Secure Place for the Baby

שמות ב ,ב: וַתָשֶם בַּסּוּף

The Sforno states that although a decree is issued by a temporal ruler, it is our belief that without the tacit acquiescence of G-d, it would not have been decreed. Hence the Jews could not defy the decree outright, only circumvent the decree. Thus Yocheved placed the basket at the edge of the river thus observing the letter of the law (to throw the male children into the river) but not its spirit.

In this manner, the Sforno answers the obvious question: Why put the infant in such a comparatively hazardous place rather than a more secure one? Since such a move would flaunt the decree outright, therefore, places the basket at the edge of the river partially observes the decree.