Keys for Kingdom Living Podcast

Episode 3: Rescue on the Nile River

Blessings in the Lord!

Welcome to Episode 3 of Keys for Kingdom Living.

We’ve been studying the book of Exodus to see God’s kingdom plans in history and to gain wisdom for what His plans mean for our lives today.

God be with us now as we look into Exodus Chapter 2.

The title of today’s message is “Rescue on the Nile River.”

Last week, we learned that no matter how crushing our trials of life can get, we have a bigger God. We can pray and wait on God to deliver us. Sometimes He strengthens us to persevere, and other times He brings us out of harsh conditions.

Today, we will continue to see God’s promise of deliverance as we look at Exodus chapter 2, verses 1-10.

Our last episode of Exodus chapter 1 had a dark and foreboding ending. After the Hebrew midwives, the two bright lights in that passage, did not listen to the king, he issued an edict for all people to kill Hebrew baby boys. Let’s look at Exodus chapter 2 to find out what happens next. Let’s read Exodus 2, verse 1 and 2a.

Exodus 2:1-2a

Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son.

In these opening verses to Exodus chapter 2, we get a bit of the background of the parents of the character Moses whom we are about to read about. God would work through Moses to keep his promise to deliver his people Israel out of their oppression and bondage.

Verse 1 tells us that Moses’ parents were from the tribe of Levi. Out of the 12 sons of Israel, Levi was the third oldest son from whom we get the tribe of Levi.

So what else do we know about the tribe of Levi or the Levites? Let’s look at Numbers, chapter 3, verse 9.

Numbers 3:9-10

“Give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are the Israelites who are to be given wholly to him. Appoint Aaron and his sons to serve as priests; anyone else who approaches the sanctuary is to be put to death.”

In the generation that would come after this one, God set the Levites apart and dedicated them to himself to serve as priests for the people of Israel. They alone would be put in charge of the holy things of God’s tabernacle. Anyone else would be killed who tried to approach God in his sanctuary, since he is holy. Even the Levites had cleansing rituals they needed to perform before they could enter the sanctuary in God’s presence.

So we learn that Moses’ parents were of a Levite tribe, giving us a clue or a foreshadowing that Moses and all of the Levite tribe would be chosen as priests to intercede or mediate between God and the people of Israel.

But here in verse 2a, we learn that Moses had just been born to Levite parents. Let’s read verses 1 and 2.

Exodus 2:1-2

Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months.

Moses’ parents were Levites, and when his mother gave birth to him and saw that he was a healthy, beautiful baby boy, she must have been full of joy, but also terrified, since the king had commanded all the Egyptians to kill Hebrew baby boys by drowning them in the Nile River. So she hid him for three months.

What other time in history recorded in the Bible involved a need to hide Hebrew baby boys from genocide? More than a thousand years later, our Lord Jesus was born under a similar death threat. The evil King Herod had also made an edict to kill Hebrew baby boys when he learned that the prophesied Messiah was going to be born during his reign. To see more about that, read from Matthew chapter 2.

Now during Jesus’ life and ministry on earth, many Jewish people were confused and did not believe he was the promised Messiah. The Hebrews thought Moses was the promised Messiah who had come to save the Israelites. But now we know that Jesus Christ was the Messiah who came and delivered not only the Jews, but anyone who believes he is the Son of God who gave his life to pay for our sins.

The holy life of Jesus, the sinless Lamb of God, who died on the cross, was the only offering that is acceptable in God the Father’s sight.

In the book of Hebrews, the author makes it clear why only Jesus and not Moses was a perfect priest and mediator for God’s people. Jesus is a better and the only perfect holy high priest. In the book of Hebrews, the role of Jesus and Moses are compared in this way. Let’s read Hebrews 3, verses 3 and 4.

Hebrews 3:3-4

Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.

This baby Moses would grow up to take part in God’s plan to build his kingdom and even point God’s people to the promised Messiah, Jesus. But Jesus is worthy of greater honor than Moses or any other man, since he is God, and God is the builder of everything, including life itself. Jesus is the author of life, who is resurrected from death. In Christ Jesus, we are given new life, and will live forever with him one day in heaven.

