Message: The Great Faith of a Great Mother in a Great Passages: Exodus 1-2:11; Exodus 6:20; Numbers 26:59; and Hebrews 11:23

Every mother’s story is unique. When I visited Ethiopia just two months ago, I learned that 94% of Ethiopian babies are born at home. The infant mortality rate for the U.S. is 5 out of every 1000 births. In Ethiopia, it is 80 out of every 1,000 births. It was this graphic reminder to me that every mother’s story is unique. Mothers in other countries and mothers down through history have encountered childbirth situations that are difficult for us to even comprehend. I want to tell you one of those stories today, a story recorded in some of the earliest pages of the Bible. It is the story of a great mother with great faith in a great God. I want to narrate the story in a way that will help you to appreciate her faith in God and learn from her example. While the core elements of the story are straight from the Bible, I have taken some liberty in filling in lesser details. There are two points in the story where I will take a “time out” for us to consider a piece of her story that may impact ours.

Her name was Jochebed, and she fell in love with . The day came when they were married. They lived with many other Hebrews as immigrants in an area of known as Goshen. Amram’s parents and grandparents had lived good, comfortable lives in Egypt. In recent years, however, living conditions for the Hebrews in Egypt had deteriorated. The Egyptian government had become increasingly suspicious of the Hebrews and alarmed by their growing numbers, numbering now in the millions. The fear was that the immigrant Hebrews might join ranks with a nearby nation and try to overthrow the Egyptian government. The Egyptian government, which controlled the Hebrew labor laws, substantially increased the Hebrew production quotas in hopes of wearing them down, creating fear, discouraging childbirth, and decreasing their population numbers. It didn’t work.

In fact, the Hebrew birth rates increased. Amram and Jochebed were a part of that increase, and they named their first little baby . How much joy she brought to these proud new parents! These were good times, but they were also hard times. Amram’s work hours were increased to 50 hours, meaning he could not be at home with Jochebed and Miriam as much as he once had been. Even in these challenging times, God blessed them, and it was only a few years later when Jochebed confided to Amram: “We’re going to have another baby!”

Naturally, that was thrilling news, but it was mixed for Amram with some anxiety. Rumor had it that the ruler of Egypt, Thutmose II, had initiated a new plan to reduce the growing numbers of the Hebrews. Amram shared his concerns with his wife: “I’m going to have to help deliver this child; we can’t possibly contract a midwife. They are regulated by the Egyptian government, and the word is that they’ve been ordered to abort any male babies just as they deliver. I don’t know if we’re going to have a boy or a girl, but we just can’t take that chance.”

“I’ve heard the same thing, Amram, but Naomi next door told me that the midwives aren’t following the regulation. Her friend delivered a boy just six days ago with the help of a midwife. After the delivery, the midwife smiled and said, ‘Well, I guess I didn’t get here fast enough to help deliver the little guy. I hope I won’t be late for my next delivery.’ Then she left. It seems like the midwives fear God more than they fear Pharoah. Let’s follow their example.

And so it was that a God-fearing midwife helped them to deliver their second child, a boy, and they called him . Jochebed now had a young daughter learning to read and an infant baby boy. The young couple was so grateful to God for their blessings. Of course another child made for increased work around the home, but the young mother thought nothing of it. The years passed quickly, and the memories added up quickly. Especially memorable was Miriam’s thirteenth birthday celebration.

While these two new children brought their family great joy, the explosive childbirth rate of the Hebrews had the Egyptian government deeply alarmed and increasingly desperate. Amram now had work production quotas that required him to work 60, sometimes 70, hours a week, and his pay was decreased. He and his Hebrew co- workers were now little more than slaves, something both humiliating and discouraging. The once comfortable life in Goshen, Egypt was a distant memory. After one particularly exhausting work, Amram trudged through the door and slumped into a chair. Putting his favorite dish on the table before him, she whispered into his ear: “We’re going to have another baby.” His sagging shoulders lifted, and he pulled her close, hugging her for the longest time.

Their joy was short-lived. Pharoah, infuriated by the abysmal failure of the midwife abortion plan, decided to implement an even more evil tactic. His paranoia-driven edict was simple and blunt. Any Egyptian who discovered an infant male Hebrew child was required to take that baby from the parents and to throw the baby into the River. Word spread through the Hebrew community like wildfire. You can only imagine how the news cut the heart of an expectant Hebrew mother.

“Jochebed,” Amram said late that evening, “You are early in your pregnancy, and only our friends know you are expecting. Here’s what we’ll have to do. We will have to keep you in the house, so that the Egyptians will not know you are expecting.” “But what about when the baby is born, Amram? What then?” “I don’t know, yet, dear. I don’t know.”

And so the night came for the baby to be born. With her first two, Jochebed always listened to hear a good healthy cry, but on this night, she prayed that the little one would not cry out. That’s all it might take to get the attention of an informant. In God’s providence, the cries of a little baby boy went unheard, and so began the agonizing journey of keeping their “fugitive” child hidden away from the watchful eyes and listening ears of the Egyptians.

