God Cares

KEY VERSE: “God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.” —Exodus 2:24

SELECTED SCRIPTURE: Exodus 1:8-11

THE PHARAOH WHO exalted Joseph to such a high position in the government of Egypt had died, and, as the record states, “There arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.” (Exod. 1:8) This king became apprehensive and said to the Egyptians, “Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.”—Exod. 1:9,10

The Israelites had been made slave laborers and as such were useful to the Egyptian government, but the king did not want them to become too numerous. So he set task-masters over them with orders to increase their burden of work, thinking that this would prevent them from multiplying so rapidly. But it had the opposite effect. Then the midwives were ordered to kill all the male babies as soon as they were born, but they disobeyed this order.—vss. 15-20

Then the king gave orders that all male children were to be thrown into the river. This “charge,” or command, was given to all the Egyptians and meant that it was legal for any of the Egyptians to seize Hebrew male children at any time and any place, and throw them into the river.—vs. 22

It was under such circumstances that Moses was born. In the New Testament Paul comments on this, saying, By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment.”(Heb. 11:23) Then, realizing that they could not continue to do this, they “took for him an ark of bulrushes, … and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river’s brink. And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him.”—Exod. 2:3,4

Their faith soon began to be rewarded. Pharaoh’s daughter “came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river’s side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and behold the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews’ children.”—Exod. 2:5,6

The sister who stood by to watch what would happen, then asked Pharaoh’s daughter if she should get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the child, “and Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child’s mother.” (vs. 8) The mother accepted the invitation to be her baby’s nurse.

By this arrangement Moses was raised under the protection of the Egyptian government and became “learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.” (Acts 7:22) But with his own learned that he was not an Egyptian, and he was informed concerning the promises of God as they related to the Israelites, including those of deliverance from Egyptian bondage.

In the New Testament, Stephen informs us that when Moses was “full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel.” (Acts 7:23) Paul states the matter more dramatically, saying, “By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.”—Heb. 11:24-26

Meanwhile the burdens of the Israelites were being increased, and they “sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.”—Exod. 2:23-25

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