The Book Of Exodus
Exodus 3:14 "And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and He said, Thus shalt thou say
unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you."
Verse 1: Moses was of the tribe of Levi. (Exodus 6:16-20, Numbers 26:59, 1 Chronicles 23:14) His father’s name was Amram, his mother Jochebed. He was the youngest of their three children. (Exodus 7:7) His brother’s name was Aaron, and his sister was Miriam.
Verses 2-4: In defiance of Pharaoh’s order, Amram and Jochebed hide Moses for three months after he is born, when they see that he is “…a goodly child…”, meaning that Moses is strong and healthy and beautiful to look upon. (Acts 7:20, Hebrews 11:23) This implies that Pharaoh’s men were actively conducting random searches of the Israelite homes for any male infants since the midwives could not be trusted to follow Pharaoh’s orders. But as Moses grows, it becomes more difficult to hide him, and so Jochebed creates an ark out of bulrushes (Isaiah 18:2), coating it with slime and pitch to make it waterproof, and then lays Moses in the basket. (v.3) She puts the ark in the Nile river, setting it carefully among the reeds (Isaiah 19:6) near the shore where it will not get swept away by the current. Miriam is tasked with guarding her three month old brother from a safe distance, hidden as well. There are echoes here of Noah and the recurring theme of salvation through the providence of God by the building of an ark. Also, in an ironic twist, Jochebed does exactly what Pharaoh has ordered the midwives to do with the Hebrew male infants. As always, God uses the proclamations and efforts of sinful men against His chosen people to orchestrate His divine will. (Psalm 2:2-4) Verses 5-10: By the hand of God, the place that Jochebed chooses to hide Moses is very near to the spot where the Egyptian princess, the daughter of Pharaoh, goes every day to bathe. (Or perhaps Jochebed, aware of the princess’ habits, places her son in that exact spot, hoping and praying to God for a miracle.) Pharaoh’s daughter spies the basket among the reeds and sends one of her maids to fetch it. (v.5) When she opens the basket and finds a helpless, crying baby, she has compassion for the infant, recognizing immediately that he “…is one of the Hebrews’ children.” (v.6) Miriam, in an act of boldness and true courage, steps out from her hiding place and offers to go find a Hebrew nurse to care for the child. (v.7) Pharaoh’s daughter agrees, and Miriam returns with her mother. The princess tells Jochebed to nurse the child in exchange for payment, and Jochebed obeys. (v.9) When the boy is weaned, Jochebed returns to Pharaoh’s daughter and gives him her son. The princess names him Moses, meaning “…I drew him out of the water.” (v.10) (The Hebrew variation of that name, Mosheh, means “drawn out”.) It must have been heartbreaking for Amram and Jochebed to give up their youngest son. But they possessed the same faith and trust in God that had sustained Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph through all of their times of testing and trials, and so they made the same leap of faith that Abraham did when God first called him to leave his family and kinsmen for a journey to an unknown destination and an uncertain future. (Hebrews 11:23) Note from my study Bible: “The phrase ‘the daughter of Pharaoh’ has been interpreted by many to refer to the famous Hatshepsut (1504-1483 B.C.), considering an early date for the Exodus, since Moses would have been born about 1527 B.C. This would be during the reign of her father, Thutmose (1525-1508 B.C.). There is a good possibility that Moses was reared in one of the royal harems which were common in the New Kingdom period (c. 1570-1085 B.C.). The children of harem women would be educated by the overseer of the harem. (Acts 7:22) In due time, the princes (Moses was called “her son” in verse 10), were given a tutor who was usually a high official at court, or maybe a retired military officer close to the king. Thus, Moses was in a position to receive all the privileges and opportunities of a member of the Egyptian royal court. (Hebrews 11:24-25)” Verses 11-15: Moses, now a grown man of forty years (Acts 7:23), goes out among his Hebrew brethren where he happens upon an Egyptian taskmaster beating an Israelite slave. (v.11) Moses looks around to make sure there are no other witnesses before intervening and killing the Egyptian. He buries the man in the sand nearby. (v.12) The next day – or sometime shortly after this incident – Moses again goes out among his fellow Israelites where he comes