Dandelion Bible in a Year | Women & Men Thematic Reading Plan

Bible in a Year - Women’s Thematic Reading Plan | Day 23

Exodus 2:5-10: Pharaoh’s Daughter, Showing Compassion to a Child

Day 23 of the Women’s Bible Plan: Read Exodus 2:5-10 and reflect on Pharaoh’s daughter, the Egyptian princess who saw a crying child, had compassion on him, and became part of God’s plan to preserve Moses’ life. Through her story, this devotional helps women consider how compassion can become an instrument in God’s hands, protecting life, welcoming the vulnerable, and participating in purposes far greater than we can see.

🌸 Dear Sister, welcome to Day 23 of our reading journey 🌸

Sometimes God’s work of deliverance begins with a very small act of compassion.

The background of Exodus Chapter 2 is not easy. The Israelites are suffering in Egypt, and Pharaoh has commanded that Hebrew baby boys be cast into the river. In such a dark and fearful time, one baby is placed in an ark of bulrushes and laid among the reeds by the riverbank. He cannot protect himself. He cannot speak for himself. He cannot decide his own future.

Then Pharaoh’s daughter comes down to the river to wash. She sees the ark, sends her maid to fetch it, opens it, and sees the baby crying. Scripture says she had compassion on him. That one response of mercy changed the course of this child’s life. More than that, in God’s greater plan, her compassion became one of the hidden means by which Moses’ life was preserved.

Pharaoh’s daughter reminds us that compassion is not weakness, and compassion is not a small thing. When someone is willing to stop, see the tears of the vulnerable, and protect someone who cannot protect himself, that person may be becoming an instrument in the hands of God.

JANUARY 23 / Day 23

Pharaoh’s Daughter: Showing Compassion to a Child

📖 Exodus 2:5-10

A Minute of Grace

Exodus 2:5-10 records a key turning point in the infancy of Moses. Because his mother could no longer hide him, she placed him in an ark of bulrushes and laid it among the reeds by the river’s edge. Pharaoh’s daughter came down to wash at the river, saw the ark, and sent her maid to bring it. When she opened it, she saw the child crying, had compassion on him, and recognized that he was one of the Hebrews’ children.

In that moment, Pharaoh’s daughter could have ignored him. She could have rejected him. She could have obeyed the cruel command of her father and allowed this Hebrew baby boy to die. But she did not. She did not first ask which people group this child belonged to, what trouble he might bring, or whether helping him would be inconvenient. She first saw a crying baby—a life that needed protection.

Moses’ sister Miriam was standing at a distance, watching. She courageously offered to find a Hebrew woman to nurse the child. In God’s providence, Moses’ own mother was brought back to care for him. Later, when the child grew, Pharaoh’s daughter received him as her son and named him Moses, because she had drawn him out of the water.

In this passage, God’s name is not directly mentioned, yet His hand is clearly at work. He uses the faith of Moses’ mother, the wisdom and courage of his sister, and the compassion of Pharaoh’s daughter. Most surprisingly, God provides protection and a place of growth for the future deliverer of Israel within Pharaoh’s own household.

Today’s theme, “Pharaoh’s Daughter: Showing Compassion to a Child,” invites us to consider how one small act of compassion can be used by God to protect life, turn history, and take part in His redeeming plan.

Whispers for the Heart

1 Pharaoh’s daughter saw the child crying and had compassion on him. In your own life, have you ever seen someone weak, helpless, or overlooked, but turned away because you were busy, afraid of trouble, or felt powerless to help? How does this passage remind you that compassion often begins with being willing to see?

2 Pharaoh’s daughter chose to protect a Hebrew child who, according to the king’s command, was supposed to die. Have you ever faced a situation where culture, pressure, or fear told you not to get involved, not to come close, or not to pay the cost, yet God stirred your heart to show mercy and help? Are you willing to ask God for a heart that is both tender and courageous?

3 Pharaoh’s daughter did not know that the child she drew out of the water would one day become God’s servant to deliver Israel. Are you willing to believe that a small act of kindness, one moment of protection, one act of welcome, or one word of help may carry meaning in God’s hands beyond anything you can imagine?

As you read Exodus 2:5-10 today, do not only notice that Moses’ life was preserved. Also pay attention to Pharaoh’s daughter, a remarkable woman in this story. She came from the household of the oppressor, yet when she stood before a helpless child, she chose compassion. Her choice reminds us that even in complicated surroundings, a person can still choose mercy; and even when an action seems small, God can place it within His much greater plan.

Take a quiet breath before you begin. Bring your heart toward children, the vulnerable, the suffering, and the overlooked before the Lord, and let His Word meet you there.

