Jochebed: A Mother of Faith

Psalm 78:1–7 NIV

My people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth with a parable; I will utter hidden things, things from of old— things we have heard and known, things our ancestors have told us. We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done. He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.

Exodus 1 NIV

These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family: Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah; Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin; Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher. The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all; Joseph was already in Egypt. Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, but the Israelites were exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in numbers and became so numerous that the land was filled with them. Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt. “Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become far too numerous for us. Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.” So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly. They made their lives bitter with harsh labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly. The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, “When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.” The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?” The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.” So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own. Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.”

Hebrews 11:17–29 NIV

By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death. By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future. By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff. By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones. By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel. By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.

Jochebed: A Mother of Faith

Introduction:

What dreams or wishes might our mothers have? Here is one mother’s wish that I read about this week.

I Wish I Were A Bear

I Wish I Were a Bear If you’re a bear, you get to hibernate. You do nothing but sleep for six months. I could get used to that. And another thing: before you hibernate, You’re supposed to eat yourself stupid. That wouldn’t bother me either. If you’re a mama bear, everyone knows you mean business; You swat anyone who bothers you or your cubs. If your cubs get out of line, you swat them, too. Your husband expects you to growl when you wake up. He expects you to have hairy legs and excess body fat. He likes it! I wish I were a bear.

Source unknown

Well, I do not know about you, but that helps put things in such a perspective that I may decide to wish for the same thing.

That is all fun and good, but lets get serious. The role of mom has many responsibilities and they do not end when a child leaves home. Our kids will always be our kids even when they are in their 60’s or 70’s.

Allow me to share a tribute to my mom which I believe many of you will be able to identify with. Forgive my sentimentality. You know it does not take much to make me cry and this is one of those times. So, I will do my best to get through it.

My Mother

Your love, I know—I’ve seen your tears;

You’ve given to me my life.

You’ve walked through hours and days and years

Of heartache, toil and strife.

To see that I could have the best

That you could give to me,

You gave up needs and often rest—

You viewed eternity.

To do His will my highest call

And by your special care

I stood and walked and did not fall,

You held me up in prayer.

Though strands of gray may brush your hair,

And miles divide our way,

I know that by your quiet prayer

You’ve helped me day by day.

You’ve shown me how to give, to share

To put my own needs last.

You’ve helped me see and be aware

That life is so soon past.

To spite your love I would not dare,

For there’s not another

Who spreads her gentle love and care

Like you—My Loving Mother.

Source unknown

Today, I step away from our Resurrection series in order to talk to you about the importance of mother’s. You see, the first five years are the most important insetting a foundation for all a child learns. It is in those first five years that a child learns to respect and obey adults. The first eight years are the years when children learn the fastest. Here again, if they learn to respect and obey adults in those first five years, they are provided a foundation upon which further knowledge and wisdom is more easily attained.

Proverbs 6:20-22 says,

Proverbs 6:20–22 NIV

My son, keep your father’s command and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. Bind them always on your heart; fasten them around your neck. When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you.

And Proverbs 22:6 says,

Proverbs 22:6 NIV

Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

One of the best examples of this is the life and times of Moses. It is Moses mother I want us to look at today.

When we left off earlier, we find that Abraham’s family has grown from 70 people to a great multitude in Egypt where they came for protection during a famine. By virtue of their great numbers, the Pharoah of Egypt felt threatened and oppressed them, making them slaves. But that was not enough for him to feel safe. So then he turns to infanticide to try to prevent them growing any more. This is where we take off in this event.

Exodus 2:1–10 NRSV

Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman. The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him three months. When she could hide him no longer she got a papyrus basket for him, and plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the river. His sister stood at a distance, to see what would happen to him. The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her attendants walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to bring it. When she opened it, she saw the child. He was crying, and she took pity on him. “This must be one of the Hebrews’ children,” she said. Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Yes.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed it. When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and she took him as her son. She named him Moses, “because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.”

The Word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God!

Pray

Sermon:

One of the benefits of the Bible, is that it is one long detailed history of a nation. That means that we not only gain knowledge of the events that took place, but we gain further understanding through later generations relating further details that have been handed down, generation to generation.

Moses was believed to be born somewhere between 1200-1400 B.C.E., yet Stephen relates some of the story at his stoning in 36 A.D. And the writer of Hebrews gives more detail. The writing of Hebrews is not for certain, but sometime between 65-95 A.D., yet Hebrews provides more details of the events of Moses birth than what we immediately see in Exodus. Hebrews helps us to interpret why Moses parents responded as they did. Look first at the events found in Exodus 2.

