GOD’S WOMAN: Jochebed- A Powerful Example of Motherhood
Numbers 26:59 (NLT)
and Amram’s wife was named Jochebed. She also was a descendant of Levi, born among the Levites in the land of Egypt. Amram and Jochebed became the parents of Aaron, Moses, and their sister, Miriam.
I am not a mother by nature, but God has blessed me to have influence in the lives of children. I am always amazed by some of the choices that mothers make in order to show love for their children. Unfortunately, some mothers have had to give up their children for adoption or foster care. I have often wondered about the reasons that would drive a woman to the decision to leave her child. It may be because of lack of money, the inability to provide, or some other drastic reason. But what if giving up your child would actually save your child’s life and ultimately save a nation?
Imagine if there were a new law in the United States that all of the male babies born were going to be killed. That is the law that Moses’ mother, Jochebed, was faced with in Egypt when Pharaoh announced that all male Hebrew babies should be killed. Rather than allow her new baby to be killed, Jochebed decided to save Moses by placing him in a reed basket to float away on the Nile River, awaiting an unknown future.
Can you imagine the amount of faith that she must have had to believe that his life would be spared? Rather than fear that he might drown or be eaten by a creature, she believed God; He had a plan for her child. Genesis 49:18 says, “I trust in you for salvation, O Lord!” Do you have the same level of trust for the saving grace from God that Jochebed had when she trusted God to save her son, Moses?
Actually, God had quite an amazing plan for Jochebed’s life. She may have thought that God was finished with her when she initially placed Baby Moses in the river, thinking that she would never see her infant son again. But God had something else up His divine sleeve! Jochebed’s daughter, Miriam, followed the basket along the banks of the Nile to watch over Moses. Miriam saw that the princess daughter of Pharaoh was the one to find the baby, asking her maiden to pull him from the river. Miriam offered to find a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby for the princess. The princess agreed and asked Miriam to bring the woman to her. Miriam was so smart to fetch Jochebed to bring to the princess! Exodus 2:9 says, “Take this baby and nurse him for me,” the princess told the baby’s mother. “I will pay you for your help.” So the woman took her baby home and nursed him.”
Imagine the joy that Jochebed felt in the midst of Pharaoh’s plan to kill the Hebrew boys; she was allowed a second chance to nurse her own baby, whom she birthed in the midst of a season of death so that Moses could later grow up in Pharaoh’s household until time for him to fulfill his purpose in God. Similarly, God is a protector of our dreams. He will allow us the chance to nurse those dreams and visions which we have birthed so that they can grow to fulfill their intended God-purpose.
After nursing Moses for a season, it was time for him to return to the house of Pharaoh where he was adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter and raised as an Egyptian. While he was not raised as a Hebrew, it was probably the seeds of faith that Jochebed planted in his heart when he was young that years later helped to move his heart to compassion, especially when he saw the plight of the Hebrew people who were suffering at the hands of the Egyptians. I want to encourage each of you who are mothers or touch the hearts of young people. The seeds that you plant in the lives of young people really matter. What may seem like an insignificant word or prayer to a small child may influence the decisions that they make when they get older. Never underestimate the influence that your investment of words and prayers can have on children.
Finally, in addition to birthing Moses, we can see that Jochebed was a powerful mother by the influence that she had on her other children, Aaron and Miriam. When Moses became a reluctant leader because of his issues with his speech, Aaron became his mouthpiece.
Exodus 4:14-16 (NLT)
14 Then the Lord became angry with Moses. “All right,” he said. “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he speaks well. And look! He is on his way to meet you now. He will be delighted to see you. 15 Talk to him, and put the words in his mouth. I will be with both of you as you speak, and I will instruct you both in what to do. 16 Aaron will be your spokesman to the people. He will be your mouthpiece, and you will stand in the place of God for him, telling him what to say. God used the partnership of these two brothers to free the slaves. Could Jochebed have even imagined that her two boys would have been used to save a nation of God’s people? Even her daughter, Miriam, was a powerhouse when it came to praise and leadership. Exodus 15:20 says, “20 Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine and led all the women as they played their tambourines and danced.”
Jochebed is only mentioned by name twice in the Bible, but I believe that she is a very important woman representing the power of mothers. I believe that any mother would be grateful and proud to be used by God to birth one godly leader, let alone three! If you are a mother or a woman that has influence over children, I encourage you to remember the example of Jochebed. Remember: God can use you to influence a nation by influencing just one child.
