HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 423
EXODUS 3
page 53
hidden for three months. 3 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. 4 The baby’s sister then stood at a
distance, watching to see what would happen
to him.
5 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. 6 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.
7 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.
8 “Yes, do!” the princess replied. So the girl
went and called the baby’s mother.
9 “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.
10 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.”
Moses Escapes to Midian
11 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. 12 After looking in all directions to make sure no one was
watching, Moses killed the Egyptian and hid the
body in the sand.
13 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.
14 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.” 15 And sure enough, Pharaoh
heard what had happened, and he tried to kill
Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and went
to live in the land of Midian.
When Moses arrived in Midian, he sat down
beside a well. 16 Now the priest of Midian had
seven daughters who came as usual to draw
water and fill the water troughs for their father’s
flocks. 17 But some other shepherds came and
2:10 Moses sounds like a Hebrew term that means “to lift
out.” 2:22 Gershom sounds like a Hebrew term that means
“a foreigner there.” 2:25 Or and acknowledged his obligation
to help them. 3:1a Moses’ father-in-law went by two names,
Jethro and Reuel. 3:1b Hebrew Horeb, another name for Sinai.
chased them away. So Moses jumped up and
rescued the girls from the shepherds. Then he
drew water for their flocks.
18 When the girls returned to Reuel, their
father, he asked, “Why are you back so soon
today?”
19 “An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds,” they answered. “And then he drew
water for us and watered our flocks.”
20 “Then where is he?” their father asked.
“Why did you leave him there? Invite him to
come and eat with us.”
21 Moses accepted the invitation, and he
settled there with him. In time, Reuel gave
Moses his daughter Zipporah to be his wife.
22 Later she gave birth to a son, and Moses
named him Gershom,* for he explained, “I have
been a foreigner in a foreign land.”
23 Years passed, and the king of Egypt died.
But the Israelites continued to groan under
their burden of slavery. They cried out for help,
and their cry rose up to God. 24 God heard their
groaning, and he remembered his covenant
promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 25 He
looked down on the people of Israel and knew
it was time to act.*
Moses and the Burning Bush
One day Moses was tending the flock of
his father-in-law, Jethro,* the priest of Midian. He led the flock far into the wilderness and
came to Sinai,* the mountain of God. 2 There the
angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing
fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in
amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in
flames, it didn’t burn up. 3 “This is amazing,”
Moses said to himself. “Why isn’t that bush
burning up? I must go see it.”
4 When the Lord saw Moses coming to take a
3
• Thankfulness
E XODU S 1:8
Through Joseph, God had saved the land
of Egypt from starvation. But that was
400 years earlier. This new pharaoh didn’t
know anything about what Joseph had
done so long ago. Time blurs a thankful
spirit—in a nation and in a person.
Have you forgotten something special
someone did for you? Have you allowed
your thankfulness for Christ’s work on
the cross to fade? Let your Bible daily stir
your memory of God’s great works for
you. Then remember to thank him! And
while you’re at it, remember to express
thanks to a friend or loved one who
deserves it too.