“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.””
At first glance, this seems like a small story.
A baby is placed in a basket among the reeds of the Nile. Pharaoh’s daughter comes to bathe. She discovers the child. His mother is brought in to care for him. The boy grows up in Pharaoh’s household.
It’s a bit unusual. Certainly, you don’t find a baby floating down the river every day. It’s also notable that Pharaoh’s daughter chose to keep a Hebrew baby, however still it seems relatively small.
But behind the scenes, God is at work.
The backdrop to this story is one of fear and oppression. Pharaoh has ordered that Hebrew baby boys be thrown into the Nile. Israel is suffering under slavery. The future looks bleak.
And yet, in the middle of that darkness, God preserves one child.
He didn’t perform a miracle that parts the heavens, nor did He send fire or thunder. Instead, God worked through a mother’s courage, a sister’s watchful eye, and even the compassion of an Egyptian princess.
God’s hand is present in every detail, even though His name is never mentioned in these verses.
That’s one of the beautiful things about this passage. It reminds us that God is often working in ways we do not immediately recognize.
We tend to look for dramatic interventions. We want obvious signs. We look for miraculous healings or an audible voice from God. But much of God’s work happens in ways that are hidden.
Martin Luther described this as the “masks of God”. We see a person or a medicine or check, but it’s God working behind those masks.
Looking back, we sometimes realize that God was arranging far more than we understood in the moment.
Moses certainly did not know what lay ahead. Neither did his mother. None of them could see that this rescued child would one day stand before Pharaoh, lead Israel out of Egypt, and become one of the greatest figures in biblical history.
But God knew.
The child floating in a basket was already part of God’s plan to deliver His people.
And that same truth can comfort us today.
There are moments when life feels uncertain and God’s purposes seem hidden. We cannot see where the story is going. We wonder if anything meaningful is happening at all. There are also moments that seem perfectly ordinary. We don’t even realize a story is being told.
Yet God is never absent from the details.
He is working through circumstances, people, and events that may seem ordinary today. The threads He is weaving may not become clear until much later.
For now, faith trusts what sight cannot see: the God who preserved Moses is still guiding history, still caring for His people, and still accomplishing His purposes.
Faith also creates a heart of gratitude. For even though something may seem ordinary or human, we know God is at work, caring, providing, healing, and working all things for good.
Let’s pray…
Heavenly Father,
Thank You that You are at work even when I cannot see it. Help me trust You in the ordinary moments of life and remember that Your plans are greater than my understanding. Give me confidence that You are guiding my path and caring for me day by day. I pray that I would always be thankful even when I can’t see through the masks. In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
As part of your devotion time, I encourage you to also pray for at least some of the following:
After praying for these people, you may want to finish your devotion time with the Lord’s Prayer…
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. They will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and every. Amen.
In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Kurt
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