Many know about Moses and how he was a great and dynamic leader who was used by God to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. People probably know about how God brought salvation to the people of Israel because of Moses’s faithfulness, prayer and courage. Sometimes when teaching about Moses, we focus so much on him that we fail to remember the people in the story who helped him become the incredible leader and prophet he was. If we look carefully at the beginning of the story of Moses, we will see that the story of salvation in the book of Exodus starts before the calling of Moses with a group of faithful women.

At the beginning of Exodus, we see that the Israelites were growing in number and so, Pharaoh decided to implement a rule saying that all Hebrew baby boys should be killed. Pharaoh talks directly to the head midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, and tells them exactly what he wants them to do. However, these courageous and God-fearing women went against Pharaoh’s commands, and instead allowed all the Hebrew baby boys to live. They chose to ignore Pharaoh’s unjust command and saved the lives of many. In fact, we see that their courageous act was the first time young Moses was “saved” by a woman.

The story of Moses continues with Pharaoh commanding that all Hebrew baby boys should be thrown into the Nile River. Once again, we are told a woman decided to ignore Pharaoh’s unjust command. After Moses was born, his mother hid him for three months. Each day, she would have been frightened that they would be caught and her child would be taken and killed. After three months, unable to hide him any longer, she builds a basket, lays him in and puts it in the Nile River. Notice that Pharaoh commanded all Hebrew baby boys to be thrown into the Nile; now we have an image of young Moses safely floating above the chaos of the water. We see the second time that young Moses was “saved” by a woman.

As young Moses floats, we are told that Pharaoh’s daughter comes down to the water and finds Moses in the basket. Immediately, she can tell that this is a Hebrew child. She knew her father’s command but chose to ignore it, deciding that she would raise this child as her own. Can you imagine the conversation she must have had with her father? Can you imagine Pharaoh being the grandfather to one of the children he commanded to kill? Here we see the third time that young Moses was “saved” by a woman.

Last but not least, we hear about Moses’s older sister Miriam. The whole time that Moses was floating on the Nile River, she was hiding in the reeds, watching and protecting him. When Pharaoh’s daughter found him, Miriam wisely spoke up and offered to help. Her boldness, courage and quick-thinking led to Moses’s birth mother being paid by Pharaoh’s daughter to raise Moses on her behalf. For a fourth time, we see that young Moses was “saved” by a woman.  

The story of the salvation of the Israelites  from Egypt does not start and end with Moses, but rather, it’s a part of a larger narrative of God’s love. God used a group of five women to love and protect Moses so that he could grow into the man that God wanted him to be. 

• February 1:  Exodus 1:1-14
• February 2:  Exodus 1:15-22
• February 3:  Exodus 2:1-10
• February 4:  Exodus 2:11-23
• February 5:  Exodus 3:1-4:17
• February 6:  Exodus 3:18-31
• February 7:  Exodus 5:1-21
• February 8:  Exodus 5:22-6:12
• February 9:  Exodus 6:28-7:7
• February 10:  Exodus 7:8-13
• February 11:  Exodus 7:14-24
• February 12:  Exodus 7:25-8:15 
• February 13:  Exodus 8:16-19
• February 14:  Exodus 8:20-32
• February 15:  Exodus 9:1-7
• February 16:  Exodus 9:8-12
• February 17:  Exodus 9:13-35, Matthew  6: 1-6. 16-18
• February 18:  Exodus 10:1-20, Luke 9: 22-25
• February 19:  Exodus 10:21-29, Matthew 9: 14-15
• February 20:  Exodus 11, Luke 5: 27-32
• February 21:  Exodus 12:1-20, Mark 1: 12-15
• February 22:  Exodus 12:31-42, Matthew 16: 13-19
• February 23:  Exodus 12:43-51, Matthew 6: 7-15
• February 24:  Exodus 13:17-14:31, Luke 11: 29-32
• February 25:  Exodus 15:1-21,  Matthew 7: 7-12
• February 26:  Exodus 15:22-27, Matthew 5: 20-26
• February 27:  Exodus 16, Matthew 5: 43-48
• February 28:  Exodus 17, Mark 9: 2-10