Egypt was the big metropolis of safety

early in the book of Genesis. In Genesis 12 there was a famine in Palestine, and Abram went to live in Egypt with his entire family, Gen 12:10 ff, Gen 31:1. Later God promised Abram,

… “To your seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates:”
Gen 15:18

A promise yet to come to its full.

There were many connections with Egypt. Hagar, Sari’s handmaid, was an Egyptian. It was by Hagar of course that Abram had Ishmael, the forefather of the Ishmaelites. In one later famine in Palestine, God told him to NOT go down into Egypt, Gen 26:2.

Then Joseph was kidnapped and sold as a slave, and ended up in Egypt. That was the lead-in to all of the descendants of Jacob going to live in Egypt in a super famine which affected both Egypt and evidently all of the eastern Mediterranean world. There it was that the Israelites grew into a nation, a separate people living among the Egyptians. Also there it was that Israel came to be distrusted by the Egyptians and enslaved. God promised Abram,

“13 … “Know for sure that your seed will live as foreigners in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them. They will afflict them four hundred years. 14 I will also judge that nation, … Afterward they will come out with great substance.””
Gen 15:13-14

So Egypt came to symbolize both worldly safety
and prosperity, and cruel bondage.

The bondage was severe in those days. Taskmasters were set over them for the very purpose to “afflict them,” humiliate them, Ex 1:11. “and they made their live bitter with hard service … in which they ruthlessly made them serve,” Ex 1:14. Also genocide was planned, but it didn’t work. All of the male babies were to be killed. During a very severe period, Moses was born. By a series of events he escaped death, and was adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter.

So Moses was raised as royalty,

but was a given a sense of who he was and his true heritage, and started his work of delivering his own people, killing a cruel Egyptian guard. He seems to have assumed the Hebrews would understand and allow him to lead them. Such was not the case. A cantankerous Israelite would not allow anyone to rule over him.

“He said, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you plan to kill me, as you killed the Egyptian?” Moses was afraid, and said, “Surely this thing is known.””

So Moses fled to a far country, Midian, where he lived for 40 years.

So Moses is called from this far country,
to lead Israel to safety.

Of course Moses is a type of the Christ, Deut 18:15. So it was that another worldly ruler, Herod the Great, attempted to kill Jesus at his birth. Jesus also was of royalty, the Son in His Father’s house. He also came from a far country, heaven, to save His people.

The story is part of the prophecy.

Scriptures are from the World English Bible WEB, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901.