A Tale of Two Mothers
JCC Mother’s Day 14.03.10 am
Exodus 2:1-10
Moses wrote this account about his own birth
He shares with us who and what his family was like
But he never discloses his parents names until later in Ex 6:20
Now Amram took for himself Jochebed, his father's sister, as wife; and she bore him Aaron and Moses
No mention of Miriam here
His parents were Levites; the family of priests
People set apart for the service of the Lord
Godly parents
He starts here in Ex 2 with the story of his own birth
He doesn’t mention here to begin with the other siblings
He tells us how his mother loved him
Most women bond with their babies
There are those who find motherhood very different to what they expected
It’s not easy for some women to bond
They struggle with the whole idea of loving this tiny human being
So not everyone has a loving mother
Some give their babies away for various reasons
Also not every woman can have a child
There are many women who have felt a desperate need to have a child and have gone to great lengths to have one
Be it adopted or IVF
Illustration:
My friend paid over £24,000 to have a baby
It took almost 20 years and a donor egg for her to have this one child, but she felt it was worth every penny
That’s the desperation some women go through
We often hear it said that some natural mothers don’t deserve to have the child
Especially when those who would make excellent mums don’t have any
But here we see Moses mother who loved him
She loved him enough to commit this child into the care of the Lord
She could have been caught at any moment hiding this child
She put herself in danger
She somehow kept him quiet
Any women with children knows it can be difficult to keep a child quiet
In those days, there wasn’t a TV to drown out the cries
No soundproof wall insulation
No dummy to put in his mouth
Yet, she hid him for 3 months
But there came a time when she couldn’t hide him any longer
How her heart would be grieved and broken as she wrapped him up and laid him in the basket
She had to leave her son, by faith, in God’s hands
This is a valuable lesson for us who are parents
We cannot cling onto our children
They are only lent to us
Yet what a responsibility!
There is a time to release them back into the hand of God and trust that He will deliver them back to you
Did she want to give up this baby?
Of cause not
But she had to trust the One who has all things in His control to do the right thing
‘Lord I have come to the end of myself with this child, I hand him to you’
Can you trust the Lord to do the right thing with your child?
Have you come to the end of your own resources and capabilities as a parent?
Hand your child over to God
If not, then He is not Lord of your life and you cannot trust Him
We see how, even though she released him into the Nile which wouldn’t be a place I would put a baby, she kept watch over him at all times
How? By having his sister watch the ark
A big sister
Most big sisters are like mothers too
Mine reared her brothers with me
She looked out for all her brothers when they were little and she still does now!
It’s almost an inbred instinct to many females
And the story continues
The ark came to where Pharaoh’s daughter was washing
Did Jochebed and Miriam discuss this woman who had no children of her own?
Did they appeal to the motherly instinct of this woman?
Perhaps she talked about wanting a child of her own
What we do know is that God placed this woman, an enemy of the Israelites, in a position where she would save this child and in doing so, save His people
She played a major role in the plan of God’s salvation without realising it
How many of us mother’s know what part of God’s plan we are embarking on when we rear our children?
We could mother the next great preacher, pastor or missionary
Now Moses is introducing us to his second mother
Moses was honouring this woman as his adopted mother
She would never be his biological mother, but she was nevertheless a mum to him
She couldn’t feed or wean him herself, but she provided for him
Moses’ own mother became his maid, and she got paid for the pleasure too
He had this adopted mother for more years than his natural mother
Jochebed would have been in his life until he was weaned, around 3 years of age
Pharaoh’s daughter reared him for 40 years
Yet, I’m sure he would have been taught by his real mother the ways and culture of his own people
What godly mother would allow her child to be taught only the ways of the enemy?
