The Nile River

Good morning and welcome to Our Daily Walk.

Audio version at http://tinyurl.com/2aovgn

I was born just a few miles away from the Ohio River. That river feeds into the Mississippi River which is the second longest river in the United States. Both rivers were prone to yearly flooding so many of the cities along these rivers erected flood walls to keep the water out. These rivers became great sources of livelihood for the surrounding areas.

The Nile River is 4,160 miles long and is regarded as the longest river in the world. It goes through Africa and Egypt before finally flowing into the Mediterranean Sea. Like the rivers of our country, the Nile was prone to flooding. An annual flood of the river was needed to help increase the fertility of the surrounding farmland. Isaiah speaks of this in Isaiah 23:10.

Zechariah spoke of the impact of the Nile river when he decreed God’s judgment against Egypt speaking of drying up the Nile. Zechariah 10:11 says, “He shall pass through the sea with affliction, And strike the waves of the sea: All the depths of the River shall dry up. Then the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, And the scepter of Egypt shall depart.”

There are several references to this important body of water in the Bible. But the most remembered is perhaps in the story of Moses. We find this reading in Exodus 2:1-10.

And a man of the house of Levi went and took as wife a daughter of Levi. So the woman conceived and bore a son. And when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months. But when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of bulrushes for him, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river's bank. And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him.

Then the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river. And her maidens walked along the riverside; and when she saw the ark among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it. And when she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby wept. So she had compassion on him, and said, “This is one of the Hebrews' children.”

Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, “Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you?”

And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, “Go.” So the maiden went and called the child's mother. Then Pharaoh's daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. So she called his name Moses, saying, “Because I drew him out of the water.”

Now here’s a bit of trivia that you might want to remember. Ask someone how old Moses was when he went on the ark. They will probably say, “You mean Noah, don’t you? Moses didn’t go on the ark.” Then you can refer them back to this reading in Exodus 2 where Jochebed, the mother of Moses, put the three month old Moses into an ark of bulrushes.

God had been looking out for Moses his entire life. He helped save him from Pharoah, and 80 years later God appears to Moses in the burning bush and tells him that he is the chosen one to free the people from their captivity.

On Our Daily Walk today, may we take a few minutes in prayer this day to thank God for His protection over our lives. May we learn to appreciate even more our daily blessings and never forget to return our gratitude to God.

Our thought for the day: “Whatever seeming calamity happens to you, if you thank God and praise him for it you turn it into a blessing.” William Law

May God bless you on your daily walk.

© Our Daily Walk, Mike Baker, 2007. Permission is granted to copy these articles provided they are not sold and the author's name and copyright are included.