Exodus 6:20 ESV
Exodus 15:20-21 (Moses’ sister Miriam)
Exodus 1:15-16 (Pharaoh’s order to kill Israel born male babies)
Exodus 2:2-4 ESV
Hebrews 11:23 ESV
Exodus 1:7 NKJV
Exodus 2:5-10 ESV
Hebrews 11:24-25 ESV
Numbers 26:59 ESV
A Story of Love Series
Real Love stories often go far beyond the story of a man, a woman, and God. Some of the best love stories are between a parent and a child. That was the case with Jochebed and Her baby boy Moses.
We know from Exodus 6:20 the beginning of the story of love concerning Moses’ family, “Amram took as his wife Jochebed his father's sister, and she bore him Aaron and Moses, the years of the life of Amram being 137 years.” Moses also had an older sister and her name was Miriam (Exodus 15:20-21).
When Exodus begins there was a problem in Egypt. The Pharaoh who put Joseph in power had died and there was a new king in town. God blessed Israel greatly and they grew in number. As a result of the blessing of many children the new Pharaoh ordered the midwives to kill all the male children born to Israel (Exodus 1:15-16).
Jochebed’s older son Aaron was not in danger because when he was born the order from Pharaoh was not yet in place (https://bible.org/question/how-did-aaron-moses’-brother-survive-being-slaughtered-when-pharaoh-killed-first-born-sons-).
In Exodus 2:2-4, we learn that Jochebed, “The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank. And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him.”
It’s difficult for us to imagine how hard this decision would have been for Jochebed. Not only was she in great danger because she hid her baby Moses, she decided to try to find a way to save him from being slain.
God had to be very much a part of this plan because of the life He had chosen for Moses.
For Moses’ Mother Jochebed, it would have been an ultimate sacrifice of love.
We know from Hebrews 11:23, “By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king's edict.” While in Egypt the children of Israel were blessed and they multiplied. We read in Exodus 1:7, “But the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them.” When Jochebed accepted God’s plan to hide her baby in a place where the Pharaoh’s daughter went to bathe, she was giving her beautiful boy a chance to live.
Exodus 2:5-10 “Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it. When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews' children.” Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, “Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, “Go.” So the girl went and called the child's mother. And 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. When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.”
God made a way, not only for the child to live but to be nursed by his own mother! In many cultures, children are nursed by their mother until they are three or four years old. So It’s possible that Moses was allowed to stay with his Mother, Jochebed for several years. In addition to that blessing, the Pharaoh’s daughter paid her for taking care of her own son.
We also know because it’s possible that Moses was with his Mother until he stopped nursing, he would have had the opportunity to remember his Mother.
From a psychological perspective, Moses would have been blessed to have a close personal relationship of love from his Mother. Because she knew one day he would be taken to live in the Pharaoh’s palace, she would have cherished every moment of every day with Moses. She would have made sure this child knew he was loved.
She would have poured out her love on him while she had the chance.
Moses’ parents would have also known that they needed to teach Moses every thing they could about what it meant to be Hebrew. They would have known that once he left their home and moved to the palace to be educated, he would not be allowed to worship God as a child of Israel.
As it turned out, it appears that Moses remembered.
He remembered the things his Mother taught him.
He remembered his people…the people of God.
We are told in Hebrews 11:24-25 “By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.”
All along God had a plan. Jochebed poured out love on her son every day she was allowed to keep him, and when he was grown he did not depart from her love.
When Amram and his family were included in the Hebrew book that gave an account of the people of God, we read in Numbers 26:59, “The name of Amram's wife was Jochebed the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt. And she bore to Amram Aaron and Moses and Miriam their sister.”
Amram and Jochebed were from the Hebrew tribe of Levi (3rd born son of Jacob) and they had three children. Aaron, the oldest who was a high Priest, Moses was the chosen deliverer for the Hebrew children out of Egypt, and Miriam was a Prophet of God (https://www.learnreligions.com/miriam-sister-of-moses-701189).
Ultimately, Jochebed was a mother who loved her youngest son enough to let him go. Moses, deliverer of the children of God was her beloved youngest son who never forgot his humble beginnings. Their story of love carried them all the days of their lives.
Today’s Spiritual Practice is: Listen
What is God telling you today? Carry that in your heart.
In God, Deborah
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