Jochebed: Obedience to God

When [Jochebed] saw [Moses] was a fine baby, she hid him three months. (v. 2 NRSV)

Lord, help me to obey your Word regardless of the consequences. Amen.

As a means of population control, Pharaoh had commanded all male Israelite babies to be
drowned. But when Jochebed gave birth to her second son, she refused to obey the king
because she saw “he was a fine baby” (ki tob in Hebrew).

What does not stand out as obvious in this passage is that this phrase is identical to
the refrain in the story of Creation in Genesis 1: God saw “that it was good” (ki tob).
Anything that God declares is good, Jochebed knew she had no right to destroy, and that
included her newborn son.

Moses’ mother, therefore, faced a choice: to obey the pharaoh or to obey the Lord.
Despite personal risk, she chose to obey the Lord and hid the baby in her home for three
months. Next she hid him in a basket (teba; the same word used for Noah’s ark), where she
felt confident that the Lord would save her son from a watery death.

Through the obedience of this one woman, God set in motion his plan to redeem his
people from Egypt. Centuries later he did this same thing through the obedience of another
woman, Mary: “I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Luke
1:38). Never underestimate the power of a God-fearing mother.

Rachel: Looks Aren’t Enough

Rachel was graceful and beautiful . . . she said to Jacob, “Give me children or I shall
die!” (29:17; 30:1 NRSV)

Lord God, don’t allow me to live on the surface; rather, let me develop a deep
relationship with you. Amen.

Rachel would do well in the Hollywood crowd. She was gorgeous and she knew it. Jacob
was swept away by her charm and physical beauty. He was even willing to be saddled with
her less attractive sister to gain her as his wife.

But Jacob got more than he bargained for. Rachel could be a monster when she didn’t get
her own way, and even when she did. She had a horrible fight with Jacob when he couldn’t
make her pregnant, demanding that he give her a son (Gen. 30:1). She schemed to get
children through her handmaid. And when the Lord finally did bless her with Joseph, her
first words were: “I want another one” (the meaning of “Joseph,” 30:24).

So the Lord opened her womb again. As she was giving birth, she realized she was dying,
so she named this son

“Ben-oni,” meaning “son of my sorrow” (35:18).

Rachel had so much going for her, including a husband who adored her. But she was
angry, deceitful, spiteful, and jealous, a deeply unhappy woman. Her exterior beauty hid
an interior discontent. She was without peace. We, too, easily look at the surface of
things, but it is the heart that matters. Peace within can only come from the Prince of
Peace, who gives us the peace that passes understanding to guard our hearts and minds in
Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:7).

Leah: from Struggle to Praise

[Leah] conceived again and bore a son, and said, “This time I will praise the Lord”;
therefore she named him Judah. (29:35 NRSV)

Lord God, I praise you for who you are and for your unfailing love for me.
Amen.

Leah was in a loveless marriage. Her husband, Jacob, had been tricked into marrying
her, and he resented his father-in-law for his deceitful schemes and Leah for going along
with them (as if she had a choice!). All of Jacob’s love was poured into Rachel, Leah’s
younger sister. Whatever intimate relations Jacob and Leah had were loveless, perfunctory,
and routine.

Yet God opened Leah’s womb so that she bore children, the goal of any married woman in
biblical times. The names she gave them reflected her broken heart: Reuben: “surely now my
husband will love me.” Simeon: “the Lord has heard that I am hated.” Levi: “Now this time
my husband will be joined to me.” How sad!

When she bore her fourth son, however, Leah realized she would never win Jacob’s love
and that she had to place her hope in the Lord. So she named this son Judah, which means
“Praise.” Through Judah would run the line of God’s promise, which means that Leah, not
Rachel, was the many times great-grandmother of Christ.

Leah discovered that if we depend on other people to make us happy, we will be
disappointed; but if we depend on God, he will never fail us or forsake us. In him alone
is true joy.

Rebekah: to Pray or Not to Pray

[Rebekah] said [to Jacob], “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my word.” (27:13
NRSV)

Thank you, Jesus, for being our friend and inviting us to take everything to
you in prayer. Amen.

Rebekah was barren. So Isaac went to the Lord in prayer on behalf of his wife, and she
became pregnant with twins. It was a difficult pregnancy, but God explained it: “Two
nations are in your womb . . . the elder shall serve the younger” (25:23). You would
think, then, that when the time came for the family blessing, Isaac and Rebekah would
recall God’s prophecy before their sons were born, bring this situation to the Lord in
prayer, and ask him what to do. But no! Each parent had a favorite son, and communication
between the spouses had broken down.

Consequently, for Isaac, Rebekah, and their two sons, scheming and lies replaced prayer
and openness. What had happened to them? What turned their beautiful romance into such an
ugly marriage? The decisions in this dysfunctional family instigated a history of deceit
for future generations. The stories of Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph are tragic, and in each
generation the results of those lies became worse.

One thing the Bible assures us of: God will hear and answer our prayers. Maybe not
right away, maybe not in the way we would want. But he will bring his good and perfect
will to pass in our lives through prayer. If, however, we ignore him, disregard his Word,
and try to create our own answers, disaster is waiting to happen.

Sarah and Hope

Now Sarah said, “God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.” (21:6 NRSV)

Lord God of Abraham and Sarah, thank you for giving me life and hope through
the resurrection of Jesus. Amen.

Hope drives the human soul. “I hope I find a decent job.” “I hope I get married
someday.” But unfulfilled hopes depress the human soul. And Sarah lost hope that she would
ever be a mother.

Sarah’s life hadn’t been easy. In order for the promises spoken to Abraham to be
fulfilled, she had to leave her family and everything familiar behind. She had been
promised a family and all she had received were the signs of old age. Wouldn’t you laugh
if someone told you that at age 90, you would give birth to your firstborn (Gen.
18:12-15)? What’s more, her husband Abraham, at 100, was as good as dead himself (Rom. 4:19).

But God always fulfills his promises, even when the odds against us are laughable. And
when Isaac (whose name means “laughter”) was born, Sarah laughed: at herself, at Isaac, at
the absurd way God can work. God had performed a miracle; he had raised her dead womb to
life.

Centuries later, on a dark Friday, Jesus’ disciples lost hope that he was the Messiah
(Luke 24:21). But God raised him from the dead on Easter Sunday, and his followers laughed
with “great joy” (Matt. 28:8). That’s what the Christian faith is all about: a God who
works in hopeless situations in such amazing ways that our only response is to laugh with
joy.