A Baby in a Basket

Children

Exodus 1

8 Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.

11 So the Egyptians made the Israelites their slaves. They appointed brutal slave drivers over them, hoping to wear them down with crushing labor. They forced them to build the cities of Pithom and Rameses as supply centers for the king. 

12 But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more the Israelites multiplied and spread, and the more alarmed the Egyptians became. 

13 So the Egyptians worked the people of Israel without mercy. 

14 They made their lives bitter, forcing them to mix mortar and make bricks and do all the work in the fields. They were ruthless in all their demands.

15 Then Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, gave this order to the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah: 

16 “When you help the Hebrew women as they give birth, watch as they deliver. If the baby is a boy, kill him; if it is a girl, let her live.”

17 But because the midwives feared God, they refused to obey the king’s orders. They allowed the boys to live, too.

18 So the king of Egypt called for the midwives. “Why have you done this?” he demanded. “Why have you allowed the boys to live?”

19 “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women,” the midwives replied. “They are more vigorous and have their babies so quickly that we cannot get there in time.”

20 So God was good to the midwives, and the Israelites continued to multiply, growing more and more powerful. 

21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.

22 Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Throw every newborn Hebrew boy into the Nile River. But you may let the girls live.”

Exodus 2

1 About this time, a man and woman from the tribe of Levi got married.

2 The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She saw that he was a special baby and kept him hidden for three months. 

3 But when she could no longer hide him, she got a basket made of papyrus reeds and waterproofed it with tar and pitch. She put the baby in the basket and laid it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile River. 

4 The baby’s sister then stood at a distance, watching to see what would happen to him.

Hebrews 11:23 — It was by faith that Moses’ parents hid him for three months when he was born. They saw that God had given them an unusual child, and they were not afraid to disobey the king’s command.

Pharoah’s Fears

Exodus 1:11 — They hoped to wear them down. 

17 But because the midwives feared God, they refused to obey the king’s orders. They allowed the boys to live, too.

The fear of God

Acts 5:29 — But Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than any human authority.”

Mid-Wives — They refused to obey. 

Parents — They were not afraid to disobey.

What am I willing to risk?

Could baby Moses count on me?

I will help build baskets. 

You don’t trust me!

I don’t trust Pharoah! 

“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.”

“Let it not be said that I was silent when they needed me.”

— William Wilberforce