"Jochebed's Home: A Place of Releasing" (Exodus 2:1-10)

"Jochebed's Home: A Place of Releasing"  from Exodus 2:1-10 was preached by Dr. Mark McElreath at the City Baptist Church on June 14, 2026.

Find out more about the City Baptist Church of Atlanta at www.citybaptistchurch.com.

Transcript

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Welcome to the City Pulpit. Bible messages from the pulpit ministry of the City Baptist Church in Atlanta. Please take your Bibles with me. Let's go to the book of Exodus.

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Exodus chapter 2. And we've taken the month of June, and we've called it Christian Home Month, preaching each Sunday morning on the Christian home. And we're going to get a little glimpse into a home. In Exodus chapter 2, and we'll begin reading in verse number 1. Exodus chapter 2, verse number 1. The Bible says, And there went a man to the house of Levi and took to wife a daughter of Levi. And the woman conceived and bare a son, and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein, and she laid it in the flags by the river's bank. And his sister took afar off to wit what would be done to him. And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river, and her maidens walked along by the riverside, and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. And when she had opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the babe wept, and she had comp she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews' children. Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee? And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child's mother, and Pharaoh, Pharaoh's daughter, said unto her, Take this child away and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child and nursed it. And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses, and she said, Because I drew him out of the water. Would you mark the beginning of verse 10 here? It says, And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter. We're going to talk this morning about Jacobed's home, a place of releasing. Jacobed's home, a place of releasing. There came a day where Jacobed, and we find it's not just a mother, it's a mother and a father here, Amram and Jacobed. They're raising a child, this child Moses, that God's given to them. By the way, every child, every life is valuable and is a gift from God. It's amazing we have to say that today and make that very clear. And God intends for that child to live. Life begins at conception, and from conception, that life has value and it has worth. And we find from God's word that it is to be treasured and valued. We find here there's a home. In fact, this is a slave home. The Israelites are slaves in Egypt. And if you were to walk into this home, there's probably nothing that would stand out to you, and you would think, boy, this child's going to turn out. Probably very little on the table. Probably very few furnishings in this home. This is an oppressed people that have been in slavery for over four centuries. And yet there's a mother and a father, and they said, We're going to take responsibility for this child and make sure that he's raised right. They could have very easily said, now look, we're just slaves in a foreign land. We're oppressed, and we live in the land of Egypt, the most powerful empire and this wicked place, gods being worshipped all about them. And yet they said, We're not going to allow all of that to shape how we raise this child. We're going to raise this child according to what God has revealed to us about himself. And we're going to raise this child right so that he knows how he's supposed to live. And here we find that's exactly what they do. Begin with me, if you want to write a few things down, would you do this as we look at Jacobed's home? Number one, Jacobed lived faithfully. Jacobed lived faithfully. It says in verse number one, there went a man to the house of Levi and took to wife a daughter of Levi. Immediately we find God's intention for marriage and childbirth. What happens first? This couple is married, and then they begin to have children. That's God's intent. That's God's design. In fact, if you're just looking at it pragmatically, just in a utilitarian way, if you want to keep from poverty and so many other things, get the order right, God's order right, and you're going to live a blessed life. Even if you're not a Christian, we could see that this is the best way to do this. We find here that these the Lord brings this couple together. And they say the woman conceived and bare a son, and she saw he was a goodly child, and they hid him for three months. And they say, We're going to have this child here. They weren't supposed to keep a son. In fact, we find from chapter number one that Pharaoh is getting rid of all the boys. He takes all the boys and he's killing all of them off because he didn't want them to raise up an army and the Israelites be able to take over Egypt. But we see here that I think their idea, many times in the church, the idea is hold the fort. When really our motto should be storm the keep. These are an advancing people. They say, we're going to raise this child. We're going to raise him right. We're not going to allow Egypt to influence us. The media was against them of their day. The schools were against them of their day. Clothing was against them of their day. Music was against them of their day. What can we say? Do you realize the media is against everything we're