Mother’s Day
![A Nonessential, Pregnant Slave with
Defiant Ingenuity; An Unconventional, Godly Mom – with a World-Changing Outcome!”
Jochebed and the Mothers of Tyre - Mother’s Day
By Pastor Dan Kennedy
© May 10, 2015
www.pastorkennedy.com
70 Original People… and 320 years Later
It had been 320 years since 70 members of the family of Jacob had been gathered into Egypt under the protection of Joseph, vice-ruler in Egypt (Gen. 46:27). Through the years the family had grown like a swarm of grasshoppers until a Pharaoh came to power who did not appreciate what Joseph had done, and who instead “dealt shrewdly” with this growing perceived non-Egyptian “threat”.
The Pharaohs up to that time sought to harness the Israelite nation’s growing number through slavery, and through ruthless oppression making Jewish lives bitter with forced labor while building for themselves two Egyptian store cities, Pithom and Raamses (Ex. 1:11). In eighty years the Jewish nation continued to grow to around 600,000 men, not including women and children (Ex. 12:37).
Approximately 1526 B.C.* a slave family from the tribe of Levi was expecting their third child, to be a youngest sibling to Miriam, their smart and feisty firstborn daughter, and their three year old second born son, Aaron (Ex. 7:7).
[*Assuming that the Exodus occurred in 1446 and since Moses was 80 years old at that time (7:7), he was born in 1526 b.c. at the beginning of the reign of Thutmose I (1526–1512) or at the end of Amenhotep I’s reign (1545–1526).
Hannah, J. D. (1985). Exodus. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck, Ed.) (Ex 2:1–2). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.]
Thutmose I had most likely just ascended to Pharaoh’s throne, replacing his father Amenhotep I, and the anxious new ruler may have firmly decided to remedy once and for all the escalating “threat” of Jewish population growth with which his father had struggled so long. Since selective abortion had not been actualized, he decided to place a “kill the male baby” edict on this alien Israeli slave nation within the boarders of powerful Egypt, the greatest nation of the then known world. Surely this would keep down any future anarchy.
But God had other plans. Within 80 years the superpower status of Egypt would be brought down to nothing as wave upon wave of plagues, flies, frogs, gnats, boils, darkness and death – including the drowning of Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, consumed the proud land and brought Egypt to its knees. This demise would initially be accomplished beginning with a nonessential, nameless, pregnant slave, who defied the “kill the male child” edict from the greatest ruler on the earth. This young mother nourished her newborn son for three months, and with ingenuity “cast” him into the Nile…in a basket. She then became a very unconventional mom because she had only a short time to nurse and care for his little life until her responsibilities would be over and Moses would be brought into Pharaoh’s house to begin his formal education as a son of Pharaoh’s daughter. God supernaturally superseded to cultivate this man Moses, to bring God’s chosen People, the Israelites out of Egypt, after 400 years in slavery.
Exodus 2:1–10
The Birth of Moses
2 Now a man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman. 2 The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. 3 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. 4 And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him. 5 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. 6 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.” 7 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?” 8 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. 9 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. 10 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.”
The Pregnant Slave with No Name…(at first)
This Scripture passage, narrating the story of Moses, never identifies his mother by name, simply saying she was “a Levite woman”. Her name appears in Scriptural genealogical records, that is why we know her name to be Jochebed (Exodus 6:20; Numbers 26:59). Her name means “Yahweh’s glory”. This is of particular interest since many Israelites in slavery had switched loyalty to worship of the “golden calf” idol of one of Egypt’s gods. Remember how the Israelites reverted to idol worship after Moses spent forty days on Mt. Sinai to receive the Law? The people started worshipping the “golden calf”? Not so with those who held true to the Living God.
Jochebed had parents who loved and worshipped Israel’s true God, and they named their daughter a that name reflected their worship: “Yahweh’s glory”. Jochebed followed the example of her parents and worshipped the Creator, Living God, Yahweh-El: “God, who causes to be”.
JOCHEBED (Jŏkʹ ə bĕd) Personal name meaning “Yahweh’s glory.” In Exod. 6:20 the wife of Amram and the mother of Miriam, Aaron, and Moses. She was a member of the tribe of Levi. Her name includes the divine name Yahweh, evidence that the name Yahweh was known before the time of Moses.**
** Jochebed. (2003). In C. Brand, C. Draper, A. England, S. Bond, E. R. Clendenen & T. C. Butler (Eds.), Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary. 2003.
Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
Jochebed
• A Nonessential, Pregnant Slave
o Jochebed already had two children
- Miriam was old enough to convince Pharaoh’s daughter that she needed a wet nurse and Miriam could find just the right Jewish one…would she be from 7-12 years old?
- Aaron was three years old (Ex. 7:7).
o Pharaoh’s decree was given to kill the male babies – most likely some time between Aaron’s birth and Moses’ birth.
o Jochebed came to the conviction, after the decree, that if she gave birth to a son, she would not let him be put to death.
o Jochebed knew the midwives, Shiphrah and Puah (Ex. 1:15-22) from her first two children…and had also colluded with them to not put Moses to death when he was born.
• With Defiant Ingenuity
o Defiance against the edict of the greatest ruler in the only superpower of that day was formed in her heart, possibly when she first heard of the edict…maybe before she had become pregnant with Moses. She came to understand that if she had a boy, slave or not, she would defy Pharaoh. Jochebed had no idea how things would work out after making the decision to save her son’s life. Her life, as a slave, was at stake too.
o Time came when the defiant “line in the sand” could be kept secret no longer.
After three months of keeping Moses hidden, she could not hide him any more.
• She was, after all, a slave with work expectations. She couldn’t claim any more time to recuperate from having a baby.
• She could not keep the growing baby Moses hidden any longer.
• She had done all she could.
• A plan formed in her mind – from God. Yes, she would throw Moses in the sacred Nile as required, but she would throw him in the Nile wrapped securely in a waterproof, protective basket.
• God orchestrated the Pharaoh’s daughter being nearby, and her heart melting at the cry of Moses.
• God orchestrated young Miriam to say the right words at the right time.
• God orchestrated Pharaoh’s daughter’s desire to raise this Hebrew baby as her own.
• God orchestrated it all.
o An Unconventional, Godly Mom
Jochebed would only have her son in her arms for a relatively short time…until he was weaned. How long was that?
• Isaac. Abraham made a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned (Gen. 21:8).
• Samuel. Samuel’s mother brought him to serve full-time in the temple, as she had promised the Lord, after he was weaned (1 Samuel 1:24).
• Moses. Pharaoh’s daughter gave Moses to Jochebed until he was weaned (Ex. 2:9-10).
It is assumed, given these illustrations that a child in the Old Testament could have been between two and four years old before they were weaned.
Would Jochebed only have Moses for the first two or three years of his life? This was truly “unconventional motherhood”! But God gave Jochebed three outstanding children no matter how long they were in her care: Miriam, Aaron and Moses.
• There is no name given for either Jockebed, her husband Amram or their daughter Miriam in the primary passage. In this passage they were “unknown” servants of the Lord.
• There is no further reference to Jockebed and her husband other than in Biblical genealogies, following the passage in Exodus 2, with Moses, at the beginning of his life.
• We do not know what happened to them in a land in which they would be cruelly treated as slaves.
• Jochebed was a woman who sought God YWHW, Yahweh-El: “the God who causes to be”, and followed His will for her life.
What have you felt like at times, as a Mother?
As a mother, do you sometimes feel “captured” or “enslaved” by your situation, by the constant attentiveness needed in raising your children; or, as a grandmother, not being able to do anything other than pray for your grandchildren, who might be involved in who knows what?
What was the only thing Jochebed could do once Moses was taken from her arms and given to the heathen, political elite – to be their child and raised in their palace?
All she could do was Pray.
Moses’ Mom and Dad Lost Track of Him
All Jochebed really knew was that she had saved her son from death as an infant. Would this young boy being raised in an evil, cruel and godless kingdom end up being worse than death?
Did Jochebed and Amram live forty years more to hear of their son running for his life away from Pharaoh, because he killed a man? How did this affect Jochebed’s mother’s heart?
Most certainly both Jochebed and Amram had died by the time God brought Moses back to Egypt to be Israel’s deliver, as an 80 year old man. What had they prayed about when they didn’t know where he was?
What concerns darkened their minds for their son?
• Did he ever marry?
• Did he have children?
• Was he alone?
• Was he lost in the desert?
• Had he died?
• Had the hopes they had for him, perished with him?
They were never told, and they never knew until they were gathered with the righteous at a place the Scripture calls “Abraham’s Side” or as the King James says, “Abraham’s bosom” (Luke 16:22; 19-31).
It did not make any difference whether or not his parents knew where Moses was – how could they help him as slaves? Their reliance had to be on God, who knew everything about Moses.
o A World-Changing Outcome for a Slave Woman’s Son
There have been few leaders in the world like Moses.
