And when some shepherds came along and drove them away, Moses rose up to help them and watered their flock. And when some shepherds came along and drove them away,Wells were essential for life in the wilderness, and access to water could become a source of conflict and exploitation. The shepherds used their strength to mistreat the daughters of Reuel, the priest of Midian, attempting to deny them water for their father’s flock. Their conduct exposed the vulnerability of women without a male protector in that setting and reflected the injustice God repeatedly condemns. Scripture calls His people to defend the weak and rescue those oppressed by the powerful (Psalm 82:3–4). Jer 23:2 Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says:…
Ezk 34:21 Since you shove with flank and shoulder,…
Ezk 34:4 You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick…
Moses rose up to help them Moses did not ignore the wrongdoing before him. Having fled Egypt after defending an Israelite, he again acted decisively when he saw the vulnerable being harmed. His intervention revealed a growing readiness to oppose oppression, though God would later shape and commission him according to His own timing. Moses would become Israel’s deliverer from Pharaoh, serving the God who hears the cry of the afflicted and raises up leaders to rescue His people. His defense of the shepherdesses also points forward to Christ, the good Shepherd who protects His flock and lays down His life for the sheep (John 10:11). Act 7:24-25 And when he saw one of them being mistreated,…
Pro 24:11-12 Rescue those being led away to death, and restrain…
Isa 1:17 Learn to do right; seek justice and correct the oppressor.…
and watered their flock. Moses went beyond driving away the aggressors and completed the labor the women had been prevented from doing. Watering a flock required effort, especially at a well where water had to be drawn repeatedly. His service displayed the humility and care that would mark his later leadership of Israel in the wilderness. God would use Moses to lead His people through a barren land and provide water from the rock when they thirsted (Exodus 17:6), showing that the Lord supplies life and sustains those under His care. Gen 29:10 As soon as Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter…
Gen 29:2-3 He looked and saw a well in the field, and near it…
Gen 24:19-20 After she had given him a drink, she said,…
Persons / Places / Events 1. MosesA Hebrew by birth, raised in Pharaoh's palace, who later becomes a central figure in leading the Israelites out of Egypt. In this verse, he acts as a protector and helper. 2. ShepherdsThese are local men who attempt to drive away the daughters of Reuel, showing a lack of respect and justice. 3. Daughters of ReuelThey are the daughters of the priest of Midian, who come to water their father's flock. Their encounter with Moses leads to his integration into their family. 4. MidianA region where Moses flees after leaving Egypt. It is here that he encounters Reuel's daughters and begins a new chapter in his life. 5. Reuel (Jethro)The priest of Midian and father of the daughters. He later becomes Moses' father-in-law. Teaching Points Courage in the Face of InjusticeMoses' actions demonstrate the importance of standing up for what is right, even when it involves personal risk. Servant LeadershipMoses exemplifies servant leadership by taking action to help those in need, a model for Christian leadership today. God's PreparationThis event is part of God's preparation of Moses for his future role. God often uses everyday situations to prepare us for His purposes. Hospitality and CommunityThe daughters' acceptance of Moses into their family highlights the importance of hospitality and community in God's plan. Divine AppointmentsMoses' encounter with the daughters of Reuel was not by chance but a divine appointment that led to significant developments in his life. Bible Study Questions 1. How does Moses' intervention for the daughters of Reuel reflect his character and foreshadow his future role as a leader of Israel? 2. In what ways can we demonstrate courage and stand up for justice in our own communities, as Moses did? 3. How does the concept of servant leadership, as demonstrated by Moses, apply to our roles in family, church, and work? 4. Reflect on a time when God used an ordinary situation in your life to prepare you for something greater. How did you respond? 