Moses’ Mother

TEXT: Exodus 1:22; 2:1-10; Hebrews 11:23

OBJECTIVE

The students will be able to explain, using the example of Moses’ mother, that when they have a need they can safely commit it to the Lord, and be assured that God will supply the need if it is in harmony with His will.

REFERENCE INFORMATION

While the Bible does not make any statement concerning the righteousness of Amram and Jochebed, Moses’ parents, we can have no doubt that they were serving the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to the best of their ability and not worshiping the gods of Egypt. The historian Josephus says that the Lord appeared to Amram in a dream and foretold that the child they were about to have was to be the one who would deliver the Israelites from Egyptian bondage.

The story of Moses’ birth is thoroughly Egyptian in its setting. He was born in Goshen in the country of Egypt about 1571 B.C. His mother made extraordinary effort for his preservation because of the decree Pharaoh had made which stated that all the male Hebrew children were to be put to death. She had to break the law of the land in order to save her child. For three months the child was hidden in the house. Then, through much thought for his safety, he was placed in a prepared basket among the reeds in the river. His sister, Miriam, stood at a little distance to keep watch over him. Pharaoh’s daughter discovered the baby and took him from the water and named him Moses. She needed a nurse for him, so Miriam came out from where she had been hiding and asked if she should go and find a Hebrew woman to be his nurse. She brought Moses’ own mother to care for him. Jochebed’s faith in God enabled her to see her son raised to manhood by the daughter of the very king who had ordered his destruction.

QUESTIONS

Who can find a virtuous woman? Amram was married to one named Jochebed. She so thoroughly ingrained the teachings of her God into her son, Moses, that all the allurements of the heathen palace never eradicated those early impressions. He had the finest education Egypt afforded, but it did not turn his head or cause him to lose his simple childhood faith. Perhaps Jochebed’s greatest virtue was her success in imparting to Moses the virtue of trusting God.

1. “Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river . . .” (Exodus 1:22). Through this commandment, the river became a symbol of grief and terror to every Israelitish mother. What virtue did Jochebed display in overcoming that dreadful symbol?
   
   Response: Many answers may be given. Point out that she safely committed her need to the Lord, thereby exemplifying complete trust. Have the students define trust. Their comments should bring out that it means, “assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone else.”
   
2. Why do you think Moses’ parents were not afraid of the king’s commandment? Under those circumstances, what would your reaction have been?
   
   Response: Hebrews 11:23 says they were not afraid because of faith. Following your students’ responses to the second part of the question, discuss 1 John 4:18. Stress that we must recognize our weakness before God’s strength can be perfected in us.
   
3. What assurance did Jochebed have that Moses would be safe when she placed him in the ark and laid it on the brink of the river among the flags? Consider the word “safe” in reference to the key verse.
   
   Response: First, one must define what safe meant. If it meant the child would live, she had no assurance. However, if it meant that Moses was safe in God’s care no matter what happened, she had great assurance. God had put into her heart the same assurance that Paul possessed, though he declared it thousands of years later. (See our key verse.) The point is that if we keep our hands off a matter, we can be assured that God will supply the need according to His will. But what happens when we put our hands back on it? We are then relying on our own wisdom or strength, and thus become subject to failure.
   
4. How did the teachings of Moses’ mother influence him? See Hebrews 11:23-26.
   
   Response: Rehearse some of the events in Moses’ life where his godly virtues were displayed. Discuss the value of training up a child in the way he should go, so that when he is old, he will not depart from it. See Proverbs 22:6.
   
5. One of the great virtues that both Jochebed and Moses had was that of faith. Describe how this virtue was evidenced in their lives. How might the course of their history have been changed had they not exemplified this?
   
   Response: Jochebed evidenced faith by entrusting her child to God. Moses showed his faith in God by refusing to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with God’s people. He was willing to obey God’s commands even when they seemed extraordinary. If he had not exercised this faith, Moses would never have been the one to lead God’s people out of bondage. Without this faith, the miracles recorded in God’s Word which occurred at the hand of Moses, would never have provided an example and encouragement to believers through the ages.
   
6. Give an example from your own knowledge or experience of one who committed something to the Lord and saw a need supplied.
   
   Response: After discussing the examples, show that no one has ever truly committed his way to God and regretted it. The regrets occur when we interfere.
   
7. Why do you think it is so difficult to reach a place of complete trust? See 2 Corinthians 3:5.
   
   Response: Discuss the nature of man to attempt to be self-sufficient. The world teaches us to be self-motivated. What does God’s Word teach us? See also Psalm 118:8 and Proverbs 3:5-6.
   
8. What specific needs do men have that should be committed to the Lord?
   
   Response: Allow students to rehearse man’s many needs, great and small, and then focus their attention on man’s spiritual needs. Your students should understand that all have needs that are beyond man’s ability to supply. If we are to live in harmony with God’s will, we must commit our needs to the Lord. See Psalm 37:5.

CLASS ACTIVITIES

You will need a dish of water, two matches, and a floating candle. The thought here is to do what seems impossible. Ask if the students think fire will keep burning on water. Light the first match and place it into the water; of course it will go out. Then light the floating candle. Liken this to how we need God’s help to carry us along. Refer students to the verse, “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass” (Psalm 37:5). Moses’ mother had to trust the Lord to take care of Moses out on the water in the little basket made of bulrushes. Point out that God rewarded her efforts and took care of the child in what appeared to be a very difficult situation.

Bring to class a picture of a potter’s wheel, and a lump of clay. We compare Jesus to the potter. Let’s imagine that we are the clay. Jesus (the Potter) puts the clay on the wheel. If a lump appears in the clay, do we trust Jesus to work it out, or say, “Now I see what’s wrong. I can work it out”? Do we leave it with Jesus or do we try to help Him? Let the class “help.” What are the results? (This would also work as a review.) What would have happened to Moses if his mother hadn’t trusted God to take care of the problem?

Moses’ mother went to God when trouble came to her home. We have a promise we can turn to when our trials come. Psalm 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” It means He is right there when you need help. Write each of the words from this verse on 3x5 cards. Mix the cards up and then have your students try to put the verse in its correct order. Discuss the verse with them, showing Moses’ mother as a good example of one who used this promise even though the Psalms had not yet been written.