Matthew Henry Commentary Exodus 2
Matthew Henry Commentary
Exodus 2
Matthew Henry Commentary
Exodus 2
"And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi. And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch; and she put the child therein, and laid it in the flags by the river`s brink. And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him." — Exodus 2:1-4 (ASV)
Observe the order of Providence: just at the time when Pharaoh's cruelty rose to its height by ordering the Hebrew children to be drowned, the deliverer was born. When men are contriving the ruin of the church, God is preparing for its salvation. The parents of Moses saw he was a goodly child.
A lively faith can take encouragement from the least hint of Divine favor. It is said (Hebrews 11:23) that the parents of Moses hid him by faith; they had the promise that Israel should be preserved, which they relied upon. Faith in God's promise spurs us to use lawful means for obtaining mercy. Duty is ours, events are God's.
Faith in God will set us above the fear of man. At three months' end, when they could not hide the infant any longer, they put him in an ark of bulrushes by the river's brink, and set his sister to watch. And if the weak affection of a mother were so careful, what shall we think of Him, whose love and compassion are, like Himself, boundless?
Moses never had stronger protection around him, no, not when all the Israelites were around his tent in the wilderness, than now, when he lay alone, a helpless baby upon the waves. No water, no Egyptian can hurt him. When we seem most neglected and forlorn, God is most present with us.
"And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river-side; and she saw the ark among the flags, and sent her handmaid to fetch it. And she opened it, and saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews` children. Then said his sister to Pharaoh`s daughter, Shall I go and call thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee? And Pharaoh`s daughter said to her, Go. And the maiden went and called the child`s mother. And Pharaoh`s daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child, and nursed it. And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh`s daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses, and said, Because I drew him out of the water." — Exodus 2:5-10 (ASV)
Come, see the place where that great man, Moses, lay when he was a little child; it was in a bulrush basket by the river's side. Had he been left there long, he must have perished. But Providence brings Pharaoh's daughter to the place where this poor, forlorn infant lay and inclines her heart to pity him, which she dares to do, when no one else dared. God's care for us in our infancy ought to be often mentioned by us to His praise.
Pharaoh cruelly sought to destroy Israel, but his own daughter had pity on a Hebrew child. And not only that, but without knowing it, she preserved Israel's deliverer and provided Moses with a good nurse—his own mother. So that he might have a Hebrew nurse, Moses' sister brought his own mother to act in that capacity.
Moses was treated as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. Many who, by their birth, are obscure and poor, by surprising events of Providence, are raised high in the world, so that people may know that God rules.
"And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown up, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he saw an Egyptian smiting a Hebrew, one of his brethren. And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he smote the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand. And he went out the second day, and, behold, two men of the Hebrews were striving together: and he said to him that did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow? And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? Thinkest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely the thing is known. Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well." — Exodus 2:11-15 (ASV)
Moses boldly embraced the cause of God's people. It is plain from Hebrews 11 that this was done in faith, with the full purpose of leaving the honours, wealth, and pleasures of his rank among the Egyptians. By the grace of God he possessed faith in Christ, which overcomes the world. He was willing, not only to risk all, but also to suffer for His sake, being assured that Israel were the people of God.
By special warrant from Heaven, which makes no rule for other cases, Moses killed an Egyptian and rescued an oppressed Israelite. Also, he tried to end a dispute between two Hebrews. The reproof Moses gave may still be of use. May we not apply it to disputants who, by their fierce debates, divide and weaken the Christian church?
They forget that they are brothers. The one who did wrong quarreled with Moses. It is a sign of guilt to be angry at reproof. People do not know what they do, nor what enemies they are to themselves, when they resist and despise faithful reproofs and reprovers. Moses might have said, if this is the spirit of the Hebrews, I will go to court again, and be the son of Pharaoh's daughter.
But we must be careful not to be set against the ways and people of God by the follies and peevishness of some persons who profess religion. Moses was obliged to flee into the land of Midian. God ordered this for wise and holy purposes.
"Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father`s flock. And the shepherds came and drove them away; but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock. And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, How is it that ye are come so soon to-day? And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and moreover he drew water for us, and watered the flock. And he said unto his daughters, And where is he? Why is it that ye have left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread. And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter. And she bare a son, and he called his name Gershom; for he said, I have been a sojourner in a foreign land." — Exodus 2:16-22 (ASV)
Moses found shelter in Midian. He was ready to help Reuel's daughters water their flocks, even though he had been raised in learning and at court.
Moses loved to do justice and to act in defense of those he saw injured—which everyone ought to do, to the extent of their ability. He also loved to do good. Wherever God's providence places us, we should desire and try to be useful; and when we cannot do the good we would like, we must be ready to do the good we can.
Moses commended himself to the prince of Midian, who then married one of his daughters to Moses. With her, Moses had a son named Gershom, “a stranger there,” so that he might remember the land in which he had been a stranger.
"And it came to pass in the course of those many days, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God saw the children of Israel, and God took knowledge [of them]." — Exodus 2:23-25 (ASV)
The Israelites' bondage in Egypt continued, though the murdering of their infants did not continue. Sometimes the Lord permits the rod of the wicked to lie very long and very heavy on the lot of the righteous. At last, they began to think of God in their troubles. It is a sign that the Lord is coming towards us with deliverance when he inclines and enables us to cry to him for it.
God heard their groaning; he made it to appear that he took notice of their complaints. He remembered his covenant, of which he is ever mindful. He considered this, and not any merit of theirs. He looked upon the children of Israel.
Moses looked upon them, and pitied them; but now God looked upon them, and helped them. He had respect to them. His eyes are now fixed upon Israel, to show himself on their behalf. God is always thus, a very present help in trouble.
Take courage then, you who, conscious of guilt and bondage, are looking to Him for deliverance. God in Christ Jesus is also looking upon you. A call of love is joined with a promise of the Redeemer. Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28).
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