Jochebed was a Godly Slave Mother, whose people had been in bondage for much longer than the United States has been a nation.
Let’s take a huge leap in our mind’s eye and turn now to a fantastic and godless city spoken of by the prophet Ezekiel.
We somehow mistakenly think that if things were “perfect” (they certainly weren’t for Jochebed) then we would never need to worry about anything again!
The Mothers of Tyre
What a difference Jochebed’s life was from the Mothers of Tyre…
Tyre was not a slave state such as Israel under Egyptian tyranny while Jochebed was living. The Mothers of Tyre, instead, were, “Perfect in Beauty”.
Ezekiel 27:3 – 28:19
An Analogy of the Tyre and its Inhabitants compared to a Exquisite Sailing Vessel
Ezekiel 27:3-23
3 Say to Tyre, situated at the gateway to the sea, merchant of peoples on many coasts, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
Pride
“ ‘You say, O Tyre,
“I am perfect in beauty.”
4 Your domain was on the high seas;
your builders brought your beauty to perfection.
Exotic building materials
5 They made all your timbers
of pine trees from Senir;
they took a cedar from Lebanon
to make a mast for you.
6 Of oaks from Bashan
they made your oars;
of cypress wood from the coasts of Cyprus
they made your deck, inlaid with ivory.
The Finest Cloth
7 Fine embroidered linen from Egypt was your sail
and served as your banner;
your awnings were of blue and purple
from the coasts of Elishah.
The Most Accomplished Personnel
8 Men of Sidon and Arvad were your oarsmen;
your skilled men, O Tyre, were aboard as your seamen.
9 Veteran craftsmen of Gebal were on board
as shipwrights to caulk your seams.
All the ships of the sea and their sailors
came alongside to trade for your wares.
Security with their Army
10 “ ‘Men of Persia, Lydia and Put
served as soldiers in your army.
They hung their shields and helmets on your walls,
bringing you splendor.
11 Men of Arvad and Helech
manned your walls on every side;
men of Gammad
were in your towers.
They hung their shields around your walls;
they brought your beauty to perfection.
Shrewd in their Business
12 “ ‘Tarshish did business with you because of your great wealth of goods; they exchanged silver, iron, tin and lead for your merchandise.
13 “ ‘Greece, Tubal and Meshech traded with you; they exchanged slaves and articles of bronze for your wares.
14 “ ‘Men of Beth Togarmah exchanged work horses, war horses and mules for your merchandise.
15 “ ‘The men of Rhodes traded with you, and many coastlands were your customers; they paid you with ivory tusks and ebony.
16 “ ‘Aram did business with you because of your many products; they exchanged turquoise, purple fabric, embroidered work, fine linen, coral and rubies for your merchandise.
17 “ ‘Judah and Israel traded with you; they exchanged wheat from Minnith and confections, honey, oil and balm for your wares.
18 “ ‘Damascus, because of your many products and great wealth of goods, did business with you in wine from Helbon and wool from Zahar.
19 “ ‘Danites and Greeks from Uzal bought your merchandise; they exchanged wrought iron, cassia and calamus for your wares.
20 “ ‘Dedan traded in saddle blankets with you.
21 “ ‘Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were your customers; they did business with you in lambs, rams and goats.
22 “ ‘The merchants of Sheba and Raamah traded with you; for your merchandise they exchanged the finest of all kinds of spices and precious stones, and gold.
23 “ ‘Haran, Canneh and Eden and merchants of Sheba, Asshur and Kilmad traded with you. 24 In your marketplace they traded with you beautiful garments, blue fabric, embroidered work and multicolored rugs with cords twisted and tightly knotted.
A Prophecy Against the Ruler (or Prince) of Tyre
Ezekiel 28
The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“ ‘In the pride of your heart
you say, “I am a god;
I sit on the throne of a god
in the heart of the seas.”
But you are a man and not a god,
though you think you are as wise as a god.
3 Are you wiser than Daniel?
Is no secret hidden from you?
4 By your wisdom and understanding
you have gained wealth for yourself
and amassed gold and silver
in your treasuries.
5 By your great skill in trading
you have increased your wealth,
and because of your wealth
your heart has grown proud.
6 “ ‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“ ‘Because you think you are wise,
as wise as a god,
7 I am going to bring foreigners against you,
the most ruthless of nations;
they will draw their swords against your beauty and wisdom
and pierce your shining splendor.
8 They will bring you down to the pit,
and you will die a violent death
in the heart of the seas.
9 Will you then say, “I am a god,”
in the presence of those who kill you?
