Bible Moms

I stumbled apon this Bible study of Bible Mothers last year and I thought I would share it with all of you today.

EVE: The Mother Of All Living - Found in Genesis - more specifically, of Cain, Abel, and Seth (and several unnamed others).

   I guess if we are to commence in chronological order we would have to begin with Eve, the mother of us all. And she was the woman who made THE "monumental, mind-blowing, affects-everybody forever" mistake. So she probably deserves the bad rap she gets. You have to feel a little bit of sympathy for the girl who didn't have a mother to ask about how things were for her back in the day. When the kids had a temperature or were teething she just had to use that God-given mother intuition.

   And sure, Eve got us into epidurals, but she had the mother of all heartache, too. Her sons were involved in the first homicide. She was the first mom to have to bury her child.

　

JOCHEBED: Found first in Exodus. Mother of Aaron, Moses, and Miriam.  

   If there was ever a mom whose life would have made a great screenplay for a Lifetime for Women movie it would be Jochebed. You just have to give it up for her and the midwives who, in their act of civil disobedience, allowed Moses to be born. In the first chapter of Exodus it says that the midwives feared God, and therefore did not kill the Hebrew sons. Here is the reply from the midwives to Pharaoh when questioned: "And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in unto them." (Ex 1:19) So basicly those Hebrew women were "lively" and just popped those babies out before they could get there! Thus baby Moses was born but had to be sent down the river (literally) with his sister serving as lookout, only to be pulled out of the water by the pharaoh's daughter, who secured the services of Moses' biological mom to nanny him. Talk about movie script material!

   Anyway, Moses' mom shows us that the determination and ingenuity of a desperate mother can result in surprising circumstances.

　

BATHSHEBA: Found in 2 Samuel. Mother of Solomon. 

   Bathsheba was well-named as it was her "bath-ing" that attracted the attention of King David. Their illicit affair resulted in the birth of a son. David tried for some damage control by sending her husband out to war, back to the house hoping for a cover-up, and then out to the frontlines to get killed. David got his wish -Bathsheba's husband was killed in battle, and David thought he had gotten away with it. Nathan confronted him and David repented bitterly. But we never really hear how it all affected Bathsheba. However, a son was born from their union and Solomon turned out to be a peaceable ruler whose wisdom was legendary.

   Bathsheba's motherhood gives women hope that, regardless of the circumstances surrounding your pregnancy and the birth of your child, God can redeem any situation. You never know, you might just have the wisest person ever on the planet staring back at you from that high chair.

 
MARY: First read of in Matthew. Mother of Jesus.

   Talk about your early pregnancy test . . .Mary's was early, EARLY! And accurate, too. Angelic visitation definitely qualifies as a sure thing. But the favored girl had to have some concerns because unwed pregnancy was a little different back then. You could get stoned for it. I'm sure she was very relieved to find out that the angel had given her beau, Joseph, the same message. And yes, she was going to give birth to the divine Gift of heaven, but, as any mother knows, all gifts come with some work attached. She still had to change the Baby Jesus' diapers, soothe him as he teethed, teach him to walk, and clean up his skinned knees. She had to cook the meals and wash his clothes and do all the things that moms do for their children. It's interesting the places we see Mary pop up in the gospels-for example, at the temple sending out an APB for her boy. Another place we read about Mary is in John Ch.2 when she was at the wedding feast apparently exasperated with her thirty-year-old son for not doing that "thing" he could do with the water. In the end Jesus does the miracle, but I would have loved to have been there to see the looks pass between mother and son that night. And then we see Mary at the crucifixion. Disciples may scatter, followers may be in hiding, but a mother stays when the rest of the world walks away.
   Mary is a rich tapestry of real motherhood: a lot of excitement followed by years of work and moments of intense pain. But through it all, mothers are there.

Happy Mother's Day!