Today's Grace · Morning Dew 🕊️

“And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him.”

— Exodus 2:6

🎞️ Today's Youtube Video

🪕 Response Hymn: The Year of the Lord’s Favor

Exodus 2:5-10 (KJV)

5 And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river's side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it.

6 And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews' children.

7 Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee?

8 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child's mother.

9 And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the women took the child, and nursed it.

10 And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water.

A Quiet Moment of Prayer

✨ Thank you for walking through today’s Scripture with us, dear sister.

Exodus 2:5-10 shows us Pharaoh’s daughter at the riverbank. She sees a crying child, has compassion on him, and reaches out to protect him. She may not have known that she was participating in God’s greater plan of deliverance, yet her compassion became an instrument in God’s hands. Now, let us bring our eyes, hearts, choices, and actions before the Lord in prayer.

Today’s Prayer Focus: Letting Compassion Become an Instrument in God’s Hands

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Asking God for Eyes That Are Willing to See

Father, thank You for reminding me through the story of Pharaoh’s daughter that compassion often begins with seeing. She saw the ark, opened it, saw the child crying, and had compassion on him. Lord, many times I do not lack opportunities to show mercy; I simply fail to stop and truly see. It is not that no one needs help, but that I can become hurried, numb, or afraid of being interrupted.

Give me eyes that are willing to see. Help me see the tears of children, the helplessness of the weak, the silence of those near me, the needs of the lonely, and the pain of those who cannot speak for themselves. Remove coldness and self-protection from my heart. Help me not to simply pass by the suffering of others, but to ask before You, “Lord, how can I respond?” Amen.

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Choosing Compassion Under Pressure

Lord, Pharaoh’s daughter lived in the palace of Egypt, and her own father had commanded the death of Hebrew baby boys. Yet when she saw this child crying, she did not obey cruelty, and she did not let fear overcome compassion. She chose to protect a child who may have seemed dangerous, inconvenient, and unacceptable to receive.

Give me a heart that is both tender and courageous. When others say, “Do not get involved,” when culture tells me, “This is not your responsibility,” and when helping someone requires a cost, help me not to let fear rule my heart. May my compassion not remain only as a feeling, but become practical protection, welcome, presence, and help. Give me wisdom to do good in the right way, responding to need with both truth and love. Amen.

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Interceding for Sisters

Father, I also pray for those around me who need compassion and protection. I pray especially for children growing up in broken homes, neglect, poverty, violence, or fear. I pray for those who, like baby Moses, cannot protect themselves or speak for themselves. Lord, prepare people who are willing to see, willing to reach out, and willing to protect them.

I also pray for the sisters around me. Raise us up to be women of compassion—not only moved by suffering far away, but also attentive to the real needs close to us. May we protect the vulnerable in our families, welcome the overlooked in the church, and speak up for the oppressed in our workplaces and communities. Help us not to answer pain with coldness, but to become a covering and help for others through the love of Christ. Amen.

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Praying for Vulnerable Children and Suffering Lives

Compassionate God, I also pray for vulnerable children and suffering people around the world. I pray for children affected by war, famine, poverty, abuse, trafficking, abandonment, and injustice. I pray for refugee children, orphans, the exploited, and those pushed to the edges of society. Lord, You see every crying life and hear every silent cry.

Raise up protectors, adoptive families, caregivers, teachers, social workers, doctors, missionaries, churches, and compassionate homes to become instruments in Your hands. May more children be “drawn out” of danger, protected from fear, and welcomed out of loneliness. Let the world see that true compassion is not a brief emotion, but love willing to pay a cost in order to guard life. Amen.

🪕 Response Hymn: The Year of the Lord’s Favor

💡 Closing Thought · Compassion Begins with Seeing

After reading Exodus 2:5-10, we see that Pharaoh’s daughter did something that may have looked simple: she saw the ark, opened it, saw the child crying, and had compassion on him. Yet this compassionate response became a key turning point in preserving Moses’ life and a hidden but important part of God’s redeeming plan.

As we close this page and return to our own lives, we may not find an ark of bulrushes by the river today. But we may meet someone who needs to be heard, a child who is being overlooked, a wounded sister, a family silently asking for help, or a vulnerable person who cannot speak for themselves. Compassion does not always begin with a great action. Often, it begins with being willing to stop, willing to see, and willing to come near.

May today’s Scripture remind you not to underestimate a tender response or overlook a small act of kindness. God can use a compassionate heart to protect life, change the future, and accomplish purposes far beyond what we can imagine.

🎉🎉 Congratulations on completing today's devotion! 🎉🎉

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