Exodus 2:1–3 NIV

Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.

The event of Moses birth and the exodus of his people from Egypt is probably one of the best known events of the Bible. Greatly in part due to the timeless movie: The Ten Commandments starring Charlton Heston. This movie did a fair job of relating this event, but allow me to fill in some less known details.

In this chapter we do not know anything about these two people beyond the fact that they are Levites. Levi was the third son of Jacob born of Leah, Jacob’s first wife. Jacob’s story is a colorful one and if you do not know of it, it is worth reading. It is found in Genesis 25 and continues through the rest of the book of Genesis.

The Levite’s do not mean much at this point in the event, but later we find they become significant as the priests of Israel.

It is in Exodus 6 that we learn the names of Moses parents. They are Amram and Jochebed. Jochebed was actually Amram’s aunt as it was tradition to marry within the family in those days.

As we read this part of the event, you envision a mother desperate to save her child from a tyrant bent on killing him. However, there is much more to this than that. Here is where later scripture gives clarity. Look with me at the book of Hebrews. Hebrews 11, the chapter we call the Faith Hall of Fame record.

Hebrews 11:23 NIV

By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.

Here we find parents not acting in fear, but acting in faith. They not only saw a beautiful child, but a child that had God’s mark of purpose upon his life.

One of the details that always catches my eye in scripture is that no matter what is happening with the greater nation of Israel, no matter how many of the Israelites are not living in faith, there is always one or two, perhaps even a few we do not know about, that are still holding firm to their faith in God.

As Moses seeks to help his people, there are a LOT who gripe, and complain and seem totally oblivious of God’s greater plan, but there are still a few holding onto God’s promises. People like Moses, Joshua, and Caleb. These are the obvious ones, but there were perhaps others.

Amram and Jochebed are some of this loyal line. Despite what is happening in their nation; despite the threat hanging over them, they are holding onto God’s promises. They desire something different for their children and they recognize that only God can achieve it. They do not act in fear, but in faith. They trust God has their children’s best interest at heart, so they have no need to fear.

This is the same faith of Abraham. Hebrews 11:17-19

Hebrews 11:17–19 NASB95

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; it was he to whom it was said, “In Isaac your descendants shall be called.” He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.

For three months, Moses was easy to hide. Now children pick up on anxiety around them. The fact that Moses was obviously not a fussy baby, indicates that those around him must have felt a certain level of peace. If Jochebed had been nervous and uptight, Moses would have been nervous and uptight and crying a lot. So, we see a mother who was at peace with her God and trusted Him to provide.

We continue to see this faith as she positions her daughter to see what will happen. Jochebed trusts that God has a plan of deliverance, just as Abraham did for Isaac.

Not only did Jochebed have faith that God would protect Moses and deliver him from harm, but she trusted God would protect her daughter Miriam as she watched over Moses.

Now, Jochebed has just demonstrated for us two important things a mother of faith must have.

Mothers of faith have...Faith that God has at heart the best interest of her children.

Mothers of faith have...Confidence that God has a plan for their children.

Now I want you to think of Jochebed’s situation and our situation. Jochebed is a slave in a country not her own. The leader of the land desires destruction for her children. Yet Jochebed does not fear the evil desires of the Pharaoh of the land.

We are not slaves, though I suspect there are leaders in our nation who would like to make us such giving them full control over our lives. It is easy to look at what is happening in our nation and fear for our children and their future. However, Jochebed demonstrates for us that we need not fear. We need only trust in God and act in confidence that He has a plan for our children no matter who is in leadership.

I want you to notice something else. Jochebed does not seem to be in a crowd of others with the same faith. Yet, God used her children to help free their entire nation. That brings us to the third thing we learn about mothers of faith.

Mothers of faith have…Eyes on God, not those around them.

If Jochebed was focused on those around her, i.e. her peers and the fears they were dealing with, she most likely would have succumbed to fear. However, she was obviously focused on God not others.

Jochebed’s faith served her well and God performed an incredible miracle in the lives of her children, for not only was Moses rescued, but he was rescued and protected by the enemy.

Exodus 2:5–6 NIV

Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it. She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said.

Now chances are that if an Egyptian man had found Moses and recognized him as a Hebrew, he would have drowned the child. But a woman found the child. The fact that Pharaoh's daughter chose to keep him for herself makes me wonder if she was barren. This would explain her desire to keep him despite his being Hebrew and perhaps why Pharoah would allow it. I do not know for sure. But it makes the most sense to me. In any case, it is evident that God’s hand is at work here.

