The world that we live in today is much different than the one we used to live in. More than ever before, it is apparent that the devil is out to destroy the family unit. His first aim is to begin with the parents. However, if he can't get to the parents, then he changes his focus to the next generation. The devil wants to lead them away from truth through deception. However, it is our responsibility as parents, grandparents, siblings, spiritual parents (etc), to guide, protect, and raise them up with the truth.
This is what we learn from Amram and Jochebed. They lay out for us a blueprint on how we can make a difference in the lives of loved ones. As crazy as the world we live in is, it is not much different from the world Amram and Jochebed lived in. Let’s take a look at this couple: who they are, what they did, and how they left an example for us on how we can raise up the next generation.
So let’s begin with the obvious question: who were Amram and Jochebed? If you like genealogies or if you played Bible trivia growing up, you might know who they are! However, they are an obscure couple in the Bible.
Amram and Jochebed = Father and Mother of Moses
Amram was his father and Jochebed was his mother. They were living in Egypt at the time, many Jews migrated there when Joseph was in power as the second in command. He provided protection and provision for them. However, the Bible says that there came a day when a new Pharaoh had arose who did not know Joseph, as he had passed many years before. It says that the new Pharaoh saw the large number of Jews and was afraid of them, so he put them into slavery and and dealt harshly with them. It says that the new Pharaoh made their lives “bitter with hard bondage.”
This was the Egypt that Amram and Jochebed were living in. Although we are limited to what we know about this couple, I would like to talk about 4 things that Amram and Jochebed did that teaches us how we too can raise up the next generation that are faithful to God in the midst of a difficult world.
I.
Aware of the Hostility of the World
Exodus
1:22 - “Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every Hebrew boy
that is born you must throw into the Nile”
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The Hebrew people were living under systematic oppression
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Pharaoh out of fear sought to destroy their future, the children
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They did not just agree with the decree simply because he was in charge
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They realized it was wrong and refused to comply
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The enemy was targeting the next generation to eliminate future threats
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He was doing it then and he is still doing it now. He may not be
throwing babies into rivers, but he is still looking to destroy the next
generation.
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Identity confusion
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Exposure to sin through technology
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Deconstruction of faith
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Decline of biblical values in schools and society
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Like Amram and Jochebed, we must be spiritually sober enough to
recognize deception. We must watch out first for ourselves, to ensure we are
not being deceived, and then secondly the next generation
•
We must realize that just because society and mainstream say that it is
what’s best for them, doesn’t mean that they are right.
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We must be aware of what we are being exposed to and refuse to comply
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Be vigilant
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Be discerning
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Be prayerful
II.
Responded with Courageous Faith
Hebrews
11:23 - “By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months
after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not
afraid of the king’s edict.”
•
Amram and Jochebed decided to do something about it: they chose not to
participate in the pharaoh’s edict.
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It says that they were not afraid of pharaoh because of their faith in
God.
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Their convictions aligned with God’s Word
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It is important that our convictions align with God and not with
culture.
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They saw that their son was no ordinary child: they saw their child
through God’s eyes as a child with purpose.
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It is important that we see the next generation as people with purpose
from God. He has a plan and purpose for them and we are called to guard them
and raise them up for God’s plan for their life.
•
Therefore, they refused to obey and chose that their home would be a
safe-haven and a refuge. They were not going to allow Egypt to come into their
homes and take their children away.
-
Similarly, we too must be willing to say no to the world’s agenda to
make our children/ the next generation to conform to them. Let us guard our
home and lead the next generation into the truth and away from deception.
III.
Released their children to God
Exodus
2:3 - “But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him
and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it
among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.”
•
There came a time when Amram and Jochebed had to let Moses go. As scary
and painful as it was, they sent him away down the Nile river. However, they
did so in faith.
•
There comes a time in life when we have to let our children go (school,
society, life). Like Amram and Jochebed, we too must do so in faith. We are not
releasing them to the world, we are entrusting them with God.
•
Jochebed built the best basket that she could for Moses. Nevertheless,
she had to let Moses go and trust God for his future.
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We too build baskets for our children/ next generation to guard and
protect them as they go into the world. Those baskets are woven with:
i)
The Word of God
ii)
Prayer
iii)
Wisdom
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But let us remember that we are not releasing them into the world but
entrusting them with God, similar to what Amram and Jochebed did with Moses.
IV.
Raised children who knew who they were
Hebrews
11:24 - “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son
of Pharaoh’s daughter.”
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God honored the faith of Amram and Jochebed. Moses was found by the
Pharaoh’s daughter and she had compassion on him. She decided to keep the
child, and called for his mother (Jochebed) to nurse him.
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Moses ended up being brought back to his family, and was being raised,
supported, and protected by the leader of the very people who had issued his
death. Talk about a miracle!
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It is believed by scholars that a child in the Egyptian culture at that
time was nursed until he was about 2 years old. It is also believed that he
likely stayed with his family until he was approximately 6 years old to ensure
he would have been over the hump behaviorally, making it an easier transition
to the royal Egyptian family.
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When you read verse 24 of Hebrews 11, you get the sense that Moses knew
who he was. He knew his identity because his parents taught him.
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Even in Pharaoh’s palace, surrounded by Egyptian gods and wealth, Moses
remembered who he really was.
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Amram and Jochebed likely taught Moses during the time he was with
them in their home during his formative years.
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God places people in our path that we are called to raise, lead, pour
into for a season (children, family, disciples, etc). We must raise them to
know who they are in Christ in a world that does not know Him.
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So how should we do that? By taking cues from what Amram and Jochebed
probably did:
i)
Teaching the Word of God
Amram and
Jochebed most likely taught Moses the stories of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and
Joseph. No doubt she taught him that he was not Egyptian, but that he was
Hebrew, the people of God.
We too must teach
the next generation who they are in Christ, that they are children of God
first. At the end of the day, What we repeatedly teach our children will become
their internal voice.
ii)
Instilling Godly Values
Moses learned
from his parents that though he was raised in the palace, he didn’t belong to
the palace. Though he was raised around wealth, he was not entitled to it. He
was taught not to be seduced by power, privilege, or compromise.
Similarly, we
must teach the next generation that though they live in today’s culture, they
are not subject to it. We must teach them that Just because it is available
doesn’t mean it is acceptable.
iii)
Modeling Faith
Moses saw the
faith and courage of his parents. Hebrews 11:23 says that his parents were “not
afraid of the king’s edict.” When the next generation sees uncompromising faith
in their parents/ leaders, it marks them. Moses would later walk in that same
boldness… “He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than
to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.” (Hebrews 11:25)
We too must model
faith in front of the next generation/children. Whether our children are still
in the home or are adults out of the home, let us model our faith. Many times,
faith is more caught than taught.
Q: Who has God
placed in your life this season for you to disciple?
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Children?
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Grandchildren?
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Siblings?
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Friends?
• Young people?
In a world that is out to deceive our children, let us:
1.
Teach them who they are before the world tells them who they are not
2.
Fill their ears with truth before the enemy fills it with lies
3.
Establish their identity in Christ early and often
4. Raise children who are not only successful but are spiritually secure in their identity
Your child
may end up in Pharaoh’s palace, in public school, on college campus, or in a
corporate boardroom—but if they know who they are, then they will not
bow…
