Chapter Summary
Core Passages from Exodus 2
Exodus 2:10When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, "Because," she said, "I drew him out of the water."
This verse marks the completion of Moses's rescue, where he is ironically named and raised by the daughter of the very man who ordered his death, showing God's power to protect His chosen deliverer in the heart of the enemy's court.Exodus 2:14He answered, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, and thought, “Surely the thing is known.”
Moses's attempt to act as a deliverer is thrown back in his face by his own people, revealing that his identity is confused and his methods are not God's methods, which forces him into exile.Exodus 2:24-25And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel - and God knew.
After a long narrative focused on Moses, these verses pivot back to God, assuring the reader that the suffering of the Israelites has not gone unnoticed and God is about to act on His covenant promises.
Historical & Cultural Context
A Desperate Act of Faith
The story opens in a climate of intense fear and oppression. In Exodus 1, Pharaoh has commanded that every newborn Hebrew boy be thrown into the Nile River. It is in this desperate situation that a Levite couple defies the genocidal decree. Their act of faith - hiding their son for three months and then entrusting him to the river in a waterproof basket - sets the stage for a divine rescue that is both risky and ingenious.
An Unlikely Rescue
The narrative then shifts from the private defiance of a Hebrew family to a public encounter with Egyptian royalty. The arrival of Pharaoh's daughter at the riverbank turns a death sentence into a story of adoption. Through the quick thinking of the baby's sister, Moses's own mother is hired to nurse him. This incredible twist of providence places the future deliverer of Israel under the protection and education of the Egyptian palace, all while being raised by his own mother.
A Prince Becomes a Fugitive
Years later, Moses is a grown man, aware of his Hebrew roots despite his Egyptian upbringing. When he witnesses an Egyptian beating one of his people, his sense of justice boils over, and he kills the Egyptian. This impulsive act, meant to defend his people, backfires when he is rejected by them and discovered by Pharaoh. Moses is forced to flee for his life, trading his royal status for that of a fugitive shepherd in the foreign land of Midian, where he will spend the next forty years.
The Life of Moses: From Prince to Exile
Exodus 2 chronicles the first eighty years of Moses's life, a journey that takes him from a basket in the Nile to the royal courts of Egypt and finally to a quiet life as a shepherd in Midian. The chapter is a story of survival, identity crisis, and divine preparation, all building toward the moment God will call him to be the deliverer of Israel. It begins with a mother's desperate plan to save her son.
Saved from the Water (Exodus 2:1-10)
1 Now a man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman.
2 The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months.
3 When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank.
4 And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him.
5 Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it.
6 When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, "This is one of the Hebrews' children."
7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?"
8 Then Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages." So the woman took the child and nursed him.
9 She said to Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?"
10 When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, "Because," she said, "I drew him out of the water."
Commentary:
Through the courage of his mother and the compassion of Pharaoh's daughter, the baby Moses is miraculously saved from the Nile and raised in the Egyptian palace.
A Prince's Misguided Justice (Exodus 2:11-15)
11 One day, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their burdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people.
12 He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
13 When he went out the next day, behold, two Hebrews were struggling together. And he said to the man in the wrong, "Why do you strike your companion?"
14 He answered, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, and thought, “Surely the thing is known.”
15 When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian. And he sat down by a well.
Commentary:
Moses tries to deliver his people by force, but his violent act is rejected, and he is forced to flee Egypt as a fugitive.
Refuge in a Foreign Land (Exodus 2:16-22)
16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father's flock.
17 Now the shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and saved them, and watered their flock.
18 When they came home to their father Reuel, he said, “How is it that you have come home so soon today?”
19 They said, “An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds and even drew water for us and watered the flock.”
20 He said to his daughters, “Then where is he? Why have you left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread.”
21 And Moses was content to dwell with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah.
22 She gave birth to a son, and he called his name Gershom, for he said, "I have been a sojourner in a foreign land."
Commentary:
In exile in Midian, Moses finds a new family and a new life as a shepherd, a period of humbling that prepares him for his future mission.
God Remembers His People (Exodus 2:23-25)
23 During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God.
24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
25 God saw the people of Israel - and God knew.
Commentary:
As Israel's suffering intensifies, God hears their cries, remembers His covenant promises, and prepares to intervene.
Related Verse Analysis
God's Unseen Hand at Work
Divine Providence in Human Actions
This chapter shows God working quietly through the choices and emotions of people. The courage of Moses's mother, the quick thinking of his sister, and the compassion of Pharaoh's daughter were all woven together by God to achieve His purpose of saving Moses. It teaches that God's sovereign plan doesn't override human action but often works through it.
