Happy Mother’s Day! How blessed and thankful we are to have so many wonderful Moms here at Walter Hill. The Elders would like to reiterate how much we are thankful for our young families and for all these babies! Often Moms and Dads are embarrassed about the noise and disruption of the little ones; but, let me assure you that those are the beautiful sounds of future Christians and servants in the Lord’s kingdom at Walter Hill, and sounds of evidence that Moms and Dads are committed to raising their children in the church!
Mothers are very special. They have a unique relationship with their children and make countless sacrifices and often their wants and needs are put aside for their family. The Bible is full of examples of great mothers! One such example is Jochebed. Your first response might be “Who?” because her name is only mentioned twice in scripture, but her bravery and sacrifice will be the start of a whole new dispensation in the course of time.
We are introduced to Jochebed in Exodus 2:1 at a time when the Egyptian Pharaoh had issued a decree that all Hebrew newborn males are to be cast into the Nile River. This decree was issued in part because of the bravery of two other women, Shiphrah and Puah, who were midwives that defied the Pharaoh’s commandment to kill all the newborn Hebrew sons because they feared God. So, when Jochebed had a son she hid him for three months. That alone took an enormous amount of bravery! Then she made a basket and hid him in the reeds along the riverbank. Most of us are familiar with the story of how Moses was found by Pharaoh’s daughter and, at the suggestion of Moses’ sister, hired Jochebed to nurse Moses until he was old enough to be given to Pharaoh’s daughter as her son.
What an amazing story of a mother’s love and faith in God that ultimately let to God’s people being freed from Egyptian slavery and a testament between God and His people that would last until the coming of the Christian age.
As we celebrate Mother’s Day today, let us be thankful to God for His plan for the family and especially the role that He established for the Mother in the home.