How do you give birth to a child and not shout the news far and wide? I cannot even imagine. But that was only the beginning. Each week provisions had to be made for someone to pick up food for the household. More difficult still was keeping an infant child--a boy no less--from crying out. Jochebed slept lightly, rarely sleeping more than one hour at a time. Sometimes the tension was more than she could handle. The days of hiding and fearing and praying stretched into a month and then two and then three.

At the end of one emotionally draining day, Jochebed dissolved into tears: “Why isn’t God doing anything to deliver us from this tyrannical ruler? I can’t even enjoy one normal hour with my new baby. He just wouldn’t stop crying, today, Amram. I just don’t think we can hide him anymore.” “Well, , we can’t just turn him over to Pharoah.” Jochebed paused: “No, but we can turn him over to God. I’ve been thinking about an idea.”

The next day, as the little baby slept, Aaron watched as Jochebed and Miriam worked feverishly to craft and waterproof a basket big enough to hold a small child. “What is this for, Mama?” he asked. “We’ll call it our little ark, honey. Because bad people want to hurt your brother, he is no longer safe in our home. Now, we must put him in God’s wise care. That’s why we’re building an ark for him, like ’s-- only a tad smaller!”

“So you are going to put the baby in the basket, Mom?” Miriam calculated. “Yes, honey, and then we’re going to launch his little ark into the Nile River just above where the women of Egypt bathe and wash clothes.” “But won’t they hurt him like the Pharoah has ordered them to?” “They’re mothers,” Jochebed assured herself, “I can only hope…” She couldn’t finish the sentence, her tears dropping onto the completed basket. Regaining her composure moments later, she whispered: “I know we can trust God.”

Pause to reflect.

This is a decision that for us seems nearly unthinkable, so much so that we might question whether the story is even credible. But millions of mothers around the world can relate to having to take desperate, almost unthinkable measures to try and save the life of their baby boy or girl. This story could be their story.

In another way, however, this mirrors every mother’s story. You want to take care of your child. You want him to be healthy. You want her to be safe. You don’t want him to suffer. You don’t want her to die. But you live in a world where danger and risks abound, and you can only do so much to keep your child from harm. You encounter Jochebed’s dilemma: You have done all that you can reasonably be expected to do, but you are still going to have to entrust your child to the watchful care of God.

You may first encounter Jochebed’s dilemma just days after your baby is born. You go to put her down to sleep, and a twinge of fear rises. What if she moves to a position where she cannot breathe? There is only so much you can control. You’ll have to trust God.

You may well face the dilemma when your child begins walking, bringing the possibility of a fall and serious injury.

Others of you will face her dilemma when a doctor tells you that your boy will have seizures or your girl has pneumonia.

Some of you will feel the vulnerability when your child first talks about a boyfriend or girlfriend.

Almost every mother senses the limitation of what can be controlled when her child begins to drive.

Some of you will have to trust God in a unique way when you learn that your child is experimenting with drugs or abusing alcohol.

More than once, you will have to make a difficult decision and say to yourself: I know we can trust God.” And you don’t know what God will do. God has not promised that He will keep you or your children from all trouble. We make choices, and our choices have consequences. Other people make choices, and they have consequences for us. God doesn’t guarantee a trouble-free life for your children. He does promise to walk with you and your child, and He does promise to work for good no matter how much trouble or loss your child encounters. You can trust the goodness and sovereign power of God, which is exactly what Jochebed did.

So, let’s see what that looked like…

Miriam and Jochebed head to the river, basket in hand. “Now, Miriam, remember what I told you. After we release the basket into the river, I want you to watch from a distance. Walk along the riverbank, but don’t act like you notice the basket. Watch to see what happens. I am praying that God will help you know exactly what to do.” Arriving at the edge of the river, they knelt to the ground. Jochebed opened the basket to see her sleeping baby one last time, and she whispered a prayer through her tears. Then they released the basket into the river. Miriam began to walk up the riverbank, while Jochebed hurried home to pray.

Miriam watched as the basket picked up speed, caught in the slow but strong current of the river. She strolled casually along the riverbank, watching the basket as it grew closer to that place at the river where the women bathed and did laundry. But what was this? A party of women from Pharoah’s palace had come to the river, clearing out a stretch of the river for Pharoah’s daughter, Hatshepsut, to bathe. Miriam’s heart began to race as the basket inched closer to their party. This would be terrible, she was sure. She could only hope that the basket would go unnoticed and be found by a more sympathetic person than the Pharoah’s daughter.

That’s when she heard the baby cry out, and her heart sunk. She watched as Hatshepsut waded out to the “crying” basket and opened it. Lifting the precious cargo and cradling him, she said, “It’s one of the Hebrew children…a boy.” At this point, Miriam could not even look, but something remarkable happened in the heart of that childless mother. “He’s beautiful,” she whispered, “and he needs a home, but I…I could never nurse the child.”