trying to do and God's Word is trying to do today? Clothing's against us. Music is against us. Culture's against us. Society's against us. So what do we do? Close up shop and say, well, we'll just hold on until Jesus comes? No. We are the advancing people. We have a free will and we have an opportunity to say, this is how we're going to raise our children. This is how we're going to live. We do not have to cow and give over and give in to everything the world is telling us we're supposed to do today and how we're supposed to raise children today. We were just out in a restaurant just the other night celebrating my mom's birthday. You need to tell her happy birthday. It's coming up in a few days. We were out celebrating her birthday. And we came to the table, and it was me and my mom and dad and my brother. He's got three children. I have five children. So, you know, anywhere you go, eight children, 13 years old and under, people think, oh boy. And the table that was seated near us, it was just one couple there. And my wife overheard them say, finish your food as quickly as possible. This is the last word we're going to get in. Because what did they expect? We're about to bring a three-ring circus into the middle of this restaurant, is what they thought, right? But what did we do? We all sat down. The children sat, figured out what they wanted to eat. They had little things to color. They colored and we could all have a conversation. We could all hear each other. Everything was proper. Everything was right. And before they left, they said, You have the most well-behaved children. Now, that, I'll be very honest with you, that didn't happen in that moment. That was a lot of time and a lot of effort and a lot of work that that couple hadn't seen and everybody else in that restaurant hadn't seen, right? But what did they expect? These people are going to allow these children to run wild. And yet, what has to be done? To live faithfully in a fallen world is going to take very, very intentional work with children to raise them in a way that honors the Lord. That leads us to a second thing. Would you write that down? That Jacobed trained intentionally. Jacobed trained intentionally. She could no longer keep this child in her home. We find in Exodus chapter 2, she's going to have him. In fact, she has him for just three months to start with. We find that she puts him down in a little ark made of bull rushes. She puts it in the river, floats it down, and Pharaoh's daughter finds it. Takes it up, she opens it up. You know what's very interesting? In fact, she says this, look down with me into verse number six. It says she had compassion on him and said, This is one of the Hebrews' children. This is a side note. But would people in society look at our children and say, That's one of the Lord's children? Would people look at our children and would they stand out at all any different from the children of this world? Now I realize they're children, they don't have proper upbringing. Maybe parents are not as intentional, maybe parents are not in church, and maybe they're not teaching them things and helping them along. But I'm talking about our children, the ones that God's entrusted to us. Would people look at our children and be able to tell a difference? She says, This is one of the Hebrews' children. This is one of those people that we've enslaved. This is this child is different. Why? Because the family had raised them intentionally. Look with me at verse number, uh, go back with me earlier in the passage. Look down at verse number three. It says that when she could no longer hide him, she took him for a uh, put him in a bark of bulrushes, daubed it with slime and pitch, put the child therein, she laid it in the flags by the river's bank. And look at verse 4. Because Moses is not the only child in this home, right? His sister stood afar off. To wit, what would be done to him? They weren't just working with Moses, they were working with his sister here. They were working with Miriam. Can you imagine taking your little boy, three months old, putting him in an ark of bull rushes, sending him down the crocodile-infested river where you know the daughter of Pharaoh is going to find them and send your daughter to watch afar off. This girl had been worked with. Intentional training had gone on to where Amram and Jacobed said, we can trust Miriam to go down and look after Moses. In fact, she's so sharp that when Pharaoh's daughter finds her, what does Miriam say? Can I help you find a woman that can help you nurse this child? I mean, what a sharp young child. Probably no more than we would guess, 10, 11, 12, 13 years old, if that. But she's ready. Her parents have specifically worked with her. In fact, in verse number 7 it says, Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call thee a nurse of the Pharaoh, of the Hebrew children, that she may nurse the child for thee? What is she doing? She's having a meaningful conversation with an adult. How often have we, look, I've got to take time to work with my children to help them to have a meaningful, beneficial conversation with an adult. I think it's wonderful I've said this before, we have an intergenerational church. Because some churches today, they say, look, we want nobody over the age of 30. That's all we want. Under 30 in here, right? Some churches have the idea we want everybody over 70. You know, you know what we need to have? We need to have everybody all together. You know why? Because