In the midst of pain and oppression, God begins his rescue with a new kind of ark. This vessel not only preserves Moses, but allows the patient goodness of God to be injected into the very court of Pharaoh and we see the plans of Pharaoh undone. This though is only a microcosm of what is to come. By the middle of the chapter, Moses chooses into his Hebrew identity and by the end of the chapter the people are ready for God's rescue.