What does Exodus 2:21 Mean?

Context Summary

Amid all the allurements of Pharaoh's court, the heart of Moses beat true to his own people. Neither the treasures of Egypt, nor the pleasures of sin; the attraction of human love, nor the glamour of the world's smile, could turn him aside from his own folk. A light shone for him over the humble huts of Goshen, before which that of Pharaoh's palaces paled. Some glimmering knowledge of the promised Christ appears to have been present to his mind; and he esteemed that hope to be greater riches than the treasures of Egypt. Hebrews 11:26.

He had, however, much to learn. By strength no man can prevail. The battle is not to the strong, nor the race to the swift. The salvation of Israel from their untold miseries must be due, from first to last, to the outstretched hand of their Almighty Protector. Hence the failure of Moses' first attempt. Instead of looking "this way and that," he must look upward. [source]

Chapter Summary: Exodus 2

¹  Moses is born, and placed in a basket in the reeds of Nile
⁵  He is found, and brought up by Pharaoh's daughter;
⁷  who employs his mother to nurse him
¹¹  He kills an Egyptian
¹³  He reproves a Hebrew
¹⁵  He flees into Midian, and marries Zipporah
²²  Gershom is born
²³  God respects the Israelites' cry