Exodus 2:1-10
This is One of the Hebrew’s Children
Introduction: There’s a common proverb we use which is firmly rooted in the Bible – “From small beginnings come great things.” How many times do we see this theme repeated in Scripture? The life of Moses, like any human, was one which started out small. Other than Adam, we were all born as infants.
But the story of Moses takes on an additional likeness to the proverb simply because we have the record of his birth and then the most unusual of circumstances which surrounded his infancy. Today’s account is a favorite of most people because it’s so touching and human.
Throughout it, we can almost feel the emotion of the mother, the anticipation of the sister, and the heartfelt pity of Pharaoh’s daughter. We see all of these emotions from time to time, but rarely are they combined into a single occurrence. But the story of Moses skillfully weaves them together so that they do.
Small beginnings don’t always mean small endings. And it would be a mistake to think they do. And so Solomon gives us wisdom in Ecclesiastes concerning the work of our hands. There he says –
“In the morning sow your seed,
And in the evening do not withhold your hand;
For you do not know which will prosper,
Either this or that,
Or whether both alike will be good.” Ecclesiastes 11:6
Seeds are small, but they may end in a great harvest. Picking up pennies along life’s highway seems almost futile, but for each one saved, there will be a greater return when the piggy bank is finally opened. From small starts, great things can and do come about.
Text Verse: For who has despised the day of small things? Zechariah 4:10
Billy Graham started out his revival meetings in a circus tent in a parking lot, but eventually his crusades would go out to audiences of tens of thousands of people. His largest crusade was held in Seoul, South Korea where he preached to an estimated 3.2 million.
As South Korea at that time only had a population of 30 million people, he preached to more than 1/10 of the nation in person and many, many more by television. Whatever great thing you aspire to, let it be founded on a heart for the Lord and I’m sure He will use you in the perfect way to obtain the most perfect results.
He sure did it with Moses. The words of the man who spoke to the Lord face to face are still read, studied, and cherished 3500 years later. Not bad for a person who started as a baby seemingly destined to perish in the waters of the Nile River. This is the greatness of God – that He can take what the leaders of the world find below contempt and He can turn it into the greatest of stories.
The superb workings of this marvelous God are to be found in His superior word. And so let’s turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.
I. A Beautiful Child and a Little Ark (verses 1-4)
And a man of the house of Levi went and took as wife a daughter of Levi.
Chapter two begins with an amazingly simply pronouncement which follows directly after the words of woe which ended chapter 1. There in the 22nd verse it said, “So Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, ‘Every son who is born you shall cast into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive.'”
This first verse of chapter 2 gives no names except of the line of descent from which they came. Both of these people are of the tribe of Levi. This thought then sets up the events which follow, and the tribe of Levi will continue to be highlighted all the way through the rest of the Bible.
Leaving out the names here is significant because it is intended to show us that a higher Power is working behind the scenes, apart from and yet in connection to, human activity. It is not the names of the people who are important, but that God is using the people and events to work out His plans.
Though we don’t know it yet, their identification as Levites is intended to show that He has chosen this particular family to introduce the chosen family for the priesthood of Israel as well as to lead to their great lawgiver Moses. Reading verses like this throughout Scripture gives us an advanced notice that something is coming which will be connected to them.
And so the verse begins with “and.” It shows a direct continuation of what was mandated by Pharaoh while also leading us in a new direction at the same time. Because the Hebrew language is deficient in tenses in comparison to English, it sounds like this verse is actually happening after Pharaoh’s edict, but it’s not.
Rather, he had gone some time before the edict to marry. From that time, they had already had two children. However, the narrative isn’t given to tell us any of these things. It steps into the picture at this point to show that these two, who were already married, will now have to face the edict of Pharaoh.
In order to understand the times then, there is the need to know who the man is, who the wife is, and who the siblings are. The man’s name is Amram, a son of Levi’s son Kohath. The woman’s name is Jochebed. Their details are mentioned in Exodus 6:20 –
“Now Amram took for himself Jochebed, his father’s sister, as wife; and she bore him Aaron and Moses. And the years of the life of Amram were one hundred and thirty-seven.” Exodus 6:20
She is actually Amram’s aunt, the sister of his father. But even this needs to be further explained because in Numbers 26:59, it appears that Jochebed is actually a daughter of Levi. There it says –
“The name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt; and to Amram she bore Aaron and Moses and their sister Miriam.” Numbers 26:59
The term “daughter of Levi” doesn’t specifically mean she was his direct daughter, but a descendant of him. She is a daughter of his household. And from this verse, we can see the names of the whole family who have, with the exception of Moses, actually been excluded from the narrative in Exodus 2. The family is comprised of Amram, Jochebed, Miriam, Aaron, and Moses.
