The Bible has little gems of leadership lessons scattered throughout. It is easy to miss some of them as I missed this one for many years.

I was reading Hebrews 11 recently for the umpteenth time. It is often called the hall of faith because it is here that God calls out people over the ages who displayed great faith in Him.

As I read these bastions of faith, there is Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, the parents of Moses. Wait, “the parents of Moses.” What are they doing in the venerable hall of faith? They aren’t even listed by name!

To find out what makes them special and to understand why God chose to list them in the hall of faith we must look back at Exodus 2. Exodus 2 tells us a man and woman of the house of Levi hid their baby for three months. Then the mother placed the baby in a basket and put it in the Nile River. We still don’t know their names!

To learn the names of the parents of Moses we have to jump to Exodus 6, the family record of Moses and Aaron. It is here, in verse 20, we finally discover the names of Moses’ parents; they are Amram and Jochebed.

So, we can finally start to put a picture of Amram and Jochebed together. They were both Levites living in exile in Egypt. They married and had three children; Miriam, Moses, and Aaron.

Pharaoh Orders the Baby Boys Killed

Looking back at Exodus 1 we see why Amram and Jochebed were so concerned for their baby’s safety. The new Pharaoh was afraid the growing Israelite population could turn against the Egyptians, so he enslaved them. The Israelites went from freedom and prosperity to slavery in a matter of months.

Their population continued to grow despite the oppression, so Pharaoh ordered all the baby boys killed as they were born.

After he was born, Amram and Jochebed hid Moses for three months. Then Jochebed placed her baby in a basket and sent it off down the Nile River where Pharaoh’s daughter discovered and rescued him from the river.

God Uses Ordinary People Who Trust Him

Amram and Jochebed were ordinary people who exercised great faith in God. They trusted God to protect them. They were not afraid when they defied Pharaoh’s order to kill baby boys.

They trusted God to protect them and the baby when they hid Moses for three months.

They trusted God once again when they placed Moses in a basket and sent him down the Nile.

If Pharaoh or his people found out about baby Moses, the entire family might have been wiped out.

As a parent, I can’t imagine what went through Amram and Jochebed’s minds as they planned to save their precious baby. Despite the risks, their faith and trust in God gave them the courage to save their baby

I am beginning to understand why the parents of Moses, Amram, and Jochebed, were included in the Hebrews’ hall of faith.

Leadership Lessons for Us

Most of us are ordinary people living ordinary lives. But here’s the thing, over and over God uses us ordinary people who have faith and trust Him.

Here are three lessons about persevering faith I take away from Amram and Jochebed:

• Real faith operates despite adversity. Amram and Jochebed exercised their faith during a time of great persecution at risk of their own lives.
• Real faith acts. Amram and Jochebed acted on their faith. Real faith is not complacent but oriented toward action.
• Real faith trusts in God’s promises. Amram and Jochebed trusted in God’s promises to deliver the people of Israel out of Egypt.

Christian leaders, persecution of the faithful continues to mount. Take heart. God uses ordinary people like you and me to exercise our faith in meaningful ways despite adversity as we trust in His promises!

Persevere in your faith, and God will give you great courage and use you to do what only He can do!

Join the Conversation

As always, questions and comments are welcome. How does your faith measure up to Amram and Jochebed’s? What measure of faith are you imparting to your family? Your friends? Your coworkers?

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Category: Personal Development | Dependence on God