💭 Consider this:
If you died today, how do you honestly think you will be remembered by your children?
What “risky” actions do you need faith to perform at the moment?
RefQuests
If you died today, how do you honestly think you will be remembered by your children?
What “risky” actions do you need faith to perform at the moment?
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What good
is it if your
child loses
his own soul?
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📣 What makes a “godly” mother? 🤔
This Mother's Day, celebrate the legacy of faith left by one of Scripture’s most overlooked mothers—Jochebed. In this timely sermon, we reflect on a mother’s love and her trust in God during one of the darkest times in Israel’s history. Her faith led to the birth and preservation of Moses, one of the greatest leaders in the Bible. This message will remind you of the eternal impact godly mothers have on their children.
👩👦 What will your children remember you for? Your faith can shape generations.
📄 Follow along with this sermon's transcript: https://www.bethelbpc.com.au/sermon-database/the-faith-of-a-beloved-mother
📍 Sermon Outline 00:00 Trailer 02:00 Introduction 08:00 I. HER FAITH IN MAKING THE RIGHT DECISION 22:27 II. HER FAITH IN TRUSTING GOD 45:13 Closing Prayer
Copyright © 2025, Bethel Bible-Presbyterian Church. All rights reserved.
Highlights
Today is Mother's Day, and in view of this special occasion, I thought it would be good to share a message about a woman and her faith in God, and she was none other than the mother of Moses.
Our text is taken from Exodus 1:22 to 2:10. The title of our message is ‘The Faith of a Beloved Mother.’
But before we consider this passage, let me read for you 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.”
Allow me to give you the context or background. At this point in time, the children of Israel were slaves in Egypt. The Pharaoh was afraid that the Hebrews would become a military threat and join forces with any potential enemies of Egypt, so he commanded the midwives to kill all the male babies born to the Hebrews.
But there were two midwives who feared God more than the Pharaoh, so they reported to the Pharaoh that the Hebrew women were quick and strong, and by the time they arrived, the babies were already born.
Some people believe that was a lie. While that may be true, there is also the possibility that they deliberately delayed in arriving at the place of delivery to give more time for the babies to be born. Well, the Bible is silent. But in any case, when the Pharaoh realised that the babies were already born, he openly declared that all the male babies had to be drowned in the sea.
Look at Exodus 1:22: “And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.” So this murderous plot was no longer a secret; it was a public declaration.
Notice there were two threats in the Pharaoh's command. One was explicit, which means every Hebrew male child had to be killed. And the other is implicit, which implies if anyone disobeyed the command, he or she would risk his or her own life. In other words, all Hebrew parents would have two choices. They could either kill their sons and save themselves, or they could try to save their sons and risk their own lives. There was no middle way.
Then the scene moved to a particular family from the tribe of Levi, where there was a certain woman, and she was the mother of Moses. Most people are familiar with the name Moses, but few would know the name of his mother.
According to Exodus 6:20, her name was Jochebed. Exodus 6:20 says, “And Amram took him Jochebed his father's sister to wife; and she bare him Aaron and Moses: and the years of the life of Amram were an hundred and thirty and seven years.” So Amram was the father, and Jochebed was the mother of Moses.
I have not come across any girl named Jochebed. Although few people would remember this name, and she may be insignificant in the eyes of the people, but indeed, she was an amazing woman of great faith. Her faith in God was articulated in two aspects, and this is what we want to learn for today's message: firstly, her faith in making the right decision, and secondly, her faith in trusting God no matter what happened.
I. Her Faith In Making The Right Decision
Let us begin with Exodus 2:1: “And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi.” This was a reference to Amram and his wife Jochebed.
Verse 2: “And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months.” The mother of Moses, Jochebed, and of course including his father Amram, had to make a decision. And whatever decision they made, it was clear that that decision pleased the Almighty God, and it was recorded in the Holy Scriptures for our edification.
In life's journey, we often find ourselves at the crossroads whereby we are put to the test. We have to make decisions—to go or not to go, to do or not to do, to say or not to say. Some have made the right decisions. Others have failed. Sometimes the consequences could be very serious. That was exactly what Proverbs 14:12 says: “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
In this world of sin and compromise, it is so difficult for us to make the right decision. Oftentimes, our decisions are based on our own humanistic ideas, intellectual reasonings, and emotional feelings. We can be very sincere but yet at the same time sincerely wrong.
