The Faith of a Mother
Now a man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman. The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank. And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him. Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it. When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.” (Exodus 2:1-10)
*English Standard Version. Boldface added by me.
A few months ago I was prompted by the Holy Spirit to revisit this account in Exodus 2 of the birth of Moses, but this time, He led me to specifically pay attention to the mother of Moses, Jochebed. What I learned goes far beyond just a mother placing a baby in a “basket” and floating him down the river.
There is much to unpack within these ten verses of scripture, and I would love to analyze ALL of it because it’s THAT good, but for this devotion I’d like to focus on the FAITH of Moses’s mother and the result—the redemption—that came from it.
But first, let’s read several accounts of what King Jesus says about faith:
“Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, ‘Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.’ And instantly the woman was made well.” Matthew 9:22
“Then Jesus answered her, ‘O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.’ And her daughter was healed instantly.” Matthew 15:28
“And he said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.’” Mark 5:34
“And Jesus said to him, ‘Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.” Mark 10:52
“And when he saw their faith, he said, ‘Man, your sins are forgiven you.’” Luke 5:20
“And he said to the woman, “‘Your faith has saved you; go in peace.’” Luke 7:50
“And he said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.’” Luke 8:48
“And the Lord said, ‘If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.’’” Luke 17:6
“And he said to him, ‘Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.’” Luke 17:19
“And Jesus said to him, ‘Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.’” Luke 18:42
And then Apostle Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ, said, “And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.” (Acts 3:16)
Faith heals.
Faith restores.
Faith redeems.
God honors faith.
By definition, faith is “complete trust or confidence in someone or something.” In the case of a believer, faith is complete trust or confidence in God. That He is who He says He is. That JESUS is who He says he is, and will do what He says He will do. (If you ever doubt how much Jesus loves you, how much he fights for you, and you want a visual—I encourage you to read the book of Revelation and just watch how your Savior goes to war for you.) When we know WHO our faith is in, and WHO we belong to, it’s an honor to obey a God like that.
Which leads me to Moses’s mother and her faith in and obedience to God. The scripture says that when Moses was born, “...she saw that he was a fine child…”. (I love how God conveys women, specifically mothers, in His word. The intuitiveness of mothers in regard to their children is a God-given gift; even more so for mothers who are upright and abide in the Spirit. We have this example of Moses’s mother, and then there’s Rebecca who loved Jacob and knew the birthright belonged to him and not his wicked brother Esau, and then there’s Mary the mother of Jesus who “treasured all [he did] in her heart.”) Moses’s mother looked upon him and saw that he was a fine child—in this context, “fine” does not mean handsome or precious, nor is it rooted in a mother’s bias—this was from God. The word “fine” (ESV, NIV) comes from the original Hebrew translation of the word “tobe” which means “goodly.” So she looked upon him and saw that Moses was “goodly” which means she saw that he was good and would be a good man.
At that time, Pharaoh did not like that the Hebrews were growing in strength and number, so he “commanded all his people, ‘Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live” (Exodus 1:22). So she hid him and nursed him for three months. Then, “when she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch” (this created a heavy-duty seal so the vessel would float and not retain any water).
Since we were children, we probably had the image of a woven basket placed in a river with baby Moses inside, floating until Pharaoh’s daughter found him. There is significance here that I had never seen before. The “basket” here was not actually a basket at all (as our culture defines them). In the original Hebrew text, the word that “basket” was translated from is the Hebrew word tebah (“tay-baw”), which means ark (Strong’s Concordance Hebrew Lexicons). The very same word used to identify the vessel built by Noah in Genesis, and it’s being used again here as the vessel in which Moses was placed as a baby. The vessel Moses’s mother built diligently with her hands, perhaps with tears streaming down her face, in faith that the Lord her God would take care of him. I’ll expand more on the symbolism of this particular vessel towards the end.
When it came time for this mama to place her son in the ark she had built and send him down the Nile, she did not just dust her hands and say, “Well, there’s that. Praise the Lord. I trust You, God.” and then turn around and walk back inside to resume everyday life. No—the text says that Moses’s sister stood watch to see what would become of him. And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him (v. 4).
There is no way of knowing what those final tender moments held between Moses’s mother and her son—but I can imagine the tears soaking this mama’s face as she gazed upon her baby boy. Was he awake gazing back at her? Smiling? Cooing in adoration? Was he sleeping peacefully? Were his eyes fluttering off to sleep with a full belly after she had nursed him, in her mind, one last time? I can only imagine the blurriness of tears stinging this mother’s vision as she gently lay her baby down in an ark she made, floating atop a daunting river known for the wildlife it serves as a home to, surrendering him to the One to Whom he truly belonged. And then, after she placed him along the shoreline amongst the reeds and let him go, and because I’m sure she couldn’t bear to watch her son float down the shoreline of the Nile, she placed her daughter as a lookout; as a set of eyes upon him, “to see what would become of him.”
Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it. When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter…” (v. 5-6)—pause. This is another tribute to Moses’s dear mother…look at the boldness of her daughter! In obedience to her mother, she stood and watched. Based on my research, this little girl (Moses’s older sister Miriam) was around five to seven years old. As part of the “slave population” that were the Hebrews under Pharaoh’s rule—to approach the daughter of Pharaoh was BOLD, let alone for a little girl, and she did it with wit and tact (not revealing the identity of her mother). A tribute to how Jochebed raised her children in the fear of the Lord. And for us to realize, too—we are God’s children. If we truly kneel before King Jesus, we can stand before anyone. Regardless of our age.
And what happens next is what has had me in tears over this passage of scripture.
So Miriam approached and “...said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him (v. 9).
So the girl went and called the child’s mother. God honors faith; He honors reverence and obedience to Him. Look how He honored this mother’s, Jochebed’s, faith. In the gift of “wages” as the text notes, yes. But also tenderly in the reunification with her three-month-old son, and the gift of getting to continue nursing and raising her baby boy. The gift of continuing to watch him learn how to smile, giggle, coo… perhaps the gift of getting to continue singing him to sleep as he falls asleep on her chest. Be it what it may, our God is a kind, tender God who remembers. And a God who protects His own.
The scripture continues in verse 10, “When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son.” So Jochebed nursed him until he was weaned, which probably would have been around the time Moses was two or three years old. During which time, she raised him in Hebrew ideals, as a Levite—the Levites were a good line of people; God’s chosen people, “Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the people of Israel, and the Levites shall be mine” (Numbers 8:14). Little did she know, God’s anointing was upon her son to lead His people out of Egypt and into the Promised Land, and most importantly to pave the way for His Son the Messiah, and He used her and her mothering to accomplish His good purposes. Even in her heartbreak of surrendering her son not once but twice—because undoubtedly the ache of surrendering her son a second time, now as a toddler, grieved her deeply—God’s good purposes will prevail, and He is to be magnified. And, in her FAITH and obedience to God, she did. The result of this mother’s faith was redemption.
Verse 10 continues, “She named him Moses, ‘Because,’ she said, ‘I drew him out of the water.’” There is heavy symbolism here that I pray blesses you as we begin to celebrate Christmas this year. The aforementioned “ark” symbolizes “new beginnings.” The ark that Noah built symbolizes a “new beginning” for God’s people. Likewise, the “ark” that Moses’s mother built to lay him in as a baby also symbolizes a “new beginning” for God’s people because Moses would lead God’s people out of slavery in Egypt. Furthermore, “Drawing out of the water” is the same idea as baptism… also symbolic of a “new beginning” as it relates to Jesus Christ.
And as we celebrate the birth of Christ… here comes a baby, through the womb of a virgin, our Messiah Yeshua come to save His children. Of all ways our Savior could have arrived on earth, He chose to enter through childbirth. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords humbled Himself to the most vulnerable, innocent form of humanity. Childbirth; an infant—God’s chosen channel of physically, spiritually bringing forth new life. Jesus offers us NEW LIFE through His New Covenant; our salvation through the outpouring of His blood that covers every part of us. To gift us a new beginning. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old is passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Because of Jesus, we know how our story ends. Everything in the Bible—the entire Old Testament and the New—all points to Jesus Christ our Messiah and King. Including the faith of a mother and the surrendering of an infant.
The experience of surrendering a child back into their Father’s Hands is one I had specifically prayed wouldn’t be a part of my story, but as of the end of October, it is. In September, we learned we were pregnant with our second child. We were absolutely thrilled—so excited for another precious baby to welcome into our family. So excited to have two under the age of two; for our 17-month-old daughter to become a big sister (she adores babies). At my first appointment at ten weeks, the doctor, after conducting two different ultrasounds, with utmost compassion and tenderness said, “I’m so sorry; it is a miscarriage.” Our baby had gone back into her Father’s arms about three weeks prior. And yet, in the grieving and tears shed and that continue to be shed, God is who He says He is… I know how the story ends. I know that my baby is in the Arms of Jesus—untouched by evil, in the safest place she will ever be—and that I will be reunited with her when He calls me Home. Selah. He is still to be magnified.
Perhaps this Christmas season looks different than they have in the past. Perhaps you have one less around your table and are in the midst of grief; perhaps you have one more around your table and are in the midst of celebration. Whatever trials and tribulations; triumphs and victories you have walked through this year up to this point—you are seen; the Lord knows every detail, holds every tear, celebrates every victory. He promises to renew us day by day; His mercies made new every morning, evident in the rising of the sun. I pray for faith over you, brothers and sisters. Faith in the grieving; faith in the celebrating. May your faith heal you, in Jesus’s Name. He is good, and He is worth it. Faith heals. Faith restores. Faith REDEEMS. Like the dear mother of Moses, the Lord will honor your faith and obedience to Him.
“And Jesus answered them, ‘Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.’” Mark 11:22-25
