Can You Imagine? - Wanda Cape
Can you imagine how it must have been in the days of Jochebed? Well, who, in fact, is Jochebed? Jochebed happened to be the mother of Moses, and was completely lost in the shadow of her famous son after his birth. She is remembered in the Hebrews Hall of Faith, Hebrews 11:23, "By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the King's commandment."
Jochebed faced some extremely hard times. In the book of Exodus chapter 1, the scriptures teach us that the wicked King, Pharaoh, commanded all of the Hebrew midwives to kill all of the male children born of the Hebrew women. Thankfully, the midwives feared God and did not do as the King commanded. So, when it was discovered by Pharaoh that the midwives were not killing the boy children per his command, he then charged all of his people to cast every son born of the Hebrew women into the river.
Now Jochebed was with child during the reign of Pharaoh, and for 9 months, she must have wondered what would happen if her child was a boy. What would she do? If her child was a boy, could she trust the midwife who would deliver him? Would the midwife obey the king and slay him? Wow! Jochebed lived her entire pregnancy with a heavy burden.
Imagine yourself with child during the days of Jochebed, and you wonder everyday what would happen to your baby if it was a boy? I believe Jochebed asked the Lord for wisdom of what to do when her child was ready to be delivered. She must have prayed fervently unto the Lord, came up with a plan, and then she acted on her faith, expecting the Lord to do the impossible.
In Exodus Chapter 2, we learn of her plan. When Moses was born, she saw that he was a goodly child, so she took her son and hid him for three months to spare his life. When she realized that she could no longer hide him, she then made him a basket of bulrushes, daubed it with slime and pitch, put her male son, Moses, in the basket, and placed him in the flags by the brink of the river, as told in scripture, and the hardest part, she left him there. Wow! What faith! Her baby was three months old, yet, she placed him in the river in a basket and trusted the Lord for His protection. I’m sure she was anxious and unsure if she was doing the right thing, yet, she trusted the Lord to take care of him. She, along with her husband must have had an incredible amount of faith and trust in their God.
We all know that the America of today, is not the same America we knew growing up. Though “She” is still a great Country, “She” is not the America we knew. How disturbing to hear of the news of today. There is so much crime and injustice in our Country, and Bible believing Christians are being mocked and ridiculed now more than ever! Can you imagine for a minute how people reacted to the command of Pharaoh? Some must have cheered and others were appalled by the command. But even through this, God used a little lady by the name of Jochebed who acted and responded with wisdom. We all must realize that just as Jochebed faced hard times, we, too, are being faced with things that are just as unbelievable. I believe Jochebed was a denim and lace kind of lady. She had the strength of denim, yet, the beauty of lace to trust Her Saviour with her most precious treasure.
Each of us, whether we’ve been saved for years or saved recently, have a huge target on our back, and so does every person in our family and Church family. The beliefs from the Word of God that we hold true to today, are under attack. It may not be long until we face such horrific laws as was in the day of Jochebed. We must have the faith that she had, and the strength to stand and obey God rather than man. We must continue to hold on to the truths of God’s Word; the truths that make us who we are. The Christian life isn't just for a season it's for a lifetime! It's a life of walking in His ways EVERYDAY!
It's hard to imagine, but there may come a day for us when laws are passed and we are forced with a choice such as Jochebed. No matter what ungodly laws may be passed tomorrow, we must keep our faith strong in the Lord! Will we obey God, or man?
All around us is indecency, vulgarity, murder of innocent children, unrighteous living, etc. Jochebed must have faced some of the same issues that we are faced with. It is hard to imagine, but things will become even more corrupt before the Lord returns. Will we obey God, or man?
May it be said of us that we had great faith like Jochebed. It’s amazing to me how the Lord orchestrated what happened when she placed Moses by the brink of the river. Jochebed did not know if she would ever see her child again. It just so happens that Moses' sister, Miriam, was close by watching what would take place. Pharaoh's daughter finds the baby, and she knows that he is one of the Hebrews’ children, so Miriam asks if she shall go and call a nurse of the Hebrew women to nurse the child, and she said “go.” So Miriam goes to get her mother, Moses' mother, Jochebed, to nurse her son. The Lord blessed her faith so much that, Jochebed even gets paid to nurse her child. Wow, what a story! Look how the Lord blessed the faith of a little lady who continued to stand in her faith even in the midst of her trouble. Let’s don’t change, let’s keep standing!
We know the word of God says in Romans 8:28, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God to them who are the called according to his purpose."
To have such faith as Jochebed, we must...
-Know the scriptures and the promises of God. The way to know the scriptures is to be in your Bible.
-Believe that God is going to do as He as promised. Jochebed knew in her heart that everything was going to be okay. She saw that Moses was a goodly child and could possibly be the chosen deliverer for Israel.
-Realize that God wants His children to trust Him. Jochebed had to decide to hide her child and then she gently placed him in a basket among the flags by the brink of the river. We must learn to trust the Lord to care about our most precious possessions, too.
-Look for God's love through our circumstances. God honored Jochebed's faith and her trust in Him by causing the king's daughter to be moved with compassion on the child when she heard his cry. And, Jochebed was able to nurse her son and get paid to do so at the same time.
-Accept that the Lord has a big plan. God had a purpose and Jochebed was chosen by God to fulfill His plan. Her people were promised a deliverer and their nation would not be destroyed. Jochebed was chosen to bring that deliver, Moses, into this world.
-Understand God wants us to give him glory. Jochebed certainly brought God Glory by thinking clearly and reacting properly to her situation. God has a purpose for the challenges we face as well. He will get Glory through every circumstance if we let HIm.
-Depend upon the Lord for His grace and his peace. Jochebed had to have peace to be able to hide her baby for 3 months until he was stronger. Then she placed him in that basket. She prepared the basket to float and did all she could to insure that her baby would be safe. Then she left everything else up to the Lord to do as He pleased. Psalm 115;3, "But our God is in the heavens; he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased."
-Know that God makes no mistakes.
-Embrace the grace of God and give your burden to the Lord and leave it. Turn it over to the Lord and you will see the goodness of the Lord as did Jochebed.