Living in the Spirit

August 17, 2020

Scripture Reading: Exodus 1:8-2:10

Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, ‘Every boy that is born to the Hebrews you shall throw into the Nile, but you shall let every girl live.’

Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman. The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him for three months. When she could hide him no longer she got a papyrus basket for him, and plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the river. His sister stood at a distance, to see what would happen to him.

The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her attendants walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to bring it. When she opened it, she saw the child. He was crying, and she took pity on him. ‘This must be one of the Hebrews’ children,’ she said. Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, ‘Shall I go and get you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?’ Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Yes.’ So the girl went and called the child’s mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages.’ So the woman took the child and nursed it. When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and she took him as her son. She named him Moses, ‘because’, she said, ‘I drew him out of the water.’ –Exodus 1:22-2:10

Women held higher status in Egypt in antiquity than was true among most of its neighbors. Six women served as Pharaoh or queen. In some instances, they ruled as regents for minor sons who inherited the throne, but in other cases like Cleopatra, they claimed their rule. Thus, the daughter of Pharaoh probably had the authority to adopt a child from among the slaves. I have always thought that the Pharaoh’s daughter, Moses’s mother, and his sister all knew precisely what was going on as they played out this scene. When the Pharaoh’s daughter saw the child in the basket, she knew he was Hebrew. She probably also knew that Moses’s mother became his wet nurse. The story never mentions whether Pharaoh’s daughter had other children. She had the desire to save one child. I wonder whether she attempted to save the others.

We see this same thing happen in our times. A very sick and appealing child appears on the evening news in need of some expensive health care. The public works diligently to make sure the child gets the attention needed without regard to the thousands of children just like this child who required the same treatment. I am glad the one child received appropriate care. I wish all such children received the justice they deserved. I guess the adult Moses felt the same way as he led the Israelites out of Egypt, out of slavery. Perhaps his Hebrew mother planted the seed of righteousness in his heart. Perhaps his adopted mother enabled him to do what she could not. I guess we will never know.

What we do know is that we are all called to do justice. Oppression of many types awaits our attention throughout our world.

Prayer: Lord, help us see and care for the oppressed one before us, and to end the systemic oppression that caused the problem in the first place. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.