Introduction

Exodus 2:1–10: In today’s reading, a Hebrew woman gives birth to a son. Three months later she puts him in a basket and places it in the Nile River where the king’s daughter finds the infant; she adopts him as her son and names him Moses, an Egyptian name that means “drawn out of.”

Today’s Key Verse: Exodus 2:10b GNT

[The king’s daughter said:] “I pulled him out of the water, and so I name him Moses.”

Read

2 During this time a man from the tribe of Levi married a woman of his own tribe, 2 and she bore him a son. When she saw what a fine baby he was, she hid him for three months. 3 But when she could not hide him any longer, she took a basket made of reeds and covered it with tar to make it watertight. She put the baby in it and then placed it in the tall grass at the edge of the river. 4 The baby’s sister stood some distance away to see what would happen to him.

5 The king’s daughter came down to the river to bathe, while her servants walked along the bank. Suddenly she noticed the basket in the tall grass and sent a slave woman to get it. 6 The princess opened it and saw a baby boy. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said.

7 Then his sister asked her, “Shall I go and call a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby for you?”

8 “Please do,” she answered. So the girl went and brought the baby’s own mother. 9 The princess told the woman, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So she took the baby and nursed him. 10 Later, when the child was old enough, she took him to the king’s daughter, who adopted him as her own son. She said to herself, “I pulled him out of the water, and so I name him Moses.”

Reflect

As Moses’s sister kept watch, what did she say to the king’s daughter when she discovered him in the tall grass? What happened next? Beyond the obvious, is there any deeper significance to Moses’s name (verse 10)?

Pray

Watchful God, I trust in your promises. Help me to obey your teachings and keep me strong in faith as I meditate each day on your holy and precious Word. Amen.

Tomorrow’s Reading

Exodus 2:11–25: Moses escapes to Midian.