Miriam is the oldest of the three and was probably born not long after the marriage. Aaron was born about twelve years later and he is three years older than Moses (Exodus 7:7). And now, shortly after the Pharaoh’s edict, a third child is born. The fate of this third child is now the focus of the biblical narrative.
2 So the woman conceived and bore a son.
Again, the Bible has skipped over all of the other details that we might think are necessary, but which are actually unneeded at this point. Those lacking details will be filled in at the right time, but the specific wording shows us that there is precise purpose and intent to establish the rest of the account.
The lack of the woman’s name is not unlike the account of Genesis 38. In the first paragraph there, eight people or places are named and yet the one person you would expect to be named isn’t. She is the daughter of one named person, the wife of another, and the mother of three more, and yet her name isn’t given.
In this, we are provided just what we need to not be distracted from what God is revealing, because through concealment, there is actually often marvelous disclosure. It is a special note to consider that no sooner has the Pharaoh devised his cruelest of plans against the Hebrews than God determined to bring forth the deliverer of His people.
What the devil thinks will be his greatest victory is always turned around to be his most stunning defeat. In this case, out of the mouth of Pharaoh in his own edict literally comes the reason for the downfall of the kingdom of Egypt.
2 (con’t) And when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months.
This portion of verse two is so important to the Jewish tradition and culture, as well as to all of the people of God, that it is recorded twice in the New Testament. In Acts 7, Stephen refers to it in his speech to the high priest and his council. There it says –
“At this time Moses was born, and was well pleasing to God; and he was brought up in his father’s house for three months.” Acts 7:20
Later, in Hebrews 11, Moses’ parents were rewarded for their faith in the record of those whom God singled out for their steadfast devotion to Him. There we read these words –
“By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s command.” Hebrews 11:23
What’s interesting is that the specific amount of time, three months, is mentioned and it is mentioned three times in the Bible. What is it about the three months that showed the parent’s possessed proper faith? What if it were two months or four months?
According to EW Bullinger, the number three “stands for that which is solid, real, substantial, complete, and entire. All things that are specially complete are stamped with this number three.”
There was a pre-appointed time for Moses to be hid for the events of this story to unfold as they should. In fact, the next verse will tell us that this time of three months met that time of completion, but it doesn’t tell why. Only by understanding the meaning of individual numbers do the words come to make sense.
Otherwise, they seem rather arbitrary and random, even unnecessary. These three months were needed in order for history to unfold in a proper manner. The words used to describe Moses in this verse are ki tov hu, or literally, “and good he.”
The beauty of the child must have only heightened the parents attention to the wickedness of Pharaoh’s decree so that instead of obeying the king’s command, like the Hebrew midwives Shiphrah and Puah they determined to disobey the edict and save their son.
And believe it or not, the reason for the giving of the names of these two women in the previous chapter is to alert us to incidents here in the second chapter and then to parallel them. As I said then, the name Shiphrah comes from the word shaphar, which means to be pleasing. The derived feminine noun is shiphra which means fairness. And so her name is translated as Beauty.
Thus her name is given to show us a parallel to the child Moses. The parents saw that their child was beautiful and so they spared him, showing the faith of Shiphrah, a woman whose name means “Beautiful” and whose example to the Hebrew people of sparing the children was enough to give them the same courage.
For all we know, the courage of those midwives may have been evident in the saving of Aaron who might have been one of the children saved by the midwives when they were told to kill the males at birth. That example could have been the impetus for the parents to follow in the same courageous fashion. The name of the second midwife will have a parallel as well in just a few verses.
3 But when she could no longer hide him,
This is parallel to what occurred in the previous chapter. There was a time where the Hebrew’s midwives could no longer hide their actions and they were asked to explain them to Pharaoh. And their explanation is what led directly to the third measure taken to destroy the Hebrews.
