Guest author Jesse Flowers continues his “Godly Women of the Bible” series:

Do you know the story of Jochebed? Perhaps for many children and adults she is virtually an unknown Bible character, and I suppose for good reason since she is only mentioned by name twice in Scripture. But we need to know her for she has an incredible story to tell us.

So who exactly is this woman named Jochebed? I will give you a BIG hint. She had a son named Moses. Of course, we know plenty about Moses, but what about the godly woman that gave birth to one of the most significant Bible characters of all? I think it’s high time that we tell her story.

1.  She was the daughter of Levi. “And a man of the house of Levi went and took as wife a daughter of Levi” (Exodus 2:1). Here is further evidence of this same truth. “The name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt…” (Numbers 26:59). That fact alone is pretty amazing to me. It would mean that Joseph was her uncle, Jacob was her grandfather, Isaac was her great-grandfather, and Abraham would have been her great-great grandfather! You see, Amram married his father’s sister, Jochebed. Amram’s father was Kohath, who was one of the three sons of Levi (Exodus 6:16-20). And that pretty much makes Jochebed “Bible royalty.” Of the twelve tribes of Israel, this would be the one tribe that would soon be set apart unto God for special service (Num. 1:47-54; 18:21; Deut. 10:8-9; 21:5; Josh. 13:14, 33). Her descendants and relatives would go on to do untold good for the chosen people of God, including a much later descendant named Elizabeth (Luke 1:5), the mother of John the Baptizer, the forerunner of Jesus Christ! And don’t forget that we too have been set apart unto God for special service (1 Cor. 6:11; Jude 1:1; 1 Peter 2:4-5, 9-10; Rev. 1:5-6).

2.  She was a woman of great faith. Somewhat overlooked and too often forgotten in the impressive list of great heroes of faith, we find this statement recorded: “By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child…” (Hebrews 11:23). Now the faith spoken of in this passage did not belong to Moses yet, for he was just born, but rather it speaks to the faith belonging to Amram and Jochebed. Imagine having to hide your newborn baby from the government because they were seeking to kill him (Exodus 1:22-2:2). But this is exactly what Jochebed had to do, and it was her great faith that caused her to take such action. We read earlier in the same chapter, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (11:6). This is the faith that was possessed by Jochebed. She believed and trusted in God, and knew that her God was a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. May each one of us also possess such a faith!

3.  She was very brave. The author of Hebrews also tells us that “they were not afraid of the king’s command” (11:23). No doubt their great faith instilled great courage in their hearts in a very frightening and dangerous time to raise a family. Pharaoh commanded all his people regarding the Hebrew women: “Every son who is born you shall cast into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive” (Exodus 1:22). The reason for the command was because “the children of Israel…multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty” (Ex. 1:7). Afraid they might join their enemies in time of war, the Egyptians made them their slaves, but the more they afflicted them, the more they grew (Ex. 1:12). Thus, Pharaoh gave the command to exterminate all male babies. I think as a parent I would have naturally been afraid of such a command. But the inspired text tells us that Jochebed was not afraid. Instead she trusted in God’s care and protection over her family (Ps. 27:1; 56:3, 11), and did all she could to keep her baby safe. I think in many respects today, Christian parents live in frightening times to raise a family. And so we too need to be very brave as we live “in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation” (Phil. 2:15) doing our absolute best to keep them safe and protected, bringing up our children “in the training and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4).

4.  She was a woman of great strength. After baby Moses was discovered by the daughter of Pharaoh, Miriam offered to find a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby (Exodus 2:3-9). Of course, she brought her own mother, Jochebed, to be the baby’s nurse – and she was paid to feed her own child! Do we not see God’s wonderful providence in this story? But how difficult it would have been for her to later give up her little boy to be raised by another woman. Such would require great strength. “And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son” (Ex. 2:10). But Moses never forgot his roots. He never forgot who his people were, and never forgot who was his true family (Ex. 2:11; 3:14; Heb. 11:24-26). “By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter” (Heb. 11:24). No, he was proud to be the son of a godly Israelite woman named Jochebed! May we also have such great strength when we face difficult decisions and circumstances as we raise our children.

5.  She was the mother of three amazing children. “The name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt; and to Amram she bore Aaron and Moses and their sister Miriam” (Numbers 26:59). All three of her children played a major role in the spiritual leadership and direction of God’s people. “For I brought you up from the land of Egypt, I redeemed you from the house of bondage; and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam” (Micah 6:4).

a.  Miriam. The daughter of Jochebed, and sister of Aaron and Moses, was quite special in her own rite. She was a godly woman and leader among the nation of Israel. She is described as a “prophetess” who led all the women in praise to God (Ex. 15:20-21).

b.  Aaron. God initially chose Aaron to be the mouthpiece for Moses as he stood before Pharaoh in Egypt (Ex. 4:13-17). God later gave Aaron the great honor of being Israel’s first high priest (Ex. 28-29).

c.  Moses. Of course, God chose him specifically to lead Israel out of Egyptian bondage and to the Promised Land (Ex. 3:1-10). He was the great Lawgiver (“Law of Moses”) and prophet of the nation (Josh. 8:31-32; Deut. 18:15).

Consider this. If it wasn’t for the faith, love, bravery, and strength of a godly woman named Jochebed, then we would never read about the life and faith of Moses (Heb. 11:23-29). So in the future whenever you read in your Bible the stories about Miriam, Aaron, and Moses don’t forget about the very significant role of Jochebed. And let us be determined to also raise up great servants for the Lord and His people!

Jesse Flowers has been preaching for the church of Christ at Pruett and Lobit Street in Baytown, Texas for the past 8 years. He is married to his beautiful wife, April (Melton), and they have four sweet children, Jesse, Josiah, Anna and Clara. If interested, you can read more of his articles or listen to his sermons at www.biblework.com.