These women obeyed God’s calling,\nserved sacrificially, and built a life of faith for their family. We can learn\nmuch from the examples of these Biblical mothers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Genesis 11:30<\/strong> we learn, \u201cNow Sarai was\nchildless because she was not able to conceive.<\/strong>\u201d This would have\ngrieved both Sarah and Abraham, and in Genesis 15<\/strong> when the word of the LORD came to Abram\nhe answered, what will you give me LORD since you have not given me an heir?\nGod tells him to look at the stars in the Sky, for that would be the number of\nhis offspring. Abraham and Sarah waited 15 years before God renewed His\npromise, and 10 more years before the promise was fulfilled and Sarah bore a\nson, Isaac. Sarah probably wouldn\u2019t win\nan award for waiting and she even laughed at the idea that God could do what He\npromised, but thankfully God\u2019s promise did not rely on the level of Sarah\u2019s\nfaith. God fulfilled His promise according to His plan and Sarah responded in Genesis 21:6<\/strong>,\n\u201c\u2019God has\nbrought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.<\/strong>\u2019\nAnd she added, \u2018Who\nwould have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne\nhim a son in his old age.<\/strong>\u2019\u201d \nCan you imagine waiting that long for a blessing? Sarah tried to believe\nthe promise, but she had doubts until it finally came to fruition. Then she\nlaughed with joy at what the LORD had done. Isaac would go on to continue the\nlegacy of his father Abraham.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hagar was an Egyptian slave and a\nmaidservant to Sarah, the wife of Abraham; she didn\u2019t have much say about\nanything and especially not in becoming Abraham\u2019s wife. Though her status\nchanged, she was still secondary to Sarah. \nOnce Hagar became pregnant with Abraham\u2019s child, a rift developed\nbetween her and Sarah. After receiving mistreatment from Sarah, Hagar fled\ntoward her homeland. But she met the angel of the LORD who told her to return,\nHe also promised her numerous descendants through her son whom she was to name\nIshmael. Later, Hagar and her son\nIshmael were sent away into the desert, where she believed they would both die.\nBut God is faithful and showed her a well. Genesis 21:20<\/strong> tells us, \u201cGod was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in\nthe desert and became an archer.<\/strong>\u201d \nHagar thought she would get to escape her misery, but God called her to\nreturn to it. She obeyed, and He blessed her and her son just as He promised He\nwould.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rebekah was a woman of great\nfaith, obeying God when Isaac\u2019s servant told her of the man who wanted to marry\nher. Genesis 25<\/strong>\ntells us that when Rebekah became pregnant she could feel the babies jostling\nwithin her. When she asked the LORD why this was happening, He answered her: \u201cTwo nations are in\nyour womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will\nbe stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger<\/strong>\u201d (v 23<\/strong>).\nIn that time, the older would have never served the younger, and the firstborn\nson would have inherited the best of everything. When Isaac was old in age, he told Esau to\nhunt and prepare food so that he could receive his blessing. But Rebekah\noverheard this and told Jacob to bring her food so she could prepare it for Isaac\nfirst. Jacob was unsure about deceiving his father, but Rebekah responded in Genesis 27<\/strong>,\n\u201cMy son let the\ncurse fall on me. Just do what I say; go and get them for me<\/strong>\u201d (v 13<\/strong>). I think it is safe to say that she remembered\nand took very seriously what God had spoken to her during her pregnancy. Rebekah risked deception to follow God\u2019s\npromise because she believed what He said was true. It should be noted that God\ndid not call Rebekah to deception, but God is sovereign despite the good or bad\nchoices we may make. And His plan unfolded exactly as He had told her. Later\nher son Jacob would wrestle with God and be given a new name: Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Jacob went to stay with his\nuncle Laban, he met one of his daughters, Rachel, and loved her. He wanted her\nfor his wife and was willing to work seven years to marry her. But Laban\ntricked Jacob by giving him his older daughter Leah in marriage instead. Jacob\nworked another seven years for Rachel, and he loved her more. Leah, knowing\nthat she was unloved, bore Jacob many children to please him, while Rachel\nremained barren. Both women ended up\ngiving their maidservants to Jacob, who in turn bore him more children. Genesis 30:22<\/strong>\ntells us, \u201cThen\nGod remembered Rachel; he listened to her and enabled her to conceive.<\/strong>\u201d\nRachel bore Jacob two sons, Joseph and Benjamin, before she died in childbirth\nwith Benjamin. Siblings like to compete,\nbut can you imagine having to share a husband with your sister, feeling like\nyou always had to outdo the other. But God blessed both Leah and Rachel with\nchildren, continuing his covenant promise with Abraham. Leah and Rachel\u2019s sons\nwould go on to form the 12 tribes of Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A new King in Egypt came to power\nwho was under no obligation to honor Joseph\u2019s deeds in Egypt and keep the\nspecial arrangement with the Israelites. He was worried about the Hebrews\noutnumbering and overtaking the Egyptians, so he made them slaves. He also\ncommanded the Hebrew midwives to kill Hebrew baby boys when they were born, but\nthey did not listen. Then Pharaoh gave another decree in Exodus 1:22<\/strong>, \u201cEvery Hebrew boy that is born you must throw\ninto the Nile, but let every girl live.