The daughter of Pharoah was about to take a dip in the Nile when she spotted the basket. On opening it, she noticed only that it contained a child and felt immediate compassion. This didn’t diminish when she realised his background. A Hebrew child is still a child.
Her father, Pharaoh, had ordered Hebrew boys to be thrown into the river (Exodus 1:22). She not only saved the boy, she also “made him into a son”, and later called him Moses because she had “drawn him from the waters” (Exodus 2:10), an image reminiscent of birth.
An African proverb holds that “it takes a village to raise child”. It acknowledges that those who have the greatest influence over us are often not our biological parents but others who have taken us under their wings.
We should be open to such influence because, even when we respect our parents, we are called upon to forge our own unique path through life and there is no limit on who may inspire us along the way.
