The Things a Mother Will Do

Introduction

“A study on rats found that a mother’s defensive behaviour shifts in the presence of her pups, leaving her willing to sacrifice her own life to defend her children, likely as a result of oxytocin. And, they say ‘similar mechanisms may be at play in us humans.’” (By CHEYENNE MACDONALD FOR DAILYMAIL.COM)

We really don’t need a study on “rats” to prove and make plain to us the extent a mother will go through for her children. There seems to be some internal instinct that will cause even the passive and unassuming of mothers to put their own lives on the line to take care of her children. The mother that will take food out of her own mouth to make her child has food in their mouth.

I. She was a Protector (1-3)

“A man from the family of Levi married a Levite woman. The woman became pregnant and had a son. She saw there was something special about him and hid him. She hid him for three months.” (1-2a, Peterson, Eugene H. The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2005. Print.)

A man from the family of Levi married a Levite woman. The woman became pregnant and had a son. She saw there was something special about him and hid him. She hid him for three months.

Peterson, Eugene H. The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2005. Print.

Peterson, Eugene H. The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2005. Print.

“... the name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed,j a descendant of Levi, who was born to the Levitese in Egypt. To Amram she bore Aaron, Mosesk and their sisterl Miriam.” (Number 26:59)

the name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed,j a descendant of Levi, who was born to the Levitese in Egypt. To Amram she bore Aaron, Mosesk and their sisterl Miriam.

(1-2a) She was married, and then became pregnant.

j See

(2b) She saw that he was a special child.

e Or Jochebed, a daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi

“When she couldn’t hide him any longer she got a little basket-boat made of papyrus, waterproofed it with tar and pitch, and placed the child in it. Then she set it afloat in the reeds at the edge of the Nile.” (Peterson, Eugene H. The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2005. Print.)

When she couldn’t hide him any longer she got a little basket-boat made of papyrus, waterproofed it with tar and pitch, and placed the child in it. Then she set it afloat in the reeds at the edge of the Nile.

Peterson, Eugene H. The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2005. Print.

(3) (cp. 1:22) - Jochebed’s behavior is indicative of a protective mother.

k See

l See

“basket ark n. — a basket that is likely woven together, but also waterproof so that it floats.”

The New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011. Print.

basket ark n. — a basket that is likely woven together, but also waterproof so that it floats.

II. She was a Planner (4-6)

“The baby’s older sister found herself a vantage point a little way off and watched to see what would happen to him. Pharaoh’s daughter came down to the Nile to bathe; her maidens strolled on the bank. She saw the basket-boat floating in the reeds and sent her maid to get it. She opened it and saw the child—a baby crying! Her heart went out to him. She said, “This must be one of the Hebrew babies.” (Peterson, Eugene H. The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2005. Print.)

The baby’s older sister found herself a vantage point a little way off and watched to see what would happen to him. Pharaoh’s daughter came down to the Nile to bathe; her maidens strolled on the bank. She saw the basket-boat floating in the reeds and sent her maid to get it. She opened it and saw the child—a baby crying! Her heart went out to him. She said, “This must be one of the Hebrew babies.”

The big sister looked out for her little brother!

Peterson, Eugene H. The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2005. Print.

III. She was a Provider (7-10)

“Then his sister was before her: “Do you want me to go and get a nursing mother from the Hebrews so she can nurse the baby for you?” 8  Pharaoh’s daughter said, “Yes. Go.” The girl went and called the child’s mother. 9  Pharaoh’s daughter told her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me. I’ll pay you.” The woman took the child and nursed him. 10  After the child was weaned, she presented him to Pharaoh’s daughter who adopted him as her son. She named him Moses (Pulled-Out), saying, “I pulled him out of the water.” (Peterson, Eugene H. The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2005. Print.)

she provided food and care for own baby! ONLY GOD!

Then his sister was before her: “Do you want me to go and get a nursing mother from the Hebrews so she can nurse the baby for you?”

Conclusion

This was a set up made by God!

8  Pharaoh’s daughter said, “Yes. Go.” The girl went and called the child’s mother.

“God used them to do what they were good at and what their culture especially honored in women: preserving and raising a child.

9  Pharaoh’s daughter told her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me. I’ll pay you.” The woman took the child and nursed him.

God used them to do what they were good at and what their culture especially honored in women: preserving and raising a child. Their faithfulness to that noble role parallels in no small degree the faithfulness of the Israelite midwives to theirs as described in the prior chapter. In each instance children were preserved from the death the pharaoh had decreed by women who defied his repugnant command. Pharaoh’s daughter could do so by reason of her privileged status; Moses’ mother and sister, by reason of their wit and fortitude and—though it is only implicit at this point in the narrative—their faith.

Their faithfulness to that noble role parallels in no small degree the faithfulness of the Israelite midwives to theirs as described in the prior chapter.

10  After the child was weaned, she presented him to Pharaoh’s daughter who adopted him as her son. She named him Moses (Pulled-Out), saying, “I pulled him out of the water.”

Stuart, Douglas K. Exodus. Vol. 2. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006. Print. The New American Commentary.

Peterson, Eugene H. The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2005. Print.

In each instance children were preserved from the death the pharaoh had decreed by women who defied his repugnant command. Pharaoh’s daughter could do so by reason of her privileged status; Moses’ mother and sister, by reason of their wit and fortitude and—though it is only implicit at this point in the narrative—their faith.” [Stuart, Douglas K. Exodus. Vol. 2. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006. Print. The New American Commentary.]