Jochebed - A Woman of Faith
Exodus 2:1-8
Behind every great man is his mother. Someone imagined the mothers of these well-known sons making the following comments:
Mrs. Morse: “Sam, stop tapping your fingers on the table--it’s driving me crazy!”
Mrs. Lindbergh: “Charles, can’t you do anything by yourself?”
Mrs. Washington: “George never did have a head for money.”
Mrs. Armstrong: “Neil has no more business taking flying lessons than the man on the moon.” - Reader’s Digest, March,1988
Can you think of anyone else in the world that has more potential for a positive influence on a child than a mother does? A mother creates a close bond with her children that will last for a lifetime. Mom's influence will be either positive or negative. A mother has the opportunity like Timothy's mother, to plant the seeds of faith in a child that God can use to lead a child into a life of daily walking with and service to God. One of life’s greatest blessings is to have a godly mother. Abraham Lincoln declared, "no man is poor who has had a godly mother."One of the greatest gifts you can give your children is to be a godly parent. This morning I want you to consider the example of one godly mother taken from the pages of the book of Exodus, the mother of the human writer of that book, Jochebed.
I. Her Identity - A godly mother
A. Jochebed - her name yaw-keh-bed means “glory of Jehovah” or, “Jehovah (is her or our) glory.”
B. Alan Carr points out that "Jochebed was an Israelite, one of God's chosen people. She was also a member of the tribe of Levi from which would come the priests and those who would carry out the duties of the Tabernacle and later of the Temple."
C. She was a godly woman who as we will see stood for her faith. She had a relationship with God as her Sovereign Lord and King.
D. Nothing will have a more profound and lasting influence in the lives of our children than having good, godly examples in their homes.
E. Dr. Benjamin Carson, director of pediatric neurosurgery at the John’s Hopkins Children’s Center wrote an essay, entitled, “There Is No Job More Important Than Parenting,” about the influence of his mother on his life. He wrote: "Over the years my mother’s steadfast faith in God has inspired me, particularly when I had to perform extremely difficult surgical procedures or when I found myself faced with my own medical scare. A few years ago I discovered I had a very aggressive form of prostate cancer; I was told it might have spread to my spine. My mother was steadfast in her faith in God. She never worried. She said that God was not through with me yet; there was no way that this was going to be a major problem. The abnormality in my spine turned out to be benign; I was able to have surgery and am cured. My story is really my mother’s story – a woman with little formal education or worldly goods who used her position as a parent to change the lives of many people around the globe.” - Dorothy Valcarcel, Christian Post Guest Contributor.
F. What does a godly mother (or Father) look like
1. One who prays for and with their children (James 5:16)
2. One who studies God's Word and teaches it to their children (Deuteronomy11:19)
3. One who sets an example by the life they lead (2 Timothy 1:5)
4. One who has a compassionate heart (Psalm 103:13)
5. One who stands firm in their faith (Philippians 1:27)
G. 1 Peter 2:9 " But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light"
II. Her Dilemma
A. She was living in an hostile environment. Jochebed’s life was no bed of roses. Born in Egypt as a daughter of Levi, she had known only the curse of slavery.
B. The Egyptians dreaded the Israelites and made life difficult. In Exodus 1:13-14 (NLT) "The Egyptians worked the people of Israel without mercy. They made their lives bitter, forcing them to mix mortar and make bricks and do all the work in the fields. They were ruthless in all we read that their demands."
C. She could have whined and complained about the difficulty of life’s circumstances but she did not. Jochebed would not allow herself to surrender to the hopelessness of life as a slave in Egypt.
D. In hatred and fear of the Hebrews, Pharaoh ordered the killing of all Israelite male infants by casting them into the crocodile infested Nile River. (Exodus 1:22)
E. There was great peril with the Pharaoh's edict. Disobedience could would easily cost one a life prison or even one's own death.
F. We live in a world that is hostile toward Christians and Biblical Christianity. While we do not have the overt persecution that the Israelites faced at hands of the Egyptians, there seems to be a growing opposition and antagonism toward Christianity in our world.
G. John 15:18-19 “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you."
H. Godly people must resist and counter the evil pressures of the world.
III. Her Courage
A. She refused to go with the flow. She refused to consider her own life, comfort, convenience or safety. She refused to bow to Egypt's demands.
B. Exodus 2:1-2 " And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi. And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three month"
C. Jochebed knew the decree Pharaoh had made. She knew that her baby's life would be forfeited if she didn't do something to save him. And she knew that her own life was on the line if she disobeyed. But that decree just went against everything basically humane and moral and right. So Jochebed, fearing God more than man, made a decision that, though it put her in great jeopardy, proved to be the decision that saved a nation. - copied
D. Many might ask could any mother even think about killing their child. Today more than fifty-four million babies have been murdered in the womb by their mothers in the USA alone! Worldwide that figure rises to more than one half- billion or roughly 1 out of every 24 people have been murdered by abortion when estimating that the entire world's population in all of previous history at a bit over 12 billion.
