Jocabed – She Follows Christ
Potter & Clay
In the book of Exodus, Jochebed gave birth to Moses during a time when Pharaoh ordered “every boy that is born you must throw into the Nile” (Exodus 1:22), referring to the Israelite boys. Jochebed “hid him for three months. But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him” (Exodus 2:2-4). Whether it was Jochebed who told Moses’ sister Miriam to stand at a distance to watch over him, or if it was Miriam’s desire to take care of her little brother, the truth remains that she watched over him. Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe and she noticed the basket among the reeds and sent her slave girl to get it. She opened it and saw the baby and felt sorry for him. Immediately Miriam asked Pharaoh’s daughter “shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you? ‘Yes, go,’ she answered. And the girl went and got the baby’s mother” (Exodus 2:5-8). Miriam loved her brother so much and was able to get Pharaoh’s daughter to pay for Jochebed to take care of her own son. Amazing!
There is an amazing woman in my life who is one of my mentors and has been for many years, her name is Jocabed, also known as Jochebed. Jocabed is my sister. The very same person who I wrote about earlier when I wrote about how we followed her around as kids, my brothers and I. I guess I have never stopped following her, for she follows Christ. I also wrote about her and her husband a while back on April 16, when I was blogging on the topic of “FINGERPRINTS” that people leave on our lives, and I mentioned that they were my mentors. My sister has been an encourager and a mentor to me, one of my best friends, one who I trust with my life and who I go to for advice. She is a woman of God that knows how to talk to God, knows how to pray, and intercede for people. There have been times when I have called her when I was hurting and she would cry with me and pray with me. I have called her when I have needed advice about a choice I was getting ready to make or had just made and needed a godly word of wisdom and knowledge. I have always seen her reading and studying God’s Word. She loves and is devoted to God, her husband, and her kids with all her heart. She is a hard worker and when she makes up her mind about something, she goes right after it and completes it. She is so talented, gifted, and anointed and uses her talents for the Lord and for serving others. I AM ENCOURAGED TO WANT TO BE BETTER.
I think that there are only a few people in our lifetime that can actually make us think that way, they make us want to be better. I don’t live close to her, and we don’t talk every day. See, even though it is good for a mentor and protégé to walk and work along side each other, an intentional mentoring relationship can take place when both are hundreds of miles apart. The relationship has to be intentional learning and intentional teaching. An intentional mentoring relationship is where the people involved “connect” with each other, long distance or not. Respect and trust are vital in a mentoring relationship. Accountability will not come naturally as you enter intentional relationships, nor is it guaranteed, since the relationship itself doesn’t have the power to hold us accountable. We must make ourselves accountable by having honesty, openness, submitting to one another, and having a transparency that comes from a fear of the Lord. Pray and ask the Lord to lead you to someone of great influence who can and will have a great impact on your life, and covenant with them to have an intentional mentoring relationship.
