A Surrendered Faith

Perhaps one of the most difficult aspects of Jochebed’s faith to consider is this: surrender. Though she clearly wanted to keep her son, doing everything to hide and protect him, she knew she had to surrender his unknown future to God.

Pharaoh had commanded that every son born to the Hebrews was to be “cast into the Nile” (Exodus 1:22 ESV). The word cast for this verse means to throw, hurl, and fling away. Just like garbage is thrown out, so would the precious lives of the Hebrew boys. This is where Jochebed’s basket comes in.

When Jochebed comes to the river, she doesn’t cast away her son. Instead of flinging her child into the river, she intentionally and deliberately yields him to it, placing him in a basket. The basket was prepared ahead of time, carefully constructed with tar and a tight weave. It would not leak or sink.

Jochebed prepared a place for Moses to be safe. In a sense, she obeyed the king’s edict as she put her son in the river. Instead of throwing him away, she gave him over to God. When we submit to God, we leave the results up to Him.

The word used for Jochebed’s basket in the original Hebrew means “ark.” Her hands carefully prepared this vessel that would save her son’s life. The same word is used in Genesis 6–8 to describe the ark that Noah built to save his family from the flood. Both would be an intricate part of God’s plan to redeem mankind. An ark, covered in pitch, saved a family in Genesis but also a tiny baby in Exodus.

Do you see how God values even an infant? God values the smallest of us. God values you. Surrendering to God might seem really scary, but the more we know about God the sweeter the surrender.

Jesus is your ark, friend. He is the vessel God uses to give you salvation. We know that salvation only comes through surrender. The beauty of surrender is that we don’t have to do anything. Jesus did it all on the cross.

A disrupted life allows you another chance to surrender. Will you try to control your situation or will you allow God to work out how to rescue you?

You can surrender to God because His purpose for your life is perfect.