who found moses in the river

"And a man of the house of Levi went and took a daughter of Levi. And the woman conceived and bore a son. And she saw him that he was fair, and hid him three months. And when she could no longer hide him, she took for him an ark of paper reeds, and cemented it with bitumen and pitch, and put the child in it, and laid [it] in the sedge, on the bank of the river. And his sister stood afar off to see what would happen to him. And the daughter of Pharaoh went down to bathe in the river; and her maids walked along by the river side. And she saw the ark in the midst of the sedge, and sent her hand-maid to fetch it. And she opened [it] and saw the child, and, behold, the boy wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is [one] of the Hebrews' children. And his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call thee a wet-nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee? And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the damsel went and called the child's mother. And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Take this child away and nurse it for me, and I will give [thee] thy wages. And the woman took the child and nursed it. And when the child was grown, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses* and said, Because I drew him out of the water " (vers. 1-10).

She had chosen the best spot in which to leave the ark, for Pharaoh's daughter came there to bathe, bringing her female attendants with her. Seeing the ark among the reeds, she sent a maid to bring it to her. Her woman's heart was tenderly affected in seeing the beautiful child and hearing him weep. She knew immediately that he was a Hebrew child, but how could she obey her father's decree that the child must be drowned? In fact, before she had time to consider what she should do, the child's sister appeared immediately and asked her if she should go and get a Hebrew woman who could nurse the child for her (v. 7).

“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. And when she had opened it, she saw the child; and, behold, the babe wept.” The child Moses “was exceeding fair;” and when the daughter of Pharaoh saw such a lovely child weeping, “she had compassion on him.” Could she order him to be thrown into the river, to die, as the king had said? No. But what could she do with so young a child? And it may be that the babe wept all the more when he looked up and saw strange faces, and not his own mother’s face. Moses’ sister now came near, and asked if she might fetch a Hebrew nurse. The princess told her so to do, and, who did she bring but the very mother of Moses.

Hence the mother was led by a wisdom above her own to commit the baby to an ark of papyrus reeds, well plastered with bitumen and pitch, and to await divine interference. The sister, who was afterwards known as not Miriam only but the "prophetess," watched at a distance, but near enough to see how her little brother would fare on the bank of the river. And who should be the first to come down to bathe near the ark but Pharaoh's daughter, she and her maids! She in God's providence saw the ark, and sent her handmaid to fetch it, and opened it and saw the child. Here again God wrought; for, "behold, the babe wept." His tears, to say nothing of his beauty, touched the heart of the princess. "She had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews' children."

We now pass on to consider the action of God in response to the faith of His people. "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," etc. (v. 5.) It is exceedingly beautiful and instructive to see God thus behind the scene arranging all for His own glory. The daughter of Pharaoh was acting from her own inclination, and for her own pleasure, and knew not that she was an instrument of the divine will. But everything — her going down to the river to bathe, the time of her doing so — all was according to the purpose of God in respect of the child who was to be the deliverer of His people. Accordingly she saw the ark, had it fetched, opened it, and saw the child; "and, behold, the babe wept." (v. 6.) Even the tears of the babe had their object, and they were not shed in vain; they excited the compassion of this royal woman, as she said, comprehending the secret, "This is one of the Hebrews' children." (v. 6.) The sister who had been anxiously watching to see what might become of her baby-brother, receives the word of wisdom at this critical juncture, and said, "Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee? And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child's mother." (vv. 7, 8.) The child Moses, who had been exposed on the river in consequence of the king of Egypt's decree, is thus restored to his mother under the protection of Pharaoh's daughter. And there he remained until he had grown, and then Jochebed "brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water." (v. 10.) His very name shall declare the power of Him who had saved him from death, brought him out of the waters of judgment in His sovereign grace and love. Thus the man of God's choice, the one He had marked out as His chosen instrument for the deliverance of His people, and to become the mediator of His covenant with them, finds shelter under the roof of Pharaoh. During this period he became learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds." (Acts 7:22.)