every generation needs to know how to talk to and interact with every other generation. That's how God's designed the church. And we find the child here having a conversation with an adult. In fact, really carrying out a business deal. Hey, do you mean to find somebody to help nurse this child? I can work it out for you. I'll be right back. You know what? She comes right back. Goes to her mother. Verse number nine, Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away, nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child and nursed it. She is working on her own behalf. And is it just because, well, Miriam reached the age of twelve, so now automatically she can make responsible decisions? No. There's a mother and a father that are working with her to help her know how she's supposed to live. There's an idea today that children are too young to be able to make decisions. Now, they are too young to make many decisions. But I read a story recently. There were children, young boys that carried out a heinous crime. And the judge said, I'm going to let you boys off. Because your frontal cortex is not fully developed yet. Now, is that true? Yes. But what does that mean? Someone needs to come along and help these boys form their frontal cortex. It doesn't mean we leave them to the wild to just go off on their own. We as a society have gotten so crazy that we think children just need to be left to themselves, like they're wild plants to be left out, they're all just going to grow. No, they're not wild plants. They need to be tended to, they need to be weeded, they need fertilizer, things put into them, they need to be weeded, things taken out away from them. We are the ones responsible for that. And we find here that there is a mother that has put some things into her children. There's a mother that's taken some things away from her children to raise them the way they're supposed to, intentionally raising them. Proverbs 22, 6 says, train up a child in the way he should go. What does train up mean? Intentionality. We send dogs to obedient school, and we expect dogs to obey, and dogs to put a treat on the ground, and don't eat the treat till I tell you to eat. And yet we have less. We understand our children are made in the image of God. Our children are formed in the likeness of God Himself. We should have higher expectations. I should have higher expectations than I would of my dog mercy, that she can have a treat on the ground and not eat it until I tell her to eat it. We've got to train them. We've got to work with them. Intentionality means making purposeful and deliberate choices. We find in Psalm 128 and verse number 3, the Bible says this. Psalm 128 verse 3, the Bible says, Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house. And then it says, And thy children like olive plants round about thy table. What if we looked at each child as a plant that needs to grow? You know what's interesting about the olive plant? When an olive tree is planted, it can take as long as two generations before it starts producing fruit. But you know what it takes for two generations? It takes intentional and deliberate work on that olive plant, that olive tree, for it to finally become a bearing and producing entity. What does it take with children? It takes a lot of work. It takes a lot of time. It takes a lot of intentionality. I think that's why the psalmist here says that they're like olive plants round about thy table. And if I looked at my little children as olive plants around my table, how would I react and how would I act saying, no, we're not going to allow that. We're not going to allow that into the garden. No, we're going to make sure that that doesn't infest the garden. We're going to make sure that weed doesn't take hold there. We're going to make sure we're putting this right kind of fertilizer in, and we're getting the water in that it needs, and we're getting all the sunshine that it needs so these little olive plants can grow. What if we looked at our children as these little olive plants? Would you go with me to the book of Isaiah? Let me give you an Old Testament example. Isaiah chapter 5. Would you turn with me there, please? As we think about Jacobed training intentionally these children. Isaiah chapter 5. We'll begin reading in verse number 1. Isaiah 5 and verse number 1. Now will I sing to my well-beloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard? My well-beloved hath a vineyard and a very fruitful hill. And he fenced it and gathered out the stones thereof and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a wine press therein. Now he's talking here about a man that has a vineyard, and he's fencing it in, he's getting the stones out, he's put the choicest or the best vines in there. He builds a tower, right? But then it says in verse number two, and he looked that it should bring forth grapes. But what does it bring forth? It brings forth wild grapes. It says in verse 3, and now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, I pray you betwixt me and my vineyard. What could have been done more to my vineyard than I have not done in it? Wherefore when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes. He says in verse number five, and now go to, I will tell you, what I will do to my vineyard. I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up, and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down, and I will lay it waste. It shall not be pruned, nor digged, nor shall come up briars