So this baby, though not the Messiah, would still play an important role and working with God to deliver his people from bondage in Egypt. And that’s a spoiler alert if you haven’t read the whole book of Exodus yet.

But back to today’s passage, where we find baby Moses in great peril. Let’s see what his mother did when he became older and she could not hide him any longer. Let’s read verses 3 and 4.

Exodus 2:3-4

But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.

His mother made a bold move. She hid him on the Nile among the tall grasses. Here was this Hebrew baby boy hiding right in the place that the king commanded his people to kill Hebrew baby boys. This was very clever since the Nile River is the last place you would expect someone to hide a Hebrew baby boy at that time. But Moses’ mother and sister had desperate and bold faith. They desperately prayed and courageously waited for God to intervene. So the baby was left in a specially made basket on the Nile River. Let’s go back and look at verse 3a again.

Exodus 2:3

But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch.

It is interesting to notice that his mother made a basket out of papyrus and coated it with tar and pitch. This basket reminds us of three other similarly crafted objects in Bible history.

In Genesis chapter 6, verse 13 and 14, we read,

Genesis 6:13-14

So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out.”

Here in Genesis 6.14, we see that the first ark is like the baby’s basket, and it’s made of fine wood, tar, and pitch. Both are being used as a means of protection for God’s people from disaster by water.

Next, let’s read from Exodus chapter 25, verses 9 through 11.

Exodus 25:9-11

Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.

“Have them make an ark of acacia wood—two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. Overlay it with pure gold, both inside and out, and make a gold molding around it.

In later chapters of Exodus, we read about this description of the second ark that reminds us of this baby basket in Exodus chapter 2. As I pointed out before, fine wood and tar and pitch were used on both Noah’s ark and the baby’s basket. But for the second ark, that is called the of the covenant. Later in history, we will see fine acacia wood, but even more durable than tar and pitch, the Ark of the Covenant was covered with pure gold.

Now let’s read about the third structure that is built like these arks. In Exodus chapter 26, verses 7, 14, and 15, we read,

Exodus 26:7,14,15

“Make curtains of goat hair for the tent over the tabernacle—eleven altogether.”

“Make for the tent a covering of ram skins dyed red, and over that a covering of the other durable leather. Make upright frames of acacia wood for the tabernacle.”

Here we see the third structure made with similar materials. God instructed the Israelites to build this tent covering that in the same pattern as the Ark of the Covenant. In fact, this outer tent would cover the tabernacle to protect the holy place where God would meet his people. It was a weatherproof tent that would be a kind of shield over the tabernacle from attacks of nature and enemies. The outer tent was also very durable, being made with goat’s hair and skins of aquatic animals, so it could protect the precious tabernacle from the storms of rain, sand, wind, and dust.

So we see that Noah’s Ark and the Ark of the Covenant and the outer tent of the tabernacle were similar to the baby’s basket that we are studying today. So this basket was a type of Ark or covering.

Some of you may ask, what is an Ark? Let’s read verses 3 and 4 again.

Exodus 2:3-4

But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.

Interestingly, in Egyptian, the word for basket or cam means ark, which is translated to mean chest, as in a place where you store things to be preserved and protected. We see God at work, who inspired this Hebrew mother to craft a basket or ark in which she could hide and protect her baby boy. Being a Hebrew, she was likely familiar with the history of Noah’s ark and how it was built with fine wood, tar, and pitch. Also by now, Hebrews were adept at using this method of building to make baskets, boats, and other objects that could withstand leakage and water damage from storms and the river.

This basket ark acted as a vessel to protect the baby from danger in deep waters. Before this baby would grow into an adult whom God could use to deliver his people, he would first need to be rescued from water himself.