upon two Hebrew men fighting one another. Moses again intervenes, demanding of the instigator, “Wherefore smites thou thy fellow?” (v.13) The man responds with a sneer, “Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? Intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian?” (v.14) This causes Moses great fear, for he thought that his vengeful act would not be so quickly known among the Hebrews, which means that the Egyptians also might know of it. Verse 15 confirms this, for it says that Pharaoh himself desires to bring Moses to justice. Acts 7:24-25 tell us that Moses expected the Israelites to treat him as a savior, as one of their own, not only because he rescued one of them from an Egyptian, but because he, too, was a Hebrew. But this was not the case. He is alienated from his own people because of his adoption by the daughter of Pharaoh and his life of wealth, privilege and ease in the Egyptian court. Pharaoh’s edict forces Moses to flee Egypt altogether, and he seeks refuge in Midian, a desert region between Sinai and what is today known as the Arabian desert. Midian is listed in Genesis 25:1-2 as one of the sons of Keturah, one of Abraham’s concubines whom he married after the death of Sarah. The slave traders to whom Joseph’s brothers sold him were called both “Midianites” and “Ishmeelites” (Genesis 37:28), indicating that these two people groups of that time were of the same family line as Ishmael, as well as all the other descendants of Abraham except for the line of Isaac. During the time of Israel’s wanderings in the desert, and even later during their initial occupation of the promised land, the Midianites are depicted as one of Israel’s chief enemies, allying themselves with the Amalekites. (Judges 6) Whether or not Moses is aware of the history of the Midianites and their current relationship to the children of Israel, or whether he simply seeks a desolate region far from the Egyptians that will hide him for awhile, is unclear from the text. Verses 16-22: Once again, as with Melchizedek (Genesis 14:18), there is a priest mentioned here, although he is not described with the additional phrase, “…of the most high God…”. However, Exodus 18:12 confirms that, like Melchizedek, this priest also worships God, and we also know from that same verse, as well as Exodus 3:1, that his name is Jethro. (Why he is called “Reuel” here in verse 18 is unknown. In Numbers 10:29, he is also referred to by this name, although a slightly different spelling. Perhaps that is the Midianite interpretation of the Hebrew name “Jethro”?) Jethro has seven daughters, all of whom arrive at the well where Moses has stopped to rest. They attempt to draw water to fill the nearby troughs for their father’s flocks but are driven away by other shepherds. Moses, however, intervenes and helps the daughters draw water for their sheep. (v.16-17) Once again, as with Eliezer (Genesis 24:15-16) and Jacob (Genesis 29:10), a well is the site for an important meeting arranged by God for His chosen servant. And, as with those previous encounters, the meeting results in a wife for the man of God. In this case, that woman is named Zipporah. (v.21) She bares him a son whom he names Gershom, which means literally “Stranger there”. Moses recognizes that he is a “…stranger in a strange land.” (v.22) He spends the next forty years dwelling with the house of Jethro, tending to his flocks on the backside of the desert. (Exodus 3:1) Verses 23-25: Pharaoh dies, and the children of Israel cry out to God because of their bondage and oppression. (James 5:4) God hears them and remembers His holy covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. (Genesis 12:1-2, 15:13, 28:13, Psalm 105:8, 42) As noted in my earlier commentaries in Genesis, the word “remember” does not imply that God forgot about the children of Israel. Quite the opposite, in fact. When used in the Bible, especially as an action or characteristic of God, the word “remember” means that God places special emphasis on that person or people who is/are the subject of his remembrance. (Refer back to Genesis 8:1 and my notes there.) This chapter ends with an uplifting reference of God’s omniscience and compassion upon His chosen people. Verse 25: “And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.” (Exodus 4:31, Luke 1:25, Acts 7:34) The term “respect” here means that He acknowledges them. He hears the cries of Abraham’s seed, and He has already set in motion a plan to deliver them from their captivity and oppression. (Psalm 34:6, 68:5-6)
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