It was the Heavenly traits of character that were imbedded in Jochebed that she then impressed into the lives of her children. That ark was to be covered inside and out with pitch. Even the fear or the threat of losing their lives could not dissuade them. However, he had one thing going for him humanly: his parents, Amram and Jochebed. Were they convicted that what they were doing was right? Often in those days a child was not weaned for several years. In the wilderness, they had to circumcise the men. Jochebed had not left her baby alone in his ark. Perhaps he was hungry. So she had Moses. He was descended from Levi through Kohath to Amram who married Jochebed. The storms of judgment came, and the rain beat upon the ark – but the people inside were saved. His sister Miriam watched over him. Then I said, "I will pour out My fury on them and fulfill My anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt."'" Before Moses was born, Pharaoh of Egypt decided that every male child, born to a Hebrew woman, was to be thrown into the Nile. They made up their minds not to murder their child in cold blood just to comply with the tyrannical edict of a wicked king. Yes, they had. When it came to education, he probably had the finest tutors available in the land. God has been dealing with us a great deal longer than our conversion, perhaps from our earliest years. In reading between the lines of Scripture, during his 35 years in the palace, Moses never really lost contact with the people of Israel and with his real family, even though Jochebed and Amram turned him over to Pharaoh's daughter. This daily newsletter provides a starting point for personal study, and gives valuable insight into the verses that make up the Word of God. Above all, she taught him about Joseph, a young man who lived for God in the same royal courts to which Moses would soon be taken. She also gave birth to Aaron, a high priest of Israel. He feared they would join a foreign army against the Egyptians or start a rebellion. This decree, one of Satan’s early efforts to prevent the birth of the Messiah by attacking the Jewish race, must have been a tremendous test of Amram and Jochebed’s faith. First, many unwed mothers refuse to have an abortion, yet have no choice but to place their baby for adoption. Boreham, My Christmas Book (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1953), 7. In this long process of faith- and conviction-building in Moses, God was laying a foundation in him, in that people of faith parented him during his most formative years. The Sabbath was forgotten. He ordered all male Hebrew babies to be killed. We just have to look at the book of Genesis. Pity the people whose pastors don’t believe in Moses. Boreham commented, Which of the battles of 1809 mattered more than the babies of 1809? We can only get through that kind of disappointment by turning it over to God like Jochebed put her child in his care. Jochebed’s emphasis here is almost sure – Moses devoted onefourth of the book of Genesis to the story of Joseph. Miriam, the baby's sister, watched to see what would happen. Just a few did, like Amram and Jochebed, who retained the religion, the worship of God. Because they had forgotten the covenant that God had made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. . What the Bible says about The Jesuits used to say, “Give us a child until he’s seven, and you can do what you like with him after that.” We know that Jochebed would have agreed with them because she did a thorough job of training Moses. John W. Ritenbaugh Of course she needed a nurse. Are we hiding our little ones from influences like these? TEXT: Turn to Hebrews 11 and we’ll begin in verse 23 in a few moments. Like Jochebed, they trust God to find a loving home for their child. In his gracious way, God gives us himself, the most desirable dream we could ever imagine. What did she teach him? Regarding this same period of time, Ezekiel says: Say to them, "Thus says the Lord GOD: 'On the day when I chose Israel and raised My hand in an oath to the descendants of the house of Jacob, and made Myself known to them. There arc three arks mentioned in Scripture. © 2019 Preaching.com. Perhaps they were born before the edict. She knew that God would take care of the child. After many hardships, Moses was used by God as his servant to free the Hebrew people from slavery and lead them to the edge of the promised land. Why were not they already circumcised? Notice that they were not afraid of the king's command. The birth mother of Moses was Jochebed,… God was doing this through Amram and Jochebed: They were starting Moses down the right path. (Isaac seems to have been five years of age when he was weaned.) “We cannot save our little boy from the forces of death,”Moses’ parents decided, “but God can.” God always honors such faith as theirs. Tell the woman that I will pay her.” So Jochebed received wages for raising her own son! The years passed. In verses 9-10, there is an ironic twist. One should never conclude that the first several years of a child's life are unimportant; in fact, it is in those first couple of years that he is started down the path of the rest of his life. And that is why, long before the birth of Jesus, another babe was born in a slave hut on the banks of the Nile. F.W. Jochebed believed that God is greater than Pharaoh, that