5. How can we practice hospitality and build community in our own lives, following the example of Reuel's family? Connections to Other Scriptures Acts 7:24-25Stephen recounts Moses' actions, highlighting his sense of justice and his role as a deliverer, even before his divine calling. Genesis 29:10Jacob also helps water a flock, drawing a parallel between Moses and Jacob as protectors and providers. John 4:7-14Jesus speaks to the Samaritan woman at the well, offering "living water," which can be seen as a spiritual parallel to Moses' act of providing water. | Moses and Christ | J. Orr | Exodus 2:1-25 | | Moses in Midian | D. Young | Exodus 2:15-22 | | The Long Exile | J. Orr | Exodus 2:15-23 | | A Contented Resident | J. S. Exell, M. A. | Exodus 2:16-22 | | A Friend of the Oppressed Commended | Wesleyan S. S. Magazine | Exodus 2:16-22 | | A Large Family | J. S. Exell, M. A. | Exodus 2:16-22 | | A New Training School | J. H. Kurtz, D. D. | Exodus 2:16-22 | | A Pilgrim Life the Best for Preachers | J. S. Exell, M. A. | Exodus 2:16-22 | | Alone with God | C. H. Mackintosh. | Exodus 2:16-22 | | An Extended Visit | | Exodus 2:16-22 | | Discipline Needed After Faith | J. J. Van Oosterzee, D. D. | Exodus 2:16-22 | | Domestic Toil | J. S. Exell, M. A. | Exodus 2:16-22 | | Moses' Domestic Life in Midian | J. H. Kurtz, D. D. | Exodus 2:16-22 | | Moses in Midian | R. A. Hallam, D. D. | Exodus 2:16-22 | | Solitary Discipline | William M. Taylor, D. D. | Exodus 2:16-22 | | The Reward of a Kindly Action | J. S. Exell, M. A. | Exodus 2:16-22 | | Two Classes of Men are Typified by the Conduct of These Shepherds | J. S. Exell, M. A. | Exodus 2:16-22 | | Why is it that Ye have Left the Man? | J. S. Exell, M. A. | Exodus 2:16-22 | | Zipporah. -- Character of Zipporah | J. H. Kurtz, D. D. | Exodus 2:16-22 |
People Gershom, Isaac, Israelites, Jacob, Levi, Moses, Pharaoh, Reuel, ZipporahPlaces Egypt, Midian, Nile RiverTopics Along, Ariseth, Drive, Driving, Drove, Flock, Got, Helped, Keepers, Rescue, Rose, Saveth, Sheep, Shepherds, Stood, Watered, Watereth, WateringDictionary of Bible Themes Exodus 2:17 5293 defence, human Exodus 2:15-17 4296 wells Exodus 2:16-17 5433 occupations Library The Ark among the Flags
'And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi. 2. And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. 3. 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 put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink. 4. And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him. 5. And the daughter of Pharaoh came …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy ScriptureHome as a Stewardship.
"Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages."--EXODUS II., 9. "For look, how many souls in thy house be, With just as many souls God trusteth thee!" The Christian home is a stewardship. The parents are stewards of God. A steward is a servant of a particular kind, to whom the master commits a certain portion of his interest to be prosecuted in his name and by his authority, and according to his laws and regulations. The steward must act according to the will of his …
Samuel Philips—The Christian Home The Upbringing of Jewish Children
The tenderness of the bond which united Jewish parents to their children appears even in the multiplicity and pictorialness of the expressions by which the various stages of child-life are designated in the Hebrew. Besides such general words as "ben" and "bath"--"son" and "daughter"--we find no fewer than nine different terms, each depicting a fresh stage of life. The first of these simply designates the babe as the newly--"born"--the "jeled," or, in the feminine, "jaldah"--as in Exodus 2:3, 6, 8. …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life The Secret of Its Greatness
[Illustration: (drop cap G) The Great Pyramid] God always chooses the right kind of people to do His work. Not only so, He always gives to those whom He chooses just the sort of life which will best prepare them for the work He will one day call them to do. That is why God put it into the heart of Pharaoh's daughter to bring up Moses as her own son in the Egyptian palace. The most important part of Moses' training was that his heart should be right with God, and therefore he was allowed to remain …
Mildred Duff—The Bible in its Making Motives to Holy Mourning
Let me exhort Christians to holy mourning. I now persuade to such a mourning as will prepare the soul for blessedness. Oh that our hearts were spiritual limbecs, distilling the water of holy tears! Christ's doves weep. They that escape shall be like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, every one for his iniquity' (Ezekiel 7:16). There are several divine motives to holy mourning: 1 Tears cannot be put to a better use. If you weep for outward losses, you lose your tears. It is like a shower …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12 The Faith of Moses.
"By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months by his parents, because they saw he was a goodly child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment. By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; choosing rather to be evil entreated with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; accounting the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt: for he looked unto the recompense of reward. By faith he forsook …
Thomas Charles Edwards—The Expositor's Bible: The Epistle to the Hebrews Jesus Sets Out from Judæa for Galilee.