Now during this time of that third measure, the actions of the mother are what lead us directly to the events of the story ahead. Every step is so precisely detailed to show the absolutely perfect plan of God in a fashion which drips with irony as He continuously frustrates the plots and schemes of man.
3 (con’t) she took an ark of bulrushes for him,
The word for “ark” is the Hebrew word tevah. It indicates a box or a chest or even a basket. Some have attempted to tie the word in with a coffin, but there is no substantiation for this. Rather, its use in Scripture gives no indication of this at all.
The word is used 28 times in the Bible, but in only two stories – that of Noah and that of Moses. In the first, the ark was made of wood and it was intended to be used as God destroyed man through judgment, but to preserve mankind through grace. It was used to float over the entire world as the waters prevailed during that time, saving a man of righteousness who would usher in a new dispensation, that of Government.
In this account, it is made of bulrushes, a kind of papyrus. It is intended to float within the boundaries of the earth which is merely divided by a river. It was used to save a child who would go on to be God’s instrument of redemption for His people while at the same time overseeing God’s judgment on a different group of people. The person to be saved in this ark, Moses, will also usher in a new dispensation, that of Law.
And so we can see a contrast between the two accounts while at the same time they confirm God’s sovereignty and His attentive care, both for and over the people of the world through the unfolding of His dispensational plan of the ages.
3 (con’t) daubed it with asphalt and pitch,
The word for asphalt here is khemar and is used just three times. Once at the building of the tower of Babel in Genesis 11, once in Genesis 14 during a battle in the Valley of Siddim when Lot was taken captive, and once here. It is referring to a mineral pitch.
The other word for pitch is the Hebrew word zepheth. It’s also used only three times, once here and twice in Isaiah 34:9. It is a vegetable pitch which was used in the embalming process. This tiny basket of rushes, is daubed with materials linked to death, but which are here intended to preserve life.
3 (con’t) put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river’s bank.
Unlike how this story is often depicted, mom didn’t plop the ark in the river and let it float away. Instead, she placed it in the reeds, probably hoping that they would keep it from floating away. The term for “the river’s bank” in Hebrew is al sephat ha’yor – “at the lip of the river.” It is an expressive way of showing the river is like a mouth with two lips.
The Geneva Bible says that she was “Committing him to the providence of God, whom she could not keep from the rage of the tyrant.” There in the very river which the Pharaoh had purposed for the destruction of the Hebrew’s male children, mom was purposing the safety of one of them, and God was purposing the deliverance of all of them.
4 And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him.
This is Miriam who is the only recorded sister of Moses. After the exodus she will be called a prophetess as she sings of the Lord’s deliverance from bondage. It is more than probable that while singing, she was reflecting on the day when she took her stand, and watched to see what would become of her little brother there in the reeds by the river.
Her song of deliverance at that time was with these words –
“Sing to the Lord,
For He has triumphed gloriously!
The horse and its rider
He has thrown into the sea!” Exodus 15:21
The Lord rescued Moses from the river through the house of Pharaoh and yet He later hurled Pharaoh’s house into the sea. She was a witness to both magnanimous events. Matthew Henry sums up God’s care of Moses there on the river in this eloquent fashion –
“Moses never had a stronger protection about him, no, not when all the Israelites were round his tent in the wilderness, than now, when he lay alone, a helpless babe upon the waves. No water, no Egyptian can hurt him. When we seem most neglected and forlorn, God is most present with us.” Henry
God used an ark of reeds, Moses to save
And He used a boy named David to defeat the Philistine
With what may seem useless or weak, a grand road He can pave
And He can turn that which was once vile into something pristine
God has chosen the foolish things of the world
To put to shame those wise in their own sight
And He has chosen the weak things of the world
To put to shame the things which seem to have great might
And the base things of the world which seem rejected
And the things which are despised, objects of scorn
God has chosen these things, yes these He elected
Because through His Son, they have been reborn
II. Behold, the Baby Wept (verses 5 & 6)
5 Then the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river.
**** Who was the greatest female financier in the Bible? (Pharaoh’s daughter. She went down to the bank of the Nile and drew out a little prophet.)
By the providence of God, the child was placed where the daughter of Pharaoh would come to and at the time that she would come. And even if it could be speculated that the mother knew of this as an ordinary custom or not, the Bible doesn’t hint at it, thus showing us divine providence rather than human guidance.