Satan is no match for the Holy Spirit, and that “greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4). All that matters is that, somehow, they believed it and followed through by doing this thing that, at least on the surface, appears to have been very risky. Jack Zavada is a writer who covers the Bible, theology, and other Christianity topics. All honor to the women of all ages who fear the Lord. A mind was being formed during those years. This daily newsletter provides a starting point for personal study, and gives valuable insight into the verses that make up the Word of God. They did not all cast away the abominations which were before their eyes, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. Perhaps the sudden light startled him. Their heartbreak at giving up their baby is balanced by God's favor when they obey his command not to kill the unborn. She raised not one, but three, godly children: Moses the deliverer and lawgiver, Aaron the first high priest and Miriam, a leader and poet. He was one of the two men who were sent back from the otherworld to confer with Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt. Even the power of Egypt could not turn them aside from their conviction. See what over 145,000 subscribers are already receiving each day. "'...and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt, I raised [lifted] My hand in an oath to them, saying, "I am the LORD your God." The Jews had been in Egypt for 400 years. When it was finished, Noah and his family went into it. Jochebed showed great trust in God's faithfulness. That is usually God’s way. Amram and Jochebed. It is possible, some commentators say, understanding the culture of Egypt, it is likely that Moses was with Amram and Jochebed until he was about six years old. 17:18). She named him Moses. Moses probably lived in the palace with his mother (Pharaoh's daughter), Pharaoh, and the rest of his family, for about 35 years. . Did God send an angel? .'" Perhaps he was wet. Then she put the baby in it and set it among the reeds on the bank of the Nile River. From that marriage, Moses was born. The second lesson is for heartbroken people who have to turn their dreams over to God. Moses' family was not one of any distinction in Israel. The prophecy given to Abraham about four centuries earlier (Gen. 15:13-14) was about to be fulfilled. Later, Moses wrote out of his own experience four books of the Bible: Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. We cannot save our children but He can. Only because she trusted the Lord could she abandon her son rather than see him killed. They did not know God any longer. She could have whined and complained about the difficulty of life's circumstances but she did not. The universities of Egypt, the temptations of the palace, the lure of position, power, wealth, and the possibility of a worldly throne never erased his mother’s training. It does not take much thought to answer that question. Whatever it was, in a way it does not matter. See what over 145,000 subscribers are already receiving each day. Think of the violence, immorality, and perversion in many of today’s television shows; the vileness of outright pornography on cable television; the foul lyrics and souldestroying ideas in most popular contemporary music. Our homes should be places where goodness and godliness are constantly taught and exemplified, even during a child’s earliest days. Likewise when we commit our children to Christ, God still expects us to take all the prudent measures we can to shield them. Jochebed bore Amram three righteous offspring. We can thank God that she did. She was told to do that. Adapted from Exploring People of the Old Testament, Volume 1 by John Phillips. We do not know how long the princess allowed Jochebed to nurse Moses. Not only that, the family of Moses not only received their precious baby back, but they were paid wages for doing something that they would gladly have done for free had the situation been different. They did not have a preference—they were convicted! He is mentioned in 261 verses in Exodus, 80 verses in Leviticus, 216 verses in Numbers, 35 verses in Deuteronomy, 51 verses in Joshua, and 47 verses in the other historical books. What the Bible says about Amram and Jochebed. Perhaps he was afraid of the strange hands that held him up for the princess to see. When Jochebed gave birth to a son, she saw that he was a healthy baby. (Ezekiel 20:5-8). We know that circumcision was also forgotten because of what happened in the wilderness and when Joshua took them into the land. We know the story well. The Berean: Daily Verse and Comment Sign up for the Berean: Daily Verse and Comment, and have Biblical truth delivered to your inbox. As soon as Miriam saw what was happening, she came closer to the water. The book of Revelation also refers to him. Jochebed gave birth to Moses, … When she placed little Moses in the Nile River that day, Jochebed could not have known that he would grow up to be one of God's greatest leaders, chosen to rescue the Hebrew people from slavery in Egypt. God, in turn, honored their faith. All Rights Reserved. That year stood midway between two great battles that shaped the destiny of the world: the Battle of Trafalgar, which destroyed the naval might of Napoleon, and the Battle of Waterloo, which destroyed his military might.