A Godly Mother

A Picture of a Godly Mother

Exodus 2:1-10

      The title of the message this morning is A picture of a Godly Mother. That’s what we see in Exodus 2 the mother of Moses. She was an ordinary woman chosen by God for an extraordinary task and she lived up to the challenge.

     At one time in America, motherhood was something we cherished, something we honored and revered. What higher calling could there be in life than to grow, nurture and influence the next generation. At one time, Motherhood was regarded as the most sacred and significant thing someone could do in life. And then something changed.

     The feminist movement of the last century began to teach women that being a mother wasn’t important. That it was a waste of time. That it was really a form of oppression and slavery, and that a woman should have no desire to be a homemaker or a mother but instead, she should try and make something of her life. As if being a mother was not enough.

     Today, for a woman to stay home and be a mom who raises her children is a radical idea. And instead of that being God’s design for the family, in our culture it is considered the product of toxic masculinity and misogyny. And frankly, you can see the effect it has had on our children, our families, and our nation.

     Today, it is rare to find a home with a mother and father together, raising their children in a traditional way. We live in a culture that places no value on faith or the traditional family but instead wants to redefine it.

     As Christians it is important that we understand that it is by God’s design mothers and fathers raise their children. It is God’s design that a mother is placed in the greatest position of influence in the family, and a father is placed in the greatest position of authority, and teaching our children about God, is the most important thing we can do. We need Godly mothers and fathers more today than ever.

     In Exodus chapter two we have a story of a Godly mother who stood up to evil, trusted God and her faith led to a great reward. And that what we are going to see in this story so lets read this passage here in

Exodus 2:1–10 NASB95

Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a daughter of Levi. The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was beautiful, she hid him for three months. But when she could hide him no longer, she got him a wicker basket and covered it over with tar and pitch. Then she put the child into it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile. His sister stood at a distance to find out what would happen to him. The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the Nile, with her maidens walking alongside the Nile; and she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid, and she brought it to her. When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the boy was crying. And she had pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women that she may nurse the child for you?” Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go ahead.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. The child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. And she named him Moses, and said, “Because I drew him out of the water.”

     Our passage this morning describes the birth of Moses, but the focus is specifically on his mother. She had faith in God and trusted Him to take care of her son, and she saved his life from a wicked king.

      It’s important that we understand the context of this story. This takes place at time when Israel was living as slaves in Egypt. In fact, at this point they had been slaves for over three hundred years.

Egypt was an evil place, a pagan land filled with idolatry and led by a wicked king they called Pharoah.

     Pharoah himself was a god they worshipped. But this Pharoah was a weak man who was becoming afraid of the Hebrews. The Hebrews had begun to outnumber the Egyptians.

So, Pharoah came up with a plan. He made a law and commanded that all Hebrew boys born from that point on were to be destroyed. They were to be thrown into the Nile and drowned.

     And it is against that backdrop that Moses was being born into the world. He was the son of a Hebrew slave girl who was surrounded by the blood, sweat and tears of her people building cities for this wicked king. That was the culture she grew up in, yet she believed in the promises of God.

     She was taught by her parents about the one true God who had choose the Hebrews to be His people. And that one day, He was going to send a Deliverer who would set them free, and that made all the difference in her life.

She believed in the promises, she waited for His faithfulness, and she followed in obedience.  And what we see in this story is a Godly mother who faced challenges in life and was honored by God.

     The first thing I want you to see is Her Courage, Vs. 1-4. She had courage and she obeyed God rather than culture and rather than Pharoah. She stood up for what she believed in, but she faced many challenges.

      Notice Vs. 1 “Now a Man from the house of Levi went and married a daughter of Levi.” We know from Numbers 26 that her name Jochebed. She was a slave girl who married a slave boy and started a slave family.

She was living in a culture that despised and rejected her, yet she embraced her identity as a woman. She wanted to be married. She wanted to be a mother. Under the circumstances, it would have been easy for her to give up on what she wanted in life, but instead, she embraced it. She was a woman of courage.

     Let me ask the ladies this, do you embrace your identity as a woman in this world? Do you recognize that it is a high calling from God to be a wife and a mother?

No matter what the world tells you that is a gift from God. Don’t let culture define your identity, God has already defined it. If you want to be happy in life, be true to who God created you to be. Jochebed embraced her identity as a woman, as a wife, and as a mother.

     But there was a law. Just before Moses was born Pharoah ordered that all infant boys were to be put to death. Can you imagine how she must have felt when she found out she was pregnant. Can imagine how for nine months she prayed that God would give her a baby girl. But instead, God had a different plan for her life.