When we put our trust in God, He is allowed to work in amazing ways in our lives.

Miriam, with the same courage and confidence of her parents, now steps forward in faith.

Now we see that...

Mothers of faith…instill confidence and faith in their children.

Miriam acts with the same faith and confidence of her mother. In fact, she is so confident that she takes bold action.

One of the things that grieves my heart these days is the lack of confidence in kids. On one hand, they are fighting for independence from authority, but they are also very willingly slaves in the hands of the wrong authorities (celebrities/social media, etc…) due to a lack of confidence in themselves. I believe some of this comes from growing up with no real responsibilities. I suspect there are two things that drives this lack of responsibility. First, no supervision to help them to learn to take responsibility and second, fear to give responsibility when there is no one to oversee or supervise them.

In Bible days and pioneer times, children had responsibilities to survive. They were involved in house chores and farm chores. They experienced success and failures from a young age. Now, children are under babysitters. They babysitters do not necessarily require them to do any chores. When kids are home alone, they are not always expected to do chores because it is faster and easier for parents to do it later. There is no supervision for the kids and parents may fear children getting hurt doing something while they are not home.

I am sure there is much more to it, but when children are ready to be on their own, they do not know how to do for themselves and they have not had experiences that build up their confidence.

We see confidence in Miriam. She was given responsibility and when the moment came, she did not hesitate to take action. Because of the bold action she took, her mother was given the opportunity to raise her son after all.

Exodus 2:8–9 NIV

“Yes, go,” she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took the baby and nursed him.

Not only does Jochebed get her son back, but now she is paid to nurse him. We see that...

Mothers of faith…are blessed by God.

God rewards our faith! Now we do not know how long Jochebed had Moses. Babylonian law called for nursing babies 2-3 years. Egyptians usually weened their children to cow’s milk after about 3 months. Jewish law was 2 years but sometimes it was stressed to be up to 5 years for the health of a child. I suspect Jochebed was allowed longer with Moses. Perhaps more like a nanny until he was school age. The reason I believe this is because Jochebed obviously instilled in her son the truth of his people. Look with me further at this story.

Exodus 2:10 NIV

When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, “I drew him out of the water.”

In AD 36 when Stephen was stoned he revealed the following about Moses.

Acts 7:21–22 NIV

When he was placed outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son. Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.

Then in Hebrews 11:24-26

Hebrews 11:24–26 NIV

By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.

Where was this knowledge of God and his people instilled in Moses? Under the tutor-age of his true mother Jochebed. He certainly didn’t learn it from the Egyptians!

Mothers of faith…Hand down the truths of God’s plan to their children.

What is more, is that Moses grew up believing that God had protected him so he could deliver his people from bondage. Look again at Stephen’s speech.

Acts 7:25 NIV

Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not.

The people may not have believed, but Jochebed believed and instilled within her son a sense of his calling. It was not easy, but despite the lack of faith among the nation, the faith of his family was enough to put him on a path so God was able to use him to deliver the nation of Israel.

Jochebed’s faith is not only evident in Moses, but in all her children. All three became important leaders over the Children of Israel. All three played an important part. They were not perfect, but no one is. However, God was able to do a great miracle among his people because of the faith of this one mother.

Conclusion:

Your children may be young or they may be adults, but it is never too late to dedicate them to God. Short of death, it is never too late to know that God has a plan for their life or to nurture their faith.

If you have young children and you are fearful of what is happening in our nation, remember how God protected and used Jochebed’s children to deliver her nation. Pray and ask God to help you see in your children what He sees, what He has created in them. Nurture their faith in God. Give them responsibilities so they can develop confidence in themselves enough to be used by God for great things.

If you raised your children to have faith and they do not seem to be living it, do not despair. Moses was 40 years old before he took action. He then failed and fled only to have his own personal experience with God in the wilderness. He was 80 years old when he lead Israel out of Egypt.

I was in my 30’s when I entered the ministry. My younger brother was in his 40’s. I shared recently, people I have known who began in their 60’s, so it is never too late to start obeying God.

Do not stop praying for your children. Never forget that God’s got their best interest at heart and He is fighting for them also.

As you go to have meals with your families today. Delight in them! Allow them to honor you and just love them back!

Pray

Promise of the day!

Hebrews 10:35–36 NIV

So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.