Exodus 2:5 - Meaning and Application

Here we see, first, Moses saved from death. Come and look at the place where this great man lay as a little child, in a basket of reeds by the river. If he had been left there, he would soon have died from hunger, if the river did not take him first, or a crocodile devour him. If he had fallen into any other hands, they would not, or would not have dared to, do anything but throw him at once into the river. But God’s providence brings Pharaoh’s daughter there at just that moment, leads her to the place where this helpless baby lies, and softens her heart so that she has pity on him, when no one else would have dared to do so.

Never did a baby cry at a better time than this one did. The child wept, and that moved the princess’s compassion, along with his beauty as well (Exodus 2:5, Exodus 2:6). Notice four things here. Hard hearts are truly guilty if they cannot feel tenderness for helpless infants. God uses this kind of language to describe his own pity for Israel when they were in a miserable state (Ezekiel 16:5, Ezekiel 16:6). It is good and honorable for people of rank to notice the troubles of the poorest and to help them. We should often speak with praise about God’s care for us when we were babies. Though we were not exposed in this way, and that was God’s mercy, many dangers surrounded us in our infancy, and the Lord delivered us from them (Psalm 22:9, Psalm 22:10). God often raises friends for his people even from among their enemies. Pharaoh seeks to destroy Israel, but his own daughter shows kindness to a Hebrew child and, without intending it, preserves Israel’s deliverer. Lord, how wonderful are your plans!

Second, Moses is given a good nurse, none other than his own mother, Exodus 2:7-9. Pharaoh’s daughter thinks it best that he have a Hebrew nurse, and Moses’s sister, with skill and good judgment, brings his mother in as that nurse. This was a great blessing for the child, since mothers are the best nurses, and those who enjoy the gift of having children should also gladly care for them. It was also a deep comfort to the mother, who received her son back as if from death and could now enjoy him without fear. We can imagine how great her joy must have been at this sudden change, enough to show her true feelings even to a less careful observer than Solomon (1 Kings 3:27).

Third, Moses is adopted as Pharaoh’s daughter’s son, Exodus 2:10. His parents may have agreed to this not only because they had to, since they had already nursed him for her, but also because they were pleased by the honor it gave their son. The favor of the world can tempt us more strongly than its threats. Jewish tradition says Pharaoh’s daughter had no children of her own, and that she was her father’s only child, so Moses, as her adopted son, stood in line for the crown. Even if that is uncertain, it is clear that he was in line for the best opportunities at court, and he received the finest education available. With a great mind and this training, he became learned in all the wisdom the Egyptians allowed (Acts 7:22).

Notice here that God sometimes delights in lifting the poor from the dust and seating them among princes (Psalm 113:7, Psalm 113:8). Many who seem destined by birth for lowliness and hardship are suddenly raised by God’s providence, so that all may see that heaven rules. Also, when God plans someone for great service, he knows how to prepare that person in advance. Moses’s court education made him fit to be a prince and ruler in Jeshurun, that is, Israel. His training in a learned court made him fit to write history. And his upbringing in Egypt made him fit to go back, in God’s name, as a messenger to that court.

Finally, Moses is given his name. The Jews say that his father named him Joachim at his circumcision, but Pharaoh’s daughter called him Moses, which means "drawn out of the water" in the Egyptian language. It is a hopeful sign for the Gentile world that the Jewish lawgiver bears an Egyptian name, and it points forward to the day when it will be said, "Blessed be Egypt my people" (Isaiah 19:25). His education at court also gave a hint of the promise that kings would care for God’s people, serving as nursing fathers, and queens as nursing mothers (Isaiah 49:23).