There is only one way for us to make the right decision, and that is to use the Word of God as a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path—to humble ourselves and believe in the Almighty God, who says: “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.” (Psalm 32:8)
When Hebrews 11:23 says: “By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents,” the faith that was mentioned was the faith of his parents, because Moses was just born. He could not have exercised his faith. It was his parents’ faith. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. So by faith, Jochebed made that godly decision to save her son at the expense of risking her own life.
Can you imagine if Jochebed had decided like all the other Hebrew women to obey the king's commandment and drowned the male babies? Today, there would be no Moses. We would not read of the amazing stories of Moses, and certainly she would not be known as a woman of faith.
As parents, you and I may or may not be called to make a life and death decision for our children like Jochebed. But nonetheless, we still need to make certain decisions for our children, or help them to make the right decisions for their lives. But on what basis do we make decisions for them—based on faith, or based on the ideologies and philosophies of this world?
What good is it if our children are making lots of money, driving fanciful cars, living in good neighbourhoods, but their lives have nothing to do with faith? What does it matter even if they can gain the whole world, but then lose their own souls? Like Jochebed, we must exercise our faith in God, and He will direct us to make the right decisions—not only for ourselves, but for our children as well.
The most amazing part of this story is that when by faith Jochebed made the right decision to trust God, God gave Moses back to her.
Let me briefly read for you from Exodus 2:3–10. “And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink. And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him. And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river's side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews' children. Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee? And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child's mother.” - who was none other than Jochebed - “And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child, and nursed it. And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water.”
So by God's providence, the Pharaoh's daughter found the baby, took pity on him, and adopted him into her family. More than that, the Lord used Moses' quick-thinking sister to arrange for Jochebed to nurse and care for her own son. This is not a fairy tale but a tremendous story of faith in the Almighty God. As great and noble as Jochebed’s love for her son was, let us not forget that there was this greater love and power of God who was controlling the situation.
Dear friend, let's say you were Jochebed, and you were given the opportunity to take care of your child on borrowed time, so to speak, because very soon the Pharaoh's daughter would want the child back—what would you teach your child with the little time you have with him? With the little time you have with the child, would you teach the child, “Son, work hard, aim to be rich, be successful, and always be number one”? Or would you rather teach your child about salvation and the eternal things of God?
The formative years of a child are the most crucial. It is the time whereby the child's character, personality, and belief are being shaped and instilled. That is why some parents regret that they had not brought up their children in the ways of the Lord while they were still young. And now that they are much older, it seems impossible to change them. Please do not give up, but continue to be a testimony and share with your children about God and His Word. For man is it impossible, for God all things are made possible.
Jochebed was given the opportunity to teach Moses, and I believe she would have taught him all the valuable lessons about faith in God. She would have taught him the wonderful lessons about the promises of God: though we may still be in Egypt, one day the children of Israel would inherit the promised land; Israel would become a great nation, and she would be a blessing to the other nations.
Jochebed would have helped to instil in Moses the faith in God that would later characterise his life. How do we know? Well, just look at the life of Moses. Only two verses down, when Moses had grown up, he killed an Egyptian who was smiting a Hebrew because he considered the Hebrew as one of his brethren. That was the reason why he was willing to obey God, who appeared to him in a burning bush, to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt—and all the wonderful stories of Moses and the opening of the Red Sea, life in the wilderness, the manna that came from heaven, and the water from the rock, etc. Most certainly, the Pharaoh's daughter would not have taught him to do all that. So who did? Jochebed.
Dear friend, what can we learn from here? Let us remember that we do not have all the time with our children. Like Jochebed, we are just living on borrowed time. Perhaps soon our children may leave us, or we may leave our children. If God gives us another 10 years to nurture our children, how will we live this 10 years? How will we teach our children? Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." That was exactly what Jochebed did.
II. Her Faith In Trusting God
The second thing we can learn from Jochebed is her faith in trusting God no matter what happened. Most parents who love their children sacrificially, even risking their own lives—interestingly, if you notice, Jochebed's natural love for her son was not mentioned—it was her faith in the Almighty God that she was commended.
Jochebed must have loved her child as much as any mother who loved her child. But it was not the love and natural affection for her child that caused her not to be afraid of the king's commandment. No doubt that natural love would have moved her, but there was something more than that. She saw that the baby was a goodly child, which means a beautiful and pleasant child. There was something very special about the child. Every child is a blessing from the Lord.