Miriam found herself irresistibly drawn toward the royal party and found unexpected words coming from her mouth: “I could find a Hebrew woman to nurse the child for you, your majesty…that is, if you would like me to do so.” Stunned by her own inexplicable courage, she held her breath, waiting for a response.

Hatshepsut smiled: “Why yes, I’ll bet you can. Go quickly, young lady, and find just such a woman and bring her to me.” Miriam turned and ran as fast as she could ever remember running, bursting into her home and interrupting her mother’s prayers. “What are you doing here, Miriam?” Jochebed shouted, fear rising in her chest. “I thought I told you to watch the baby!”

“Mama, come quick. Your prayers have been answered. You won’t believe it, Mama, but you must come right away. Pharoah’s daughter found the baby. No, he’s o.k. She wants someone to nurse and nanny the baby. She wants you to. She’ll even pay you to care for him. Come quickly.” Jochebed didn’t need any more convincing; she was out the door. It didn’t take long to work out the arrangements. The baby’s name would be . Jochebed would nurse and care for little Moses until fully weaned in a couple of years. Then he would be returned to his home with Hatshepsut. “What about the edict?” Jochebed asked as calmly as she could, “If I am discovered with this boy, won’t he be killed?” “Not if I give you this note and mark it with the royal insignia, he won’t.”

Jochebed couldn’t voice a single word as she carried her boy back home with her that day. She could only weep and thank God repeatedly for giving her boy back to her. Miriam walked beside her, instinctively knowing that this was not the time to talk. Oh, but how they talked when Amram got home from work that night. They talked and they sang and they prayed, thanking God for giving them their boy back, and asking God to deliver their nation from the hand of the Egyptians. Perhaps it was later that same evening when the thought struck Jochebed: “We only have two years to give him all the spiritual training he might ever get.”

Pause to reflect. What if you knew that you only had two years to train your child in the ways and heart of God, what would you do? What would you teach him/her? I wonder if Amram and Jochebed made a list of what they wanted to pass on. That’s not a bad idea. We tend to lose track of time when it comes to our kids. We assume we’ve got plenty of time. We aren’t intentional about the things we want to teach before they leave home. How helpful, then, is the exercise of mapping out the core things we want our kids to know before they leave home.

There is an idea that some people entertain that goes something like this: “When it comes to God, I’m just going to let my kids figure out all of that by themselves. I’m not going to really get involved there.” Really? Is that what you do when it comes to your kid’s driving? I’m not going to give any advice there; I’m just going to let them figure out for themselves.” I don’t run into parents like that. When it comes to whether your child uses drugs, are you just going to bow out and forgo giving any counsel? I don’t think so. The stakes are just too high. The stakes are hardly less when it comes to what your child believes about the God who made him/her. Now, if you are saying that you aren’t going to force your ideas on your kids, I applaud that. You can’t “make” your kids believe something, but teaching them is different than coercing. Refusing to teach your child anything about God and His heart is more dangerous than giving them the keys to your car with no counsel. You need to have a plan for what you will teach your children about God.

Back to Moses’ home in Goshen….

And so, little Moses began to grow, to crawl, to take his first steps, to voice his first words. For some kids, one of the first words they learn is the word “no.” Moses’ first words were “thou shalt not!” Jochebed found herself chiding Moses: “How many times to I have to tell you to stop giving your brother and sister commands?!” More seriously, though, Jochebed was on a mission, a mission to teach her boy every possible thing she could about the heart and the ways of God that she possibly could before “the day,” the day of Moses’ departure. She sang songs about God’s greatness all throughout the day. She told story after story of God’s care for their nation and for their family. She spent almost every waking hour loving him and reminding him of God’s great heart.

The day finally came, a day some Ethiopian mothers to this very day know painfully well. The day came for their baby to go to a new family. Before taking Moses to Hatshepsut, they circled and prayed. Given what we know about them, their prayer on that morning may have been something like this:

“God of , , and . You gave us this precious baby. He belongs to you, and you have entrusted him to our care. We entrusted him to your hands at three months when it looked like he would be killed; instead, you put him back into our hands. Once again, we place him in Your hands. He is a special child, and even though our hearts are breaking, we believe you have a plan in everything that you have allowed. As you took care of him in the crocodile-infested Nile River, so care for him in the foreign household of Pharoah. Don’t ever let him forget that you are his God. And one more thing, God. Please deliver us from the oppressive and unjust rule of Egypt and reunite us with our boy.”

Concluding thought: You may know the rest of the story. God called and enabled their youngest son, Moses, to deliver the Hebrew nation from the oppressive regime of the Egyptians. He became one of the greatest leaders in ancient history. Aaron, their first son, was chosen by God to be the first High for the nation of Israel. Their daughter, Miriam, became a songwriter and prophetess, and ended up sharing a significant leadership role with her brothers, Aaron and Moses. Now you know one of the things that deeply shaped each of them: the great faith of a great mother in a great God. © Hope Church