September 10 – Moses

September 10 – Moses
Exodus 2:1-10

This is one of those stories that leaps out at me from my childhood.  I remember the child in the basket in a river from Flannelgraphs on the walls of my Sunday school rooms. It fascinated me to see how God protected such a small child and took him from the banks of the river to the halls of the King of Egypt.

Moses’ parents were both Levites. Though it didn’t mean much at the time, Exodus points the fact out to us.  It will mean something important later in Moses’ life.  It was the Levites who became the priestly tribe for the nation of Israel. Moses’ brother, Aaron would be the first priest and the purity of his lineage ensured that the tribe of Levi became the holy men who stood before God offering sacrifices to cover the sins of the people.

Exodus 2:1 tells us that Moses’ mother hid him for three months because he was a fine child. I’m not really sure what that means.  Is it that he was a good-looking, healthy child or was he quiet and didn’t draw attention to the fact that he’d even been born.  At three months, she could hide him no longer and released him into the river after placing him in a basket.

Pharaoh’s daughter claimed him and asked his own mother to nurse him until he grew older.  At that point, he went to live in the palace as the son of the daughter of the Pharaoh of Egypt. All of this may seem very strange to us, but God’s hand was at work that day. The birth of Moses was the first step in bringing about the nation of Israel.