In the first of our Women in the Bible features I am turning the focus to a woman often overlooked in bible studies - who plays a key role in the fulfilled promise of God's active mission in the Jewish nation and in the light of the world.
Jochebed is just a cameo figure at first glance in the Old Testament, proof that you don't have to have the starring role to play a vital role. Jochebed is the mother of Moses, the highest prophet and writer of scripture. Jochebed stands out as a model of living in faith because she had to trust God completely.
Born in Egypt - an alien in a land, her people enslaved and their only hope in a God who seemed to be silent to their suffering Jochebed believed in God's able hand. She had two children: Aaron and Miriam, who will also be key roles in God's journey of his people and the Jewish people. Jochebed had Moses according to Jewish scholars later in life - God bringing life in barren places - she already had been blessed with two children...so when Moses came it was an amazing surprise blessing of God's gifts. Imagine her pain and shock that in the midst of this amazing miracle - the pharaoh had issued an edict calling on all midwives to kill baby Hebrew boys. Jochebed was faced with a choice to sacrifice her son and go with the establishment - bowing down to a foreign king and false god, or trust in her God to save her son.
Jochebed's love for her son was so strong, she turned her faith to God to save her son and to use him as an instrument of his will. While we don't know if Jochebed had divine intuition that Moses would become a leader of his people, it shows the power of love and how love is an instrument for miracles when given in selfless service in trust of God's will.
Jochebed left her baby in a reed basket and placed him in the Nile. We are so familiar with the story of Moses we often forget the pain it must have caused her to give up her son and to let him drift - probably under normal circumstances - to his death in the Nile. Jochebed trusted God. Her daughter Miriam was gifted by God in cleverness and conniving - which in this case is a good thing. Miriam made sure that pharaoh's daughter saw Moses. When the pharaoh's daughter decided to adopt Moses, Miriam suggested that Jochebed be his nurse - God found a way for Jochebed to stay close to Moses.
Add in the fact that society dictated that Jochebed as a woman and a slave had no rights - while women in Egypt fared better than Greece and other Middle Eastern countries in the region - she was not in a social position to question pharaoh - but she did so by instead trusting in the God of Israel. God the Father, expects faith but in our faith journey he also expects conversation - he wants us to cry out to him in question - all the while learning in the process He is not immune to our suffering - if we do suffer he has a plan and will always help us in the right time.
I must highlight the saving power of God through pharaoh's daughter as well - although she was a pagan and part of a household that ordered children to be killed mercilessly (though they saw it as culling the population - it is murder and in my opinion a reason for being pro-life and standing up for all life conception to death - the most vulnerable were left to die) Pharaoh's daughter showed great courage, love and compassion taking care of Moses and it reminds us that God uses the unexpected and forsaken to do his will in his time.
Also the midwives (Egyptians) felt the power of God and they too defied social norms and their place to stand up for the children - a true testament of faith and living a life in Christ is giving up ourselves for the service of others even if it puts us in harms way. How powerful a message that God used midwives, a mother and a sister and a princess to make his aims come into play.
Jochebed is not mentioned again, except briefly in Numbers (where her name appears for the first time, she is referred to as the mother of Moses in Exodus); Hebrews in the New Testament lists Jochebed as a strong testament of faith.
If Jochebed had not taken a risk in love - Moses - a great leader and patriarch who wrote our scriptures and heard God's call - would have perished - God did not just save Moses from the womb - he used human agents in his plan because God wants a relationship with use and uses us for his purposes - are we willing and ready to hear his call?
Contemplate how God calls you out of Egypt and the struggles you face in the desert - remember to call on God and trust in HIS will - he will not fail - even in silence his hands are at work and we are called to be instruments of peace - so if you see suffering stand up against it and offer your help as the Midwives did - if you are in a situation where it comes between the social norms, powers of the world and your faith - choose to life in faith. Most importantly - LOVE is a key to open great doors and in love, faith colludes for miracles in Grace and hope in desert times.
This story parallels in many ways to the Blessed Mother Mary, Mary was a young mother who had to risk life and limb to save Jesus from Herod. Children died - while Christ lived and those are the first martyrs of the church. Some see the plague of the first born God unleashes on Egypt as revenge - it is justice, but don't think that God did not mourn for the children of Egypt too - God used it for his glory in the passover - but anytime blood is shed - God cries - the moral is that when we harden our hearts against God's action in our lives and turn away from his love - we are dead to the spirit. Pharaoh's pride allowed his people to suffer. Our actions must always be in accordance with God's will so that we don't cause others to stumble.
No comments:
Post a Comment