Exodus 2:1–4 And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi. 2 And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. 3 And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river’s brink. 4 And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him.
Introduction: God Was Working Behind the Scenes
Before we get into Exodus chapter 2, it is important to remember how the children of Israel ended up in Egypt.
Back in Genesis, God called Abraham and made him a promise.
Genesis 12:2–3 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
God promised Abraham that He would make of him a great nation. Abraham had a son named Isaac. Isaac had a son named Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel. Israel had twelve sons who became the fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel.
One of those sons was Joseph. Joseph’s brothers hated him and sold him into slavery, and he eventually ended up in Egypt. Yet God used those circumstances for good. Joseph rose to a position of great authority, and God used him to prepare for a terrible famine.
Joseph later told his brothers:
Genesis 50:20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
God used Joseph not only to save his own family from starvation, but to preserve many people during the famine. Because of that famine, Jacob and his household came down into Egypt.
The family God had promised would become a great nation was now living in a foreign land.
Exodus 1:5 And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: for Joseph was in Egypt already.
They came into Egypt as a relatively small family, but God began fulfilling His promise to Abraham.
Exodus 1:7 And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.
The family of Jacob was becoming a great nation. But after Joseph and that generation died, a new king arose over Egypt.
Exodus 1:8 Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.
Pharaoh became afraid of how numerous and powerful the children of Israel were becoming, so he tried to weaken them through oppression.
Exodus 1:11 Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens.
But Pharaoh’s plan did not work.
Exodus 1:12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew.
Pharaoh then commanded the Hebrew midwives to kill the male children when they were born. They refused.
Exodus 1:17 But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive.
The midwives feared God more than they feared Pharaoh.
When that plan failed, Pharaoh gave an even broader command.
Exodus 1:22 And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.
That is where Exodus chapter 1 ends.
Pharaoh has done everything he can to stop Israel from multiplying. He has ordered every Hebrew baby boy to be cast into the river. From Pharaoh’s perspective, he is taking control of the situation.
But he has no idea what God is doing behind the scenes.
While Pharaoh is trying to destroy the next generation of Israel, God is preparing a child who will one day stand before Pharaoh and deliver Israel out of his hand.
That is a reminder for us: God is constantly working in ways that cannot be seen by man. On the outside, we see a horrible situation—a wicked ruler ordering the death of innocent children. Yet God is able to turn the evil that man devises upside down and accomplish His purpose.
Exodus 2 begins to show us how God preserves His promises in ways we would never expect. A baby will be hidden from Pharaoh, and that baby will eventually be used by God in a mighty way.
There are three truths we can take away from these four verses.
1. God Can Use a Troubled Past for His Purpose
Exodus 2:1 And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi.
The first detail God gives us about Moses’ parents is that they were both from the tribe of Levi.
Later in Exodus, we learn their names.
Exodus 6:20 And Amram took him Jochebed his father’s sister to wife; and she bare him Aaron and Moses: and the years of the life of Amram were an hundred and thirty and seven years.
Moses’ father was Amram and his mother was Jochebed. Both of them were descendants of Levi.
Levi’s Troubled History
Levi was one of the twelve sons of Jacob. But when we look back at Levi’s life, there were serious problems in his past.
In Genesis 34, Levi’s sister Dinah was defiled by a man named Shechem. What happened to Dinah was wicked, but Simeon and Levi responded to that wickedness with wickedness of their own.
They deceived the men of the city and convinced them to be circumcised. Then, while the men were weak and recovering, Simeon and Levi entered the city and killed them.
Genesis 34:25 And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males.
They took revenge into their own hands. They devised a plan, deceived an entire city, and slaughtered the men.
Years later, as Jacob approached the end of his life, he spoke to his sons about what would happen to them in the future.
Genesis 49:5–7 Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. 6 O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall. 7 Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
Jacob used strong words. He called them “instruments of cruelty.” Their anger was fierce and their wrath was cruel.
He also said, “I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.”
So when Exodus tells us that both of Moses’ parents were from the house of Levi, there is a troubled history connected with that name.
But God was not finished with Levi.
From Cruelty to Service
Later in Exodus, Moses comes down from Mount Sinai and finds Israel worshipping the golden calf. He stands in the gate of the camp and asks:
Exodus 32:26 Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD’S side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.
Notice who responded: “All the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.”
