Sunday, September 21, 2008

Jochebed: Mother of Moses

I've recently began teaching a ladies Sunday School class/Bible Study at church. Our first two lessons were on Jochebed. Jochebed is a very imposing character. She seems to make all the right choices, have a mountain of faith, and be the perfect mother.



  • Jochebed chose to obey God rather than Man. Pharoah issued the order that all baby boys 2 and under would be killed by being thrown into the Nile River. Jochebed chose to hide Moses until he was three months old and then to place him in a basket in the Nile. She put him in the Nile, but with a little protection. Which leads to a point, God will protect us, but he doesn't want us to be careless and lay in the middle of the highway or ride motorcycles without a helmet, etc. Jochebed risked her entire families life because she knew that God's law was more important than man's law.


  • Jochebed chose to "stand out" rather than "blend in". It is likely that several generations had passed since Joseph and all his brothers were alive and the Hebrews had grown to mammoth proportions. They had begun to "blend in" to the culture and society of the Egyptians. Not only was Jochebed different from the Egyptians just because of her ethnicity, she was also different than many of her Hebrew family members. She made a choice to be different and serve the one, true and living God instead of the Egyptian gods.


  • Jochebed chose to have hope rather than wallow in despair. We can see that Jochebed had hope because she was useful and effective. When we have no hope and we give in to despair, we tend to be ineffective for God and our families. If I'm bound up in worry, I am unable to concentrate and do a good job on the things I have to do. We see that Jochebed was so effective at teaching Moses about the true God that despite the many years of teaching he received from the palace, despite the temptation of power and riches, he refused to turn his back on God.


  • Jochebed had a living faith rather than a dead faith. Jochebed could tell that Moses was "no ordinary" child and that he was anointed by God for something special. The only way she could have known this was by her relationship to God. She also didn't just sit and pray that God would swoop down take care of it. She listened to God. After three months, she got a "God Idea" and decided to build a basket and place it in the Nile. Then she taught Moses everything she could with all the fervor that she could in the time that she had. Her faith was not without wisdom and was full of action.

Many times we look at women in the Bible and think, they are just filled with some special power, but they didn't have the spirit of God living in them like we do today. In the Old Testament, the comforter had not yet been sent. Jochebed lived in a country with political unrest, her family were slaves, she was ridiculed for her strong faith, and she watched as friends mourned the loss of their babies. We in America are so blessed. We have great freedoms, that we don't even exercise. We are free to worship, to teach our children whatever we want, to vote for our leaders. I sometimes wonder if a little persecution might not give us more passion. I pray that God will convict you to choose the higher calling, because we always have a choice.


Thursday, September 18, 2008

Older and Wiser


Today is my birthday--I'm thirty-five years old. It doesn't seem like I'm thirty-five. I really still feel like a teenager with a lot more wisdom. According to the Oxford University Press dictionary, being wise is having or showing experience, knowledge, or good judgment. I hope that I show more knowledge, experience and good judgment than I did when I was sixteen. I know that I've learned a lot about compromise, I've learned that I don't know everything, I've learned that people are passionate about their politics, and I've learned that I only have one chance to live today, so I'd better make it count. I've learned that some things aren't worth fighting for and some things aren't worth paying for either. I've learned that God is faithful, He's just, He's amazing, and He cares about the little things in my life.


Today I'm thirty-five years old and I'm happy that God loves me. I'm thankful for everyday that I've been given, and I hope I give him my best efforts on all the days He gives me hereafter. I thank God for all the blessings of my life!

Verse of the Day