A Mother in Israel

The Hebrew people were slaves in Egypt. It all began when the Pharaoh of Egypt noticed the rapid growth of the Hebrew population within the Egyptian empire. He feared that the Hebrews would stage a revolt against the Egyptian government because of their great numbers. After consulting with his advisors, Pharaoh decided that the best way to deal with this situation would be to enslave the Hebrew population. Scripture tells us, however, that the more the children of Israel were oppressed in slavery, the more they grew in number. In order to further reduce the numbers of the Hebrew people, Pharaoh ordered that all baby boys born to the Hebrews be thrown into the Nile River.
Shortly after this decree was passed, a baby boy was born into a certain God-fearing Hebrew family. According to Egyptian law, this child was to be killed, but God impressed upon the minds of the parents, Amram and Jochebed, that He had a special plan for this child, and they hid him for three months. Finally, they realized they could do so no longer; so Jochebed, filled with God-given wisdom, made a basket of bulrushes and reeds, using pitch and tar to make it watertight. Taking the basket, her newborn son, and her daughter Miriam with her, she went to the banks of the Nile River. After placing her son in the basket, she set the basket in the river to float there. Committing her beloved son to the care of God, Jochebed instructed Miriam to stay close by the basket to see what would become of it.

We do not know how long the basket floated in the river, but the Bible tells us that it eventually floated into the view of Pharaoh’s daughter, who was bathing in the river. She opened the basket, finding to her surprise a baby she immediately recognized as a Hebrew child. As she looked upon the face of this baby boy, she began to understand the plight of his Hebrew mother, and her heart was filled with love and compassion for this beautiful baby. Pharaoh’s daughter desired to spare this child’s life and raise him as her own. As the baby began to cry, she suddenly realized that she did not know how to care for him. Miriam, who was watching nearby, recognized the providence of God in this turn of events. She offered to get one of the Hebrew mothers to care for this baby; the princess accepted this offer. Miriam immediately sought her own mother, who was overjoyed for the opportunity to raise her child in the ways of the Lord without fear of the king’s decree. In addition to this, she was paid by the princess to care for the child until he was old enough to receive training in the royal court. One of the wonderful lessons this story teaches us is that the prayers of God-fearing mothers are heard and answered by God. Pharaoh’s daughter named the child “Moses,” which means “drawn out,” because he had been taken out of the river. God orchestrated this turn of events because He had a special plan for Moses’ life. During the years that Jochebed spent with Moses, she taught him the ways of the Lord and prepared him to fulfill God’s purpose for his life.

Today I would like to recognize all the Godly mothers who have sacrificed their time, and like Jochebed, have taught their children the ways of the Lord and trained them for service to God. The Bible tells us that the work of a mother is a sacred and solemn responsibility, and, on behalf of all the children, we thank you.

"Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her... Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised" (Proverbs 31:28, 30).