A TISKET, A TASKET, A BABY IN A BASKET
(Exodus 1:8 - 2:10)
The Israelites lived in Egypt;
For 400 years they’d been there,
Where they came to survive a famine,
While under Joseph’s care.
But Joseph had been forgotten,
And their numbers increased more and more.
The new king feared the Jews;
He knew they could start a war.
The king made slaves of the Israelites;
They made bricks and worked in the fields.
They built two cities and yet even then,
The king expected more yields.
They multiplied all over the land,
Which caused the Egyptians to fear.
As their numbers increased, so did their strength,
And their presence was felt far and near.
Though oppression continued, the Jews increased,
‘Til the Egyptians were filled with dread,
So the king told the Hebrew midwives,
To make sure all males were born dead.
But the midwives feared the Lord,
More than they feared the king,
So they let the male infants live,
Despite what their actions might bring.
Sure enough, the king called them in;
He asked them why no males died.
The midwives told a half-truth;
Others might say they lied.
They told of the strength of the women;
They birthed without delay.
The midwives could not arrive soon enough,
Tho’ they hurried to them right away.
The king issued an edict —
One that was truly vile.
Every time a boy was born,
He was to be thrown in the Nile.
One distraught Jewish woman,
Came up with a boat-like invention.
She covered a basket with tar and pitch.
And put it where it would capture attention.
She knew the routine of the princess,
Who bathed in the River Nile.
So she placed the basket in the reeds,
And her daughter watched all the while.
The baby was crying and crying,
In his floating crib in the water.
A slave girl retrieved the basket,
And gave it to Pharoah’s daughter.
When the baby kept on crying,
His sister stepped out on cue.
She said, “Shall I find a Hebrew woman,
To nurse the baby for you?”
Pharoah’s daughter agreed,
That he should be nursed by another,
So until the baby was weaned,
He was able to stay with his mother.
The mother returned her baby,
So his precious life would be spared.
By selflessly giving him up,
She showed how much she cared.
The princess named him Moses,
And she raised him as her own.
But the boy who survived would one day repay,
His mom for the love she had shown.
Becky Wall