One theologian said, ‘The beauty of the Lord set upon the child,’ and Jochebed saw how the one living and true God has given to her this goodly child, and she was willing to do all she could to protect the child.
It takes a lot of faith to protect a child against the king's commandment. Take a moment and consider the scenario: how do you hide a newborn baby? You may be able to hide the baby from the eyes of the enemies, but how do you hide him from their ears—that distinct cry that every newborn baby has? Every baby will cry, and each time the baby cries, the mother's heart will skip a beat. Will the soldiers hear him? Will the neighbours hear him? Will the people tell on him? It was not easy.
Those of us who are parents, we know that it is already difficult to take care of a newborn baby. But on top of that, if you have to take care of the baby secretly, I submit to you that it takes more than just strength, more than just endurance and perseverance. It takes a lot of faith to protect the child.
Again, let us not forget the intervention of God. If God did not intervene, Jochebed would not be able to protect the child for one day, how much less for three months. When Jochebed protected her baby, she was very aware of the dangers lurking around. She was very aware of the surrounding situations and circumstances. For three months she was able to hide the baby secretly.
Parents, we love our children. We want to protect them from the sins and evil that are so ever prevailing in this world. We must be aware of the dangers that our children are facing—whether it be in school, in the workplace, in the society, or amongst their friends and peers. We are living in these perilous last days. This world is filled with sin and immorality, and it is getting from bad to worse. The world will show no mercy to our children. If the world can consume our children, the world would consume our children like the waters in the river. Therefore, we must be alert, vigilant. We must not be ignorant. And ultimately, we must be faithful.
Look at verse three: "And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch" - in other words, to make it waterproof - "and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags" - or reeds - "by the river's brink." (Exodus 2:3)
There came the time when she could no longer hide the child. So she made a waterproof ark for him, and she placed the child in it and set it among the reeds by the river banks. For three months, Jochebed was able to keep her son from the world and the world from her son. She had done everything she could. She had done her best. Now she had no choice but to put him into a basket of bulrushes, which means it was made of reeds, coated it with something to make it afloat, and then set him by the riverside near the place where the Pharaoh's daughter was bathing.
It must have been extremely painful for Jochebed to risk the life of her baby by placing him in that basket, and then introducing him into the very household of the one who sought to kill all the Hebrew male babies. Perhaps she had heard about the kindness of the Pharaoh's daughter. Well, the Bible does not tell us, but there would be certain reasons why she would do that. That could be one of the possibilities.
The innocent child was oblivious to all the dangers he was facing. He was just a baby. But the mother was aware of everything. Yet at the same time, she could do nothing. The time had come when she could do nothing but to believe only God could take care of him. I think if there was an appropriate hymn to sing to Moses at the time, it would be ‘God Will Take Care of You.’
In a sense, Jochebed had to send her child away twice—the first time into the river, and later on into the household of the Pharaoh. As we consider the pain Jochebed must have felt, it is the same thing any parent would feel when they are getting ready to send their children into the world.
We want to keep our children safe, to protect them, to keep them by our side all the time. We do not want the world to have access to our children. Well, there will come a time when you and I will be unable to do anything but to leave them behind—like Jochebed leaving Moses in that basket by the river, and then later on leaving him in the household of the Pharaoh. But we know one thing: our God is a better Father than you and me. And we must believe that our God is truly a better Father than you and me.
So basically, there were two threats in the king's commandment, not just one. One was against the babies, and the other was against those who disobeyed the commandment. If you kill the baby, you save your life. If you don't kill the baby, you risk your life.
Therefore, Jochebed, when she decided she was going to hide the baby, it was at the expense of her own life. In other words, she had to look at death and perhaps potential torture in the face, and say, ‘I will not give in. I will not kill my child for fear of my own life. I will not let the fear of death control me.’
She was commended for her boldness and courage, and that courage came from her faith. The Bible says: ‘By faith Moses was hidden for three months by his parents, because they were not afraid of the king’s commandment." (Hebrews 11:23)
How does faith produce that kind of courage? Well, Hebrews 11:1 gives us the answer: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Faith in God frees us from fear—any fear, even death—and brings peace and courage to our hearts based on the assurance of His promises. He is a covenant-keeping God who will always keep His promises. He will never forget, neither will He forsake us. He loves us.
Some years ago, when I visited the Holy Land, I came across this touching story about the courage and the love of a Jewish mother for her child. The story was told of the Holocaust that killed almost six million Jews. It was a true story of Solomon Rosenberg and his family.
