Exodus 2 Devotional Bible Study

Exodus 2 Chapter Summary

A man and woman of the tribe of Levi (descendants of Levi) had a son. He was a healthy child, so they hid him for three months instead of throwing him into the Nile. Then his mother placed him in a floating basket and put it into the Nile. The baby’s sister watched what happened to him.

Pharaoh’s daughter saw the basket when she went to bathe in the river. She felt sorry for the baby and adopted him, knowing he was an Israelite. Seeing what happened, the baby’s sister asked if the princess needed someone to nurse the baby, and the baby was given back into the care of his own mother until he was old enough to stay with the princess. Pharaoh’s daughter named the baby Moses.

 

When Moses grew up, he went out to see the Israelites slaving. He saw an Egyptian beating an Israelite and killed the Egyptian. He hid the Egyptian’s body in the sand and thought no one had seen what happened, but the next day, when Moses tried to break up a fight between two Israelites, one of the men said,

 

“Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?”

Then Moses was afraid and thought, “What I did must have become known.”

- Exodus 2:14

 

When Pharaoh heard about the murder, he tried to have Moses put to death, but Moses fled to Midian. There, he defended the daughters of a priest as they were coming to draw water from the well. He stayed with the priest and married his daughter Zipporah.

 

As time passed, the current Pharaoh died, but the Israelites were still in slavery.

 

God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.

So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.

- Exodus 2:24-25

 

Knowing When to Act and When to Wait

Moses’ mother hid him for three months. Then, when she saw she couldn’t keep him any longer, she set him in a basket to give him the best chance possible. Moses’ sister couldn’t intervene, but she watched and waited, and then spoke up when she saw an opportunity.

When Moses grew up, he attacked the Egyptian. Should he have? Or should he have waited for God to act?

When he saw the shepherds driving Zipporah and her sisters away, he acted and was rewarded.

Do you know when to act, and when to wait? Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to give you a sense of what to do. If you’re listening, He’ll give you peace about your decision.