4574
Pt. 1
I like to think I am well-versed in Judeo-Christian scripture.
However, I “ran across” a bit of biblical history this week with which I was
totally unfamiliar.
But allow me to begin at the beginning.
I attended a church Sunday in which I will be serving as a
pastoral counselor, and I was provided the opportunity to share my ministry
with the congregation. Having shared my mission with the parishioners, I sat
down, and prepared to listen as the Pastor waxed eloquent. I was not
disappointed.
Following is his initial scripture text from the Book of
Exodus, Chapter 2:1-10
“Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a
son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. But when she could hide him no longer, she got a
papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then
she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of
the Nile. His sister stood at a distance to
see what would happen to him.
“Then
Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were
walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent
her female slave to get it. She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry
for him. ‘This is one of the Hebrew babies,’ she said.
“Then
his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, ‘Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew
women to nurse the baby for you?’
“‘Yes,
go,’ she answered. So, the girl went and got the baby’s mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Take this
baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.’ So, the woman took the baby and
nursed him. When the child grew older, she took
him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him
Moses, saying, ‘I drew him out of the water.’”
Pt. 2
I find it interesting that in the preceding passage of
scripture, four of five 0f the primary characters go unnamed. The baby in the
basket is none other than Moses. His father is Amram. His mother is Jochebed.
His sister is Miriam. We learn the identity of Pharaoh’s daughter a bit later.
One of the best known persons in ancient Egypt has gone down
to the Jordan River to bathe, when she notices a basket floating in the reeds.
With this, she sends one of her attendants to fetch it.
And it is here that the providence of Almighty God begins to
play itself out. Of course, Pharaoh has pronounced an edict that the newborn
sons of the Hebrews should be killed; (and, no doubt, some were, though many
were spared by midwives who feared God, and disobeyed the king’s order).
However, Pharaoh’s daughter, (we shall get to her given name
soon), is compelled to ignore her father’s edict. (A tendency she will embrace
and emulate the remainder of her natural life).
Moses’ sister Miriam ‘just happens’ to be standing nearby, and
she asks Bithiah, (for this is her name), if she’d like her to locate a Hebrew
woman to nurse the little fella for her. Of course, unbeknownst to Princess
Bithiah, Miriam is Moses’ sister, and the chosen wet nurse is none other than
Moses’ and Miriam’s mother.
It occurs to me that in our day and time had Jochebed put
Moses in a basket and sent him floating down a nearby river, well, she would,
no doubt, be arrested for child endangerment. However, the authorities in our
day and time could not have factored in the foreknowledge and wisdom of God in
this perilous time when every male child of Israel was a cat’s whisker away
from death.
Pt. 3
The scripture is not clear about the length of time which
transpires during which Jochebed nurses baby Moses, nor the additional years he
may have spent with his natural mother prior to being returned to Princess
Bithiah, the daughter of Pharaoh.
Talk about providence! Bithiah has unknowingly,
unintentionally returned the little river waft to his biological parents for a
season. And during this season, the Hebrew toddler is, as it were, stamped with
the official seal of the ruler of all Egypt, and is, as a result, immune to the
awful fate which befalls thousands of other little Jewish boys.
However, (and it’s a very big ‘however’), I am convinced that
during this time frame, Jochebed and Amram are diligent in obeying the command
in the Book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 11:18-21
“ Fix these Words
of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind
them on your foreheads. Teach them to your
children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along
the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write
them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in
the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors, as many as the days that the
heavens are above the earth.”
And not only am I convinced that Moses’ parents are diligent
to share the life-changing Words of the Creator with their little boy, I am
equally convinced that when the son of Jochebed and Amram is returned to
Bithiah, God uses him to desperately impact his Egyptian step-mother; by his
words, mindsets, attitude and behavior.
Pt. 4
Of course, it will be decades before the “I AM” of both our
earthly and heavenly existence begins to ‘show out’ in the life of Moses. But
‘show out’ He will. And ‘show out’ He does!
Who can forget the burning bush? Who can forget God’s command
to Moses? Who can forget Moses’ ultimatum to Pharaoh?
We cannot be sure who serves as Pharaoh during the time of the
Exodus. However, it seems very likely that he is related to Bithiah, Moses’
step mother, and that he is related by adoption to Moses, himself!