<\/strong>\u201d A Levite woman, Jochebed, gave birth to a son\nand hid him for 3 months. Exodus 2<\/strong> tells us that when she could hide him no\nlonger, she coated a papyrus basket with tar and pitch, placed the baby in it,\nthen she set it in the reeds along the bank of the Nile. Jochebed\u2019s daughter,\nMiriam, watched to see what would happen as Pharaoh\u2019s daughter went down to\nbath. When Pharaoh\u2019s daughter saw the basket, her servant\u2019s retrieved it for\nher and inside she found the baby crying and knowing he was a Hebrew child she\nfelt sorry for him. Miriam then spoke up\nand asked her if she would like her to fetch a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby;\nshe agreed and Jochebed returned with her daughter to nurse her own baby.\nPharaoh\u2019s daughter paid Jochebed to nurse and raise the baby until he was old\nenough to come live with her. She then adopted him as her son and named him\nMoses. Jochebed was determined to find a\nway to save her son, and God blessed her plan. Not only was her son saved from\ndeath, she was able to nurse and raise him until he was old enough to go live\nwith Pharaoh\u2019s daughter. Her son, Moses, went on to free the Hebrew people from\nEgypt, leading them in the desert toward the Promised Land according to God\u2019s\nplan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She is not mentioned by name in\nthe Book of Judges, although some would say she is the Hazelelponi mentioned in\n1 Chronicles 4:3<\/strong>.\nWe cannot know for sure, so we can deduce that what she did is more important\nthan her name. She was married to a man named Manoah but was unable to\nconceive. Judges\n13:3-5<\/strong> tells us, \u201cThe angel of the LORD appeared to her and said, \u2018You are\nbarren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a\nson. Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you\ndo not eat anything unclean. You will become pregnant and have a son whose head\nis never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite dedicated\nto God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands\nof the Philistines.<\/strong>\u2019\u201d Samson\u2019s\nmother knew there was something special about the angel of the LORD, and when\nher husband was afraid they would die for having seen the face of God she\nbecame the voice of reason saying He would not have told us these things if He\nwere going to kill us. She gave birth\nand named the baby Samson, and the LORD blessed him. Although some of his\nactions were questionable, the LORD used him mightily in His plan to defeat the\nPhilistines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Naomi and her family fled to the\ncountry of Moab because of a famine in their land. Her husband died, and her\ntwo sons married Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. After 10 years both of Naomi\u2019s\nsons passed away, and Naomi heard that the LORD had blessed the land of her\npeople with food again. She told her daughters-in-law that they could return\nhome to find new husbands. Although they both wept at her leaving, one refused\nto leave Naomi\u2019s side. Orpah returned to her people and her gods, but Ruth\nsaid, \u201cDon\u2019t\nurge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and\nwhere you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.\nWhere you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with\nme, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me<\/strong>\u201d (Ruth 1:16-17<\/strong>). Ruth was already learning from Naomi\u2019s faith\neven during a time of bitterness. Naomi continued to watch out for Ruth and\ninstruct her wisely in her dealings with Boaz, who became her kinsman redeemer.\nThe Lord blessed Naomi, and she gained a son when Boaz married Ruth. Ruth and\nBoaz had a child, and the women of the land said to Naomi, \u201cPraise be to the\nLORD, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become\nfamous throughout Israel! He will renew your life and sustain you in your old\nage. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than\nseven sons, has given him birth<\/strong>\u201d (Ruth 4:14-15<\/strong>). The child was named Obed, the father of\nJesse, the father of David who would be king (Ruth 4:17<\/strong>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hannah was married to a man who\nloved her very much, but he also had another wife. This wife was able to bear\nchildren, but in 1 Samuel 1:5-6<\/strong> we learn that the LORD had closed Hannah\u2019s womb.\nThe rival wife provoked Hannah continually, but Hannah would go to the house of\nthe Lord to pray. Her husband tried to console her saying, \u201cDon\u2019t I mean more\nto you than 10 sons?<\/strong>\u201d (1 Samuel 1:8<\/strong>). Hannah prayed to the Lord and wept\nbitterly; she made a vow saying, \u201cLord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant\u2019s misery\nand remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will\ngive him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be\nused on his head<\/strong>\u201d (1 Samuel 1:11<\/strong>). \nIn fact, she was praying so hard that her lips were moving but no sound\ncame out so that the priest, Eli, thought she was drunk. The Lord blessed\nHannah, and she gave birth to a son and named him Samuel, \u201csaying, \u2018Because I asked the LORD for him<\/strong>\u2019\u201d\n(1 Samuel 1:20<\/strong>). She did just as she had promised, and when\nthe boy was old enough she took him to the house of the Lord and presented him\nto Eli. Hannah then prayed, \u201cMy heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn is lifted\nhigh. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance<\/strong>\u201d\nand her beautiful prayer continues in 1 Samuel 2:1-10<\/strong>. \nSamuel lived a life dedicated to the Lord, and he would go on to lead\nthe people of Israel, anointing Israel\u2019s first and second kings\u2014Saul and David.