You will be but a man, not a god,
in the hands of those who slay you.
10 You will die the death of the uncircumcised
at the hands of foreigners.
I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.’ ”
A Prophecy Against the King of Tyre
– The god behind the glitter and pride of this world.
11 The word of the Lord came to me: 12 “Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“ ‘You were the model of perfection,
full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
13 You were in Eden,
the garden of God;
every precious stone adorned you:
ruby, topaz and emerald,
chrysolite, onyx and jasper,
sapphire, turquoise and beryl.
Your settings and mountings were made of gold;
on the day you were created they were prepared.
14 You were anointed as a guardian cherub,
for so I ordained you.
You were on the holy mount of God;
you walked among the fiery stones.
15 You were blameless in your ways
from the day you were created
till wickedness was found in you.
16 Through your widespread trade
you were filled with violence,
and you sinned.
So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God,
and I expelled you, O guardian cherub,
from among the fiery stones.
17 Your heart became proud
on account of your beauty,
and you corrupted your wisdom
because of your splendor.
So I threw you to the earth;
I made a spectacle of you before kings.
18 By your many sins and dishonest trade
you have desecrated your sanctuaries.
So I made a fire come out from you,
and it consumed you,
and I reduced you to ashes on the ground
in the sight of all who were watching.
19 All the nations who knew you
are appalled at you;
you have come to a horrible end
and will be no more.’ ”
~~~
Now, go back to the 26th chapter of Ezekiel and see the end of this exquisite and godless city – with its “perfect” mothers.
Ezekiel 26
A Prophecy Against Tyre
26 In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, because Tyre has said of Jerusalem, ‘Aha! The gate to the nations is broken, and its doors have swung open to me; now that she lies in ruins I will prosper,’ 3 therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, O Tyre, and I will bring many nations against you, like the sea casting up its waves. 4 They will destroy the walls of Tyre and pull down her towers; I will scrape away her rubble and make her a bare rock. 5 Out in the sea she will become a place to spread fishnets, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord. She will become plunder for the nations, 6 and her settlements on the mainland will be ravaged by the sword. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
7 “For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: From the north I am going to bring against Tyre Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots, with horsemen and a great army. 8 He will ravage your settlements on the mainland with the sword; he will set up siege works against you, build a ramp up to your walls and raise his shields against you.
~~~
14 I will make you a bare rock, and you will become a place to spread fishnets. You will never be rebuilt, for I the Lord have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.
15 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says to Tyre: Will not the coastlands tremble at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan and the slaughter takes place in you? 16 Then all the princes of the coast will step down from their thrones and lay aside their robes and take off their embroidered garments. Clothed with terror, they will sit on the ground, trembling every moment, appalled at you. 17 Then they will take up a lament concerning you and say to you:
“ ‘How you are destroyed, O city of renown,
peopled by men of the sea!
You were a power on the seas,
you and your citizens;
you put your terror
on all who lived there.
18 Now the coastlands tremble
on the day of your fall;
the islands in the sea
are terrified at your collapse.’
19 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
~~~
… 21 I will bring you to a horrible end and you will be no more. You will be sought, but you will never again be found, declares the Sovereign Lord.”
Comparison
Jochebed and the Mothers of Tyre
It is not difficult to make a stark comparison between the day-by-day lives of Jochebed and the Mothers of Tyre. “A nobody” compared to “a somebody”.
But the lopsided comparison stops suddenly – at the “end of the day”, at the close of a life, at the step into eternity.
The real difference between the two types of Mothers was faith, trust and humility. One day Israel would no longer be a “slave state”, but would be bought into a “land flowing with milk and honey”. She too would need to continually renew her commitment to the Lord in times of plenty.
In whom did Jochebed put her faith and trust? Who was the “god” of the mothers of Tyre? In whom was their faith and trust? In that trust, where was their pride?
No matter where you find your life right now, it makes little difference if you are a “nobody” or a “somebody”. The real key is if you are a follower of YWHW, Yahweh-El: “the God who causes to be”. Have you put your trust in HIM – the Creator of the World?
Have you invited His Son, and Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, to redeem you from your sins (John 3:16). And have you been transformed by His Holy Spirit (John 3:3) to be a Child of the Living God.
If you are following the God of Jochebed, His good Spirit will guide you in the difficult decisions that you make during your life – no matter what station of life in which you live.
“Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way
and the evil man his thoughts.
Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Isaiah 55:6–9](Mothers_Day_-_Jochebed_and_the_Mothers_of_Tyre_files/shapeimage_1.png)