The fact that the previous verse shows that the sister stood and watched to see what would come about shows that their was uncertainty as to how events would unfold. The word here for “bathe” is rakhats and means “to wash.” Whether she was there to bathe, to have her servant bring water to wash her, or to be there as they washed their clothes isn’t known. She simply came to wash.
5 (con’t) And her maidens walked along the riverside;
This little section of verse appears to confirm that Pharaoh’s daughter didn’t actually go into the river. Maybe because of the possibility of a crocodile nibbling her up, or for some other reason, it appears that she remained further back and watched as her maidens either went and got water, or washed the clothes, or did whatever they were doing. While they were busy with that, the eyes of Pharaoh’s daughter roamed the shoreline…
5 (con’t) and when she saw the ark among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it.
The word for “maid” here, amah, is different than “maidens,” or naar, that was just used. This would probably be her personal servant or slave while the others may have been friends of hers or household attendants.
Although there is nothing to indicate this, I would like to think this was a Hebrew. The imagery is too wonderful to not at least enjoy the thought. Whether a Hebrew or not, the one who would free the slaves of Egypt would himself be brought out of the waters by a slave.
6 And when she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby wept.
Everything in God’s good timing, even the tears of a baby in a basket. When the light shone into the once dark tomb of the ark, it caught the eyes of the child and stirred him to tears for the meal he was missing or the tender caress he desired. And nothing like a child’s tender cry will rend the heart and soul of a young lady.
Hence the two possibilities for the midwife Puah’s name from the first chapter are seen here. Her name, Puah, is believed by some to come from the word yapa, which means to shine or be beautiful, and so the name is given to be either Splendid or Light. However, it may also come from another word, pa’ah, found in Isaiah 42:12 which says –
“I have held My peace a long time,
I have been still and restrained Myself.
Now I will cry like a woman in labor,
I will pant and gasp at once. Isaiah 42:14
Because of this, her name would mean “one who cries out.” There on the banks of the river, the light shined in and the child cried out. Thus we have a reason why the two midwives’ names were included in the exodus story. Just as they were rewarded with their own households, so will the house of Amram be rewarded as well.
From him will come the household of the high priestly line of Aaron, and also the household of Moses, the great lawgiver.
6 (con’t) So she had compassion on him, and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.”
She would know for several reasons why this was a Hebrew child. The edict of casting the children into the river would make it obvious. Though not following the law directly, putting a baby in a basket and letting him go into the river would eventually have the same effect.
Another obvious way to tell he was a Hebrew would be to see the sign of circumcision. It was plainly evident to Pharaoh’s daughter that the child was a Hebrew. But despite his ethnic origin, the Bible specifically mentions her feelings of compassion as an overriding reason to ignore her father’s commands.
For a third time, the edict of Pharaoh has been overturned by events which stem from the edict itself. The irony is perfectly evident in each step of the process leading to the release of the captive people Israel.
In this story we see where Moses resembles Christ. Both were subject to death by a wicked ruler, Moses under Pharaoh and Jesus under Herod when he ordered all the male children to be killed in Bethlehem, but both were delivered in order to become deliverers.
Concerning the emotions of Pharaoh’s daughter there on the banks of the Nile, the Pulpit commentary says, “One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.” It is that common spark of humanity which has brought her to ignore her immediate family commands and to hold to the higher tie which binds.
The very place which should have been the final grave of Moses became the place which brought about the unfolding events of Israel’s redemption. The same is true with Jesus. While the tomb should have been His final resting place, it turned out to be the very place by which we have a confirmation of our deliverance.
The little basket in which Moses was laid
Did its job and kept him safe from the water
Until the time when Pharaoh’s daughter’s maid
Took it from the river and gave it to Pharaoh’s daughter
And when she opened it, the little baby did cry
And her heartstrings were tugged at the sight
She surely felt pity knowing the reason why
Such a beautiful baby was found in such a plight
But God knew what would happen on that day
And He watched over the baby until he was found
And so Moses’ life would turn out in a marvelous way
This is the norm with God; His plan will always astound
III. He Who Draws Out (verses 7-10)
7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women,
“Oh what an adorable baby! Did I hear you say it was a Hebrew child? Well aren’t you an Egyptian? It’s mother must have loved him very much to place him in a basket, and now she will never see him again. It’s so sad! But if you’d like, I could find a Hebrew nurse for him and save you the trouble of finding someone else to nurse him. Would you like that? I’ll do it. Poor, beautiful baby!”
