NOTES for Exo 2:1-25

Salvation, the main theme of this book, is the mystery of God's action in the life of a human person and in the life of a people. This mystery cannot be expressed in words or images, just as life itself cannot, but we can try to describe the main moments of interaction between God and humanity - this is exactly what the inspired author of the story of Moses does.

The first moment is expressed in the story of the rescue of little Moses: the basket, entrusted to the will of the waves, by God's will floats where it needs to go. Here the river's current, one of the least reliable things, becomes a symbol of hope based only on faith in God's providence, on the mysterious action of God in this world.

And the second is this: God accomplishes the salvation of people in cooperation with a human being. Moses' attempt to save his kinsman from slavery on his own ends badly: he finds himself in exile. But only now, having despaired of his own ability to help his brothers, can he meet God in order to continue this work together with Him. The reader can try to apply these images to his own life, in which there is plenty of action by God without the human being and action by the human being without God. Now the moment has come for joint efforts, which alone can lead to a real result.