     Vs 2 says, “The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was beautiful, she hid him for three months.” Her worst nightmare came true, she had a son and now she had a decision to make; what would she do? What could she do? She didn’t have any power or authority, but she had God, and that was enough. He gave her courage.

     She hid her son for three months. But why? Why would she risk her own life to save this baby? The same reason mothers risk their lives every day, she loved him, it was her duty, and he was her responsibility, but there was more.

     Notice the word “beautiful” here. She saw that he was beautiful. This is speaking of more than his physical appearance. There was something special about this child and she knew it. In fact, Acts 7:20 says, “It was at this time that Moses was born; and he was lovely in the sight of God.”

     So, there was something special about Moses’ and when his mother looked at him, God gave her a sense that He was a gift from God and his life was important. She knew she had to be courageous and do whatever it took to save his life.

     So, she hid him for three months. Can you imagine day after day, week after week, how dangerous this was? She hid her baby from the authorities. She hid her baby from her neighbors. Everyone was a threat.

     I imagine it was easy at first, when he was the size of little Georgia Grace he could be hid easily. You just feed him and keep him quiet. But she knew the day was coming when he would be the size of Rose and she wouldn’t be able to keep it a secret anymore. She was breaking the law and she knew it would eventually be discovered.

     We learn a great lesson in this story. And that is we follow the law of the land until it opposes the law of God? No matter what, we quietly and humbly obey God. We don’t do it with a rebellious attitude, and we don’t do it with an arrogant heart, but we do it with a courageous Spirit. It’s a principle that you find throughout the Bible.

     I am reminded of Peter and John in Acts chapter five. They were arrested and beaten by the same Sanhedrin that crucified Christ and warned not to teach in the name of Jesus anymore. And Peter said, (Acts 5:29) “We must obey God rather than man.”

     I’m reminded of the three Hebrew children in the book of Daniel, who were told to bow down before the statue of Nebuchadnezzar or be thrown into the fiery furnace and they said were not going to bow down to any statue and our God is able to deliver us from your furnace.

That’s the same principle we find in Exodus 2. She chose to obey her king rather than the king of Egypt, and that took courage.

     But not only was she a woman of courage but she was a woman of wisdom. She had a plan. Notice Vs. 3, “But when she could hide him no longer, she got him a wicker basket and covered it with tar and pitch. Then she put the child into it and set among the reeds by the bank of the Nile.”

     What an amazing story. She does everything in her power and then she trusts God. She crafts the basket. She makes sure that it’s watertight. She places her son in it, and then she sets it in the water. And at that point she had to trust God. He had to do the rest.

     And that’s true in each one of our lives, especially when it comes to our children. We have to trust God when they get sick. We have to trust God when we drop them off at school. We have to trust God when we walk them down the isle and they begin a new life.

Being a parent requires faith, courage and wisdom, and no amount of worry will ever be a substitute for trusting God.

     Something interesting in Vs. 3 is the Hebrew word for “basket” is the word ark. And is the same word used to describe Noah’s ark in Genesis 6. In fact, these are the only two places in the Bible this word is used.

And just like Noah’s ark was a place of salvation He would use to deliver His people from the flood, the ark of Moses was a place of salvation for God’s people from slavery. Today, Jesus Christ is our ark and He saves us from our sin, and He delivers us from God’s judgment.

     The next thing I want you to see in this story is Her God, Vs. 5-8. You see the reason Pharoah was defeated in Egypt was because God defeated Pharoah in Egypt. God was at work in every detail of this story. He had a plan to redeem His people. Moses is not only going to be saved from Pharoah’s command He is going to be raised in Pharoah’s house.

     What we learn from this story is God’s plan of salvation is His work from beginning to end. He is the one who accomplishes it. Think about this for a moment. In this story the entire plan of God for the salvation of His people was in jeopardy, it was floating down the Nile in a wicker basket. Yet there was never a time in Moses’ life that he was safer than when he was in the basket. God was in control.

     He was in control of Pharoah’s daughter. She went down to the river at just the right time and at just the right place to find Moses. Vs. 5 says, “The daughter of Pharoah came down to bathe at the Nile, with her maidens walking alongside the Nile; and she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid, and she brought it to her.”

     Again, this is a dangerous moment. The Egyptians have been ordered to kill the Hebrew babies and this is the daughter of the one who ordered it. No matter how hard Jochebed tried to save her son unless God intervenes this is going to end in tragedy.

