A Princess Finds A Basket
| By : Jyoti Gupta ( Posted on :30 Dec, 2005 ) | Total Views : 469 | Previous | Next |
Joseph was a dearly loved ruler in the kingdom of Egypt. His faith in God and his wisdom had saved the country from famine and the people from starvation. Pharaoh, the King of Egypt, had made Joseph second in command. Nothing was kept from him, except that, because he was not an Egyptian, he could not become king. Joseph's only wish was that his family could come and live in Egypt, so he asked Pharaoh for land so that his family could build their homes and bring their herds of animals. Pharaoh was happy to grant Joseph his wish and gave Joseph's family an area of land called Goshen.
Goshen was the perfect place for Joseph's family. There was plenty of water and green grass for the herds, and the family grew and became prosperous. Joseph and his brothers eventually grew old and died, but his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren continued to enjoy life in Goshen.
Pharaoh also grew old died, and a new Pharaoh took his place as the King of Egypt. Now, this new Pharaoh didn't remember Joseph and all the good things he had done for the kingdom. He noticed that the people of Israel (Joseph's family) were strong and prosperous. He also noticed that they had become a large nation within Egypt. Pharaoh worried that the people of Israel would turn against the Egyptians, start a war, and possibly even take over the kingdom. He and his advisors decided that something must be done.
They caused the Egyptian people to hate the people of Israel. They made the Israelites work as slaves, beating them, and making them work hard in the fields and making bricks for the new cities that Pharaoh was building. But even through the terrible hardship, the people of Israel continued to thrive and were prosperous. This made Pharaoh even angrier. He had a meeting with the nurses and told them to kill all the boy babies that were born into Israelite families. The nurses knew that this was a terrible thing and they wouldn't do it. They disobeyed Pharaoh.
Seeing that his plan wasn't working, Pharaoh sent word to all the towns and villages telling all the people that every Israelite baby boy was to be drowned in the river, but all the baby girls were allowed to live. It was a horrible law, and most people were afraid to disobey Pharaoh so many babies died.
But . . .
. . . A man named Amram and a lady named Jochebed loved and trusted God. They knew it was wrong to kill their new baby. They loved him and cuddled him. They fed him and played with him. But they were very careful not to let anyone know about the baby. How awful it must have been to have to keep that big secret! They kept the baby hidden as long they could, but it was becoming harder and harder. The baby grew stronger and his cries were becoming louder. It soon became impossible to keep the baby quiet. They knew they could no longer keep the baby hidden at home.
Jochebed had an idea. She made a strong basket bed out of the rushes that grew along the river's edge. Amram coated it with pitch, which made the basket waterproof. Jochebed placed a soft blanket in the basket, placed the baby inside, and covered him to keep him warm. She put a lid on the basket. Then . . .
. . . she placed the basket in the river. She told Miriam, the baby's big sister, to hide in the rushes and watch over the basket. Miriam found a good hiding place and waited quietly. She was anxious to see what was going to happen, but she was also afraid.
What if she wasn't hidden well enough? What if someone saw her and wanted to know why she was hiding? What if the basket floated away and she couldn't see it? She was so full of questions, and it was so hard to just stay and wait! Sometimes she wished she could just go play with the other girls, but she knew she had to obey. Besides, she loved her little, baby brother so much, she just had to stay and see what might happen.
As she sat quietly, she heard a whimper, then a little cry. "OH, NO!" she thought. "Ple-e-e-ease don't cry!" But the baby was crying and there was nothing she could do about it. She sat fearfully, almost in tears herself, wondering if anyone else was around and if anyone else heard the baby crying.
"What is that?" she thought, bolting upright with a start. She was hearing a rustling among the rushes. As quietly as she could, Miriam inched herself closer to the river and moved a few leaves to the side so she could get a better look. What she saw made her shudder with dismay.
Truly it couldn't get any worse than this! It was Pharaoh's own daughter, the Princess, and her maids coming down to the river. Miriam hoped against hope that the Princess wouldn't see the little basket and wouldn't hear the baby cry.
Her hopes were dashed when she heard the Princess tell her maids to get the basket for her. With a heart full of fear, Miriam watched as the Princess opened the basket. Would she take the baby out of the basket and throw him into the river to drown? Miriam almost couldn't bear to look.
What a surprise it was when she saw the Princess reach into the basket and lovingly pick up the baby! As she patted him gently to stop the crying, she exclaimed to her maids, "This must be one of the Israelite's babies. He is so cute! I think I will keep him for myself."
When Miriam saw that the Princess was kind and had compassion for the baby, she quickly rushed out of her hiding place. Excited and out of breath, she could hardly get her words out as she spoke to the Princess. "Would - Would - you like me to f-find a woman to care for the baby and be his nurse?" she asked.
The Princess looked kindly at Miriam. "Please do," she replied softly.
With joy, Miriam hopped and skipped as fast as she could back to her own home and quickly brought her own mother to meet the Princess.
The Princess, not knowing that Jochebed was the baby's mother, asked her to take the baby home, feed him and care for him. She even offered to pay for all his expenses! When the baby grew into a young boy, Jochebed returned him to the Princess who adopted him as her own son. The Princess named the baby "Moses" because she had found him in the water. God worked out a marvelous situation. Moses, the slave child, grew up in the palace of Pharaoh!
