The Bible has so much to teach us about mothers and parenthood. Here are 5 mothers in the Bible that we can learn from.
Cain, Abel and Seth’s Mom – Eve
Genesis 4:1-2; 25 “And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground … And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.”
Of course Eve was the very first mother and the Bible tells us that this is why Adam named her such (Gen 3:16). She is the one that God created when Adam could not find an help meet suitable to him (Gen 2:18-25). Adam was given only one rule (law) in the Garden, that he could not eat from the tree in the middle of the Garden which was called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen 2:15-17). It is very possible that Adam did not inform Eve of this rule and so she was beguiled by the serpent in the Garden and even went so far as to talk her husband into eating of that tree that he knew he should not. So Eve and Adam [1] have gone down into history as not only the first humans, but also as the first humans to commit sin. Not long after their transgression we read of how their son Cain killed his brother Abel (Gen 4:8). Though the Bible does not tell us Eve’s reaction when she learned that Cain killed Abel, I imagine just like any other mother that learns of such a tragedy she wept for her dead son as well as the son that was exiled from her and her husband (Gen 4:14-16).
What can we learn from Eve?
We can look at the account of Adam and Eve and learn about how important it is for communication to take place in a relationship. Adam was given specific instruction from the Lord and it is very possible that he did not share this instruction with his wife. Adam failed in his role as Eve’s protector by allowing the serpent to temp her with his lies. We can also see that even though Eve ate of the tree God still loved her. God gave her and her husband instructions of how things were going to be from then on out and He even blessed them with another son when Abel was killed.
Isaac’s Mom – Sarah
Genesis 17:19 “And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.”
God promised Sarah a son and she did not believe Him. In fact when she learned of the Lord’s promise she laughed because she was “old and well stricken in age” (Gen 18:11-12). Even so, God did what He said He would do and Sarah conceived a baby in her old age (Gen 21:1-8). Earlier in the Book of Genesis we see that Sarah was so desperate to give Abraham a child that she had her handmaid sleep with him. They had a son named Ishmael (Gen 16). As could be imagined by any household that has a “blended family” there was some contention after Isaac was born. So much so that Sarah decided that Ishmael and his mother had to leave. They were sent into the wilderness.
What can we learn from Sarah?
When God says He is going to do something, He will do it. Sarah took matters into her own hands and because of it there was strife in her house. Trusting the Lord and patiently waiting for Him to deliver on His promises can make for a happy home, even when our timing is not the same as the Lord’s.
Samuel’s Mom – Hannah
1 Samuel 1:20 “Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the Lord.”
Hannah was one of two wives of a man named Elkanah. His other wife was named Peninnah and she had sons and daughters but Hannah was not able to conceive. Elkanah tried to console her by giving her more food than he did to Peninnah and her children but Hannah could not be consoled. To make matters worse, Peninnah provoked Hannah to fret even more. Hannah went regularly to the house of the Lord to pray and many times she wept beyond control. One day when she was there she was praying to the Lord, begging Him to give her a son, but as she prayed in her heart her lips moved but the words were not heard. The priest Eli witnessed her and thought that she was drunk. He confronted her and she confessed to him that she was not drunk but rather was so deep into prayer with the Lord that it appeared that she had been drinking. Eli promised Hannah that she would be granted her petition of the Lord and told her to go in peace. Not long after this Hannah conceived and Samuel was born. After he was born she purposed in her heart to dedicate him to the Lord because she was so thankful for the blessing of motherhood. Samuel was placed in the care of Eli the priest at a very young age. The Lord called Samuel to become a prophet and after Eli’s death we see that he was a great prophet and judge of Israel. (1 Sam. 4:15–18; 7:3–17)
What can we learn from Hannah?
The prayers of a mother are powerful and God blesses the faithful. Hannah cried out to the Lord in her time of need and when the Lord gave her a son, she dedicated him to the Lord as promised when he was born. Hannah cried out to God and He had mercy on her.
Mahlon and Chilon’s Mom – Naomi
Ruth 1:1-3 “Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons. And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehemjudah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there. And Elimelech Naomi’s husband died; and she was left, and her two sons.”
Naomi was left to be a widow in a foreign land. Not only that but when you read a little further in Ruth 1 you see that her two sons died as well leaving her with her two daughters-in-law in a foreign land. Naomi told her daughter’s-in-law to return to the land of their mother. One, Orpah, left but the other, Ruth, decided to stay with Naomi. The two of them returned to Naomi’s homeland, Bethlehem. Naomi’s kinsman Boaz was a man of wealth who came to Bethlehem and Ruth asked Naomi if she could go glean Boaz’s fields for corn. Naomi agreed and eventually Boaz noticed how Ruth [2] cared for her mother-in-law and because of this Boaz blessed her with food. After some time Boaz married Ruth and they had a son. Boaz and Ruth never neglected to care for Naomi all the days of her life.
What can we learn from Naomi?
Naomi dealt with much tragedy in her life yet she unselfishly offered to love and care for Ruth, her daughter-in-law. Indeed Ruth was as her own daughter in that she cared for Naomi in her old age. Naomi realized that Ruth was still a young woman and placed Ruth in a situation that allowed her to find a husband who was more than able to provide for her. Naomi never stopped being a mother, even though her two sons died. This is a great Biblical account of adoption and redemption.
Moses’ Mom – Jochebed
Exodus 6:20 “And Amram took him Jochebed his father’s sister to wife; and she bare him Aaron and Moses: and the years of the life of Amram were an hundred and thirty and seven years.”
Jochebed lived during the time when the Hebrews were in bondage to Egypt. The Hebrews were growing strong and so the Pharaoh declared that all Hebrew boy children would be killed at birth because he feared that the Hebrews were becoming too large and might overtake the Egyptians. Jochebed had a son named Moses that she hid for 3 months. After that she decided to put him in a basket and float him in the river in hopes that someone would find him and care for him. His sister watched as the basket floated so that she could know where the baby ended up. Along about that time the daughter of Pharaoh came down to the riverside to wash her face and she found the baby. Then his sister offered to go find one of the Hebrew women who could be his wet nurse — of course Moses’s sister fetched his true mother. So the Pharaoh’s daughter decided to raise the baby as her own (but truly Jochebed was his nurse) and called him Moses because she drew him out of the water. Moses grew to be a prince in Egypt until the time that God called him to deliver the Hebrews out of Egypt.
What can we learn from Jochebed?
She loved her son and could not bring herself to murder him as was commanded by the ruler of Egypt. God had plans for Moses and worked it out so that Jochebed would save Moses and ultimately still get to have a role in his young life. God sometimes uses unpleasant circumstances for good.
Final thoughts
These are 5 amazing mothers that you can find in the Bible. God gave us his word so that we can learn from the examples that are recorded there. Do you have another mother in the Bible that you would like to share?
Something else about mothers: 21 Great Christian Quotes About Mothers [3]
Resource – Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, King James Version