Solomon Rosenberg, his parents, his wife, and their two sons were arrested and placed in a concentration camp. It was a labour camp, and the rules were very simple: as long as you are strong enough to do the work, you are permitted to live. When the time comes and you become weak and not able to do the work, then you are exterminated.
Solomon watched his own father and mother, who were elderly, march off to their deaths, and he knew in his heart that next would be his youngest son David, because David had always been weak and frail.
Every evening Solomon would come back to the barracks after hours of labour work. He would be searching for his family. When he found them, they were huddled together, embracing one another and thanking God for another day of life.
One day Solomon came back and didn’t see those familiar faces. He finally discovered his oldest son Joshua hiding in a corner, weeping.
He said, “Joshua, tell me it is not true.”
Joshua turned and said, “It is true, Papa. Today David was not strong enough to work, so they came for him.”
“But where is your mother?” asked Mr Solomon.
“Oh, Papa,” he said, “when they came for David, he was afraid and he cried. Mummy said calmly to him, ‘There’s nothing to be afraid of, David. God loves us. He will take care of us.’ And she volunteered herself, took his hand, and went with him.”
Even at the face of death, the mother was able to say to her son: "God loves us, and He will take care of us."
Those were not just some words of comfort without reality. It is in the most literal sense God loves us. He loves us so much that Jesus Christ our Saviour, the all-powerful eternal Son of God, humbled Himself to come into this world and live as a man. Ultimately, like a lamb to the slaughter, He went to the cross. He was mocked, spat at, beaten, shamed, and then crucified.
It was not because Jesus was incapable of saving Himself. It was not because of those rusty nails that kept Him to the cross. It was because of sinners like you and me—His love for us—that kept Him crucified on the cross. Because without His death and the shedding of His precious blood, there will be no forgiveness of sins. For all eternity we will be lost.
Jesus died, He was buried, but on the third day He rose again from the dead. And He said, "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live" (John 11:25). We believe in a risen, living Saviour who loves us so much, and He will never forget, neither will He forsake us.
This morning, we are able to learn about the faith of a beloved mother, Jochebed—her faith in God, the same God as you and me. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Her faith had helped her to make the right decision and to trust God no matter what happened. A woman whose name few would remember. A woman who may be insignificant in the eyes of the people, but in the eyes of God she was a woman of great faith. She had instilled in Moses the faith in God that would later characterise his life.
Today, if God were to give a summary of our lives, what would He say to us? Are we a father of faith, a mother of faith, or a child of faith? Are we someone whose faith has enabled us to make the right decisions and to trust God no matter what happens?
A word of exhortation to all the children:
Praise God for your mother who has carried you in her womb, painfully delivered you, nursed you, fed you, raised you up, took care of you when you were sick, brought you to school, provided for all your needs. That you are what you are today.
There may be times when you are angry with her for disciplining you, or frustrated with her constant nagging. But let me tell you, someday that nagging, scolding, and disciplining would cease. That would be the time God would take her home. And when that time comes, as much as you want, you will not hear her voice anymore. Love and cherish your mother when she's still alive. Don't just love and cherish her on Mother's Day—let every day be a Mother's Day for her.
As a parent, I believe I can speak on behalf of all the mothers: They do not want your money. They want you to be a faithful child of God, to love God with all your heart. That is the greatest gift, the greatest joy you can ever give to your mother. Every day will be a Mother's Day.
A blessed Mother's Day to all the mothers.
Let us pray.
Our Father in heaven, indeed even as we consider the faith of a beloved mother—someone like Jochebed—who believed in Thee, and how her faith has enabled her to make the right decision to trust in Thee no matter what happened.
And as we consider our mothers too, we remember that Thou art the Creator, the Giver of life, the One who has given to us our mothers, and how Thou hast enabled them to believe in Thee, and to use them to raise us up in the fear of Thee. And the greatest joy we can ever give to our mothers is not our money. It is our faithfulness to Thee. That we will love Thee with all our hearts, with all our souls, and with all our strength.
Like the way Moses lived his life, serving and glorifying Thee. And we read of those wonderful stories of how he trusted in Thee. As we trace his roots, we see at the very beginning, he had a mother who loved him and who made the right decision and trusted in Thee no matter what happened.
O Lord, continue to teach us and help us, that we may apply Thy truth into our lives, that we will value eternal things and not just physical things.
We pray all this in Jesus' name.
Amen.