A Mother's Example for Us All: Jochebed
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Most of us can say that we have been greatly influenced by those women in our lives that were either our mothers or some mother-like figure. I am sure that we could each name a list of women that have helped mold and shape our lives and even our faith. Sometimes mothers have to make great sacrifices and extreme choices for the sake of their children. Such was the case of Jochebed, the mother of Aaron, Miriam and this guy named Moses. We see her name mentioned just a couple of times in scripture but we have several verses that are about her. This morning, we are going to look at the example of Jochebed not only as an example for mothers, but for as an example for us all.
23 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.
24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 26 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. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.
29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.
1 Now a man of the house of Levi married a Levite woman, 2 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. 3 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. 4 His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.
5 Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the river bank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her slave girl to get it. 6 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.
7 Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?”
8 “Yes, go,” she answered. And the girl went and got the baby’s mother. 9 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. 10 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.”
20 Amram married his father’s sister Jochebed, who bore him Aaron and Moses. Amram lived 137 years.
As we look at Jochebed, we are going to look at the law she learned, the Lord she loved, and the life she lived.
The Law She Learned
The Law She Learned
We see from these various scriptures that Jochebed was a Levite. Levites were the descendants of Levi and were set apart as a priestly tribe according to Numbers 8. These were those who performed subordinate services associated with public worship. They were musicians, gate keepers, guardians, officials, judges, teachers and craftsmen. They would sing Psalms during the temple services as well as performing temple construction and maintenance. It would be fair to say that anyone that served in this capacity was at church a lot! There is a presupposition that we might have that says if you go to church a lot, you must be faithful.
14 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
Jochebed had a faith that she put into action! The Psalms that were sung and the worship that she was around had to have influence her.
Somewhere along the line, Jochebed must have understood for her faith to be strong, it had to be fearless. She has a son and kept him alive in the midst of a time when the king had ordered genocide. It takes guts to go against the edict of a king! Jochebed was ordered to throw that baby in the Nile. You know, as frustrated as I ever made my mother, I don’t think she was ever tempted to throw me into a crocodile infested river! What possessed Jochebed to do this? Actually, she did it to preserve life! Could it be that her faith was fearless because she had just enough trust in her Great God to be assured of a positive outcome?
1 The wicked man flees though no one pursues,
but the righteous are as bold as a lion.
Aren’t you thankful for those women in your life that are righteous and bold as lion? Where would this church be if that were not the case today? Men, we could learn much from the faithful and fearless examples of Jochebed we have sitting around us right now!
The Law Jochebed learned made her practice what she believed. In doing so, she became favored. She puts her death-sentenced son in a papyrus basket, covers it with tar so it doesn’t leak and has her daughter Miriam watch from a close distance. Pharaoh’s daughter finds the child and recognizes it as a Hebrew baby. Miriam steps in offering to find a Hebrew woman to come and nurse the child. She knew just who that woman might be! Jochebed became a woman highly favored! God provided an opportunity for her to raise her son in the midst of royalty!
16 From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.
Jochebed received grace before she perhaps knew what grace was! This is another example of God taking something that seemingly was bad and making it good. The king was intent on destructing and destroying a nation and the temple of God.
“When men are projecting the church’s ruin God is preparing for its salvation.”
- Matthew Henry
Doesn’t that tell you about the Lord Jochebed loved?
The Lord She Loved
The Lord She Loved
We don’t have a record of any prayer that Jochebed prayed. We don’t have any of her spoken words. What we do have, however, is the evidence of her service. She knew that baby was special. Exodus 2:2 calls the baby a “fine child.” The Hebrew word for “fine” is towb. It means well, goodness, and beautiful. What would have happened if the baby was ugly? Of course I am joking. Every God-fearing mother has never had an ugly baby. No matter what, there is something precious about a mother’s love. Jochebed knew this baby was special, so she risked it all for the child to live. Little did she know that the baby she saved would be the deliverer of her people! Jochebed had faith in the Lord she loved and it was evident in her service and it was extreme in her sacrifice.
Molly Grantham is one of the anchors for WBTV news. As you may know, she is a wife, a mother, an investigative reporter, a community activist, and one that has the ability to bring even the worst news into your home with care and compassion. I have been a fan of hers for a long time. This week, one of her children needed to dress up for superhero day at his school. She posted on social media that he was dressed up as a hardworking mom. There’s no doubt many of you hardworking mom’s, aunts and grandmom’s are superheroes! We could spend hours testifying and telling the stories of how those women in our lives sacrificed day in and day out in order that we might have it better. I believe that Jochebed did these things because something stirred deep within her as a result of the love she had for her Lord. It was evident in her service, extreme in her sacrifice, but also excellent in her situation. She made the very best of it! She could have easily given up and given in. She could have watched her son thrown into the Nile and drown because of a selfish king’s order. But she did not. Instead of giving into the state of being overcome, she chose to overcome her state of being! We all can learn from this can’t we? How many times have you come to what seems to be an impassable path but somehow kept going despite the obstacles?
37 For nothing is impossible with God.”
13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
I know there are many mothers present today that have had these verses ingrained in their hearts and minds and we all are better because they did! The example of Jochebed certainly has those characteristics. We don’t know lots, but we can see from these few verses today her example in the life she lived.
The Life She Lived
The Life She Lived
Jochebed was bold. Boldness makes things happen. I am convinced that through the practice of boldness, women and men can make things happen. But, notice what had to happen that the women did. For Moses to be placed in the position as God’s deliverer of the Hebrew nation, the midwives had to fear God and disobey Pharaoh’s orders. Remember the excuse they gave:
19 The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.”
20 So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.
The midwives had to fear God and disobey pharaoh’s orders. Jochabed had to be defiant. The Pharaoh’s daughter had to have compassion. Miriam had to be available to assist. Had these women not done this, Moses would not have come into the picture!
Men, let me remind you that the next time you deal with a stubborn woman in your life, you need to be thankful because most likely a greater thing is on the horizon! Don’t you come complaining to me about a stubborn woman! You better give them what they want or get out of their way!
Jochebed was bold and she was beyond herself. Nothing she did was about her. It was about her son. Did she know that Moses would be the deliverer of her nation? Probably not. But she helped make sure that he had the best life possible! In doing so, Jochebed was also blessed.
I don’t know the exact Psalms that would have been sung in which Jochebed might have heard as her duties as a Levite. Perhaps it could have been Psalm 115 like we heard read earlier. I don’t know anything about her later years. But we do know that obviously she lived a life that was unto the Lord.
Theologian and Commentator Dr. Herbert Lockyer writes, “Her sons and daughter lit their torches at her flame. Jochebed was the chief influence unto God in their preparation for the great tasks they were to accomplish in leading His people out of Egyptian bondage. It was Jochebed’s love, faith and courage that saved her child from a cruel death and preserved him to bless the world.”
I am grateful for the Jochebeds in my life. My mother, grandmothers, aunts, mentors, ministers, and even daughters, all the women that have shared with me love, faith and courage and in some form or fashion, have saved me from a cruel death and helped me in some way, to bless others. What about you? Are you grateful for the Jochebeds in your life? Maybe today if you are able, you can tell them and remind them of their blessing.