Today we honour all the mothers: mothers that have passed, those longing to have children, mothers who’ve lost children, adoptive mothers, foster mothers, birth mothers, surrogate mothers, mothers in spirit.
In this article, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on the lives of four women from the Bible who each had a different experience of motherhood. Their lives, through the joys and struggles and heartbreak, tell us something about God and the way that He can empower those who He loves. We hope it is an encouragement to you this Mother’s Day.
The Birth Mother
Any mother reading this will know that having children requires sacrifice; sacrificing your time, your finances, your energy, and your personal space (try going to the bathroom without your little ones following you in!).
The concept of sacrifice is, of course, seen plainly throughout scripture and most importantly, in the pinnacle of sacrifice itself: Jesus. But the Bible also shows us the sacrifice of mothers and the crucial role they play in giving their children a future in His plan. One such example of this is found in the story of Moses’ two mothers.
Moses is a very significant figure in the Bible. He led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, received and recorded God’s law, and was the main author of the first five books of the Bible (often called the Pentateuch). But Moses’ story could have looked quite different had it not been for the sacrifice of two important women in his life.
Moses was born in a time of growing tensions and unrest. Joseph’s descendants were still living in Egypt and were “exceedingly fruitful”–according to Exodus 1:7, they became “so numerous that the land was filled with them”. Because of this, the new Pharaoh forced the Israelites into slavery and gave an order to his people saying that “Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile” (Exodus 1:22).
Knowing this decree and fearing for her son’s life, Moses’ birth mother, Jochebed (Exodus 6:20), sacrifices her position as his mother to save his life and entrusts him to God to be raised by someone else. The Bible says that when Jochebed could hide Moses no longer, “she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile” (Exodus 2:3).
Can you imagine her heartbreak, giving up her son in the hopes that someone else would save him? As she placed him in the reeds along the riverbank, it would have been hard not to dwell on the fact that it was the very same river Pharaoh’s men were throwing Hebrew baby boys into. Could it be that she trusted God would make a way for her son, even if it meant losing the right to raise him herself?
What’s interesting about the basket Jochebed made for Moses is the Hebrew word used, tebah, which is the same word used for the “ark” that Noah built (Genesis 6:14). The two “arks” are quite different, of course, but share a common purpose–they represent God’s plan to save His people. Noah’s ark saved the righteous from God’s judgement in the flood, and Moses’? Well, it saved the baby who would one day lead the Israelites out of slavery. Both arks symbolise God stepping in to save the people He loves, and, not only that, they give us an uncanny glimpse of the ultimate saving grace that is to come: a Hebrew baby born into a basket-like manger and raised in Egypt because of the king’s edict to kill baby boys. Yes, Jesus.
Through Jochebed’s sacrifice as a mother, God used her son to rescue His people from the Egyptians. Her courage and trust in God’s provision meant that not only was Moses spared from Pharaoh’s men, but he also grew up to become the leader of the Israelites and God’s spokesperson to the nation.
The Adoptive Mother
We know Moses’ birth mother sacrificed getting to raise her son so that he could live. So who became his new mother? After Jochebed placed Moses by the banks of the Nile, he was found by Pharaoh’s daughter who was bathing in the river. Exodus 2:6 tells us that when she opened the basket and saw the baby, “He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. ‘This is one of the Hebrew babies,’ she said.”
Pharaoh’s daughter knew immediately that the baby was a Hebrew boy. She knew her father’s decree that all Hebrew baby boys be put to death. But in that moment, “she felt sorry for him”. In an immense act of courage, Pharaoh’s daughter acts on her compassion and decides to raise the baby as her own son. By defying her father’s law she risks everything, and yet is so moved with compassion that she shoulders that risk to protect this little Hebrew baby. The helpless Moses is rescued from the water, perhaps as a foreshadowing of the rescue mission he will one day lead when God’s people escape from the Egyptians through the Red Sea (Exodus 14:21-22).
What we learn from Jochebed and Pharaoh’s daughter is that God had a plan bigger than either woman could have possibly imagined. They were obedient in their convictions, trusting that God would make a way–and He did. Through their sacrifices, a whole nation was rescued. Moses goes on to become a hero of the faith, but the women who helped make that possible are often overlooked. Are there women you know who deserve to be seen and acknowledged this Mother’s Day? Think of the mothers in our lives who make sacrifices for their children. This Mother’s Day, we can be thankful for women who put others’ needs first.
We meet Elizabeth in her old age. In fact, as the NIV puts it, she is “very old” (Luke 1:7)! She and her husband are both described as “righteous in the sight of God” (Luke 1:6). We’re also told that they were unable to have children. Decades must have gone by as they both dreamed of having a child and of the love they’d show them, yet the probability of that dream coming true had now faded to nothing.
