The primary actor in Moses’ story is the Lord God, who was working to fulfil the promise to bring Israel salvation through a descendant of Eve that was to be born in the covenant line of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Exodus 2:1–25 reveals how the Lord was working to bring Jesus Christ into the world.

Although God is not mentioned when we read about the king of Egypt’s increasing attacks on God’s people, the final verses of Exodus 2:1–25 confirm that he was always there and he never forgot the promises that he had made. The revelation of the first eighty years of Moses’ life is not just random, historical biblical knowledge, but God himself is teaching us today about his power, his purposes, and his love for the church, which we can continue to count on and experience today through Jesus Christ. Moses is a type of Christ, who reveals the work of God that was to come in Jesus Christ. When God raised up Moses to deliver his people from slavery to an oppressive government, it served as a promise and guarantee that one day his Son Jesus Christ would be born to deliver us from the oppression of sin, and lead us by his Spirit and his law into a new life of thankfulness. The qualities that the Lord gave to Moses to lead can be seen in their perfect form in Jesus Christ, and when we are in Christ, we see that those qualities also describe all those who are led by the Holy Spirit in the new life.

The gospel message is that Moses was pointing ahead to the reality that we enjoy today in much fuller measure. As Hebrews 3:1–19 explains, Now Moses was faithful in God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in hope (Hebrews 3:5–6). The good news that Moses’ life was pointing to, was that salvation comes from God, who sent his own Son to be born in human flesh, to grow in wisdom and stature, to free his people from slavery to sin, and to lead them in their redeemed life by his Spirit and Word. Purified in Christ’s blood we may know that we too are God’s servants who are beautiful in his sight and equipped with his Spirit to be zealous for God’s kingdom and his church on earth, as we are constantly refined and sanctified to wait for the Lord and submit to his will with contentment.