Imagine you are about to have a baby boy and suddenly the government decides that you must kill him. What would you do? How would you feel? You could be punished or even killed if you disobey! God shows us a woman in the Bible who faced this: Jochebed. She was a Jewish woman, who lived in slavery in Egypt, but whose trust was still in the Lord. Do you recognise who she is? Yes, she is the mother of Moses!
We are all quite familiar with the story of Moses. He was a great man used by God to deliver His people from the pharaoh. He saw God Himself and received His law for the people of Israel. You can read his wonderful story in the book of Exodus.
Disobeying Pharaoh
During the time of Moses’s birth, the pharaoh had become afraid of the Hebrews, because there were too many of them and therefore, they were becoming too strong. He feared a rebellion and that’s when he ordered all male Hebrew babies to be killed. And there were Jochebed and her husband in the middle of this situation. Jochebed looked at her new born baby and saw that he was healthy, but she had to let him be murdered, otherwise she would be disobeying pharaoh’s command. I wonder how long it took her and her husband to make a decision. Finally they get this creative idea, which I believe came from the Lord, to put the baby in a basket and put him in the Nile river.
Trust in God’s care
Imagine Jochebed while she was making the basket waterproof. Was she crying? Was she scared of what could happen to her baby boy? If I try to put myself in her position, I definitely believe that she must have cried. A lot. I also believe that she was probably scared and in constant prayer. But here it is what I find remarkable: she did it. She put her son in the basket, she put him in the Nile river and she sent her daughter Miriam to keep an eye on him. She did it. I wonder how she was feeling once she went back home. She might have bursted out in tears while hugging her husband.
She is not afraid of trusting God to take care of her child
What does God teach you through Jochebed? I see God showing a woman who has totally surrendered to the Lord, who is not afraid of what the pharaoh ordered, but who fears the Lord above all else. I see a woman who might have many emotions and thoughts going around; but she is not afraid of trusting God to take care of her child. As you read further in the story, you see that Jochebed’s baby is found in the river by the daughter of the pharaoh. (WHAT? What a soap opera, isn’t it!) She decides to keep the baby, even when she knows he is a Hebrew baby boy. That’s when Miriam shows up and offers to find someone to nurse the baby! Now imagine that moment when Miriam goes back home and tells her mother that her baby is now safe and that she can nurse him! I think Jochebed just bursted in worship in that moment.
Divine intervention
This was God’s divine intervention, favouring Jochebed and her husband. So Jochebed was paid to care and nurse for her own baby boy for a couple of years. Isn’t God’s favour AMAZING? I even have to cry a bit while writing about this. Our God is so good. It touches my heart to see what He does. He saw the misery of a mother who just had to let her baby go in a river. But He also definitely saw the incredibly amount of trust she had in her heart and He favoured her by bringing her baby back so that she could raise him in the ways of the Lord, during the first years of his life.
God is good in all circumstances
How is God leading you to trust Him in the different areas of your life? Is there anything difficult for you to surrender or let go of ? Can you trust God for the outcome? Can you trust His divine intervention and favour? Or maybe you are or know someone who is dealing with the decision of keeping a child or aborting him/her. Can you trust God in what He has for you and for the future of that child?
Can you trust God for the outcome?
Whatever it is that you are dealing with, I encourage you to follow the example of this godly woman who changed the whole history of Israel, because of her decision and courage. Remember that God remains good in all circumstances and that His favour is upon you!
Read also: Out of your comfort zone