and thorns. I will command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant. And he looked for judgment, behold oppression, for righteousness, but behold a cry. See, the punishment for not bringing forth grapes was to let it grow where it wanted. We have a world today that tells us, let the children grow where they want, but we actually find to allow the grapes to grow where they wanted, and to allow all the weeds and everything to grow in there was actually an act of punishment. The most beneficial thing and the best thing that could happen was to have the hedge and to get the weeds out and to pull the rocks out and to make sure that everything was in place for these children. Now we've got to make sure we're putting the right things in. We've got to make sure that we're emphasizing the right things. It's not just pulling everything away. It's making sure they have the things they need. It's making sure that they are in church. Look, be diligent. Look, you've got children here and they've already gone out of children to church. I'm thankful for it. But let's be diligent to keep our children in church, under the preaching teaching of the Word of God. We're diligent about everything else. We're intentional about food. People say, now look, eat this, don't eat this. You know, I've got a sister-in-law and she's dealing with cancer, and so people have told her all the things that cause cancer, right? We're intentional about the things we put in our body. But we should be intentional about other things. Intentional about dress. Children don't pick what they wear. We are picking what they wear so that we are teaching them how they should dress. When I tell my girls, here's what you're going to wear, and by the way, my oldest is 13, and for 13 years we've said, here's what you're going to wear. So now you know what she's learned? Here's how I'm going to dress. You know why? Because mom and dad taught her, here's how you should dress. The worst thing I could do is say, you wear what you want. That is the worst thing that I could do for her. We're intentional about music. Children don't pick what they get to listen to. We teach them what to listen to. And you know what that means? What we listen to in the car is appropriate. What we allow them to play on the CD player in their room, they don't have phones, they don't have electronic devices, they're going to play it on a CD player. You know how hard it is to find a CD player anymore? But they're going to listen to a CD, right? Appropriate music. And what we pick for them is teaching them this is appropriate, this is right. Intentional about phones. You know, according to common sense media, 42% of children have a phone by the age of 10. 71% of children have a phone by the age of 12. And by the age of 14, 91% of children have a phone. That is the dumbest thing you could possibly do is to give your preteen a phone with connection to the internet. The absolute dumbest thing you could do. I don't know how else more clearly to say it. If you're considering it, just don't do it. You're unleashing all of anything they could find on the internet. You're unleashing it to them. And I'll leave it at that. And you will ruin them before they even have a chance to get started if you're opening up that world to them. It is a Pandora's box that will, all the powers of hell will be against them if you're giving them access to an electronic device like that. We've got to work at that. Now, I think there's a certain age. I think there's ways to teach them. I think there are, there are, even on my own phone, on my own phone. By the way, I think you should all have something. On my own phone, I have things that block things, so I can't even get onto things and I can't see things. I can't even stumble across things if I tried. It's called covenant eyes. I'd recommend you put it on all your devices. But you should have safeguards up and safeguard your children. They have one mind, and the devil wants nothing more than to get a hold of it when they're 10, 11, 12 years old or before. Intentional about phones, intentional about computers, that goes along with what we've talked about. And intentional about church. Let's make sure we're keeping them under the preaching and teaching of the Word of God and they're with God's people. We teach our children a lesson with every action and every inaction. I want to say that again. We teach our children a lesson with every action and every inaction. If I got up this morning and I said, you know what, I don't feel like going to church today, what have I done? I've taught them a lesson. If I got up tomorrow morning and said, I don't feel like going to work today, I've taught them a lesson. Everything we do, every reaction, every inaction, we're teaching them something. And something back in Exodus chapter 2 must have been poured into these children because they turned out right. Because not only did Jacobed lived faithfully and she trained intentionally, thirdly, we find Jacobed released willfully. How would we approach parenting if We thought, I will not have these children forever. Sometimes I see many parents, and I think they think they're going to be here, they're always going to be here. But they're not. We have them as parents for a moment. And how are we preparing them to enter the world? Not just enter the world. Some people say, look, if they can just be a productive part of society. What if we thought God has gifted this child with certain attitudes and