The Origin of Moses

Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it. When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews' children.” Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, “Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, “Go.” So the girl went and called the child's mother. And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.” (Exodus 2: 5 to 10)

Moses was named by Pharaoh's daughter, not by his own parents. In the Bible, God would name His chosen ones before they were born or rename them afterward to emphasize His plan for the people. Yet, the name Moses that meant drawn out of the water was not named by God directly, but probably matched with God's plan for Moses. The name Hebrew also meant "those across the river" to refer to Abraham and his descendants. So, the one who was drawn out of the water to lead the ones who had crossed the river to cross back the river seemed to be a perfect fit. It also reminded Moses of God's plan for him. As a matter of fact, to cross the river to separate with the world is mandatory for everyone who is being saved. Because after being saved, we are all the descendants of Abraham by faith as described in the Bible below.

Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. (Galatians 3: 7 to 9)

In order to train Morses to be a true Hebrew, God forced Morses to leave his comfort zone as described below.

One day, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked at their burdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people. He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. When he went out the next day, behold, two Hebrews were struggling together. And he said to the man in the wrong, “Why do you strike your companion?” He answered, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, and thought, “Surely the thing is known.” When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian. And he sat down by a well. (Exodus 2: 11 to 15)

The self-exile was not only physically but also mentally for Moses. Because he thought that he was saving a fellow Israelis life by taking an Egyptian's life, yet his own people betrayed him by exposing him. Because of that Pharaoh sought to kill him. So, he was rejected by both Israelites and Egyptians. No wonder Moses fled to Midian and never intended to go back to his people in Egypt. That's how thorough God's work on Moses. For Moses, he might be desperate and think that's the end of his world. Yet for God, it's just a beginning. Emmanuel.

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