All around they saw couples with children, but it had never happened for them. Elizabeth even admits that she felt like a “disgrace” (Luke 1:25). Perhaps she felt like a failure. Of course, they’d prayed for a child, but none of their prayers bore fruit (Luke 1:13). That was until an angel appeared to Zechariah with incredible news that Zechariah struggled to believe could be true (Luke 1:11, 18). “Zechariah, your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John” (Luke 1:13).
Elizabeth was overjoyed! She knew that humanly speaking, the chances of a baby had gone, so she declared joyfully, “The Lord has done this for me” (Luke 1:25). Every child is a gift of God, but Elizabeth knew that this child was truly an unexpected gift. Their little baby boy would grow up to become the man we know as John the Baptist–the man who paved the way for Jesus. Their son would bring great joy to them and they’d delight in this miraculous gift given during their later years as a couple (Luke 1:14-17).
Yet Elizabeth’s joy at her own pregnancy doesn’t end there; she rejoices with another woman due to give birth. She welcomes her relative Mary to stay and when they greet one another, Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit and little baby John inside her womb leaps for joy (Luke 1:41). Elizabeth is clearly overjoyed again and, in a wonderful “loud voice”, she exclaims to Mary: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!” (Luke 1:42).
Elizabeth wasn’t envious of the fact that her younger relative Mary was also pregnant. She could have wanted the attention of the family on her–after all, she’d been waiting for a baby for decades and here was the younger Mary upstaging her. But instead, she delights that Mary is also pregnant. And she delights because, by the gift of the Spirit, she realises that the baby in Mary’s womb is the Lord of the universe.
Elizabeth’s life is a witness to the joy we can have by delighting in the joy of others. It would have been quite natural if Elizabeth had felt somewhat overshadowed by Mary’s pregnancy, yet instead she rejoiced with her cousin and in the Saviour to come. This Mother’s Day, may we be reminded of the blessing of unity that comes when we are able to, as Paul writes, “Rejoice with those who rejoice” (Romans 12:15).
We know the story of Mary; a young virgin blessed with carrying God’s own Son. Many of us might think of her as ‘lucky’ for that privilege. After all, she got a front-row seat to see Jesus grow up and perform miracles and bring hope to the world. But when we think of Jesus’ death on the cross and what that means for us today, how many of us reflect on what that meant for Mary? It’s easy to forget the horrifying impact that seeing her son dying before her would have had.
Any mother reading this will know all too well the fierce drive to protect her children from harm. Whether it’s the anger and helplessness you feel watching your kid get injured by others in a footy game, or the hurt you feel on their behalf when they tell you they’re being bullied, you’ll know that you would do anything to save your children from pain. How much more anguish would you have, then, watching your child be turned on by the very people they’ve been helping?
We don’t necessarily know what Mary was thinking as Jesus was mocked by the crowds, but she might have felt indignant that these crowds were the same people He had been ministering to and performing miracles for. He doesn’t deserve this, she probably thought. And He didn’t.
Mary’s story and Jesus’ care of her show us that God understands the weight of loving your children so much that it hurts. As Mary watched her son on the cross, so too was God looking down and bearing the pain of seeing His only son–innocent and blameless–put to death by the very people He came to save. God is with us in our grief. If this Mother’s Day brings you sorrow reflecting on a child you’ve lost, know that our Heavenly Father knows your pain.
More than simply understanding what it feels like to lose a child, God also offers comfort to those who mourn. Despite the immense agony Jesus would have felt on that cross, both physically and emotionally, in his final moments He was comforting His mother, Mary. In John 19:26-27 we’re told that Jesus looks down and sees Mary and the unnamed disciple whom he loves. He says to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.”
There’s something deeply moving about this. Jesus gave up His life for the world, yes, but He still sees the individuals. He sees His mother grieving, and He comforts her in that pain by asking one of His closest disciples to care for her as his own mother. In His final moments, Jesus sees Mary’s suffering and wants to bring her peace and protection.
In the same way, God sees the pain of every mother who has ever lost a child. If you’re a mother who, like Mary, has experienced the pain of losing a child, we hope that this Mother’s Day you will be reminded that God comforts those who mourn, and that He sees you in your grief. As a mother who hates to see their child suffer, so too does God grieve when we are in pain. And although God is our Father, He says to us in Isaiah 66:13: “As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.”
These four women lived in very different times and in very different circumstances. Yet their different stories speak of universal experiences and feelings of joy, heartbreak and loss. Jochebed, Pharaoh’s daughter, Elizabeth, and Mary, are, like all of us, ordinary people who God empowered to do extraordinary things. They may not have known it at the time, but God used their actions as women and as mothers to bring about His gracious plan of salvation. We may not see or understand how the Lord is using our sacrifices, time or effort, but we can trust that He is making the most of them for His good plans.
If you’ve found these mothers’ stories encouraging, consider sharing this article with someone in your life. You can also find beautiful illustrations of other important mothers we see in the Bible by following us on Facebook or Instagram.