proclivities and talents? And I mean, I've got five children in my house. They're raised by the same parents, they eat the same food, they have the same routine, and yet they're all five so different. Why? Because God designed them all different. And if I thought, it is my job to prepare them for what God has for their life, how would we approach parenting? In verse number 10, the Bible tells us in Exodus chapter 2, verse 10, it says, And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. We would believe probably Moses is in the home of Jacobed no more than three to four years at the very most. She weans him and then she brings him back to Pharaoh's daughter. There came a day when Moses no longer lived in his mother's house, and his mother no longer had him in her house. She had no more influence over him. A similar verse is given in Luke chapter 2 and verse 40. It's speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ. It says, And the child grew and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him. Realize that's God's intent for every child. Now, is every child perfect? Not perfect? My children aren't perfect. I realize that. We're working at it. But that they grow, that's physically, that's mentally, that's spiritually, they wax strong in spirit. That means something inside of them is developing and growing. They're filled with wisdom, and the grace of God is upon them. That is spirit, soul, and body developing. Now, how is that going to happen? Only as we take the responsibility as parents to see that spirit, soul, and body, they're growing. That's a part of getting them ready to be released out into the world. Moses reaped the benefits of a godly mother the rest of his life. He's going to live, let's say he's with his mother three years. He's going to live another 117 years. He will die at the age of 120. And yet, look at this testimony. Go with me, please, to the book of Hebrews, chapter 11. Hebrews chapter 11, because we find here a testimony of Moses at the end of his life. How did he live? Hebrews chapter 11. Look at me, please, at verse number 24. The Bible says, by faith Moses, when he was come to years, come to years. What does it mean to be come to years? That means he came to the point where he was making the decisions for his life. There'll come a point where my children will make their own decisions and I will no longer make decisions for them. I won't tell them when to go to bed. I won't tell them to brush their teeth. I won't tell them what they can and can't eat. I won't tell them, you fill in the blank. They will come to years. And it says in Hebrews chapter 11, verse number 24, by faith Moses, when he was come to years, he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. Up until the age of 40, he is taught and educated and influenced by Egypt. And yet he comes to years and he says, I'm rejecting that culture. He says in verse 25 of Hebrews chapter 11, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. Verse 26, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward by faith, verse 27, he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured as him as seeing him who is invisible. What is he doing? He is pushing against the culture of his day. He says, I am forsaking Egypt. I don't fear the wrath of the king. Whatever Pharaoh may do to me, I don't fear it. Why? Because I see him who is invisible. Who is that? That's the Lord Himself. God help us to raise children that say, we're going to live right, we're going to live by the truth, we're going to follow the Bible, and whatever the king may do to us, we don't fear him. Why? Because I have a greater fear for him who is invisible. I have a greater fear for the Lord. And so whatever, whatever this king can do to me, I don't fear it. You know what he says in verse 28, through faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them. Verse 29, by faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land. You know what begins in heaven in verse 29? He leads the children of Israel out of Egypt. And his personal faith affects collectively the entire people of God. It goes from he kept the Passover, he forsook Egypt, he was come to years, to verse 29, they passed through the Red Sea. One man. But we don't first see him as a man. We see him as just a little boy growing up in a slave home by two people, Amram and Jacobed, who said, We're going to raise this child according to God and his word and his principles. And what eventually happens? He affects the outcome of the entire nation of Israel leading them out into the promised land. Why? Now Moses had to make decisions. Moses had to, I mean, he had to decide how he's going to live. But there's a little mother that took her responsibility faithfully. And he took her responsibility to raise him the way he should, living faithfully in a foreign, fallen land, training intentionally, intentional about everything I'm putting into these children. You know what we find out? Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, they turned out pretty well. And then releasing them willfully, understanding our time that we have with them is limited. And there'll come a point where we've got to release them into the world. But first, we've got to release them to the Lord and prepare them to be released into the world. This is Jacobed's home, a place of releasing. Thank you for listening to the City Pulpit. For more information about the City Baptist Church of Atlanta, please visit www.mycitybaptist.com.