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Elizabeth was married to a priest\nnamed Zechariah, and Luke 1<\/strong> tells us that both Elizabeth and Zechariah\nwere righteous before God, observing all of His commands. But Elizabeth was\nchildless, and they were both old in age. Similar to people in Job\u2019s day,\npeople would have thought that sin prevented Elizabeth from bearing a child.\nThis would have been very hard to face, especially being a wife of a priest. When Zechariah was serving in the temple, an\nangel of the Lord, Gabriel, approached him and said, \u201cDo not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has\nbeen heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him\nJohn. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his\nbirth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord<\/strong>\u201d (Luke 1:13-14<\/strong>). Zechariah still questioned how this would be\npossible and because he doubted he was struck mute for the duration of\nElizabeth\u2019s pregnancy. Elizabeth was overjoyed at this blessing of life and\nsaid, \u201cThe Lord\nhas done this for me\u2026In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my\ndisgrace among the people<\/strong>\u201d (Luke 1:25<\/strong>). \nWhen Mary, the mother of Jesus, came to visit her cousin Elizabeth, the\nbaby leapt in Elizabeth\u2019s womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.\nShe took great joy in Mary\u2019s pregnancy and blessing from the Lord. And when it\ncame time for Elizabeth to give birth, she named her son John. When neighbors\nwent to confirm this with Zechariah he wrote the same name and his mouth was\nopened; everyone wondered at what the child would be since his birth was\nmiraculous. John would go on to baptize\npeople from their sins with water, preparing the way for the Messiah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mary, a virgin pledged to a man\nnamed Joseph, was also visited by the angel Gabriel. He said to her in Luke 1:31<\/strong>:\n\u201cDo not be\nafraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth\nto a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called\nthe Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father\nDavid, and he will reign over Jacob\u2019s descendants forever; his kingdom will\nnever end.<\/strong>\u201d Mary wondered at\nhow this would be possible, and the angel told her, \u201cThe Holy Sprit will come on you, and the power\nof the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called\nthe Son of God<\/strong>\u201d (v 35<\/strong>). Mary\nembraced these words in faith. When she visited her cousin Elizabeth, Elizabeth\nproclaimed, \u201cBlessed\nare you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!<\/strong>\u201d (v 42<\/strong>). Mary believed God would fulfill His promise. An angel of the Lord also visited Joseph, who\nput him at ease with Mary\u2019s pregnancy. As we read in Matthew 1<\/strong>, Joseph took Mary to be\nhis wife, but they did not consummate the marriage until after she had given\nbirth. Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem for a census, where she gave birth\nin the humblest of environments. Mary\ntreasured up many things in her heart as she raised Jesus, but she also had to\nendure the greatest sacrifice of all time\u2014her son was the Son of God and He had\ncome to give Himself up as a sacrifice, the one and only sacrifice that could\nbe made for mankind. She had to watch Him suffer, be tortured and mocked, and\ndie a cruel death on a cross by crucifixion. \nJohn 19:25-27<\/strong>\n tells us, \u201cNear the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his\nmother\u2019s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw\nhis mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to\nher, \u2018Woman, here is your son,\u2019 and to the disciple, \u2018Here is your mother.\u2019\nFrom that time on, this disciple took her into his home.<\/strong>\u201d Even while He was dying, Jesus cared for His\nmother and gave her a new son to love her. Mary was blessed among women, for\nshe was chosen by God to bear His Son and raise Him. Though there was death\nthere was yet joy for Mary, as her son did not stay dead. He rose again from\nthe grave, securing everlasting life for her and all who would believe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n God honors faith, including strong\nand brave mothers and women who led armies and challenged kings. Prophetesses\nwho heard and obeyed the voice of God. Wise women and mothers who made\ndifficult decisions and led the people back to God. Loyal women and mothers who\nstayed faithful to God even when their situations seemed perilous. Mothers and\nwomen who did the right thing no matter what everyone else was doing, whom God\nused to change the course of history forever. \nBe one too!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" These women obeyed God’s calling, served sacrificially, and built a life of faith for their family. We can learn much from the examples of these Biblical mothers: 1. Sarah: The Mother Who Waited In Genesis 11:30 we learn, \u201cNow Sarai was childless because she was not able to conceive.\u201d This would have grieved both Sarah […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[532,526],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n2. Hagar: The Mother Who Endured<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
3. Rebekah: The Mother Who Believed<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
4. Leah and Rachel: The Mothers Who Had to Share<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
5. Jochebed: The Mother with a Plan<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
6. Samson\u2019s Mother: The Mother Who Followed the Rules<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
7. Naomi: The Mother-in-Law Who Shared Her Faith<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
8. Hannah: The Mother Who Kept Her Promise<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
9. Elizabeth: The Mother Who Believed in Miracles<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
10. Mary: The Mother Who is Blessed among Women<\/h2>\n\n\n\n