I am sure the first time I heard the story of baby Moses I was still in diapers. It is just one of those stories that is told over and over again to kids in church. It is an amazing story of how God took this little baby, who was supposed to be killed at birth and not only saved his life but allowed him to be raised in a palace by a real princess. When he grew up he went on to do many more really cool things.
A few of the times that I heard this story over the years, someone would mention Jochebed. I bet that name doesn’t ring a bell for you though. She was the mother Moses. She gave birth to him. She hid him. She nursed him. She put him a basket and let him go in the river. Whenever she is brought up, it has always been in the context of how hard it must of been to hide an infant from the Egyptian soldiers or the wonderful way that God blessed her faithfulness by bringing her back into her son’s life as his wet nurse.
The women’s group I am in is currently going through the study Seamless by Angie Smith. First I have to say this is the hands down best study I have done in a really long time. This morning though, Angie made me see this story in a whole new light.
This is a picture of my son at 3 months old.
At 3 months of age babies start to settle into a routine and many start sleeping through the night or at least for longer stretches of it. It is at this point that mothers start coming out of the fog that comes with child birth. The baby starts to interact with you and reach for toys. They smile. They laugh. They trust. It was at this point that Jochebad wrapped her son up, placed him in a basket, pushed him out into the river and watched the current carry him away from her.
Looking into the eyes of my son, I am not sure I would have been able to let go of that basket.
As you can probably tell, this story took on a whole new level of understanding for me today. But the truth is not many of us really worry about having to give up our infants. We can consider how hard it was, then be really thankful that we were not living in those times. But the point of this story is that if Jochebad hadn't trusted God enough to let go of that basket, Moses wouldn't have been in a position to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. All of those cool Moses stories, the burning bush, the plagues, the passover, the parting of the Red Sea, leading the people to the Promised Land.... They all started with a mother's act of shear faith. God hadn't sent her an angel or a prophet to let her know it was all going to be alright. She just had to trust, with no guarantees or promises.
One reason this hit me so hard today, is because my life is extremely unsettled right now. My husband is transitioning from a nice secure job with benefits to being a self-supported missionary. God is asking me to trust Him on a much greater scale than I ever have and I am scared to death. I have a basket. I have not been asked to place a child inside it, but it contains our financial security, all my hopes and dreams for myself and my children. I feel as if I am sitting on the edge of the river and I just can't seem to let go.
I wonder if a year from now or five years from now, if my children will come visit me at this river. They can come watch as I push this basket around in the reeds along the banks, my knuckles white from holding it so tightly. While they are there I can teach them about God, about His amazing love and faithfulness, about His promises. Then they will leave again and wonder if I truly believe all of that, then why won't I let go of the basket and come home with them.
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