Section Seventeen

Moses in the Water

The story in Exodus of Moses’ birth and early life is a famous one. Just before the story, the scene is set with the Israelites increasing in number rapidly whilst in Egypt. This was seen by the new Pharoah as a threat, who tried to enslave them. He sought to control their numbers by ordering the deaths of all the Hebrew new-born boys (so there would be no heirs and this would destroy the family unit). With this death threat hanging over them, a man and a woman from the Levite tribe have a son - Moses. Afraid for his life, Moses’ mother places him in a basket (the same word is also used for ‘ark’). She then places Moses in the reeds next to the river Nile. Pharoah’s daughter comes across Moses when she goes to the river to bathe. Moses (of course!) survives the death sentence and grows up to lead his people out of slavery. The story illustrates God working out his purposes for someone’s life right from the beginning of that life.