A MOTHER’S FAITH
1 And a man of the house of Levi went and took as wife a daughter of Levi. 2 So the woman conceived and bore a son. And when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months.
3 But when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of bulrushes for him, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river’s bank.
4 And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him.
5 Then the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river. And her maidens walked along the riverside; and when she saw the ark among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it.
6 And when she had opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby wept. So she had compassion on him, and said, "This is one of the Hebrews’ children."
7 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?" 8 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, "Go." So the maiden went and called the child’s mother.
9 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.
10 And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. So she called his name Moses, saying, "Because I drew him out of the water." Exodus 2:1-10 (NKJV)
Exodus 2:1-10 tells of his birth and adoption by Pharaoh’s daughter. Exodus 6:20 gives us his parents names: Amram and Jochebed, both of the house (later the tribe) of Levi. They were parents of a daughter named Miriam, their oldest child, and a three year old son named Aaron. Many Christians do not know who Jochebed was, but the whole world knows of her third child, Moses.
On this Mother’s Day we pause to honor our mothers and to reflect upon the important contribution they have made to our lives. We cannot even imagine what our lives would have been like without them. The great American evangelist of the 19th century, Dwight L. Moody, often said that all he had accomplished in life was due to his mother! I certainly come nowhere close to that spiritual giant, but I can certainly say the same thing about my mother.
In speaking of mothers, one noted writer declared: “There is Monica, mother of Augustine, who when her son wandered far astray from her early teaching, never lost faith that God would bring him back, and by her love and prayers ‘dragged’ him from the mire and set him among princes.”
ILLUS: The story is told of a teacher who gave her class of second graders a lesson on the magnet and what it does. The next day in a written test, she included this question: "My full name has six letters. The first one is M. I pick up things. What am I?" When the test papers were turned in, the teacher was astonished to find that almost 50 percent of the students answered the question with the word Mother. No one would question whether or not they all got it right! Actually, that all did!
Let us now focus our minds and thoughts on Jochebed, the mother of Moses.
I. A MOTHER’S FAITH CHALLENGED
1. “Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.” Exodus 1:8 (NKJV). This was an unsettling event for the Israelites.
2. “So Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, "Every son who is born you shall cast into the river and every daughter you shall save alive." Exodus 1:22 (NKJV)
Can we possibly imagine the fear that gripped the heart and mind of Jochebed, and every other expectant mother in Egyptian bondage, upon hearing the evil edict from the Pharaoh?
II. A MOTHER’S FAITH MANIFESTED
“So the woman conceived and bore a son. And when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months. But when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of bulrushes for him, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river’s bank. And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him. Exodus 2:2-4 (NKJV)
The older Moses’ grew the harder it was to hide him. Sooner or later he would be discovered and if so put to death. It is embarrassing for a mother when she is trying to keep a baby quiet and the child doesn’t want to cooperate.
She took for him an ark of bulrushes. Jochebed had one chance to save her child’s life. If she kept the baby it would soon be discovered and killed, so she devised a plan to hide him in a little boat she built out of bulrushes. Bulrushes were the stalks of papyrus plant that grew in great abundance in ancient times along the banks of the lower Nile.
She put the child in the basket and laid it in the flags. Although the Bible doesn’t tell us, we get the impression from reading this passage that Jochebed hid the baby among the tall grasses and reeds growing at the water’s edge because she wanted the princess to find her. Certainly Jochebed prayed to God for help and for some way to save her son. She turned to the Lord in faith in her time of need. God heard her prayers.
III. A MOTHER’S FAITH REWARDED
1. Her baby was found by Pharaoh’s daughter.
2. Pharaoh’s daughter had compassion on the baby as he wept.
3. Moses’ mother was chosen to nurse and care for the baby.
4. She saw her son raised in the king’s palace and educated in the greatest schools and universities in the world.
Only God in His providence could provide that Moses own mother would be able to raise him. Not only did she raise him but she was paid a salary! She was able to continue nursing him and giving him a mother’s love.
She was able to continue to have contact with him. It is possible that she may have been permitted to visit Moses in the palace garden from time to time. But if not, as Moses grew into his adolescent years, he could have had regular contact with his mother. Moses was not “imprisoned” in the palace, he simply lived there.
It takes more to make a mother than giving birth. Jochebed was his mother by birth, but more importantly, as his mother, she poured her life into Moses. Having seen the amazing grace of God in making all the early events become reality, why should we doubt that He would continue manifesting that marvelous grace?
Living in the king’s palace and being a member of his household, Moses had the advantage of sharing in Egypt’s bounties. Peter tells us, “So Moses was educated in all the wisdom and culture of the Egyptians, and he was mighty (powerful) in his speech and deeds.” Acts 7:22 (AMP)
IV. A MOTHER’S FAITH TESTED 1. Moses was 40 years old when he killed an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew slave and had to flee to Midian for 40 years (Acts 7:30) to avoid execution by the Pharaoh.
2. Mothers face many heartaches in life and one is having to let her child go. Few will be asked by God to let go of their children as early as Moses’ mother, but every mother will eventually have to let go. Think about the mother’s whose son’s are serving their country around the world and especially those who are serving in hostile areas.
3. God will strengthen a mother’s faith when she has to release her hold on her child. A godly mother will pray that God will guide and protect them. Mothers who follow the Lord’s instruction in Proverbs 22:6 which says, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it" can have the confidence that they send their children into the world prepared to face life’s trial.
4. Moses was 80 years old when God instructed him to return to Egypt to tell Pharaoh “Let My people go”. Considering the long forty years in Midian, the likelihood is that his mother never saw Moses again after he fled Egypt.
5. Jochebed had to commit her son to the care of the God she loved and trusted. Wise indeed is the mother of today who will do the same.
Isaiah 66:13 quotes the Lord as saying to His chosen people, “as one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you.” When we are hurting, there is no substitute for the love, nurture and consolation of our mother. I am sure that is why the Lord used the word “mother” in that 13th verse.
I think that we will all agree that there is something “special” about every true mother. I think this poem can sum up our thoughts on this subject.
Like a hope divine in this troubled world Is the thought of a Mother’s care… No payment is asked for it giving, No selfishness prompts its prayer.
Shared, it increases in richness, Divided, ‘tis full in each part. For God has hidden a love like His own In the depths of the “Mother heart”!
….Anonymous