On the waters of the flood, the cause of death to many, the ark which hid Noah and those with him floated safely, till the dry land began again to appear. In the ark of papyrus and amid the flags in that river, into which doubtless more than one Hebrew infant had already been thrown in accordance with the king's decree, the little one, hereafter called Moses, could safely rest. Can we doubt what we have said above, that as the word used of this paper reed vessel is the same as that in which Noah and his family were preserved alive, the mother, acquainted with the salvation of the patriarch, looked to God to preserve her precious son from death? Nor was she disappointed, though surely the manner of his deliverance had not entered into her mind. But man's steps and man's heart are in God's hands, to direct as He will. By Pharaoh's decree, the child ought to have been drowned. Naturally, any one in his house might have been viewed as a relentless foe; and the last person that Jochebed would have desired to set eyes on the child was the one who first espied the frail vessel. Pharaoh's daughter saw the ark, and commanded the maid to fetch it. God had directed her steps to the spot where the ark was placed, and God touched her heart to compassionate the infant as soon as she saw it. For the little ark brought to her, and opened, her eye lighted on the infant, and the infant wept. The feelings, surely, of a woman were at once called forth; those feelings implanted in the breast by Him, one of whose creatures was that little baby. At once she perceived it was one of the proscribed race. Now was to be settled an important question. Should she side with her father, or take the part of the oppressed race? Duty, natural inclination, patriotism might have made her do the former. But the child wept, and her womanly tenderness was at once called forth. She had compassion on it, and resolved to save it, though perfectly aware it was the infant of one of the Hebrew women.

The child was beautiful. Acts 7:20 states he was (literally) "beautiful to God." For three months he was hid and then his own mother prepared the ark of bulrushes and laid him in the reeds at the river's brink, in the place of death. The word "ark" is the same as in Gen. 6:14 and the pitch with which it was daubed reminds us likewise of Noah's ark. The dark waters were kept out. It was not alone the natural love of the mother which acted, but faith. "By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful; and they were not afraid of the King's commandment" (Heb. 11:23). What faith this was! First they saved the child by faith for three months and then the mother's faith prepared the little casket, the place of safety, and in faith committed the ark of bulrushes to the river's brink. But while faith depends on God's power and trust in God's Word, it also fears nothing. They were not afraid of the king's commandment. And God acted as He always will in answer to faith. He guided Pharaoh's daughter to the very spot where the child rested with his sister standing afar off. Her faith did not fully measure up to the faith of the mother; but even this was God's leading. According to Jewish tradition the name of Pharaoh's daughter was Thermoutis. The weeping babe stirred her compassion. And what these tears accomplished! Not the smiling face, but the tear-stained countenance of sorrow, lead to the far-reaching results of deliverance. How it reminds us of Him who was the Man of Sorrows, who wept and went into the dark waters of death and judgment.

The mother receives her child again, whom she gave up in faith, and then the child becomes the son of Pharaoh's daughter, who gave him the Egyptian name "Moses," which means "saved from the water." The beautiful faith of Moses' mother here meets its full rewards; Satan is confounded; and the marvelous wisdom of God is displayed. Who would have thought that the one who had said, "if it be a son, then ye shall kill him," and, again, "Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river," should have in his court one of those very sons, and such a son. The devil was foiled by his own weapon, inasmuch as Pharaoh, whom he was using to frustrate the purpose of God, is used of God to nourish and bring up Moses, who was to be His instrument in confounding the power of Satan. Remarkable providence! Admirable wisdom! Truly, Jehovah is "wonderful in counsel and excellent in working." May we learn to trust Him with more artless simplicity, and thus our path shall be more brilliant, and our testimony more effective. (C.H. Mackintush, Exodus)

Who is this that steps down to the river’s side to bathe? She is evidently of high rank. She is accompanied by her maidens, who respectfully wait on her. She espies the ark among the flags, and sending her maid to fetch it, and opening its lid she sees the beautiful healthy child—“a proper child”—and behold, the child weeps.

Presently Pharaoh's daughter, accompanied by her ladies, drew near. Her eye caught sight of the ark, and she bade one of her attendants fetch it. The lid was lifted up, and, as this was done, the waking child wept at the strange faces. Her royal heart was touched. "This is one of the Hebrew children," said she, and the wise sister who had drawn near, with the wit of love suggested a nurse for the babe. And then by command, she ran and fetched the babe's mother for the happy service. Thus was Jochebed attached to the palace as a servant of Pharaoh's daughter, and her child was safe!

"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. 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." Here, then, the divine response begins to break, in sweetest accents, on the ear of faith. God was in all this. Rationalism, or scepticism, or infidelity, or atheism, may laugh at such an idea. And faith can laugh also; but the two kinds of laughter are very different. The former laughs, in cold contempt, at the thought of divine interference in the trifling affair of a royal maiden's walk by the river's side. The latter laughs, with real heart-felt gladness, at the thought that God is in everything. And, assuredly, if ever God was in anything, He was in this walk of Pharaoh's daughter, though she knew it not.