JOCHEBED, MIRIAM, PHARAOH’S DAUGHTER
Learn: Romans 10: 17
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Read: Exodus 1:1-22
The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.
Proverbs 21:1
Read: Exodus 2:1-10
1.This account takes place over 400 years after Levi, along with the rest of Jacob’s family, came into the land of Egypt. Using the beginning of the verse as our reference, how should we understand the phrase in verse 1 “daughter of Levi”?
2. According to Exodus 6:20, what were the names of the man of the house of Levi, and his wife the descendant of Levi?
3. Recalling from chapter one that Pharaoh’s desire was to destroy all the baby Hebrew boys is the background for this account, what happened when this couple had a baby boy during this dangerous time? v 2
NOTE: Later on in Exodus, we learn that this baby boy had a brother 3 years older than himself named Aaron. As no difficulty had occurred with respect to the older brother, we must conclude that the edict to kill the baby boys took place after Aaron’s birth.
4. What did Jochebed do to save the life of her baby boy from the death that Pharaoh had decreed for him? v 3
5. Disobedience to the edict of the king, would in Egypt, if detected, have been punished either by death or mutilation. What was the source of the strength of Jochebed and Amram that enabled them to go against the command of Pharaoh? Hebrews 11:23
6. The word “faith” is used much in our world today. Many people believe that it is the “faith” itself that gives results, and that it does not matter what a person is having faith (or trust) in, just as long as they believe sincerely. But in truth, if a person’s faith is not in the God of the Bible, it is futile! Use Hebrews 11:3 to explain what one needs as the foundation of faith.
7. Use Hebrews 11:6 to describe the object of a person’s faith that is pleasing to God, and therefore effective.
8. Using Hebrews 11:7, 8, 11, 13, 25, 26, 27, choose a word or phrase that helps to describe and define genuine faith. VERSE 7 A person with Biblical faith is motivated by the __________ _____ ________.
VERSE 8 A person with Biblical faith will result in _______________________ God’s command.
VERSE 11 A person with Biblical faith will trust in the Lord because they will ___________ ______ _______________ ________ _______ ___________________.
VERSE 13 A person with Biblical faith will__________ ____ ___________ even though they have not seen the _______________ ____________________, because they are ____________________ ____ ___________ and have ___________________ them. They have __________________ that they are ________________and ________________ on earth.
VERSE 25 A person with Biblical faith will ______________ rather to _____________ _____________________ with the people of God than to _____________ _______ _____________________ of ________ _______ ___ ____________________.
VERSE 26 A person with Biblical faith will _________________ the __________________ of __________________ greater _________________ than all the ___________________ ____this ______________ .
VERSE 27 A person with Biblical faith will not ___________ the ____________ of a ____________, but
will ______________, because he sees him _____________ _____ ______________________.
9. Looking through the above characteristics of faith that please God, we see that such a faith will bring some specific characteristics into a person’s nature. This faith is not based on emotion or feeling, but it is based on understanding truth and reality. If a person does not have the correct foundation of belief, they CAN NOT possibly really have faith of which the Bible speaks. Where does a person find the foundational truth that is needed for real faith? Romans 10:17
10. According to Acts 7:19, did all the Israelite parents save the lives of their baby boys? Explain.
11. The Scriptures do not lay out all that Jochebed did in this situation, but what does James 1: 5, 6 tell us is needed in order to gain God’s wisdom for every situation in life?
12. James also tells us why the Lord allows grievous trials into our lives such as what came into the lives of Jochebed and Amram. What does James 1:2-4 tell us?
13. Once the baby was laid in his protective basket, what further precaution did his mother take? v4
14. What was the name of the baby’s sister? Numbers 26:59
15. What happened soon after the baby was placed in his basket? v 5
NOTE: There is nothing improbable in the Egyptian princess bathing in the Nile, at that place reserved for women. (see Wilkinson, ‘Manners and Customs of Ancient Egyptians,” vol.iii.p.389). The Nile was regarded as sacred by the Egyptians, and its water as health-giving and fructifying (Strab.xv.p.695). Egyptian ladies of high rank are represented on the monuments as attended to the bath by a number of handmaidens.
16. Though Pharaoh had wickedly decreed that all the Hebrew baby boys should be killed, we see at least in the case of this particular baby, something different. What WORD is used in verse 6?
17. We know very little about Pharaoh’s daughter, or why she should care about the little baby in the basket, but WHAT do we know about our God, that affected her action, so that the baby, who God chose to use greatly would be saved from death? Proverbs 21:1; Isaiah 46:9, 10
18. God’s character is often slandered by the world that says that God is exclusive and plays favorites, but the Bible does not sanction such a view. Scripture is silent as to whether Pharaoh’s daughter, who was not a Hebrew, turned to the true God and worshipped him, but how did God regard her along with every other person who has ever lived or will live? Acts 10:34, 35
19. What follow-up on her right actions towards the baby and his family was necessary for Pharaoh’s daughter in order that she might gain eternal life? Hebrews 11:6; John 3:16
20. It appears that the sister of the baby had been instructed ahead of time on what to do when the princess came. Jochebed had selected the place and the time of exposure from knowledge of the habits and character of the princess. What did the baby’s sister do when the daughter of Pharaoh commented on the baby that she found in the basket? v 7
21. Pharaoh’s daughter quickly agreed with the sister’s suggestion. Jochebed was given the opportunity to nurse her own child by the Pharaoh’s daughter. What proof did Jochebed have that she was not in disobedience to Pharaoh, so giving her and the child safety? v 9
22. Once the child was weaned, what did his mother do? v 10a
23. Pharaoh’s daughter took the child as her own. What name did she give him and why? v 10
24. The daughter of Pharaoh would have given Moses all the privilege of Egypt, including the best education. What does Acts 7:21, 22 tell us?
NOTE: This “wisdom” was multiform and manifold. It included orthography, grammar, history, theology, medicine, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and engineering. The hieroglyphical system was probably not taught, and the knowledge of it remained a special privilege of the priest class: but cursive character, known as hieratic, was generally studied, and all tolerably educated persons could read it and write it. Style was cultivated, and the power of expressing thought and relating facts in simple and perspicuous prose was acquired by the greater number. Much attention was paid to letter writing. His education was practical to fit him as a leader of his people in great emergency, to deal on equal terms with a powerful monarch, and to guide to a happy conclusion the hazardous enterprise of a great national migration. PULPIT COMMENTARY – THE BOOK OF EXODUS p 25