JOCHEBED


A. "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 MONTHS" - EX. 2:12
  1. The story of the life of Moses is not complete without a brief report of the life of Jochebed, his mother:
    1. Jochebed was without doubt, a woman of great faith and high intelligence
    2. This and more is implied in what she did to save the life of her son from the wrath of Pharaoh
  2. In fact:
    1. Moses story might have been different had it not been for Jochebed, his mother
    2. This brief outline is intended to pay tribute to the wife of a Levite named Amram, namely Jochebed
B. JOCHEBED IS WITHOUT ANY QUESTION ONE OF THE OUTSTANDING WOMEN OF THE BIBLE FOR FIVE SPECIFIC REASONS
  1. She demonstrated her faith in God's promises:
    1. In the darkest hour of her nation, Satan had directed Pharaoh to prevent the Hebrews from multiplying by destroying every male born to an Israelite woman - Ex. 1:15-22
    2. The mothers in Israel were slaves and were powerless against the command of Pharaoh
    3. It was under these forbidding circumstances that Jochebed dared to save the life of her son
  2. Jochebed demonstrated her skill and ingenuity:
    1. By devising a little ark to place her son in - Ex. 2:2-3; this shows that she had an inventive mind
    2. She had strong faith that the time of deliverance of her people was at hand, and that she must save her child
    3. She used the very river that received untold thousands of Hebrew children by drowning them
  3. God honored her faith and opened the way to make the life of Moses secure:
    1. This shows that when mothers work in harmony with God's plan and in faith, their work will be rewarded - Jer. 31:17-19
    2. God allowed Jochebed to mold the life of her son during the first twelve years
  4. Jochebed trained Moses:
    1. To be true to the faith of his fathers
    2. To refuse to be contaminated with the vices of Egypt; he showed this by refusing to be called Pharaoh's daughter's son
  5. She demonstrated to the universe:
    1. The high and noble mission of motherhood
    2. She showed that mothers often hold the destiny of their children in their own powers
C. A TIMELY LESSON FOR CHRISTIAN MOTHERS
  1. Let Christian mothers observe prayerfully:
    1. The sacred responsibility of Christian motherhood
    2. For they are, truly, co-workers with God to prepare and shape the destiny of their children - that is what Jochebed did
    3. Let them know that there can be no higher mission than to train children to honor God in their lives and to be useful to humanity
  2. Long live the memory of Jochebed:
    1. She had the courage to defy the wrath of Pharaoh and save Moses from being destroyed in the River Euphrates
    2. In fact, she used that very river to save Moses life - that is heroism in the highest degree
    3. She gave to her nation and to the world a man known as the meekest man on earth; one of the greatest legislators of all times
    4. She laid the foundation for the faith of Moses that enabled him to choose the cross of Christ rather than the pleasures of sin for a season
    5. She trained Moses to keep his sight upon the invisible rather than upon the temporal - Heb. 11:27
    6. She succeeded where other mothers feared to venture - that makes Jochebed a hero, a saint, unforgettable


Design © John Bryant 2011