“Now a man of the house of Levi married a Levite woman, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months.”
Exodus 2:1-2
We’re familiar with people defying laws that they deem to be in opposition to their morals and beliefs. But when Jochebed, the mother of Moses (see Numbers 26:59), refused to obey Pharaoh’s decree, she was taking a huge risk.
By royal decree, all male Israelite babies born in Egypt were to be killed at birth by the Hebrew midwives. The midwives, however, feared God and refused. So by the midwives’ looking the other way and by Jochebed’s resolve to keep her baby alive, the little one was hidden for three months. She kept him quiet and out of sight lest the neighbors report her, but she knew she couldn’t protect him that way forever.
In desperation, Jochebed placed her baby in a basket and set it in the river where the king’s daughter found him. How hard it must have been to surrender her child, yet how glad she must have been that he was alive!
Had not this resolute woman saved her baby, world history would have been much different. The Lord used her civil disobedience so that Moses would grow up to lead God’s people out of slavery.
By royal decree, all male Israelite babies born in Egypt were to be killed at birth by the Hebrew midwives. The midwives, however, feared God and refused. So by the midwives’ looking the other way and by Jochebed’s resolve to keep her baby alive, the little one was hidden for three months. She kept him quiet and out of sight lest the neighbors report her, but she knew she couldn’t protect him that way forever.
In desperation, Jochebed placed her baby in a basket and set it in the river where the king’s daughter found him. How hard it must have been to surrender her child, yet how glad she must have been that he was alive!
Had not this resolute woman saved her baby, world history would have been much different. The Lord used her civil disobedience so that Moses would grow up to lead God’s people out of slavery.
Scripture Focus
Exodus 2:1-10
Insight
As believers we too must wrestle with obeying the laws of our land, determining when we need to stand firm against rules that break God’s law.
Bible In A Year
- Genesis 3-4
- Psalm 2
- Matthew 3-4
