The Pharoah of Egypt noticed the Hebrew people who lived in his country were multiplying at a higher rate than his own people. So, he made a law that the Hebrew midwives were not to allow newborn boys to live.

A courageous mother named Jochebed, however, kept her just-born son hidden for three months. When she could no longer conceal him, Jochebed put baby Moses into a waterproof basket and placed him among the reeds along the Nile River. Miriam, Moses’ older sister, stood nearby to see what would happen.

When the Pharaoh’s daughter came down to the river to bathe, she felt sorry for the crying baby.
“This must be one of the Hebrew children,” she said. Then Miriam approached the princess. “Should I…find one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?” “Yes, do!” replied the princess (Exodus 2:6-8).

So Miriam got—who else but Jochebed, Moses’ mother, who took her own baby home—and was paid to raise him until he went to live in the palace.

During that time, Jochebed instilled in Moses belief in the one true God, for the Bible tells us,
It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the
son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to share the oppression of God’s
people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. He thought it was
better to suffer…than to own the treasures of Egypt (Hebrews 11:24-27).

When Moses was eighty years old, God called him to lead the Hebrew people to establish the land that today is Israel. Jochebed would not live long enough to know the tremendous difference her courage made in the history of the people of Israel.  But all three of her children—Moses, Aaron, and Miriam–became leaders.

Never underestimate the importance of being a faithful mother!