By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s command. (Hebrews 11:23, NKJV).
Now Amram took for himself Jochebed, his father’s sister, as wife; and she bore him Aaron and Moses... (Exodus 6:20, NKJV).
Ancient Egypt was a dangerous place for Jewish sons - they were born under a death sentence imposed by an evil Pharaoh who, above all else, wanted to preserve his power and authority from what he perceived as the growing Jewish threat.
For most Jews in most places in the Middle East, being considered a threat is as common as breathing. Fueled by the pit of Hell itself in its proxy war against the God of Israel, Antisemitism is rampant and intensifying on a global scale. The Bible prophesies that it will reach epic proportions in the future, exceeding even the Holocaust of World War II.
There will come a worldwide, coordinated effort to annihilate the Jewish people, yet again.
It will ultimately fail, but it will wreak death, devastation and tragedy, and because of it, God will unleash the Day of the Lord Judgments that will kill billions.
You can actually see the stage being set today: increasing incidents of violence and persecution, hidden and overt discrimination and prejudice, subtle and not-so-subtle blame-shifting so that in the end, tiny Israel will be seen as the cause of all the world's ills.
It was the same in Amram's and Jochebed's day. The global empire at that time, Egypt, used Israel as a scapegoat for all its ills. Underneath the persecution was the same demon-inspired hatred and fear. But regardless of the cause, the effect on Jewish slave families living then was constant threat under a government-imposed mandatory "pro-choice" agenda - only it was "pro-choice" after birth, rather than before.
Male Jewish infants were to be put to death by the very midwives responsible for bringing them into the world. When that failed, because the midwives fearlessly obeyed God rather than an evil ruler, Pharaoh decreed further genocide, commanding that the Jews themselves throw their male newborns into the river.
We are not told how many parents complied with the decree. Presumably there were some who, fearing for their lives, obeyed the mandate. But this one couple, Jochebed and Amram, first hid, and then, when that was no longer tenable, carried out a plan that enabled their baby son, Moses, to survive.
Ironically, in doing so they were literally compliant with the law - for they cast their son into the river - but in an ark made of bullrushes, instructing Miriam, the babe's elder sister to follow its course in order to ascertain her brother's fate.
God brought this child to Pharaoh's own daughter, who raised him as a member of the king's household, thus ensuring that the one whom Pharaoh sought to kill, would be the undoing and downfall of the king, his nation, his army and his reign.
Moses was protected by his parents, we are informed, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s command.
All godly parents, because of the love of God poured out in their hearts, must see their offspring as beautiful. This ultimately is not a reference to outward appearance, but a devout acknowledgement of the Source of all life, especially human life.
Loving, nurturing and training children in the ways of God is, among so many other glorious things, an act of worship that takes precedence over any and all manmade prohibitions or restrictions. It is the purpose of the family, of marriage, and of the God-given inherent bond between parent and child.
Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. (Psalms 127:3, NKJV).
The raising of godly seed is a command from the throne of Heaven itself, and obeying that command - lovingly, responsibly, patiently, fearlessly - is yet another hallmark of faith.
It should then be of no surprise that as our so-called modern and enlightened society moves further and further from God, that it is this area of life and godliness that is particularly under attack.
Large families are mocked and held in contempt.
Avid pro-life advocates are painted as fringe fundamentalists - throwbacks to a primitive and patriarchal age that delighted in enslaving women and abrogating their "rights".
It should be no surprise, as well, that the deliberate and premeditated murder of unborn infants, relabeled as anesthetically and clinically as possible, is now considered one of those inviolable feminine rights, making abortion an institutionalized and legally protected ritual of bloody sacrifice on the altars of convenience and irresponsible promiscuity.
Despite this - because of this - fearless obedience of God's commandments is of even greater importance, since it makes the line of demarcation between good and evil, life and death, love and hate that much more undeniable.
Is is not that obedience earns us God's love. It is that our obedience declares our love for Him in ways that mere words never can. Recall the words of our Lord, Himself:
“...do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matthew 10:28, NKJV).
