She Named Him Moses

Exodus 1:1-2:10

Key Verse 2:10

This passage shows us how the Lord God prepares one person to redeem a multitude of people, that is, by using the faith of several women of faith. 

I. The faith of Hebrew Midwives

1. Read verses 1:1-14. How did the Egyptians treat the Israelites? Why did they treat the Israelites in this way? 

** They treated them not as human beings with a sense of dignity, but as a working tool. They treated them as slaves, not as children of God bearing God’s image born to serve God’s purpose. 

** They treated them in this way because of their self-seeking desires. They did not have faith in the living God, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. They lived by sight, not by faith. They believed in what is physical. Because they did not know God who is Spirit, they ended up living as a self-seeking nation. 

2. Read verses 1:15-21. Why did the Hebrew midwives defy the king’s order? (Genesis 1:28; 12:2-3)

** They feared God because they were taught God’s words like Genesis 1:28 which indicates that God is pro-life, not pro-death. They also believed in God’s promise for the Israelites such as the ones in Genesis 12:2-3, especially the promise that those who curse the descendants of Abraham will be cursed. In short they feared God because they knew that God is always faithful in keeping his promises for his children.

II. The Faith of Moses’ Parents

3. Read 1:22-2:2. This passage indicates that it seemed impossible to keep any Hebrew boy alive. Yet how were Moses’ parents able to do the impossible (i.e., hiding the boy for three months)? (Hebrews 11:23)

** They were able to do this because they had faith in God who is living. Read also Genesis 15:13-16, and Genesis 46:4 (where the Lord God said, “I will go down with you”). 

4. Read 2:3-4 and think about the actions Moses’ mother took. What enabled her to do this? 

** Again they believed that God was with them, and would certainly save the boy. They did not go by the visible reality but by faith in the Living God who said that He would bless them even when the whole world would go upside down. Thanks to this faith, they must have prayed a lot for wisdom. Then they must have gotten the idea to make the basket the way it was made. They then took action by putting the basket in the River Nile, believing that someone with a compassionate heart would find the boy and keep him safe. They also must have instructed their daughter Miriam to watch the boy as the basket was floating down the river. 

III. The Faith of Moses’ Sister

5. Read verses 5-10. What did Moses’ sister do? How was she rewarded? 

** She waited on God to see how the Lord God would take care of the baby.

At a critical moment she then received wisdom as to what she should say for the sake of the baby.

** Moses was adopted as the royal prince. Moses also came to be breastfed by his mother.  

 

6. Read verse 10 again and think about the meaning of the name “Moses”. What does the name Moses indicate about the child?

** It indicates that Moses’ life itself is thanks to God’s special grace which fell upon his life due to the faith of someone (like Moses’ parents). It is also indicative of his purpose and the reason why he was saved the way he was saved, that is to save many out of the [evil] water of his generation. 

The end