Lessons from the Mothers of the Bible
The first person in the entire Bible to give God a name wasn’t a patriarch or a prophet. It was a pregnant runaway servant girl, alone in a desert.
When I think about the mothers of the Bible, I always picture them as spiritual giants. Serene. Certain. Sure of every step. Nothing like me on a Tuesday afternoon with my toddler (who I still call my baby) on my lap, pregnant, tired, and with a hundred things left to do.
Then I actually sat down and studied them.
They were exhausted. Disappointed. Grieving. Some of them got it wrong. And God chose to include them in the Bible anyway.
Scripture is far more honest about mothers than we usually are with each other.
This post covers Lessons from Mothers of the Bible – both parts of the series on the Biblical Motherhood for the Modern World: The Good Warfare podcast: Episode 19 (Hannah, Jochebed, Hagar and Naomi) and Episode 20 (the Shunammite woman, Lois and Eunice, and Mary).
What Does the Bible Say About Motherhood?
Here’s what surprised me most: the Bible never presents motherhood as tidy.
It gives us women who wept so hard a priest thought they were drunk. Women who put their babies in rivers. Women who told an entire town to stop calling them by their name because life had gone so bitter. Women who said “it is well” while carrying the worst news of their lives.
Here are 7 mothers of the Bible, and the lesson each one taught me.
Lessons from the Mothers of the Bible
1. Hannah
Take your troubles, your sadness, your problems to God. In 1 Samuel 1:10-11, Hannah is in bitterness of soul, and she wept sore. She didn’t tidy it up first. She brought it exactly as it was.
Then, once you pray, go about your day in joy. Verse 18 says her countenance was no more sad. And nothing had changed yet. Nothing. She just handed it over, and her face changed before her circumstances did.
And as godly mothers, we need to live by faith, love God more, and teach them as often as we possibly can about God and His Word. She gave Samuel back, and then every single year she made him a little coat and brought it to him.
2. Jochebed
God will lead you to what to do, and when He does, act in faith. Take the action, and leave it all in His hands. Hebrews 11:23 says it was by faith that Moses was hidden, and that they were not afraid of the king’s commandment.
Develop your skills. In Exodus 2:3, she prepared him a basket and daubed it with slime and with pitch. She knew how to build something watertight. That skill is what saved her son.
Let God and His things have a bigger role than worldly influences in our home life. Church, Christian music, serving, love for others. Acts 7:22 tells us Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians: he had the very best the culture could give him. And Hebrews 11:24-26 says he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God.
He was raised in that culture. And he still chose God.
3. Hagar
When God tells you to submit yourself, make sure you obey. In Genesis 16:9 the angel tells Hagar to return to her mistress and submit herself. It may be one of the hardest things we can do. But it’s a must when God is the one telling us.
We face great disappointments when we live by the flesh and so do other people when we use Satan’s ways to try and do God’s work. That’s the whole first half of Genesis 16. Sarai trying to help God’s promise along, and the disappointment it caused everyone.
And this one: God sees us. He understands us. He loves us. He works for us. Genesis 16:13 Hagar calls Him El Roi. Thou God seest me.
She is the first person in the entire Bible to give God a name. Not a patriarch. Not a prophet. A pregnant runaway servant girl, alone in a desert.
4. Naomi
At the beginning of Ruth chapter 3, Naomi guides Ruth in exactly what to do. Step by step.
And I can only surmise that it must be because she was a woman of God, and He told her what to do at that precise moment so that Ruth could approach Boaz.
5. The Shunammite Woman
Let’s learn to be hospitable. Some people have hospitality as a gift. Others have to pray for it, because it doesn’t come naturally, and that’s okay, but we do need to pray for it.
Look at what she did in 2 Kings 4.
2 Kings 4:9-10 “And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually. Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick.”
She didn’t just feed Elisha many times. She also built him a room.
And we may lose or miss a blessing because we don’t invite people into our homes. She invited him in, and her blessing came out of that open door. She had no son, and no expectation of one.
2 Kings 4:16 “About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son.”
Listen to what Jesus says about this:
Matthew 25:40 “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”
And then He says the other side of it too.
Matthew 25:45 “Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.”
And let the first thing we do be to seek God when trouble comes knocking on our door. Because later, that son dies in her arms (2 Kings 4:20). And she doesn’t spiral, she saddles a donkey and goes straight to the man of God.
2 Kings 4:26 “Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? ...And she answered, It is well.”
She said “it is well” while she was carrying the worst news of her life. Maybe she was like Hannah, where she went to God in prayer while her heart was deeply sad, and then went about her way without sadness in her face because she knew Who she prayed to and that He would answer.
6. Lois and Eunice: Timothy’s Mother and Grandmother
You can pass your faith on to your children.
2 Timothy 1:5 “When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.”
I want you to notice that word: dwelt. First, faith dwelt in Timothy’s grandmother, and then in his mother, and now in him. They passed their strong faith to Timothy, who went on to do many great things for our Lord.