Timing is everything and Miriam’s timing was perfect. The baby is crying, the child needs milk, and Pharaoh’s daughter’s heartstrings have been tugged just enough to make any other option impossible.
7 (con’t) that she may nurse the child for you?”
And the wording by the sister is perfectly calculated to endear the princess to the child even more. “I can go find a Hebrew to nurse the child for you. You’re a mother now and your child needs attentive care. Look at it cry. Poor, beautiful baby.”
She has successfully looked into the heart of the princess and then both anticipated her need and also shaped the outcome of the situation through her words. If Pharaoh’s daughter was even a bit reticent to have the child, that was washed away like the sand in the Nile at the words of Moses’ noble sister.
8 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the maiden went and called the child’s mother.
With her mind all made up, the suggestion is approved and the directive is given – leki, “Go.” And so she went, straight back to her own mother, who by the way, is the child’s own mother. No tale ever penned has exceeded the level of emotion or excitement which is seen in each character.
And no tale, true or imagined, has ever encompassed such ironic circumstances. Not only is the child rescued, but it is rescued back into the arms of the once mournful mother. And even more than that, there is an added bonus for the faithful actions she has displayed…
9 Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.”
The natural mother will nurse her own child for his new adoptive mother. The added grace is that his new mother will be able to provide for him in a way that was almost beyond imagination. And even more, he will continue for a time to live in his own home of birth.
There he will begin to learn the culture and traditions of his family and his people. And even more than that, the home will be given wages for their efforts, which are really no efforts at all, but rather the greatest grace of God they could have ever imagined.
What Pharaoh intended for evil, God turn into good. And He did it in a manner that still leaves people of faith both smiling and praising Him for it 3500 years later.
9 (con’t) So the woman took the child and nursed him.
Imagine the giggles around the dinner table. Imagine the joy of Miriam as she tickled her little brother, and imagine Aaron, just a few years old, enjoying his little brother and never realizing the amazing events which surrounded the home life he was a part of.
When all seems beyond hope, this is when God shows Himself the most marvelous to those who understand His acts of tender care. If we can remember this as we face even the most terrifying prospects of life, we will be able to handle them much more responsibly and with the faith that is most pleasing to Him.
These individual stories show us that He is never far away and that He is attentive to what is best at all times.
10 And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son.
His age isn’t given, but the boy eventually came to the age where it was time to enter into a new phase of life. It was probably between 2 and 3 years old. Whatever the age, he was old enough to know his own people and to have them firmly set in his heart and in his emotions. This will be seen as his life story continues to unfold.
At the appointed time, the mother once again gave up her son, but this time she did it knowing that he would live and prosper. The pain was certainly there, but no doubt there was also a sense of gratitude to God for being given the grace they had received towards their beautiful child.
*10 (fin) So she called his name Moses, saying, “Because I drew him out of the water.”
The name Moses is frustrating to scholars because it resembles both Egyptian and Hebrew words and they carry a variety of significations. The explanation for the name is given, and it at least provides a clue as to its meaning. “She called his name Moses” because she “drew him out of the water.”
The phrase she uses is min ha’mayim meshitihu “out of the water I drew him.” The Egyptian word for “son” is mesu, which sounds like “Moses,” and she is claiming him as a son. However, the same word is derived from a verb which means to “produce” or to “draw forth.”
And so in one sense, in her mind he is the son drawn forth from the water. This is the same meaning as the Hebrew word used in her exclamation which is mashah and means “to draw.” But there is one more aspect to consider. The name Moses in Hebrew is mosheh and it is a masculine, singular, active participle, and so it means “He who draws out” instead of “He who was drawn out.”
His name then isn’t based on what she did so much as it is a play of words on what she did. Because she drew him out, he is the one who draws out. As an example, if a baby were born on a train, he might be nicknamed The Engineer. If a child was born while crossing a bridge, he might be called The Bridge Builder.
Moses is “He who draws out” and it is a perfect representation of the work he will do by bringing his people out of the bondage of Egypt. This same word, mashah, from which Moses is derived is used only two other times in the Bible. Both are from David in parallel psalms of praise.