She dropped a seed here and there into his little heart
When we sow into our children, it is never wasted
So, Moses tells us how two women were both mothers to him
Let’s view the characteristics of a godly Mother:
1. She’s a priestly mother
Moses mother was the strongest human influence in his life
He was able to fulfil his call because he had a mother that didn’t give up on him
Never give up on your children
If you feel out of your depth, then release them to the lord but hold on to them in prayer
2. She’s a woman of perseverance
She never gave up on him
She knew God was on this child’s life and she believed that one day God would use him for a great purpose
Sometimes our children can be a disappointment to us
Don’t see it has a negative thing
Look beyond the here and now and see afar off what can be, what will be
My children I have left in the arms of the One who can save them
I can’t do it, and neither can you
Like I said last week, only He can open the eyes of people
Only the Lord can enlighten their understanding
Trust Him with your son or your daughter
Like Abraham with Isaac, let go and see the salvation of God move
Within the character of a godly mum you’ll find perseverance of spirit
You mother’s can turned the impossible into the possible if you don’t give up
3. She’s a praying mum
Within the character of a godly mum you’ll find a great capacity for physical and spiritual nurturing
She will pray continually for her children
If a godly mum raised you, you are indeed blessed
I didn’t have that blessing
You have no idea how much she nurtured you
You have no idea how much she sacrificed for you
You have no idea how much time she spent in prayer before God for you
A praying mum is a powerful force!
4. She’s a disciple maker
Each one of us needs to be mentored
This is why the Freedom in Christ course is so important to us
I saw the need to make disciples and this course was the answer to that need
If you like, I feel like a spiritual mother
I want the best for you all
I may be younger in years than most of you, but that doesn’t matter
See me as your surrogate mum
And please don’t think I’m being arrogant or belittling you because I’m not
I want the best for everyone here
My heart’s desire is to see you all mature more deeply and become spiritual parents yourselves
I long to wean you off the milk of the word and give you solid food
The deeper things of God
We need to learn how to live a godly life
We need to be taught about what is really important
Someone has said, “Mothers write on the hearts of their children what the rough hand of the world cannot erase.”
I think that quote says it all; Mothers are disciple-makers
They have the opportunity to hand down their faith about God
They have the unique ability to demonstrate God’s love and grace
This was the testimony of Timothy about his grandmother, Lois, and his mother, Eunice
They guided Timothy to belief in Jesus 2 Tim 1:5
Illustration
A teacher gave her class of eleven year olds a lesson on the Magnet and what it does. The next day in a written test, she included this question: My full name has six letters. The first one is M. I pick up things. What am I? When the test papers were handed in, the teacher was astonished to find that almost 50 percent of the children answered the question with the word Mother
But that isn’t the only position a mother holds
When we are young, we needed an example of sincere faith
Most of those in Christian homes got that
Too often I have heard parents say that they want their children to make up their own minds about which religion they will choose
They usually say that because they have not made up their own mind
So, in essence, they are making disciples of their own belief system
Their children are going to believe the same as them unless somewhere along the line there is an intervention
Children need to learn the basics
In almost everything that you know, somewhere along the line a mum probably taught you
Let’s revisit some of those probable lessons you and I were taught:
• Your Mother may have taught you LOGIC: "If you fall off that swing and break your neck, you won’t be able to go to the shops with me," as well as, "If everyone else jumped off a cliff would you do it too?"
• Your Mother may have taught you about MEDICAL THINGS: "If you don’t stop crossing your eyes or pulling that face, you’re going to stick like that."
•Your Mother may have taught you TO THINK AHEAD: "If you don’t pass your exams, you’ll never get a good job!" Or, “Eat you crusts or you won’t have curly hair!”
•She may have taught you TO MEET A CHALLENGE: "What were you thinking? Answer me when I talk to you....no don’t talk back to me!"
• Your Mother may have taught you HUMOUR: "When you cripple yourself, don’t come running to me."
• Then she may have taught you how to BECOME AN ADULT: "If you don’t eat your vegetables, you’ll never grow up.
• Or GENETICS: "You are just like your father!"
• My mother taught me about my ROOTS: "Do you think you were born in a barn?"
• Also my mother taught me about the WISDOM of AGE: "When you get to be my age, you will understand," or, "I will explain it all when you get older."
• Did your mother teach you about ANTICIPATION: "Just wait until your father gets home!"
• Or about RECEIVING: “You are going to get it when I get you home.”
• And the all time favourite thing my mother taught me, JUSTICE: "One day you will have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you. Then you’ll know what it’s like!
Mothers, whether biological or not are still mothers
In fact sometimes the adoptive mother is more loving and caring because she chose you
You were hand picked
God has given everyone of us a mother, so whether good or bad, let’s thank the Lord for the lady who gave us life; and for those reared by another, for the lady that showed you life. Amen
