Exodus 2:1-10 is a popular tale among Sunday school teachers. After the king of Egypt orders all newborn Hebrew boys to be thrown into the River Nile, the baby Moses’ mother obeys the letter of the law… by leaving Moses in a basket on the riverbank. An Egyptian (the king’s daughter no less!) has pity on the baby and rescues him. As a result, Israel’s eventual leader is raised within the family of the king who tried to have him killed: quite the ironic turn of events!
We marvel at the fairytale finish, but this was a grim situation. The king of Egypt was trying to commit genocide: if there were no Hebrew men, then naturally Israel would die out. This flies in the face of what God had promised to Abraham, that his descendants would be a great nation, as numerous as the stars in the sky (Genesis 12:2, 15:5). God’s whole plan is at stake.
At the end of Exodus 2, God hears his people cry out which sets in motion the events of the rest of the book. But even before that, in the story of baby Moses we see God working, quietly and subtly, to save His people. This can encourage us in our turbulent times, with conflict and ungodliness seeming to grow by the day. No matter how bad things look, God is still working His plan of salvation in the small stuff we might not notice. He has done it before; let’s trust Him to do it again!
James.