What the Girl Saw

Imagine you live in Egypt in the summertime. Imagine you are the King’s daughter, and decide one day to go down to the river to bathe and refresh yourself. Imagine that you notice something unusual floating in the water, something that doesn’t belong there; a basket, floating among the reeds. You send one of your servants to fetch the basket and when you look inside you discover a crying baby! Now what; do you push the basket back out into the river or do you give the baby a chance at life? Remember, the Nile River was as dangerous then as now. There were huge crocodiles, venomous spiders, Red Cobras, hippos, mosquitoes with malaria, treacherous rapids; oppressive heat on the water, numerous diseases and the water was unsanitary to drink. It was not possible to eliminate all the risks a baby in a basket would face on the Nile. What was the servant girl to do, push the basket back, out into the river for the crocs?

Pharaoh had ordered that any baby boy born to the Israelites staying in the land must be killed! One mother (Jochebed) decided to try and save her boy. She put him in a waterproof basket and deliberately let the basket float by an area where Pharaoh’s daughter frequented. The Israelite mother even had her daughter watching the basket to see what would happen. When the baby was discovered, the girl watching came to Pharaoh’s daughter and offered a suggestion. She told her that this was an Israelite baby: would she like her to get an Israelite woman to nurse the baby for her? Pharaoh’s daughter decided to keep the baby and raise him as her own. The nursemaid turned out to be the baby’s own mother! And not by coincidence either.

Mother and daughter rehearsed over and over until the plan was ready to be put into action. Can you imagine God watching the entire episode? The girl saw her baby brother saved from death. The mother saw her child spared and raised with unlimited potential. Pharaoh’s daughter saw her life filled with the care and nurturing of a baby. God saw his plan executed flawlessly and the Israelite nation gained saw their earthly redeemer. You may know the baby boy as Moses who later confronted the mighty Pharaoh about releasing God’s people from bondage.

What do you see in the story? We hope you see the providential hand of God at work through human hands. Whether it was centuries ago or seconds ago, that same Hand of Providence is still at work. Maybe we should look closer.