#19 2:2, 5-9 Protection of the Human Deliverer Part B

In verse two and verses five through nine we encounter the second way in which God protected Moses early in his life: God worked through natural instincts to protect Moses as a baby.

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.

5 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, and said, This is one of the Hebrews' children.

7 Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee?

8 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child's mother.

9 And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the women took the child, and nursed it.

We see in these verses at least two primary ways that God used natural human instinct to protect Moses as a baby. The first evidence of this Divine protection through natural instincts is expressed in Exodus 2:2: …she saw him that he was a goodly child...” The Hebrew here is interesting in its other Scripture connections. It is the same word God uses to describe His creative acts in Genesis (7X),[1] where God looked upon His creative work and saw that is “was good.” He was well satisfied with the fruit of His work.

The same Hebrew word is also used in defining how the “sons of God” saw “the daughters of men that they were fair” in Genesis 6:2, just before the Flood. Thus, we construe that Moses, as a newborn baby, was fair to behold, inducing “satisfaction” when being looked upon.

Compare this with Acts 7:20, which tells us that Moses “was exceeding fair.” Hebrews 11:23 adds that Moses “was a proper child.” The Greek here literally means “elegant of body.” All of this makes it very clear that as a newborn baby and an infant Moses was very pleasant in appearance. God clearly used this reality to protect Moses.

The second evidence of this Divine protection through natural instincts is expressed in verses five through nine. It is in these verses that we encounter the maternal instinct of Pharaoh’s daughter. Notice especially in verse 6, where we are told that, upon opening the ark, “she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him.” Her maternal instinct resulted in her having strong compassion upon Moses, even though she knew that her father had ordered that all male Hebrew babies were to be thrown into the river to drown.

In verses seven through nine we find that Pharaoh’s daughter was so taken with the baby that she sent her servant to find a nursemaid from among the Hebrew women (Moses’ own mother) until the baby could be fully weaned. Not only was Moses now safe, but he was with his own family, and his mother was paid to take care of him! Remember, God is able to use the unsaved to further His redemptive purposes in ways that we could never envision!

[1] Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31