The descendants of the man who had once acted according to his own anger and self-will now stood up and identified themselves with the LORD.
Later, God separated this tribe for His service.
Deuteronomy 10:8 At that time the LORD separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to minister unto him, and to bless in his name, unto this day.
Think about that transformation.
Levi had been associated with instruments of cruelty. Now his descendants would carry the ark of the covenant of the LORD.
Levi had acted in uncontrolled anger. Now his descendants would be separated to minister before God.
Jacob had said that Levi would be scattered in Israel. The Levites would eventually be placed in cities throughout the land rather than receiving one large tribal territory like many of the other tribes.
God did not erase the consequences of Levi’s past, but He took what had been connected with judgment and used it for His purpose.
Your Past Does Not Have to Dictate Your Future
Here in Exodus 2, out of that same tribe comes Moses. Out of Levi comes Aaron. Out of Levi will eventually come the priests who minister before the Lord.
That shows us that God can use a troubled past for His purpose.
Maybe you come from a family with problems. Maybe there is anger, addiction, broken marriages, or generations of people who lived completely contrary to the Word of God.
Or maybe you have made foolish decisions yourself. There may be things you are ashamed of or years you feel you have wasted.
You cannot go back and change those things.
Levi could not go back and undo what happened at Shechem. The consequences were real. But what happened in the past did not have to dictate the direction of every generation that followed.
You can decide for yourself: Am I on the Lord’s side?
You can change the direction of your family. You can raise your children differently. You can choose to serve God today regardless of what happened yesterday.
God does not need a perfect family history to accomplish His purpose. He uses people who will turn to Him and be willing to serve Him.
From the house of Levi—a tribe with a history of violence and cruelty—God is about to raise up one of the greatest servants in Scripture.
Levi was remembered for fierce anger, yet one of his descendants would become known as an exceedingly meek man.
You are not bound by the sins and failures of the generations that came before you. God can change the direction.
2. Faith Trusts God When the Future Is Uncertain
Exodus 2:2 And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months.
Jochebed gives birth to a son. Under normal circumstances, the birth of a son would have been a time of great joy. But these were not normal circumstances.
Pharaoh had already commanded:
Exodus 1:22 And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.
From the moment Moses was born, his life was in danger. According to the king of Egypt, this child was supposed to die.
But Moses’ parents refused to give him up.
Moses Was a Goodly Child
Exodus says that Jochebed saw that Moses was “a goodly child.” The word carries the idea of being beautiful or pleasant.
The New Testament describes Moses in similar language.
Acts 7:19–20 The same dealt subtilly with our kindred, and evil entreated our fathers, so that they cast out their young children, to the end they might not live. 20 In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father’s house three months.
Acts says that Moses was “exceeding fair.”
The Bible does not tell us that his parents looked at him and somehow knew he would become Israel’s deliverer. But it does tell us something very important about them.
Hebrews 11:23 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.
This was not only Jochebed’s decision. Amram and Jochebed were united in protecting their son.
They knew what Pharaoh had commanded, but they were “not afraid of the king’s commandment.”
There Is an Authority Above Pharaoh
This is the same principle we saw with the Hebrew midwives.
They understood that Pharaoh was not the highest authority. There is an authority above Pharaoh. There is a King above every earthly king. There is a God in Heaven to whom Pharaoh himself must answer.
When the commandments of man directly contradict the commandments of God, the Bible says:
Acts 5:29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
That is the kind of faith we should desire—to trust God more than anything else in this life and refuse to be controlled by the fear of man.
Moses’ parents hid him for three months.
Imagine trying to conceal a newborn child under those circumstances. Babies cry and make noise. Caring for a newborn is difficult under normal circumstances, but they also had to live with the possibility that their son could be discovered, taken from them, and killed.
Every day carried uncertainty.
Eventually, however, they reached a point where they could no longer hide him.
Exodus 2:3 And when she could not longer hide him…
The Bible does not tell us exactly why Jochebed could no longer hide Moses. It simply tells us that the situation had moved beyond what they could control.
Faith When Things Are Outside Your Control
Sometimes we get the idea that if we trust God enough, everything will become easy. That is not what the Bible teaches.
Sometimes trusting God means continuing to do right even while the situation becomes more difficult.
Sometimes you reach a point where you have to say, “Lord, I have done everything I know how to do. I cannot control what happens next.”
That is where Jochebed found herself.