Subdivision B. At Jacob's Well, and at Sychar. ^D John IV. 5-42. ^d 5 So he cometh to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 and Jacob's well was there. [Commentators long made the mistake of supposing that Shechem, now called Nablous, was the town here called Sychar. Sheckem lies a mile and a half west of Jacob's well, while the real Sychar, now called 'Askar, lies scarcely half a mile north of the well. It was a small town, loosely called …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel Consolations against Impatience in Sickness.
If in thy sickness by extremity of pain thou be driven to impatience, meditate-- 1. That thy sins have deserved the pains of hell; therefore thou mayest with greater patience endure these fatherly corrections. 2. That these are the scourges of thy heavenly Father, and the rod is in his hand. If thou didst suffer with reverence, being a child, the corrections of thy earthly parents, how much rather shouldst thou now subject thyself, being the child of God, to the chastisement of thy heavenly Father, …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety Man's Misery by the Fall
Q-19: WHAT IS THE MISERY OF THAT ESTATE WHEREINTO MAN FELL? A: All mankind by their fall lost communion with God, are under his wrath and curse, and so made liable to all the miseries in this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell for ever. 'And were by nature children of wrath.' Eph 2:2. Adam left an unhappy portion to his posterity, Sin and Misery. Having considered the first of these, original sin, we shall now advert to the misery of that state. In the first, we have seen mankind offending; …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity Genealogy According to Luke.
^C Luke III. 23-38. ^c 23 And Jesus himself [Luke has been speaking about John the Baptist, he now turns to speak of Jesus himself], when he began to teach, was about thirty years of age [the age when a Levite entered upon God's service--Num. iv. 46, 47], being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son [this may mean that Jesus was grandson of Heli, or that Joseph was counted as a son of Heli because he was his son-in-law] of Heli, 24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel Adoption
'As many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.' John 1:12. Having spoken of the great points of faith and justification, we come next to adoption. The qualification of the persons is, As many as received him.' Receiving is put for believing, as is clear by the last words, to them that believe in his name.' The specification of the privilege is, to them gave he power to become the sons of God.' The Greek word for power, exousia, signifies …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity Appendix xii. The Baptism of Proselytes
ONLY those who have made study of it can have any idea how large, and sometimes bewildering, is the literature on the subject of Jewish Proselytes and their Baptism. Our present remarks will be confined to the Baptism of Proselytes. 1. Generally, as regards proselytes (Gerim) we have to distinguish between the Ger ha-Shaar (proselyte of the gate) and Ger Toshabh (sojourner,' settled among Israel), and again the Ger hatstsedeq (proselyte of righteousness) and Ger habberith (proselyte of the covenant). …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah Appendix ii. Philo of Alexandria and Rabbinic Theology.
(Ad. vol. i. p. 42, note 4.) In comparing the allegorical Canons of Philo with those of Jewish traditionalism, we think first of all of the seven exegetical canons which are ascribed to Hillel. These bear chiefly the character of logical deductions, and as such were largely applied in the Halakhah. These seven canons were next expanded by R. Ishmael (in the first century) into thirteen, by the analysis of one of them (the 5th) into six, and the addition of this sound exegetical rule, that where two …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah John the Baptist's Person and Preaching.
(in the Wilderness of Judæa, and on the Banks of the Jordan, Occupying Several Months, Probably a.d. 25 or 26.) ^A Matt. III. 1-12; ^B Mark I. 1-8; ^C Luke III. 1-18. ^b 1 The beginning of the gospel [John begins his Gospel from eternity, where the Word is found coexistent with God. Matthew begins with Jesus, the humanly generated son of Abraham and David, born in the days of Herod the king. Luke begins with the birth of John the Baptist, the Messiah's herald; and Mark begins with the ministry …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel Exodus
The book of Exodus--so named in the Greek version from the march of Israel out of Egypt--opens upon a scene of oppression very different from the prosperity and triumph in which Genesis had closed. Israel is being cruelly crushed by the new dynasty which has arisen in Egypt (i.) and the story of the book is the story of her redemption. Ultimately it is Israel's God that is her redeemer, but He operates largely by human means; and the first step is the preparation of a deliverer, Moses, whose parentage, …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Exodus 2:17 NIVExodus 2:17 NLTExodus 2:17 ESVExodus 2:17 NASBExodus 2:17 KJV
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