Of course, it is only natural to wonder what has become of
Bithiah, the Egyptian princess, during the long years of Moses’ obscurity. Has
she been lost to history, or does scripture provide us any further information
about her fate? Perhaps the previous question is a bit rhetorical in nature
since after half a lifetime, Bithiah “shows up” again.
It goes without saying that the pressure on this Egyptian
princess to conform to royal expectations and accepted values must be extreme.
But yet, tradition tells us that (drum roll) Bithiah’s biological son is the
one and only Egyptian firstborn male who escapes the Death Angel; when he
passes by in the dark of the night. Where ever the princess and young prince
happen to be at that moment, it seems obvious that Moses has forewarned them of
the impending doom of the firstborn sons of Egypt, and has pleaded with his
stepmother to observe the life-saving ritual of the lamb’s blood. So
reminiscent of Pharaoh’s order that the newborn sons of Israel should be
killed, and the grace which befell many of them when they were spared by
conscientious midwives. And, oh, the irony. Whereas, the princess spared Moses
the awful edict of the Egyptian king, her own son was spared the ultimate edit
of THE KING of the universe.
Pt. 5
There is an interesting passage of scripture in the Book of
Hebrews Chapter 11:24-26
“ By faith Moses,
when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather
than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He
regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the
treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.”
Yes, Moses has long since made a decision to renounce the
trappings of royalty, and it seems he sets a very high standard for his
stepmother Princess Bithiah, and his unnamed Egyptian stepbrother.
For we have this curious little passage in 1st
Chronicles Chapter 4:18 which, as Paul Harvey was prone to say, clarifies “the
rest of the story,” and settles it once and for all for us. Speaking of those
people who walked across the temporary pathway which appeared beneath the
turbulent waves of the Red Sea; (and which when Pharaoh and his soldiers
attempted to do were drowned)…
“And these are the sons of Bithiah, the daughter of Pharaoh,
which Mered, (the Hebrew) took for himself.”
For you see, this former Princess of Egypt had renounced the
riches and titles of Egypt, had embraced God and the people of God, and walked
away from those whom she knew and loved.
We know so little about Princess Bithiah, as comparatively
little has been written about her. But I think, I think this unsung hero
deserves a place in the Old Testament Hall of Honor alongside other Gentile
saints such as Ruth and Rahab.
I can think of no one who exemplifies Hebrews Chapter 11 Verse
1 any better than this dear saint of God.
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence
of things not seen.”
For faith compelled her to
renounce that which was tangible, though temporary, in favor of that which she
could not see, but which she was assured was eternal in the heavens.
William McDonald, PhD
(Email response from a former
student to whom I sent this blog)
Hey Dr. Bill,
Well, you were right again. I thought
this was very interesting. I had never really thought about Princess Bithiah
(except for on the Ten Commandments movie) either or her husband Mered, who was
apparently from the tribe of Judah. In all my years in church I have never
heard anyone talk about her leaving her Daddy's throne/kingdom/pagan religion
for a Godly man and living with him and his people.
Here are some of the descriptive
terms used to identify her on the web. "The adoptive mother of the prophet
Moses. She saved Moses from certain death from both the Nile river and from the
Pharaoh. She played an essential role in lifting the Hebrew slaves out of
bondage in Egypt, their journey to the Promised Land, and the establishment of
the Ten Commandments." What? In just a very brief search about her this is
what it stated about her under "Religion: Ancient Egyptian Religion
(formerly) Yahwism (convert)." How cool is that? I found that "her
birth name was Thermouthis and the Hebrews renamed her Bit-Yah (transliterated
Bithiah), and it is written that she is given the name for her adoption of
Moses, that because she had made Moses her son, Yahweh would make her his
daughter." Is that awesome? Also, "she is called in Hebrew the Jewess
to indicate that Pharaoh's daughter was no longer a pagan."
Apparently, "Mered was the son
of Ezrah and Bithia and Mered had Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah, the father of
Eshtemoa ( a man of Judah) and it is also a major city set apart with the
surrounding area for the priests. Talk about legacy :) Mered's dad (Bithia's
father-in-law) was Ezrah.
Ok, I've gotta stop for now. This
could go on for days! I love when you share biblical nuggets with me and
spiritual insights you discover along your paths. Thank you! Have a great night
my dear friend.
