Blessed By A Mother

As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, "Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you." (Luke 11:27 NIV)

 

I was recently blessed by a mother of a good friend. She's the mother of a retired Army veteran like me that I had the great pleasure of becoming very close friends with while we were in college. He introduced her to this website and she asked if she could meet me. She is one of the sweetest ladies I have ever had the pleasure to meet. Her love for the Lord just flows from her in every way and her love for her children is just as powerful. There were a couple of moments when she became quite emotional when talking about her prayers for her sons and telling me that reading some of the poems on this site blessed and helped her. Truth be told, I believe she blessed me much more than I ever could her. Just to know that God is using this site to bless others was an inspiration and encouragement like I have never felt. It is my prayers that this site will be used for the Glory of God. I have been blessed by many different mothers in my lifetime. I have come to learn that many of these mothers were mothers other than my own mother and grandmothers. To be blessed by a mother of my good friend was very special for me.
As I thought about this blessing from my friend's mother, the Holy Spirit led me to think about what mothers are in the Bible and how they blessed others.

My favorite mothers from the Bible are:

 

Eve — Mother of Everyone
Eve wasn't only the first woman, she was also the very first mother. Yes, she allowed herself to be tempted by Satan and even encouraged Adam to sin and eat the "Forbidden Fruit", but she is the reason why any of us exist. Eve gave every human, except for Adam, the blessing of life.

 

Sarah — Mother of Isaac
Sarah was a mother because of a miracle blessing and promise from God. She was well-past child-bearing age, but God kept his promise to Abraham that He would give him a son. Actually, another son. Abraham had a son with Sarah's handmaiden, Hagar, named Ishmael. These practices were acceptable during these times when the wife could not bear children for her husband. Sarah's son, Isaac, would become the father of the Nation of Israel. She was a blessing for every Israelite.

Rebekah — Mother of Esau and Jacob
Like Sarah, Rebekah was also barren. But, Isaac prayed to God and she was blessed with twins.
"Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger." (Genesis 25:24)
The oldest of the twins was Esau, but Jacob would become the inheritor of Isaac's blessing by tricking his older brother to sell his birthright for a bowl of stew. Both Esau and Jacob would become leaders of great nations. Both these nations were blessed by a great mother.

 

Jochebed - Mother of Moses
Jochebed is one of the most underappreciated mothers in the Bible. In order to avoid certain death of her son, Moses, by a mass slaughter of Hebrew boys; she placed her faith in God and set Moses adrift in the Nile River. Just happens that God did award her faith and made it so Moses would be found by the Pharaoh's daughter. Moses was raised as royalty and Jochebed even was blessed enough to become her own son's nurse. God used Moses to free the Hebrew people from over 400 years of slavery. Jochebed is another mother that blessed all of Israel. Without her, they would have continued to be enslaved by the Egyptians.

Hannah — Mother of Samuel the Prophet
Hannah, like Sarah and Rebekah, was also barren. In those days, having a large family was a blessing from God. To add to her humiliation, she was taunted endlessly by her husband's other wife. Hannah went to the house of the Lord in Shiloh and prayed so intently that her lips moved silently with the words she spoke to God. Eli the priest saw her and accused her of being drunk. She explained that she was pouring her soul out in prayer to the Lord. Touched by her faith and pain, Eli said:
"Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him." (1 Samuel 1:17)
The Lord heard her prayers and blessed her with a son named Samuel. She promised that if God blessed her with a son, she would give him back over to God's service. She handed her young son over to Eli for training as a priest. Samuel grew up to be the last of Israel's judges, its first prophet, and counselor to Israel's first two kings, Saul and David. Hannah was another mother that blessed all of Israel.

 

Bathsheba — Mother of Solomon
When most people think of Bathsheba, they mostly think of King David's lust for her and his sin to have her husband Uriah the Hittite killed in battle. But, many don't know how this mother paid for David's sins because God was so displeased He struck their first baby dead. However, she remained loyal to David and their next son, Solomon, would become the wisest and greatest king of Israel. From Solomon's line would come our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Bathsheba blessed all Christians through Jesus.
Elizabeth — Mother of John the Baptist
Like many other biblical mothers, Elizabeth was also barren and in her old age. Another miracle from God which was foretold by an Angel she gave birth to a son named John. Just like Hannah, she also dedicated her son to God and John became a great prophet of God just like Samuel. Elizabeth, a relative of Mary, gave birth to the prophet that would foretold the coming of Jesus Christ our Savior. Elizabeth was another mother that blessed all Christians past, present, and future.

Mary — The Mother of Jesus Christ
Mary is the most honored mother in all the Bible for a very good reason. She is the mother of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ whom saves everyone who believes in Him of their sins. She was hand-chosen by God to receive the miraculous blessing of virgin birth by the Holy Spirit. Every time Mary kissed the face of her baby Jesus, she kissed the face of God. Yes, Mary was a person like anyone of us and she sinned. However, she blessed us like no other mother ever could. She gave us the One whom would give us what no other could; Everlasting Life. God Bless Mary, the Blessed Mother whom blessed us like no other.

Please pass this on to anyone you know blessed by a mother.