The Power of a Godly Mother

And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him.

Exodus 2:9 (ESV)

Moses wasn’t just another pretty face. Acts 7:22 tells us. “Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds.”

According to historians Josephus and Eusebius, Moses was educated at Heliopolis where youth of that era’s nobility were educated. “The Egyptians were well along in writing and mathematics. Their mathematics includes geometry, trigonometry, and the ability to measure and lay out land. They studied history, medicine, music, as well as the art of military combat and war. They seem to have known how to use various mechanical devices, such as the wedge, the lever and the inclined plane. They also had blowpipes, bellows, siphons, and other instruments. They made objects out of bronze, and later, after the Hyksos period, they used iron. They had musical instruments, too, and there are pictures in the tombs which show slave girls presumably performing on harps, lyres, tambourines, flutes, and cymbals. Moses undoubtedly learned hieroglyphics, Akkadian, a trade language of that period, Egyptian law, and warfare.” (1)

Yet all of the education he was to receive paled in comparison to what his mother taught him about God during those early, formative years. (While Scripture doesn’t tell us how long Moses’ mother nursed him, commentators suggest it was likely three years of age, the normal age when a child was weaned in that day and time).

She likely told him about the God of his fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob (Exodus 3:6). These terms were certainly not unfamiliar to Moses when God spoke to him from the burning bush. Surely she taught him reverence for El Elyon, the Most High God, for he hid his face, afraid to look at God (verse 6).

Dear mothers, never underestimate the influence you have over your children’s future. Teach God’s words diligently to your children (Deuteronomy 6:7). Speak His promises over them. Place His Word as a gate over your home (Deuteronomy 6:9). Teach your children about God’s holiness, and how to discern right from wrong.

And pray – no matter how old your child might be, don’t stop praying. Surely, Moses’ mother prayed over him after he went to live in Pharaoh’s palace. Prayer is where we fight for the souls of those we love and care about. Prayer reclaims whatever the enemy has tried to take from us. Prayer deploys the forces of heaven over our children.

Though they may no longer be under our roof, our instruction and prayers will always be with them. They might be gone from us, but they will always remain under the Father’s watchful eye.

• https://www.alliancenet.org/tab/monday-moses%E2%80%99-early-education-exodus-211-25