It was by faith that Moses parents hid him for three months when he was born. They saw that God had given them an unusual child, and they were not afraid to disobey the king’s command.
Hebrews 11:23
By faith Moses was hidden by his parents. Moses had been born at the time when a new dynasty had arisen in Egypt, and Pharaoh for political reasons had given orders that all male children among the children of Israel should be thrown into the Nile to die. He was afraid that the Hebrews because they were having so many children, would become a threat to the security of Egypt. As they began to multiply more rapidly than the Egyptians, he could foresee the day when they would be stronger and overthrow the Egyptians and make the Egyptians their slaves. Moses parents disobeyed the order of the Pharaoh. They were willing to risk death for their actions in order to save their son as they were both Hebrews. This example of faith is actually not about Moses faith at all; but about the faith of Amram and Jochebed, who are nameless as such in this verse.
What was it that made them unafraid of the Pharaoh’s command. The NLT has recorded the information as “they saw that God had given them an unusual child“. As a result they were not afraid. Other versions state it differently:- beautiful, goodly, fair, proper, extraordinary, exceptional. These adjectives are all based on the Greek word [asteios] used in Exodus 2:2 in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament). It is the word used here in Hebrews 11:23 and also in Acts 7:20 where Luke uses the same word related to Stephen. Literally the word means ‘pertaining to the city’, ‘city born’ or ‘town bred’. Better words would be ‘genteel’, ‘full of grace’, ‘fine character’ or ‘well bred’. But I like the direction the translators of the NLT chose – ‘unusual’ in the sense of ‘not ordinary’ or ‘extraordinary’. Moses stood out as different from the rest, not because of his beauty as such, but because there was something special about this little boy. Simply, he had the stamp of God on him. It is interesting that Stephen was described in the same way, and we know why that was. That which made Moses and Stephen stand out from the rest was because God’s hand was on them.
For that reason only, Amram and Jochebed went against the Pharaoh’s direct orders and protected Moses. Both parents did this. Likely as not Moses’ mum did the initial hiding and not his dad; Amram doing that would have drawn attention to the fact. But clearly Amram was in agreement with hiding the boy and therefore complicit in the action in terms of any future punishment handed out. They both risked their lives to protect Moses because they recognised God’s mark on him.
Moses name in Hebrew means “drawn out”. The reference is to being “drawn out of the water” (Exodus 3:10). But it is also true that Moses’ name in the court of the Egyptians was Ramoses. Moses was linked to the sun god Ra indicating the fact that the Egyptians also saw something special in him, little realising that he was in fact a Hebrew. What is also noteworthy is the way in which Moses was protected. He was hidden for the first three months. Just think of that! The efforts needed to keep a baby QUIET and hidden from view. A Targum (an ancient Hebrew Old Testament Commentary) records his mother went with him for three months and after that accompanied him for six months after he was born making nine months in all. After that time she could conceal him no longer and made an ‘ark’ of reeds and pitch (symbolic of salvation) to protect him. Miriam then accompanies him and watches over the baby. The daughter of Pharaoh comes and Miriam, Moses sister, suggests a suitable carer – his Mother. Moses then is drawn into the courts of the Pharaoh but cared for by his mother.
Clearly, Jochebed instilled enough of Hebrew culture and learning into Moses to the point where he decided later to turn his back on his Egyptian upbringing in order to suffer with his own people. His mother’s influence was huge although risky. Yes the credit and focus of this verse is due to the faith of his parents and their willingness to risk their lives when they glimpsed God’s hand on Moses. Their faith was involved firstly in seeing God’s hand on Moses and secondly in being willing to risk all to protect this baby and then instill in him Hebrew culture and understanding.
This one verse is all about the faith of Amram and Jochebed and their part in protecting Moses. But there is more, Amram’s name means ‘an exalted people’ and Jochebed means ‘Servant of Yah’ or ‘Yah is glorious’. Not only did they live up to their role as Moses’ parents but they lived up to the meaning of their own names.
If you want to be successful, you must be faithful.
Bob Gass
If you want your children to be full of faith you need to demonstrate faith by being faithful too.
Ian
To develop faith you will always face moments when your faith will be challenged and you will be called to risk everything.
Ian
Faith is moving ahead before knowing how.
Rick Warren