duress and Moses came to their aid. Their father invited Moses into his camp, and “Moses was content to live with the man, and he gave Zipporah his daughter to Moses [as wife]” (v. 21). She bore him a son named Gershon (v. 22). Moses stayed 40 years in Midian (Acts 7:30).

The groanings of the Israelites (vs. 23-25)—The situation for the Hebrews in Egypt had not improved. “Their cry came up to God because of the bondage,” (v. 23), and the Lord heard and “remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob” (v. 24). And the chapter ends with God’s obvious intent to do something to aid the children of Israel (v. 25). It was time, within Jehovah’s scheme for mankind’s redemption, to fulfill the land promise He had made hundreds of years before to Abraham (Genesis 12:2-3), and subsequently to Isaac and Jacob.