Lessons From Jochebed And How A Mother’s Faith Matters
A Mother’s Faith and God’s Glory
Jochebed’s story: Exodus 2:1-10; 6:20; Numbers 26:59; Hebrews 11:23
When I think about a mother’s faith that impacts her child and others for eternity, Jochebed demands my attention. Jochebed was Moses’ mother, and while the Bible doesn’t dedicate a lot of text to her story, there is enough to know her life and faith mattered. Knowing that names revealed something of the nature and character of a person, let’s look at the meaning of her name. In the original Hebrew language, Jochebed means “YHWH is glory,” or “Jehovah is glory”.
She was the first person in the Bible to have a name with the divine element “Yah,” which is a shortened form of YHWH, the personal name of God. Surely, it’s significant that Jochabed’s name expressed the glory of Jehovah or YHWH. She must have been a woman whose nature and character was established on the glory of God.
Thinking through characteristics of someone living their life based on God’s glory, I felt sure Jocabed saw the bigger picture. In my mind when someone lives life based on God’s glory, they are looking much further and broader than their own lives, feelings, and circumstances. However, I think we must consider Jochebed’s current circumstances.
She was a Hebrew woman living in a time when she and her people were in what Exodus 1:14 calls “hard bondage” to the Egyptians. Yet still, the Hebrew people grew and multiplied. This worried the king of Egypt so he spoke to the Hebrew midwives and told them to kill all the Hebrew baby boys born. However, the midwives feared God and they would not do it. Therefore, Pharoah commanded all the Hebrew baby boys be cast into the river.
Jocabed’s Real Life Circumstances and Choices
Those are Jochebed’s real life circumstances when her baby boy was born. While I would hope we won’t be able to fully relate to her specific circumstances, we can all relate to being women of faith finding ourselves in the midst of really impossible circumstances based on the world we live in. Jochebed’s circumstances presented her with two options. She would have to choose between fear or faith.
What circumstances in your life, as a woman, a mom, a grandmother, a friend, or a sister stand before you as two optional directions: faith or fear?
Fear can easily influence the way we parent, especially when we are trying to protect the children we love. For more encouragement on choosing faith over fear in parenting, you may also want to read Three Main Parenting Mistakes Moms Make by Parenting Out of Fear.
When fear threatens, remember:
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
2 Timothy 1:7
For whatever is born of God overcomes the world.
And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith.
1 John 5:4
Parallels from Jochebed’s life
I realize our circumstances may be night and day differences from Jochebed’s situation, but I also see the parallels. Look at the three parallels listed below and think through your own life.
1. The life Jochebed carried within her was threatened from the Pharoah and the Egytian world she lived in. For me, God’s calling that I carried within me has been threathened at times by the world I live in, as well as, the lies the enemy wanted to plant in my mind.
2. Jochebed had to decide how she was going to deal with and protect the tiny life God had given her. Repeatedly, I have had to make decisions of how I would protect God’s calling in my life. Sometimes, it has meant doing something in faith that caused me to feel fear.
3. Jochebed made a decision based on faith, not fear, and that decision mattered to Moses, all the Hebrew people, herself, and us today. Faith based decisions will always matter and can positively impact us, those we love, and even future generations.
When the king of Egypt commanded all boy babies be thrown into the river, Jochebed hid Moses for 3 months. Exodus 2:2 and Hebrews 11:23 tell us she saw that the baby was beautiful and hid him for 3 months. I looked at the original Hebrew term for beautiful and discovered that it’s the same term, “good” that God used regarding His creation.
Genesis 1:4 – God saw the light, that it was good.
Genesis 1:31 – And God saw everything that He had made, and behold it was very good.
The Conclusion
Maybe I am reading to much into this, but I see this as a conclusion word. As if Jochebed, looked at her baby boy and concluded, he was very good. She saw the value in his life, tiny as it was, she saw beyond the tiny infant to potential and future possibilities for his life. So, she did whatever it to took hide him until she could not hide him any longer. Then she set him in an ark. I wondered if the story of God saving Noah and his family in the ark incited deeper faith. I believe she put Moses in that ark fully believing that God would save her son. And God did.
Ultimately, I wanted to look at Jochebed, because Moses always gets all the attention, but Moses would not have been around to live the life that he lived if he had not had a mother who landed a spot in the Hall of Faith. Moses’ mother was a woman who saw beyond the moment, beyond the fear she faced, and saw value and potential in her infant child.
Jochebed’s story and faith teaches us what it is to be a woman who God created to be a life giver and a protector of that life.
Prayer:
Precious Heavenly Daddy, Give us eyes to see the value and potential of every tiny human life. We know You have not given us a spirit of fear, but instead You give us victorious faith. Help us be moms motivated by our faith when fear threatens us in any way. We trust Your help and guidance as we mother our children, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Want more encouragement about praying for your children?
You may also enjoy my blog post, Hannah’s Prayer Teaches Moms Three Things About Praying For Our Children where we look at Hannah’s example of prayer, surrender, and trusting God with our children.
Download my free resource: 10 Prayers to Pray for Your Children.
Frequently Asked Questions About Jochebed
Q: Who was Jochebed in the Bible?
Jochebed was the mother of Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. She was a Hebrew woman living during Israel’s oppression in Egypt, when Pharaoh ordered that Hebrew baby boys be killed. Her story is found in Exodus 2:1–10, Exodus 6:20, Numbers 26:59, and Hebrews 11:23.
Q: What did Jochebed do to save Moses?
Jochebed hid Moses for three months after he was born. When she could no longer hide him, she placed him in a carefully prepared basket among the reeds along the Nile River. Pharaoh’s daughter found Moses, and through God’s providence, Jochebed was eventually able to nurse and care for her own son for a time.
Q: Why is Jochebed remembered as a woman of faith?
Hebrews 11:23 includes Moses’ parents among those who acted by faith. Jochebed chose to protect her son even though Pharaoh had ordered his death. Her actions demonstrate faith that was willing to move forward even in frightening and uncertain circumstances.
Q: What can mothers learn from Jochebed?
Jochebed’s story reminds mothers to look beyond immediate circumstances and recognize the value and potential God has placed in the lives entrusted to them. Her example also shows that decisions made in faith can influence children, families, and even future generations.
Q: How did Jochebed choose faith over fear?
Jochebed lived under circumstances that gave her every reason to be afraid, yet she refused to allow fear to determine her actions. She hid Moses, protected him as long as she could, and then entrusted what she could no longer control to God. Her story illustrates what it can look like to act in faith even while facing fear.
What is the main lesson from Jochebed’s story?
One of the central lessons of Jochebed’s life is that faith-filled choices matter. Her decision to protect Moses affected not only her own family but ultimately the history of Israel. Her story encourages women to trust God, value the lives and callings He has entrusted to them, and allow faith rather than fear to guide their decisions.
Lessons From Jochebed And How A Mother’s Faith Matters
