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Lessons from Jochebed

I'd like to reintroduce you to someone you might have overlooked. Like many moms, this gal doesn't make a big show of herself. She is just going about the business of raising humans and slips into the backdrop of one of the most dramatic stories in the Bible.

Of all the biblical sagas, the plight of the Hebrews oppressed by the Egyptians may be the most well-known. Their story began when God plucked their ancestor Abraham (Abram) out of obscurity and bestowed on him a promise to build him into a great nation God would claim as His own favored people.

God promised that blessing would come to the whole world through Abraham and his descendants, whom He promised would have a land of their own.

Things got off to a bit of a rocky start. Abraham accepted God’s promise but then had to wait 25 years to have his first child with his wife Sarah. Their son Isaac later had twin boys of his own, which set off major sibling rivalry over the birthright. But God settled it on his younger son, Jacob, who then had 12 sons.

When sibling rivalry took hold among them too, the ten oldest brothers sold a younger one, Joseph into slavery in Egypt. As the story unfolds in the book of Genesis, we discover that God had a plan for Joseph there. In time, he raised him up to second in command of the whole nation, putting him in a position to rescue his father and brothers when famine overtakes them all. In Egypt, this chosen family grew exponentially. A small family became a great multitude that prospered - until Egypt felt threatened.

‌That is where the story of an entire nation pivots on the wisdom and courage of one singular mama bear.

Let’s read the background.

READ

‌Exodus 1:8–12 NLT

Eventually, a new king came to power in Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph or what he had done. He said to his people, “Look, the people of Israel now outnumber us and are stronger than we are. We must make a plan to keep them from growing even more. If we don’t, and if war breaks out, they will join our enemies and fight against us. Then they will escape from the country.”So the Egyptians made the Israelites their slaves. They appointed brutal slave drivers over them, hoping to wear them down with crushing labor. They forced them to build the cities of Pithom and Rameses as supply centers for the king. But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more the Israelites multiplied and spread, and the more alarmed the Egyptians became.

Eventually, the Pharaoh decided to take another approach. He commanded the Hebrew midwives to only allow female babies to live when assisting with births. All males were to be killed. But the midwives feared God and let the boys live.

Exodus 1:22–2:2 NLT

Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Throw every newborn Hebrew boy into the Nile River. But you may let the girls live.”

‌About this time, a man and woman from the tribe of Levi got married. The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She saw that he was a special baby and kept him hidden for three months.

That woman’s name was Jochebed. She was the wife of Amram and already a mother to her oldest, Miriam, likely between five and ten years old. She also had a three-year-old boy born before the edict, named Aaron (Numbers 26:59). Then, under the most precarious circumstances, she had a new baby boy who would come to be named Moses.

‌Stop for a moment to consider her circumstances and your own.

REFLECT

• ‌What circumstances did Jochebed have no control over? What might have been her fears?
• As a person who followed and sought to obey God, how was she treated in the culture? What were the risks to her family?
• What positive qualities could have been developed in Jochebed through the trials of life?

‌WHAT ABOUT YOU

• ‌What are the circumstances relevant to your life over which you have no control?
• As a person who has faith in Jesus, where do you feel the tension and stress wi culture? What are the risks to your family?‌
• What positive qualities have you seen develop as you have endured trials in your life?

‌CONSIDER

‌Consider what God says about the reality of things that seem out of control:

Psalm 75:3 NLT

“When the earth quakes and its people live in turmoil, I am the one who keeps its foundations firm.”

Matthew 19:26 NLT

“Jesus looked at them intently and said, 'Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.'”

Hebrews 11:1 NLT

“Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.”

REFLECT

• What insights do you gain from these verses about God, your times, or your circumstances?
• How do these insights shape your thinking in relation to what you may be facing today?