God saves baby Moses

The Israelites lived in Egypt. At first, the Egyptians treated them well, but then a new Pharaoh began to rule Egypt. He didn’t like the Israelites. He thought they might fight against the people of Egypt and take over the country. He made the Israelites work like slaves. He also ordered his people to kill all the Israelite’s baby boys. One mother couldn’t bear to give her baby to the Egyptians, so she hid him in her house. As the baby grew his cries became louder. After three months he was crying so loudly that people outside the house could hear him. So his mother had to make a new plan. She made a little basket out of the stems of tall grass and coated it with tar. Then she put her baby in the basket and placed the basket in the tall grass that grew along the banks of the Nile River. She told the baby’s sister, Miriam, “Stay near the baby. See what happens to him.”

Miriam stayed near her brother. Soon she saw Pharaoh’s daughter coming down to the river to take a bath.

The princess saw the basket. What could be in it? She sent her slave to fetch the basket.

The slave girl brought the basket to the princess. She opened it carefully and saw the baby. He was crying, and the princess felt sorry for the baby. Then Miriam said to the princess, “I can find a woman to breastfeed the baby for you!” “Yes. Go,” the princess said. Miriam went to fetch her mother. The princess said to the baby’s mother, “Please take this baby and feed him. I’ll pay you.” And so the baby’s mother was allowed to keep him. She looked after him until he didn’t need to drink her milk any more. Then she took him to the princess. The princess brought up the baby as if he were her own son. She called him Moses, because she had pulled him out of the water.

God wanted Moses to be a leader to his people. So he gave Moses’ mother and sister the courage to put him in the river. God sent the princess to save his life and adopt him. He made sure that Moses would live so that he could lead his people to the promised land later.

Exodus 1 and 2