Moses’ Early Life – Exodus 1-3

The Story in a Nutshell

Joseph and his brothers experienced years of prosperity, and the Israelites multiplied in number.  But eventually, Joseph and all his brothers die.  In time a new king comes into power.  He knows nothing about Joseph and his favor with the Pharaoh.  The new king is fearful of the growing number of Israelites and is afraid they will take power from him, so he makes them slaves.  He doesn’t want anymore Israelites.  He tells the midwives to kill all new male Israelite babies.  However, one midwife doesn’t obey and Moses is born.  He is protected by God and even grows up in the house of the new Pharaoh.  One day after Moses had grown up, he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew. It made him mad.  He killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand.  However, his act of murder is discovered and the king tries to kill him.  Moses flees and escapes to Midian.  He spends many years there -- he marries, has a son, and becomes a sheepherder.  One day while tending sheep the Angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in a burning bush (strange, there was fire, but the bush wasn’t burning).  Moses goes over to the bush where God calls out to him.  God tells Moses of his concern for the Israelites – oppression by the Egyptians.  God tells Moses that he is sending him to Pharaoh to rescue his people and to bring the Israelites out of Egypt. But Moses doesn’t want to go because he feels he is a “nobody”, just a sheepherder.  To encourage Moses, God tells him he will be with him all the way and he gives him specific instructions on what to do to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.

Review Questions

What happened when the Pharaoh died and a new king came into power?

How was the new king going to keep the Israelites from increasing in number?

What did one mid-wife do?

Who raised Moses?

What happened one day after Moses grew up?

What did Moses do after he fled Egypt?

What happened one day while Moses was tending sheep?

How did Moses feel when God told him what he wanted him to do?

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