In the Bible, waters, and especially deep and rough waters, have a spiritually symbolic meaning. Deep waters can refer to the deep waters of God’s wrath and judgment against sin by sending a flood over the earth, as we read about in chapter 6 of Genesis. In other places in the scriptures, deep raging waters can also represent treacherous spiritual attacks in our lives that come to destroy us. These attacks can come from Satan’s traps or other people’s sin or from our own sin or some combination of all of these.

But God, knowing we are not able to withstand the burden of sin on our own, makes a promise to those who depend on him. Let’s read Isaiah chapter 43 verse 2a.

Isaiah 43:2a

When you pass through the waters,

I will be with you;

and when you pass through the rivers,

they will not sweep over you.

The deep dark waters of sin evoke God’s judgment. But God, knowing our weakness and human frailty, makes a way to keep us from harm as he delivers us from our sin and impurity.

In the passage from Isaiah, God’s people Israel had idols, and God sent his prophet Isaiah to tell his people that he would discipline them by taking them into exile and captivity. But he promised that he would preserve his people even under hardship.

So sometimes God is disciplining us through the deep waters of life’s challenges, but other times we may be persecuted by others in the world for proclaiming our devotion to Christ.

Today, we see in Exodus chapter 2 that God’s people were being persecuted as God caused them to grow and become more numerous among the Egyptians. But our God always provides arks for the storms he allows us to go through. The baby’s ark basket is a reminder of how God saves and delivers his people. He provides a way out of danger.

The ark, like the other types of arks in history recorded in the Bible, serve three functions. One, they are a rescue from sin and evil and the death it brings. All evil must be destroyed and will be one day when Jesus returns. In Genesis 7, 16, God closed the door of the ark to set Noah and his family apart and every creature, two of every creature from a wicked world. Also, two, the ark is a means or a way to salvation. And three, it’s a safe place or a refuge where the Lord sets us apart to dwell in his presence.

We will learn more about the spiritual significance of similarly designed arks, especially the Ark of the Covenant and the Tabernacle in later chapters of this study on Exodus.

But no spoiler alerts for now.

Looking at our passage where we left off at verse 3, where we admire the desperate and bold faith of the baby’s mother, who crafted the basket ark, and the baby’s sister who placed the baby in it in the reeds of the Nile River. Let’s see what took place next. Let’s read Exodus chapter 2 verses 4 through 9.

Exodus 2:4-9

His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.

Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it. She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said.

Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?”

“Yes, go,” she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took the baby and nursed him.

We see here how God intervenes in the faith of the baby’s mother and sister in a way that exceeds their hopes for the baby’s future. As the sister watched from a distance, she saw an amazing act of compassion from someone who was a member of the evil king’s own family.

When the king’s daughter opened the basket and saw the baby crying, verse 6 tells us she felt sorry for the baby, despite that he was a Hebrew baby.

What are the odds that the king’s daughter would be out at the Nile River at the same time and respond to the cry of the baby? And her heart was moved with compassion being a woman who naturally reacted to a beautiful, distressed baby with care and concern. She also empathized knowing about the danger the baby was in due to her father’s cruel edict against Hebrew baby boys.

Here again, we see God’s sovereignty over people and circumstances throughout the ages. Let’s look at Proverbs chapter 16, verse 7.

Proverbs 16:7

When the LORD takes pleasure in anyone’s way,

he causes their enemies to make peace with them.

The mother and sister, like Shiphrah and Puah, the midwives from our last episode, had the faith that pleases God. They feared God more than what men or women might do to the baby. They trusted God to deliver the baby. God, knowing the faith of the baby’s mother and sister, was pleased. God even caused the king’s daughter, an Egyptian who did not know God, to be at peace with the Hebrew baby and have him cared for. In fact, in verses 7 and 8, we learn that the Pharaoh’s daughter paid the baby’s mother to nurse him and keep him until he was weaned at his sister’s, and all this at his sister’s advising. God used the Pharaoh’s daughter’s tender heart for the baby to override her concerns about rebelling against her father and his edict to have the baby killed. God also allowed the baby’s mother and sister to have peace of mind and be taken care of financially, knowing the Pharaoh’s daughter was supporting them.

