Gtcotr/ss051423
Life is designed to grow bigger than can be contained by the womb in which it began. Life is destined to fewer confines and greater capacities.
Neither the womb nor the tomb shall limit the plan of God.
The story we are about to review came at an exceedingly difficult time in the life and plight of the Israelites. These Children of Israel were living as slaves of the Pharaoh in Egypt, and they were multiplying faster than the Egyptians were willing to allow.
Concerned with the fears of overpopulation among their captive workforce, Pharaoh’s advisers convinced him to order the Egyptian mid-wives to murder each new baby boy at birth and only allow the girls to live. Pharaoh felt this would help to prevent any future uprising or revolt from the Israelite slaves. Pharaoh’s executive order concerning forced full-term abortions led the Hebrew women to begin delivering their children before the Egyptian mid-wives arrived. Such was the case with a woman named Jochebed who was married to a Levite named Amram. (Exodus 6:20)
We are going to learn some great lessons today about motherhood which the Bible teaches us through this amazing woman, Jochebed.
Exodus 2
1 And a man of the house of Levi went and took as wife a daughter of Levi. 2 So the woman conceived and bore a son. And when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months.
3 But when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of bulrushes for him, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river’s bank.
4 And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him.
Mothers come in all shapes and sizes, kinds and variations.
There are Biological Moms
Adoptive Moms Grandmothers
Stepmothers
Mothers-In-Law
Foster Mothers
Spiritual Mothers
Mother Figures from all walks of life
What qualifies someone to be a mother, biological or otherwise? Well there are at least three things that we consistently see from God’s Word, confirmed since creation, which go to make up a mother:
1. Love
And by the way ... you need not have brought biological birth to someone to end up as their mother. The first thing that makes a mother is love.
Exodus 2
5 Then the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river. And her maidens walked along the riverside; and when she saw the ark among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it.
6 And when she had opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby wept. So she had compassion on him, and said, "This is one of the Hebrews’ children."
The daughter of Pharoah opened her heart when she opened that basket and all at once, she fell in love. Note that it did not matter that the child was of another race or even considered by some to be the enemy ... this child needed her and God had no doubt prepared her heart and it now was filled with love ... the love which feels sorry for, takes pity on, releases compassion towards ... the love which motivates a mother to take the next step:
You know, we not only see that Pharaoh’s daughter was moved with compassion for the child and took the place as his mother, later even giving him the name of Moses ... but also Jochebed must have loved her young so very much to have risked her life and the security of her family to have and hide him before placing him in the trusted hands of the Lord. What love it takes to trust and what trust it takes to let go of someone you love so dearly. Jochebed loved Moses and trusted God ...
Here is a picture of two mothers loving the same child. This happens more than one might imagine. God has a way of opening willing hearts for children to be loved. Mothers and step-mothers; mothers and spiritual mothers; mothers and adoptive mothers; mothers and foster mothers ... and it happens to fathers as well. However in this case ...
Moses needed a foster mother and God had no doubt prepared the heart of Pharaoh’s daughter and just as He planned, her heart was open and God filled it with love ... the love which feels sorry for, takes pity on, and releases compassion towards someone ... the love which motivates a mother to take the next step:
2. Care
Exodus 2
7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, "Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you?" 8 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, "Go." So the maiden went and called the child’s mother.
9 Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, "Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages." So the woman took the child and nursed him.
Not only did Pharaoh’s daughter love and care for the newborn babe, she was also willing to pay for what was evidently best for the child ... best in many ways no doubt ... best for now and best for the future – Pharaoh’s daughter was most likely going to have to “butter-up” and soften her dad somewhat to get him to warm up to the idea of having an abandoned slave baby from the river raised in the Palace as the adopted grandson of the Pharaoh --- however, a woman in love, willing to demonstrate that love at all personal cost can seldom be denied anything they want ... she knew daddy would eventually be ok with this. But for now – she had to take care! In this brief time with him, this little baby had gotten under her skin. Over the next 40 years Moses would become the unquestionable son of this woman he came to call mother. True motherhood, as God designed, whether biological, adoptive, or foster care is a spiritual dynamic.
Luke 1:31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
Time in the womb – care ... that singular priority and that focused commitment which says, “this is my child” and I am one hundred percent responsible for them... if they eat it will be because I fed them, if they are clean it will be because I bathed them, if they succeed it will be because I taught them.
God intends for each child to be conceived in the womb, loved from the heart and cared for by a mother without regard to personal cost.
The third God ordained element necessary for motherhood which we see in the life of Jochebed and indeed all throughout the plan of God is that of:
3. Boundaries
Exodus 2
10 And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. So she called his name Moses, saying, "Because I drew him out of the water."
Ever since God presented Adam with his new bride whom he called “the mother of all living”, God has been clear: Boundaries are a necessary and ordinary part of a mother’s makeup. Although Motherhood is God’s hope for the world, and separation is a vital part of God’s continuing plan.
Galatians 1:15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace ...
The first boundary a mother has to prepare for is the birth of their child. For whatever time a child is in the womb, whether it is the gestation period of a traditional pregnancy, or the many other applications of this principle, from adoptive motherhood to spiritual motherhood, or that special moment of conception, like when Pharaoh’s daughter opened the little basket and saw the baby ... that moment when the seed of new life suddenly chooses you as the safe place to grow ... from that time forward it is inevitable that a future separation will occur. No one knows this more than a mother.
All life is designed to grow bigger than the womb in which it began.
You have to give up to grow up, and you have to give up to go up.
We must allow the ones we love to grow ... and growth will at times demand separation. It might be painful and require trust, but Godly separation is not designed to hurt, but rather to help. In fact the very first time God mentioned motherhood in the Bible, He spoke of separation. Ordained boundaries and healthy separation facilitate greater growth.
Genesis 2:24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
We often imagine ourselves the young man or woman who are leaving in this passage instead of the father and mother who are being left.
So much could be said today about a mother’s worry, pain, and prayers. I encourage you to honor your mothers to whom so much is due. If you have been loved, cared for, and let grow beyond the womb by your mother, you are an extremely fortunate person. If not, let me encourage you to not allow the past to repeat itself. Pray for, encourage, and appreciate those God has placed in your life as a mother.
Perhaps the reason God expects us to give so much honor to our mothers is due to the extra He requires from them to make His plan work. A mother is designed to:
• Give first
• Give most
•Give always
How does she do this? It’s just in her makeup ...
A mother is expected to give more to the relationship than she initially receives, or she will never be motherly. And remember:
Neither the womb and nor the tomb shall limit the plan of God ... life is designed for greater things than either birth or death can define.
Mothers, we love you and we thank you for giving first, giving most and giving always! We honor you... God bless you... Happy Mother’s Day!