E. By seeking to preserve Moses' life she saved the life of Israel's their future law-giver and the leader of the Exodus.
F. Isaac's birth took place in England on a cold Christmas Day. He was sick, born premature, and everyone around him thought he was going to die. His father had died two months earlier, and his mother was having a hard time running the farm and looking after her new baby. And a war was raging around them. Some people think it would have been easier for Isaac's mother if she had aborted Isaac. But his mother wouldn't consider it. And just as well for the world. Isaac grew up to be a scientific genius. Isaac was the one who discovered the law of gravitation. He revolutionized mathematics by developing calculus. He improved the telescope. He became famous for his work in physics, mathematics, and astronomy. Isaac was the first person to receive a knighthood for scientific achievement. When he died in 1727 at the age of 84 the government honored him by burying him in London's famous Westminster Abbey. Yes, it might have been easier for his mother to abort the child who became Sir Isaac Newton, but the world would never have known the greatest scientist who ever lived. How many geniuses has the world lost through abortion? We will never know. - copied
G. Acts 5:29b "...We ought to obey God rather than men."
IV. Her Sacrifice
A. Exodus 2:4 "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."
B. Jochebed gave Moses everything she could during those first months, then gave him up. When she realized that she could no longer hide her infant son, she made a little cradle of plaited reeds which were believed to be protection against crocodiles, then placed the cradle with its treasure secretly among the rushes at the river’s bank, and told Miriam her young daughter to stand near to watch over the small craft.
C. Jochebed knowing the edict of Pharaoh meant that her baby's life would be forfeited if she didn't do something to save him. And she knew that her own life was on the line if she disobeyed. But that decree just went against everything basically humane and moral and right. So Jochebed, fearing God more than man, made a decision that, though it put her in great jeopardy, proved to be the decision that saved a nation.
D. I am sure that Jochebed probably thought she'd never see her son again, but she entrusted her child to God's hands.
E. When I think of Jochebed I think of many expectant mothers who are pressured by the world to abort their unborn infants.
F. Like Jochebed there many unwed mothers refuse to have an abortion, yet have no choice but to place their baby for adoption. Like Jochebed, they must trust God to find a loving home for their child. Their heart's break at the thought of giving up their baby. But God is honored is when they obey his command not to kill the unborn.
G. 2 Corinthians 5:7 " For we walk by faith, not by sight."
H. Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."
I. Proverbs 29:25 "The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe."
V. Her Faith
A. Jochebed had faith in God's protection of her baby. Only because she trusted the Lord could she abandon her son rather than see him killed. She believed that God would take care of the child.
B. Isaiah 7:9 "If you do not stand firm in your faith, then you will not stand at all."
C. In the midst of dire circumstances, Jochebed fully entrusted her child to God's safekeeping.
D. Hebrews 11:23 "By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment."
E. God was able to work in this situation as a result of Jochabed’s faith in Him. As children were being murdered around her each day, she simply said, “God, I don’t understand why You are allowing this or what You have planned in all this, but I trust You. Here is my son. I entrust him to You.” - Dr. Paul Chappell
F. If we want God to work in our lives and our families we must place our faith in Him and we must put our faith into action. God will not and cannot work in our lives without our placing our trust in Him.
G. Hebrews 11:6 "But without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him."
VI. Her Reward
A. She gave up what she could not keep and received back more than what she gave.
B. Exodus 2:5-8 " 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. And when she 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.” 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?” And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, “Go.” So the maiden went and called the child's mother. 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.
C. It was no accident that when Pharaoh's daughter saw the beautiful baby boy and heard his cry that she had compassion on him. It was God's sovereign providence that caused Pharaoh’s daughter to save Moses and to ask Jochebed to nurse the child for her at a given wage. Not only was Jochebed’s infant was not only saved, but she was paid to care for him until he was weaned.
D. Ralph Wingate in his book "Seeing Him wrote, "God honored Jochebed's faith by catapulting her son from a death sentence to a royal position in the household of the king of Egypt." - page 105
E. God always rewards an obedient faith.
F. The measure our faith is demonstrated by our obedience.
G. It was Jochebed’s love, faith and courage that saved her child from a cruel death and preserved him to bless the world. A mother who loves the Savior, and who has a more severe anguish when she knows that, not the life of her child is at stake, but its soul, can rest in the assurance that Jochebed’s God still lives, and is able to save her dear one from eternal death.
Jochebed was a godly mother who laid the foundation for Moses during the first five or six years of his life. Jochebed was the chief influence used by God during his early formative years in preparing Moses for the grand calling of God to lead His people out of Egyptian bondage. Jochebed’s love, faith and courage in saving her child from a cruel watery death and living a godly life before him doubtlessly had a profound influence on Moses as evidenced in Hebrews 11:24-27. "By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible."
Jochebed let go and let God. Just as God provided for Jochebed as she placed her trust in Him, so He will provide for us as we trust Him. Are you trusting God today? Are you letting go and allowing god to work in your life today? Do you know Him as your Lord and Savior? Are you influencing others by living a godly life?
