Honorable Mothers of the Bible

This time of year, many of us choose to honor our mothers with cards, gifts, flowers, and other such items. From the time that we are born until the time that we leave this world, our mothers continue to have an impact on who we are and what we choose to do with our lives.

Being a mother is an awesome responsibility, and with motherhood comes great influential power over children and their lives. Where can women look to find examples of how a mother should be in raising her children? For this author, that source would be the Bible. Here are four particular Biblical mothers that provide good examples:

Jochebed (biological mother of Moses)

In Exodus 2:2-4, we read of how Jochebed (whose name is given in the genealogy in Exodus 6:20), Moses' mother, hid him for three months after he was born. According to Egyptian law at that time, all of the Hebrew baby boys were to be cast into the Nile River at birth, and the penalty for defying the Pharaoh's decrees was death. However, Jochebed's love for her son gave her the strength to do what was right, and after the three-month period, she put her son into a little ark that she waterproofed and placed him in a position where he would be found by the Pharaoh's daughter. Jochebed also apparently instructed her daughter Miriam to watch and see what would happen with her little son.

We know from the remainder of Exodus 2 that Pharaoh's daughter had compassion on Jochebed's son, allowed Jochebed to nurse him, and raised him as her own son. Ultimately, Jochebed's courage and sacrifice resulted in the man who would set free all of the Hebrew slaves and lead them to the promised land of Canaan.

We will never know the full impact that our children will have on the world in which they live and the people with whom they come in contact. If we raise them in the Lord and keep their best interest at heart, we can have a pretty good idea that they will seek to do great things for God.

The Virtuous Woman

In Proverbs 31:10-31, King Lemuel describes a woman who is honest, faithful, industrious, respectable, wise, kind, and virtuous; above all else, she fears God. Her children call her "blessed," and her husband praises her. This woman provides a wonderful example to her husband and her children of how a daughter of God should behave and conduct her life.

All of us must keep in mind the sort of example that we are presenting to those who are around us. Whether it is our spouse, our children, our extended family, or our friends, we should be conscious of how others perceive us who claim to follow Christ.

Mary (Jesus' mother)

From the moment that she found out that she was pregnant with Jesus until the day that he died on the cross, Mary sought to support Jesus in fulfilling his mission. She withstood the possibility of being stoned for being pregnant outside of wedlock. She was present when the wise men came to visit him as a child and gave him royal gifts. She went with him and her husband into exile in Egypt to escape the wrath of Herod. She and her husband went to find Jesus in the temple at Jerusalem when he had remained behind. She and his brethren came to hear him teach the people. She was with Jesus at the wedding feast in Cana where he performed his first miracle and told the servants to do as he said. She went with him to Capernaum where Jesus would perform more miracles. She was there at the cross when Jesus, her beloved son, died to pay the price for the sins of all people.

Like Mary, we should always be there for our children. We should support our children in the decisions that they make as long as those choices are in adherence with what God would have our loved ones to do.

Eunice (mother of Timothy)

In II Timothy 1:5, Paul praises Timothy's grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice for helping him to develop a strong faith in God. Although Eunice is only mentioned once in the Bible, we know that she, along with Lois, provided a good Christian example for her son Timothy as well as taught him about the word of God.

As parents, we need to remember that learning about God and His word starts at an early age. Teaching our children about Biblical accounts can help to provide them with a sound and strong base on which to develop their own faith in God. May we never underestimate the power of our own influence over and example to our children in serving God.