Despite the passage of time, despite the cultural differences, mothers of the Bible still speak profoundly to us today. All mothers need the timeless wisdom of moms who made a difference and can teach us to do the same.
The Bible is replete with narratives of mothers who grappled with many of the same issues we face today. Their stories help us navigate our own, creating a rich tapestry of faith that continues through each successive generation.
EVE
The Original Mother — more specifically, of Cain, Abel, and Seth (and several unnamed others)
Eve was the first woman on earth, first wife, and the first mother. Eve was tempted by Satan when he deceived her into doubting God’s goodness.
The serpent urged her to focus on the one thing she couldn’t have. She lost sight of all of the pleasurable things God had blessed her within the Garden of Eden. She became discontented, feeling sorry for herself because she could not share in God’s knowledge of good and evil. Eve allowed Satan to subvert her trust in God.
Eve teaches us that God wants us to choose him freely, and to follow and obey him out of love. Nothing we do is hidden from God. Likewise, it does not benefit us to blame others for our own failings. We must accept personal responsibility for our actions and choices.
SARAH
Mother of Isaac
This is the mom who gives hope to everyone who waited a little late to get started on the Mommy Track. Not that she didn’t try; her womb was just on a different biological clock. God made a promise to Abraham that he would be the father of many nations. This led Sarah to the logical conclusion that she would be the mother of many nations. When that wasn’t happening in a timely manner, Sarah decided to do her own “thang,” so to speak. She gave her handmaiden Hagar as her maternal stunt double. This resulted in a child but not the child.
When the messenger of the Lord told Abraham that it really would be Sarah that was going to deliver the promised baby, Sarah overheard, laughed, and promptly got in trouble for it. But if you were her age you would laugh, too, just thinking about how the breast-feeding would be easy now that she could just lay Isaac on her lap to do it. Sarah is a sister who could laugh at her late start with motherhood knowing that good things come to those who wait.
REBEKAH
Mother of Jacob and Esau
For every mom who has ever had the temptation to play favorites with her children, pay attention to Rebekah. She didn’t just play favorites, she schemed and connived and was an accessory to one of the biggest Daddy Dupes in all of history. It says it plain in Scripture that Isaac loved Esau because he was an outdoors-man but Rebekah loved Jacob. This kind of favoritism does not bode well for a family. When the lines are drawn and it is obvious who is thick with whom, life can get very messy.
Rebekah was in collusion with Jacob (even his name meant “trickster”) to take the birthright from his older brother. I’m sure she rationalized that it wasn’t such a bad thing since the twin boys were only separated by moments, but her hand in helping Jacob trick his father was her way of thumbing her nose at the order of things and a diss to her dying husband. Turns out that this family rift lasted for a long time. Rebekah reminds us that it is a dangerous thing to use maternal power for manipulation.
MARY
Mother of Jesus
When God sent the archangel Gabriel to announce to Mary that she would be the mother of Our Savior, she was an engaged teenage virgin from a devout family. Knowing the harsh ridicule she could endure from her community and knowing the unimaginable responsibility being offered to her, she could have turned from God. She could have told the angel that she was too scared to accept such a task. But her reaction was to trust in God completely. And that trust brought Jesus into the world to save us. In Luke 1:26-38, Mary said “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.”
Even though there are also many examples of how Mary was selfless, the greatest example is probably her journey alongside her Son to his Crucifixion. Despite the horror and devastation of seeing her innocent Son suffer so much, she wouldn’t leave His side. Nobody would have blamed her if she retreated from the unthinkable pain, but she didn’t. She put her own needs aside to comfort Him.
By Agencies.