The Preparation of a Deliverer
Moses's life is a lesson in divine preparation. His forty years in Egypt's palace gave him the education and skills of a leader, while his forty years as a humble shepherd in Midian stripped him of his pride and taught him to depend on God. God was shaping the deliverer long before the deliverance began.
Identity and Calling
Moses struggles with a dual identity - a Hebrew by birth, an Egyptian by upbringing. His attempt to assert his Hebrew identity through violence fails, showing that our true calling is not something we can seize on our own terms. It must be given and defined by God in His timing.
God's Faithfulness to His Covenant
The chapter ends by reminding us that God's actions are rooted in His promises. When God heard Israel's groaning, He "remembered his covenant." A covenant is a binding promise, and this shows that God's deliverance is not a random act of pity but a faithful fulfillment of the relationship He established with His people generations earlier.
Lessons from a Deliverer's Story
Exodus 2 shows that God can create a path to safety in the most threatening circumstances, as He did for Moses on the Nile. The faith of Moses's mother, who acted bravely in the face of a death sentence (Exodus 2:2-3), encourages you to take faithful, courageous steps, trusting that God is working in ways you cannot yet see.
Moses's attempt to be a hero on his own terms led to a long exile (Exodus 2:14-15). This teaches you that failure and seasons of waiting are often God's tools for preparation. He uses these quiet, hidden years to strip away self-reliance and build the humility and character needed for your true calling.
These four verbs in Exodus 2:24-25 offer great comfort. They mean that your struggles are not invisible or forgotten by God. He is intimately aware of your pain, He remembers His promises to you, and His knowledge is the prelude to His action. It assures you that even in silence, God is present and preparing to move.
God's Plan in Hidden Places
Exodus 2 reveals that God's grand plan of redemption often begins in quiet, desperate places. He works through the faithful defiance of a mother and the unexpected compassion of an enemy to preserve a future leader. The story of Moses shows that even when decades pass in apparent silence, God is meticulously preparing the people and circumstances for His perfect timing. The ultimate message is one of hope: our cries are never unheard, and God is always faithful to His promises.
What This Means for Us Today
The story of Moses's early life is a powerful testament to God's unseen work. It reminds us that even our failures, detours, and long seasons of waiting can be part of His preparation. Exodus 2 invites us to trust in His providence, to act with courage in our own small corners, and to believe that He sees our struggles and is moving to fulfill His promises.
- Where in your life do you need to trust that God is working behind the scenes?
- How can Moses's 40 years in the desert reshape your perspective on seasons of waiting or feeling forgotten?
- Who in your life needs to be reminded that God hears, remembers, sees, and knows their situation?
Further Reading
Immediate Context
Connections Across Scripture
In his speech before the Sanhedrin, Stephen recounts the events of Moses's birth, rescue, and flight, offering a New Testament summary of this history.
This passage highlights the faith of Moses's parents and Moses himself, who chose to suffer with God's people rather than enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin in Egypt.
This is God's original covenant promise to Abraham, foretelling that his descendants would be afflicted in a foreign land for 400 years but that God would judge the nation they served and bring them out.
Thematic Connections
This chapter parallels the story of Moses's infancy, as another wicked king, Herod, orders the slaughter of infant boys to destroy a prophesied deliverer, Jesus.
Discussion Questions
- This chapter is filled with the courageous actions of women: Jochebed, Miriam, Pharaoh's daughter, and the daughters of Reuel. How did their actions shape the course of history, and what does this teach us about our own influence?
- Moses tried to deliver his people his own way (Exodus 2:11-12) and it resulted in exile. Can you think of a time when you tried to 'help God out' and it didn't go as planned? What did you learn from that experience?
- The chapter ends with the powerful statement that God 'heard,' 'remembered,' 'saw,' and 'knew' (Exodus 2:24-25). Which of those four words brings you the most comfort today, and why?
Glossary
places
Egypt
A powerful ancient empire in northeastern Africa where the Israelites were enslaved.
Midian
A desert region in the northwestern Arabian Peninsula where Moses fled and lived as a shepherd for 40 years.
Nile River
The major river in Egypt, which Pharaoh turned into a place of death for Hebrew infants but God used as a place of salvation for Moses.
figures
Moses
The central figure of the Exodus, a Levite rescued from the Nile and chosen by God to deliver Israel from slavery.
Reuel
The priest of Midian who became Moses's father-in-law; he is also known as Jethro.
Zipporah
The daughter of Reuel and the wife of Moses.
Gershom
The firstborn son of Moses and Zipporah, whose name means 'a sojourner there.'