2 Timothy 3:15 “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”
And even though your husband may not be a believer, that doesn’t mean it should change us, or have influence over our faith, or over what we teach our children.
Acts 16:1 “...the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek.”
That’s all we ever hear about Timothy’s father, and we may think that he was not a believer. Scripture never records him believing. Two women of genuine faith raised the man Paul called his son in the faith.
So here’s the question I had to sit with: do we allow the world’s forces to be stronger than our prayers, and our efforts toward leading our children to Christ?
Don’t be disheartened if your husband is not a believer. Don’t stop praying for him. I have a beautiful testimony from a woman from church who prayed almost 50 years for her husband, and in his old age he finally accepted Jesus and he also changed how he would treat her. She never stopped praying, despite all the hardships she faced by his side.
7. Mary
Pray to be a devout woman of God, filled with the Holy Spirit. That’s who Mary was before she was anything else.
Luke 1:38 “And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.”
Luke 1:46-47 “And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.”
And learn to pray using what Scripture says about Jesus, for our children. Luke chapter 2 gives us three verses about Jesus’ own childhood. And you can pray every one of them over your child, by name.
Luke 2:40 “And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.”
Luke 2:49 “...wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?”
Luke 2:52 “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.”
Grow strong in spirit. Be about your Father’s business. Increase in wisdom, and in favour with God and man.
That’s what I pray over my son.
A Word Before We Close
For the mom grieving a child or a sadness in her heart, and for the mom whose husband doesn’t believe — these are encouraging verses:
Psalm 6:2-9 KJV “Have mercy upon me, O Lord; for I am weak: O Lord, heal me; for my bones are vexed. My soul is also sore vexed: but thou, O Lord, how long? Return, O Lord, deliver my soul: oh save me for thy mercies' sake. For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks? I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears. Mine eye is consumed because of grief; it waxeth old because of all mine enemies. Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; for the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping. The Lord hath heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my prayer.”
A Question to Sit With
If your child ends up with your faith, just yours, exactly as you’re living it right now, would you be glad?
Sit with that one for a few minutes (maybe even talk about it with your husband), because it’s not a guilt question. It’s a compass. And thankfully, we can start building a heavenly foundation right away, because God’s mercies are new every morning.
For You
You don’t need a curriculum. You don’t need a perfect home. You don’t need a husband who leads.
You need to keep going. Past the point where you can tell it’s working.
Because one day your children will say Amen when you weren’t even teaching. And you’ll realize it was working the whole time.
The Thread Through All Seven
Here’s what ran through every one of these women, all seven of them.
Praise God. And when you think you’ve praised Him enough, keep going.
Psalm 71:14 “But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more.”
And the same goes for teaching them about Jesus and His Word.
Deuteronomy 6:7 “And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”
Bible Verses About Mothers and Motherhood (KJV)
Every verse referenced across both episodes, if you’d like to study them yourself:
| Mother | Key verses |
| Hannah | 1 Samuel 1:10-11, 1:18, 1:27-28 |
| Jochebed | Exodus 2:2-3 · Acts 7:22 · Hebrews 11:23-26 |
| Hagar | Genesis 16:1-6, 16:9, 16:13 |
| Naomi | Ruth 3:1-4 |
| The Shunammite woman | 2 Kings 4:8-10, 4:16-17, 4:20, 4:22-26, 4:30 · Matthew 25:40, 45 · Romans 12:13 · Hebrews 13:2 |
| Lois & Eunice | 2 Timothy 1:5, 3:14-15 · Acts 16:1-2 · 1 Corinthians 7:14 · 1 Peter 3:1-2 |
| Mary | Luke 1:28, 1:38, 1:46-47 · Luke 2:19, 2:40, 2:49, 2:52 |
| The recurring lessons | Psalm 34:1 · Psalm 71:14 · 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 · Deuteronomy 6:6-7 · Galatians 6:9 |
| Also referenced | Matthew 21:16 · Psalm 8:2 · Psalm 6:2-9 |
Listen to Both Episodes
Episode 19 — Part 1: Hannah, Jochebed, Hagar and Naomi
Episode 20 — Part 2: The Shunammite woman, Lois and Eunice, and Mary
Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you listen.
I made you a printable of those three verses from Luke 2 so you can pray them over your child by name.
If something here met you today, send it to one mom who needs it. And leave a review wherever you’re listening: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever. It’s how a tired mom at 3am finds out she’s not alone.
I’ve also got something new coming early next year that I’ve been pouring my heart into: a way to encourage you that I can’t wait to share. It’s still a few months out, but I wanted you to hear it here first. So make sure you’re subscribed and on my email list: Click here to join the waitlist!
Keep going, moms. Past enough. Keep fighting the good warfare.
More Bible Study for Moms
- Episode 17 — Scriptures to Pray Over Your Children for Healing and Protection
- Episode 16 — Teaching Your Baby About Jesus From Day One
- Episode 15 — Praying for Your Husband from Head to Toe
Other posts
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