Pharoah’s Daughter and the Quest for a Rescue

By: Rebekah Hargraves

Photo Courtesy of: Neil Thomas

“Then the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river. And her maidens walked along the riverside; and when she saw the ark among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it. And when she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby wept. So she had compassion on him, and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you?” And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the maiden went and called the child’s mother. Then 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. And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. So she called his name Moses, saying, “Because I drew him out of the water.” ~Exodus 2:5-10

If you think about it, Pharoah’s daughter was an incredibly bold, principled, fearless woman. Here she was, the daughter of the reigning leader of all Egypt at the time, and she intentionally and willfully went against his wrongful decree. Because he feared that the Hebrews’ ever-increasing population numbers would lead to their outnumbering his own people and therefore would lead to their overthrowing his rule, the pharaoh had ordered that all baby boys born to the Hebrews be killed upon birth.

One such baby, Moses, had a birth mother who refused to give up on him. His mother had had two midwives who refused to murder the baby they had just delivered into the world. And now, upon Pharoah’s daughter’s discovery of this little baby floating all alone in a basket on the Nile, she, too, decides to be one of the female heroes in Moses’ life story.

For years I never thought about the bravery which would have been required for Pharoah’s daughter to do this. To rescue the baby and decide to bring him up as her own at a time when her father surely could have deciphered that this was a Hebrew baby was quite the daring move! But as full of dire consequences her actions could have potentially been, she nevertheless chose to do what she knew was right - she rescued the little baby.

No doubt Moses’ birth mother thought his situation looked dire and hopeless. Though she had concealed his existence from the Egyptians as long as she could following his birth, the day nevertheless came when she knew she must relinquish him into God’s hands and hope for the best. But now as a mother myself, I can only imagine the anxiety she experienced and she hoped and prayed for rescue for her son but feared there would be none.

If there is something this amazing story shows us, however it is that Moses’ God is a God of rescue. He had a plan for that little baby’s life, even in the midst of incredibly dark and terrible circumstances. All along He had a plan that would involve this baby growing up to become the one Whom God would use to rescue His people from their years-long enslavement under Pharoah. It didn’t make sense to Moses’ mother how things could possibly work out, but they did, because our God is a God of rescue.

The same goes for where He has you right here, right now, in this Lenten season. I don’t know what your current life circumstances are looking like. I don’t know what you are in need of being rescued from. I have no idea. But God does. And He hasn’t fallen asleep at the wheel. He hasn’t forgotten about you. And He certainly isn’t chomping His proverbial fingernails trying to figure out what He is going to do about your situation and how on earth He is going to come to your rescue. 

Whatever you are experiencing, God’s got this. He’s got you. And your rescuer and helper will not tarry, will not delay, and will not forsake you in your pain and in your trial. Psalm 18:1-3 says, “I will love You, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies.”

This was true for David, and it is true for you, too. Do you need rescued today? Are you striving to find hope, to discover answers, to know what to do in this unbearably dark season? Look to the Lord. He is your Rescuer. And you need but rest in Him, ceasing from your striving and worry. “For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: “In returning and rest you shall be saved; In quietness and confidence shall be your strength (Isaiah 30:15a)”.