Immerse: Beginnings Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 98
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IMMERSE
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BEGINNINGS
1:20–2:15
replied. “They are more vigorous and have their babies so quickly that we
cannot get there in time.”
So God was good to the midwives, and the Israelites continued to multiply, growing more and more powerful. And because the midwives feared
God, he gave them families of their own.
Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Throw every newborn
Hebrew boy into the Nile River. But you may let the girls live.”
About this time, a man and woman from the tribe of Levi got married.
The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She saw that he
was a special baby and kept him hidden for three months. But when she
could no longer hide him, she got a basket made of papyrus reeds and
waterproofed it with tar and pitch. She put the baby in the basket and laid
it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile River. The baby’s sister then
stood at a distance, watching to see what would happen to him.
Soon Pharaoh’s daughter came down to bathe in the river, and her attendants walked along the riverbank. When the princess saw the basket
among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it for her. When the princess
opened it, she saw the baby. The little boy was crying, and she felt sorry
for him. “This must be one of the Hebrew children,” she said.
Then the baby’s sister approached the princess. “Should I go and find
one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?” she asked.
“Yes, do!” the princess replied. So the girl went and called the baby’s
mother.
“Take this baby and nurse him for me,” the princess told the baby’s
mother. “I will pay you for your help.” So the woman took her baby home
and nursed him.
Later, when the boy was older, his mother brought him back to Pharaoh’s daughter, who adopted him as her own son. The princess named
him Moses, for she explained, “I lifted him out of the water.”
Many years later, when Moses had grown up, he went out to visit his own
people, the Hebrews, and he saw how hard they were forced to work. During his visit, he saw an Egyptian beating one of his fellow Hebrews. After
looking in all directions to make sure no one was watching, Moses killed
the Egyptian and hid the body in the sand.
The next day, when Moses went out to visit his people again, he saw two
Hebrew men fighting. “Why are you beating up your friend?” Moses said
to the one who had started the fight.
The man replied, “Who appointed you to be our prince and judge? Are
you going to kill me as you killed that Egyptian yesterday?”
Then Moses was afraid, thinking, “Everyone knows what I did.” And