So the baby grew and was weaned. Let’s read verse 10a.

Exodus 2:10a

When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son.

In verse 10a, we read about a mother’s sacrifice. The mother kept her end of the bargain to have more years with her own baby until he was weaned, and then give him over to the Pharaoh’s daughter.

Oh, the agony of this mother, who would have to say goodbye to her son again and give him over to a foreign woman, even though she was a king’s daughter, to be raised in foreign ways, apart from the God she surely had raised him to know.

Did you know our lives are not our own? For those who believe in Christ, our lives belong to him. And we are to teach our children to know Christ so they will want to use their lives for his kingdom-building purposes.

The way of participating in God’s kingdom building can be bittersweet at times. Just as following Christ as his disciples comes with a cost, today we see that this mother paid the price of giving her son away for God’s higher kingdom purposes.

But there is a silver lining in the cloud of the parting between the baby and his mother. In the B part or last part of verse 10, we read,

Exodus 2:10b

She named him Moses, saying, “I drew him out of the water.”

Drawn from the water. Like Moses’ name, we are all drawn from deep, dark waters of sin and spiritual attacks of Satan and from the hardships of living in a world that does not know nor honor God.

God had a larger role for Moses, who, as we will see in future episodes, would help to deliver the Hebrews from bondage and slavery and injustice under Pharaoh’s oppression.

In today’s study, we learn that God is sovereign. He allows us to participate in his expanding kingdom plans to save and make a people for himself.

We also saw that God draws us as his people out of deep, dark snares and troubles. He has arks and ways to rescue his people. His rescue is not only to save us from sin and evil, but to bring us to dwell in the security of his presence. 

We saw that God can move the hearts of his enemies to be peaceable with his people. Presently, we are living on the other side of Christ’s cross and his resurrection. We have been drawn out from the judgment our sins deserve by his holy atonement and sacrifice.

Do you remember a time when God drew you out from insurmountable pressures in your life? Maybe God is calling you now to trust him and have faith to help him deliver you or someone you know from some situation or difficulty. Perhaps you have been praying for God to save a loved one from destructive living and from the judgment to come.

Let’s pray for God’s kingdom to expand in us and to come to those who are outside of the ark of his covenant of salvation, but who he is still calling.

Let’s pray.

Dear Holy Heavenly Father, you are sovereign over all creation in and under heaven. Father thank you that you provide arcs for the storms of life and you never lose any that are in your hands you are faithful from beginning to end you rescue us from our own sin and evil when we turn to Christ our Great High Priest who meets us at his altar in heaven when we pray.

Thank you for Christ’s blood-bought sacrifice and righteousness. He lived as a man and has compassion for us. He understands our struggles and burdens.

Thank you, Lord, for Christ who brings us to you when we repent and who is merciful to forgive us and gives us grace and power to grow to do your will more and more.

Lord, thank you that you draw us from deep, dark waters. We are forever thankful for Jesus’ hand of deliverance. Continue to order our steps to walk in sync with your will and kingdom plans so that our faith would increase and your kingdom would expand in our hearts and give us your peace.

Father, we also bring our lost loved ones before your throne of grace. You know each one by name that we hold up to you with tears that come from your heart of compassion for them. You know their hearts better than we do. And like you, we long to see many sons and daughters, aunts and uncles, and even grandparents bought with the high cost of the precious blood of our Savior Christ.

Father, would you bring them out of the storm and wrath that sin brings and into the peace and covering that is only found in Christ.

Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Amen.

Thank you for listening today. I hope you were encouraged by today’s lesson on Exodus chapter 2, 1 through 10.

Join us next time when we open up Exodus chapter 2 verses 11 through 24, where we see Moses grow up into a young proud man with a serious anger management problem.

If you enjoyed this video, be sure to click the like button below and subscribe. You can also listen to the Keys for Kingdom Living podcast, along with other truths and resources on my website at crystalmorla.com.

The Lord’s blessings be with you all.

See you next time!