Jochebed was Moses’ mother, Amram’s wife and daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt.
As recorded in Numbers 26:59 “she bore to Amram: Aaron, Moses, and their sister Miriam.
Jochebed was a risk-taker. Although the Bible doesn’t give us a detailed biography of Moses’ mother, it does disclose the results of the courageous choices she made.
When the Egyptian Pharaoh ordered the death of all newborn Hebrew boys in order to slow the slaves’ population growth, Jochebed took decisive action to protect the life of her tiny son. The risks she took on Moses’ behalf often go unnoticed:
JOCHEBED Mother of Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.
Jochebed risked punishment by defying the king’s orders and letting her son live.
She secretly hid her newborn baby for three months (Exodus 2:2).
She risked her child’s life by placing the infant in a floating basket in the Nile. She could not have known if this daring action would result in the baby being lost downstream, being discovered and killed, being drowned, being eaten by Nile crocodiles, or being discovered and spared.
She risked exposure by having Miriam, her daughter, watch the basket and then approach the Egyptian princess with an offer of aid.
Though bold, Jochebed’s choices were not reckless. A descendant of Levi, she had faith that God could intervene and save the boy she viewed as “a fine baby” (Exodus 2:2 NRSV).
Faith can be risky. We don’t know what other risks Jochebed may have taken and how those turned out, but we do know that in this case God fulfilled His plan for the Hebrew people because of the risks she took. Doing what is right isn’t always easy, and it can often be accompanied by a fair amount of risk. But when faith-based risks and God’s plan coincide, the results can change the world.