Protective Mother

Protective Mother

Jochebed

Read: Exodus 2:1-10

In the twenty-first century, mothers often fear for their children’s safety. School shootings such as the 2007 tragedy at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, which left 32 people dead, make even classrooms seem dangerous. Many of us are afraid to let our kids play in neighborhood yards or parks because of the child kidnappings we see in the news. While we may struggle with fear and uncertainty, death was certain if the Egyptians discovered Jochebed’s son.

Pharaoh had ordered his people to “throw every newborn Hebrew boy into the Nile River” (Exodus 1:22). Jochebed was able to hide Moses from the Egyptian guards for three months, dreading the day when that would become impossible. When she could no longer hide him, she waterproofed a basket, put her son in it, and set it among the reeds in the Nile where the pharaoh’s daughter and her attendants usually came to bathe.

Jochebed had no choice but to trust her baby’s life to God. Although her people were slaves, she knew that Yahweh was ultimately in control of her family’s fate. Yet she did more than pray and wait—she took action. Jochebed used her common sense and her resources to protect her son.

There is nothing more important we can do for our children than to cover them with prayer. We can also take commonsense steps to ensure their safety by checking out their environments and friends, reviewing safety rules with them, and becoming involved in their activities. After we’ve done all that we humanly can, we have to entrust our children into the hands of God—the same God that Jochebed trusted to watch over her baby as he floated in a basket on the Nile River.

Spread your protection over them.

Psalm 5:11