In the 18th Psalm, speaking of the Lord, he uses the word which is a mirror reflection of the work of Moses, thus picturing the greater work of the Lord –
“He sent from above, He took me;
He drew me out of many waters.
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy,
From those who hated me,
For they were too strong for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
But the Lord was my support.
19 He also brought me out into a broad place;
He delivered me because He delighted in me.” Psalm 18:16-19
From this point until many years later, nothing more is said of the life of Moses. Only in the New Testament do we get a taste of his upbringing while in the house of Pharaoh. In Acts 7:22, during Stephen’s great speech to the high priest and the ruling council, he notes this about his great forefather –
“And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds.” Acts 7:22
The evidence of this education is found all over the writings of Moses. While all Scripture is inspired by God, He uses humans as the way conveying his word to us. The songs of Moses found in Exodus 15 and in Deuteronomy 32, as well as his blessing upon the tribes of Israel and the psalm he recorded, which is the 90th Psalm, all give insights into his knowledge of Egyptian literature.
In other portions of the Torah, his knowledge of particular weather conditions and locations indicate that he was versed in those aspects of Egyptian life as well. This marvelous beginning of the life of Moses will lead to a more marvelous life which is recorded in great detail.
He will come to be called a prophet of God, the most humble man who ever lived, Israel’s human deliverer, and the man with whom the Lord spoke face to face. But it all had to start somewhere. The story of his birth shows us that great things can come out of the most trying of circumstances.
It also shows us that even out of the greatest of heartaches can come joy ever-lasting. God is in the business of doing the marvelous, but the display of His marvelous hand goes both ways. It can go towards us in grace, love, and fellowship, or it can go against us in wrath and judgment. The dividing line between the two is Jesus.
What we choose to do with Him will be the deciding factor in how God deals with us. And so, as I do each week, I’d like to ask for a moment to explain to you how you can become a friend of God and be the object of His affection and blessing because of the work of His Son, Jesus…
Closing Verse: The Lord is on my side;
I will not fear.
What can man do to me? Psalm 118:6
Next Week: Exodus 2:11-15 (Shunned By His Own) (4th Exodus Sermon)
The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. Even if a deep ocean lies ahead of You, He can part the waters and lead you through it on dry ground. So follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.
Moses
And a man of the house of Levi went by and by
And took as wife a daughter of Levi
So the woman conceived and a son she bore
And when she saw that he was a beautiful child
She hid him three months behind her door
Because Pharaoh’s edict was cruel and wild
But when him she could no longer hide
She took an ark of bulrushes for him to fit
Daubed it with asphalt and pitch on the outside
And put the child inside of it
And laid it by the river’s bank in the reeds
And his sister stood afar off
To know what would be done to him through these deeds
Then the daughter of Pharaoh came in stride
Down to bathe at the river, which is the Nile
And her maidens walked along the riverside
Where they had come to spend a while
And when she saw the ark among the reeds along the shore
She sent her maid to get it to see what was the score
And when she opened it, she saw the child
And behold, the baby wept just then
So she had compassion on him, her manner mild
And said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children
Then his sister to Pharaoh’s daughter said
“Shall I go and call a nurse for you
From the Hebrew women that she may nurse instead
The child for you; shall this thing I do?
And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.”
So the maiden went and called the child’s mother as we know
Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her
“Take this child away and nurse him for me
And I will give you your wages for sure
So the woman took the child and nursed him tenderly
And the child grew, and she brought him
And he became the son of Pharaoh’s daughter
So she called his name Moses, saying
“Because I drew him out of the water.”
Sometimes the irony of the Bible story
Is so rich and wonderful to behold
God turns even the worst things out for His glory
And shows us treasures worth more than gold
When we see His mighty hand so displayed
We have a sure foundation on which to stand
Never should the faithful be fearful or dismayed
Because our God is glorious and His deeds are grand
Just when all seems lost and it’s all out of control
That is the time when God’s glory is most clearly seen
Away from us the troubles and trials He does roll
And He leads us into soft pastures, lush and green
O great God who does such marvelous things for us!
Precious Creator revealed in the pages of the word
You who came in flesh, our precious Lord Jesus
To You all praise is due, our wondrous, glorious Lord
To you we will praise and to you we will sing
Throughout all eternity, let our voices ring
Hallelujah and Amen…