Exodus 2:3 And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river’s brink.
She made an ark.
That word immediately reminds us of another story: Noah.
Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
Hebrews says, “By faith Noah… prepared an ark.” In the same chapter, it says that “by faith” Moses was hidden for three months.
In both stories, faith influenced what people did.
It is important to keep the distinction clear: faith and action are not the same thing.
Noah was not made righteous because he built an ark. Hebrews 11:7 itself says that he became “heir of the righteousness which is by faith.”
But because Noah believed what God had told him, that faith influenced what he did.
The same principle is true with Moses’ parents. Hiding Moses did not create their faith. They already had faith in God. Because they trusted God more than they feared Pharaoh, they had the courage to do everything within their ability to protect their son.
Do What You Can and Trust God With the Rest
When Jochebed could no longer hide Moses, she did not become careless.
She took bulrushes and built an ark. She covered it with slime and pitch. She placed Moses inside and laid it among the flags growing at the edge of the river.
She did everything within her ability, and then she had to trust God with what was outside of her control.
That is an important balance in our own lives.
Trusting God does not mean neglecting the responsibilities God has given us.
You can trust God to provide for your family, but you still need to work.
You can trust God with your children, but you still need to teach them, discipline them, protect them, and bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
We do what we are able to do according to the Word of God, and then we trust Him with the things we cannot control.
That is exactly what Moses’ parents did.
Once that ark was placed beside the river, the outcome was outside of their control.
Now they had to trust God with what happened next.
3. God Can Turn Destruction Into Deliverance
Exodus 2:3–4 And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river’s brink. 4 And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him.
Verse 4 tells us that Moses’ sister stood at a distance watching.
“To wit” means to know or find out what would happen to him. This was most likely Miriam, whom we later learn was the sister of Moses and Aaron.
The family had not simply abandoned Moses in the river. His sister remained nearby, watching to see what would happen next.
And this is where we begin to see God turn everything upside down.
The River of Death Becomes Part of Moses’ Preservation
Remember Pharaoh’s command:
Exodus 1:22 Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river…
Pharaoh intended the river to become a place of death for the Hebrew children.
But God was about to use that same river as part of the preservation of Israel’s deliverer.
Exodus 2:5–6 And the daughter of Pharaoh 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. 6 And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him…
Think about the irony.
Pharaoh orders the Hebrew children to be killed, but Pharaoh’s own daughter finds Moses and has compassion on him.
What Pharaoh intended for destruction, God turned into deliverance.
Pharaoh Reaped What He Sowed
Pharaoh had chosen water as the means of destroying the Hebrew children.
Later, when Pharaoh and his army pursued Israel, God destroyed them in the water.
Exodus 14:28 And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them.
The Bible gives us a clear principle:
Galatians 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Pharaoh sowed destruction, and eventually destruction came back upon him.
Moses Points Us to Jesus Christ
There is something even greater pictured in this account. Moses points us forward to Jesus Christ.
Moses’ life began in humble circumstances. He was not born in a palace. He was born into a family of slaves and placed into a little ark.
Jesus Christ also entered this world in humble circumstances, wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger.
Pharaoh tried to destroy the Hebrew children when Moses was born.
Herod did the same thing when Jesus was born, ordering the children two years old and under to be slain.
Moses was placed into waters associated with death, yet he came out alive and eventually delivered Israel out of physical bondage.
Jesus Christ went into death itself.
He died for our sins and was placed in a tomb, but three days later He rose again. He conquered death and hell and became the Deliverer of our souls.
Moses points us toward a much greater Deliverer.
Conclusion: Trust God With What You Cannot Control
That is one of the great messages beginning in these first four verses of Exodus 2:
God can turn destruction into deliverance.
Pharaoh looked powerful. The situation looked hopeless. But God was working behind the scenes the entire time.
The faith of two parents prevailed over fear. They did what they could, and when the circumstances moved beyond their control, they trusted God with the outcome.
Maybe there is a situation in your life right now that looks and feels hopeless.
Do not be controlled by fear of man. Do not be controlled by circumstances that you cannot change.
Do what God has given you the responsibility to do, and give the things you cannot control over to Him.
Hear His words. Believe His words. Trust Him with every part of your life.
What situation in your life looks hopeless right now, where you need to stop fearing what you can see and start trusting the God who is working behind the scenes?
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