Yocheved

In the Talmud something is written that we as women like very much. This is the fact that it were only women that have saved the life of Moses. Because of this fact Israel could be saved and redeemed from the terrible slavery. This is written in several commentaries by the rabbis in those days when the Talmud was written and also in moderner commentaries.

The mother of Moses, Yocheved, understood according to a Midrash (a story) in the Talmud, that the astrologers of Egypt knew that a savior was going to be born in Israel. This in order to save the people of Israel from the terrible bondage of slavery under the terror of the cruel Pharaoh. When the astrologers made this known to Pharaoh he made the terrible verdict that the new born baby-boys had to be thrown in the river Nile. False prophets make things to happen by acting upon the terrible words that dark spirits showed them to do in order to oppose the will of the Lord.

In the meantime Yocheved bore her son and she saw that her newborn son was beautiful. This text we find back in: Ex.2:2; Acts7:20 and Hebrews 11:23.
The commentation of the rabbis we find also in Acts 7:20, namely that the child of Yocheved was ‘lovely in the sight of God’. The Dutch Theologian Abraham Kuyper writes: “Jocheved saw that this little child was sent by God. This confiction touched her so deeply that Yocheved was almost able to see the purpose of the life of her child. Her faith was mixed with her love and armed with these two she decided to save this child whatever it would cost her.”

This is in agreement with the Midrash in the Talmud, where the rabbis comment that Yocheved had prophetic gifts. Yocheved was hoping that when her child would be in the water of the Nile, her little boy was going to be saved by the Lord and that at that moment the Pharaoh would revoke the terrible verdict. Yocheved build her baby son a basket. In Hebrew is used the word: tobeh. This word is the same word that is used in the story of Noah who had to build: an ark, tobeh.

The Pharaoh indeed revoked the terrible verdict as soon as Moses was saved from the water of the Nile. The great salvation of Israel was now in motion. This was a great miracle and also the fact that Yocheved became the wet nurse for her own son.
The Lord used the prophetic gifts of Yocheved and her great faith.

May our faith increase like the faith of Yocheved!