Moses is mentioned in the Bible 852 times! Moses was, without a doubt, a great man. But it wasn’t his wife that was his foundation. It wasn’t a surprised mother-in-law either. Moses was great because he had a strong foundation that was laid by his mother – Jochebed.
Jochebed is only mentioned twice in the Scriptures- Exodus 6:20Exodus 6:20
English: World English Bible - WEB
20 Amram took Jochebed his father’s sister to himself as wife; and she bore him Aaron and Moses: and the years of the life of Amram were a hundred and thirty-seven years.
WP-Bible plugin & Numbers 26:59Numbers 26:59
English: World English Bible - WEB
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.
WP-Bible plugin. She steps out of obscurity and saves the Israelites because she has a faith that will move mountains. Jochebed is an inspiring example for modern mothers of what kind of godly mom you can be.
MOTHERS MOVE MOUNTAINS THROUGH THEIR PERCEPTION
“The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was beautiful” (vs. 2).
Moms, what do you see in your son or daughter? You need to see your child, first of all as a future Christian. You need to look at your child as a gift from God and know that God has something special in store for your son or daughter.
You need to perceive in your child that he or she will be a productive member of society. It does not matter what he or she does as far as an occupation is concerned, you need to see them as members of society, in the workforce or working at home – being productive.
Why? Because perception is reality 90% of the time. What you see in your children is what you expect out of them. You have to see the good in them. And you have to know that you are training them for the long-term, not for today, not for tomorrow, but for the long-term.
MOTHERS MOVE MOUNTAINS THROUGH THEIR COURAGE
Consider the rest of verse 2. In the wake of a national law to kill all boys, to dump them into the Nile River, Moses’ mother “hid him” for three months. What courage! What faith!
How we need mothers today who have courage. The courage to be selfless and the courage to be different. We need mothers with courage who will stand up to the culture – and even stand up to their own children sometimes when their behavior is foolish – and say, “No. You will not do that. Our family is a Christian family and you will not do that.”
MOTHERS MOVE MOUNTAINS THROUGH THEIR PROTECTION
Let’s pick up with verses 3-4: “But when she could hide him no longer, she got him a wicker basket and covered it over with tar and pitch. Then she put the child into it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile. His sister stood at a distance to find out what would happen to him.”
A mother that moves mountains in the lives of her children is a mother who does her best to protect her child. She does that, obviously, by teaching her children the ways of the Lord, to protect boys and girls from the fiery darts of the Adversary.
She provides protection from foolish decisions by spending time with her children and teaching them how to use common sense and how to think wisely. Mothers teach their children about finances, to protect them from making foolish financial choices. Mothers need to help protect children by teaching them to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.
MOTHERS MOVE MOUNTAINS THROUGH THEIR AVAILABLILITY
In verse 7, when Miriam sees the Pharaoh’s daughter pull Moses out of the Nile, she speaks up and asks the daughter of their enemy: “Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women that she may nurse the child for you?” The daughter said yes, so verse 8 – “The girl went and called the child’s mother.” Verse 9: “So the woman took the child and nursed him.”
There is a point where you have to make yourself available. Sometimes that is hard. If your child is at an age where he or she is going through a lot of psychological development and maturing, being available can be a little hard.
But mothers – for that very reason – have to be available. When children cry, they need Momma’s shoulder to cry on. When they need help dealing with the world, Mommas need to be there for them.
MOTHERS MOVE MOUNTAINS THROUGH THEIR TEACHING
Verse 10: “The child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. And she named him Moses, and said, ‘Because I drew him out of the water.’” While Jochebed had Moses under her control and under her influence, she taught him that he was a Hebrew. When we see Moses as an adult in verse 11, he already knows that he is a Hebrew. Moses’ mom taught him.
Moms, you will move mountains in the lives of your children if you teach them the Word of God. Our children need the Bible in their minds and in their hearts desperately.
What are we teaching our children when the Bible and Bible study is totally optional? It doesn’t really matter if they are in Bible class. They don’t read the Bible at home. We don’t have them read it at home. They don’t see us reading it at home. And we get them to Bible class on Sunday morning if we can. Wednesday night is not important. What are we teaching our children?
Moms, your job is hard. It is time consuming and will drain your energy. But if we want our sons and daughters to be the type of person Moses was, we need to have the type of Mothers Jochebed was – perceptive, courageous, protective, available, and a teacher.
–Paul Holland