     But notice Vs. 6, “When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the boy was crying and she had pity on him and said, this is one of the Hebrews children.”

     At the very moment she began to open the basket God began to work on her heart. He turned her curiosity into compassion. Somehow, were not told in this story, but she knew the child was a Hebrew, and she directly goes against her father’s command, and she becomes determines to raise him as her own. Only God could do that.

     That’s what Paul is talking about in Romans 8:28 when he says, “God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love the Lord.” Not some things, but all things.

God caused Moses to be born at that moment in history. God caused his mother to put him in the basket. God caused the basket to float into the reeds, and God caused Pharoah’s daughter to find it.

     And we should all be grateful for her compassion because it teaches us, the Exodus wasn’t just for the Jews, but it was for all of us. It was the beginning of God’s plan of salvation for the world.

And we are told in Exodus 12 that when the children of Israel left Egypt that many other people went with them. Certainly, some of those were Egyptians.

     You see God’s plan from the beginning was to save a people from every tribe, nation, and tongue. And that promise came true on the day of Pentecost when people from all over the world heard the gospel of Jesus Christ.  So, all of us as Christians should be grateful for Pharoah’s daughter. She was a Gentile who took part in the plan of God.

     Let me ask you this, are you taking part in the plan of God for your life? Are you like Pharoah’s daughter, do you have compassion on the helpless, unwanted, and rejected of the world? Because we live in a time when babies are being tossed into the Nile every day. And how do you feel about that?

     Not only was God in control of Pharoah’s daughter but God was using Moses’ sister.  She has been baby-setting her little brother the whole time. Standing on the banks of the Nile waiting on watching to see what would happen and when the opportunity presents itself, she shows up on the scene.

     Notice Vs. 7-8, Then his sister said to Pharoah’s daughter, shall I go call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women that she may nurse the child for you? Pharoah’s daughter said to her, go ahead. So, the girl went and called the child’s mother.”

This is no accident. This the divine plan of God. God is orchestrating every detail and He can orchestrate the details in your life if you will let Him.

     I can’t help but think to myself, with all these women in this story working against Pharoah, maybe he should have been more worried about the Hebrew girls than the Hebrew boys.

The next thing I want you to see in this story is Her Reward. Vs. 9-10. She is rewarded for her faithfulness.

     Notice Vs. 9, “Then Pharoah’s daughter said to her, take this child away and nurse him for me and I will give you your wages. So, the woman took the child and nursed him.”

How ironic is that? Can you imagine the joy she felt when she got her son back, but not only did she get him back, but she was going to get paid to raise him, and Pharoah was going to foot the bill? How ironic is that?

     What we learn from this story is that when God blesses His people, He does it completely. He doesn’t do anything halfway, but He completely saves us, and He completely satisfies us. He fills the longings of our heart. He wants what is always best for us and He knows better than anyone how to achieve it.

     Moses being returned to his mother was all apart of God’s plan to save His people. His earliest years were going to be spent with his own family learning about God. She only had about two or three years with him, but it was enough to plant a seed. It was enough to bond with him. And then she prayed. She prayed that when he would become a man he would remember where he came from.

     She prayed he would love God’s people, hear God’s voice, and answer God’s call. And her prayers were answered Moses never forgot what he learned.

 Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go. Even when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Moses is a great example of that, and our children will be as well if you do what the Word of God says.

     Moses was always going to be Jochebed’s son but they day finally came when she had to give him up. She had to give him to Pharoah’s daughter. It must have been bittersweet. It must have been incredibly difficult to do, but she understood that God had a greater purpose for his life.

     Look at Vs. 10, “The child grew, and she brought him to Pharoah’s daughter, and he became her son. And she named him Moses, and said, Because I drew him out of the water.”

Moses would grow up in Pharoah’s house and receive the finest education in the world. And all of that training and education would be used for God’s glory. It was going to be used to lead Israel out of Egypt. This was Jochebed’s reward. Her son was saved and in turn her son would save her from slavery.

     The story of Moses in the basket is an incredible story of God’s sovereignty overcoming evil in the world. But it’s not the whole story. Moses was a savior, but it he was not the Savior.

And long after the exodus from Egypt there would be another Savior born. There would be a child born in Bethlehem who is worthy of greater honor than Moses because He is the Son of God and the Savior of the world, and His name is Jesus.

     And we are called trust Him the same way a desperate mother trusted God when she put her son in a basket and sent him floating down the river. On a day when we honor our mothers, Jochebed is a picture of what a Godly mother looks like.