Jochebed, A Woman Who Tried, She Trusted , And She Triumphed

Exodus 2:1-10 12/3/23 a.m.

Last Sunday afternoon Rachel and I were talking about a mother that we know and some of you all do also. I'm not gonna tell you who it is, I don't want to embarrass he. And don’t worry, it was all good. Anyway, as the conversation went on, Rachel said something that really struck me. She said speaking about this mother, “SHE REALLY TRIED.” And when I heard that and thought about it, Rachel was right. This mother REALLY TRIED. And I think I know why. I think it’s because she REALLY CARED.

I don’t think I’ve ever preached out of this passage before and so let’s go ahead and turn in your Bibles to Exodus Chapter 2. We’ll read Verses 1-10.

“And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi.

2 And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months.

3 And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink.

4 And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him.

5 And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river's side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it.

6 And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews' children.

7 Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee?

8 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child's mother.

9 And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the women took the child, and nursed it.

10 And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water.”

I think, too often, we read these stories in the Bible and we just kind of SKIM over them. I mean, a lot of us who were raised in church have heard them since we were kids. Back in Sunday School we would make little baskets and put Baby Moses in it. Sometimes the teacher would pull out the LATEST GREATEST INNOVATION of the time. FLANNELGRAPH!!! She would stick the little basket into the CAT TAILS along the creek there and then tell us the story of Moses.

But as adults there is SO MUCH MORE for us to get out of this wonderful story of God’s deliverance and there is SO MUCH that we can learn from it as adults living in TRYING TIMES.

So let’s go to the Lord in Prayer and then we’ll get into this message. Brother ____, would you lead us?

I. To really see and understand how this mother came to this point where she had to PLACE HER BABY in a BASKET that floated in the river, we have to go back to Chapter 1 of Exodus. In Verse 8 it tells us,

“Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.”

So what happened? A new Pharaoh came into power who had not been told about how that Joseph had saved the Egyptian Kingdom from starving to death. How that he had been put in charge of STORING BACK GRAIN so that when the famine came, people would still have something to eat. Somebody DROPPED the BALL and didn’t TEACH their children and grandchildren about this HERO named Joseph.

Joseph had SAVED THEIR BEANS and now his FAMILY, his people, were being killed. In Verses 9 and 10, Pharaoh began to worry that the Israelites would outnumber them.

In Verses 11-14, it tells us how that the Egyptians basically ENSLAVED THEM, making them work and produce BRICKS to build with.

Then in Verses 15 and 16, the Pharaoh tells the MIDWIVES to begin KILLING the BOY BABIES and let the FEMALE BABIES live. Of course they refused and Verse 17 tells us,

“But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive.”

The Pharaoh got mad and asked the Midwives why they weren’t killing the little boys and they said, “Well, they’re just too fast for us. The babies are BORN before we can get there.”