A Model of Motherhood
Proverbs 31:10, Hebrews 11:23
May 10, 2009
Morning Message: Mother’s Day
Big card with child’s printing for lettering, front had a little boy with untied shoes, a red wagon, toys strung everywhere and smudged and dirty face
The caption states: Mom, I remember the little prayer you used to say for me everyday. Inside - God help me if you ever do that again
Mother’s Day has a very special place in the hearts of the majority of people in America.
Hallmark estimates that 150 million Mother’s Day cards will be sent this year (but only 95 million Father’s Day cards), making Mother’s Day the third largest greeting card holiday of the year.
U.S. Americans spend an average of $105 on Mother’s Day gifts, $90 on Father’s Day gifts.
The phone rings more often on Mother’s day than Father’s day.
The busiest day of the year at car washes? The Saturday before Mother’s Day. What mom thinks still matters.
Eight common challenges faced by mothers of young children: 1) Low self-esteem, 2) Monotony and loneliness, 3) Stress from too many demands 4) Lack of time with husband, 5) Confusion about discipline, 6) Home atmosphere, 7) Need for outside role models, 8) Training of children.
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4
Real Mothers have real problems
The reality of life is that if you are breathing, you have some kind of problems. they might not be earth shaking but they are still there nonetheless and they have to be dealt with. The people in the Bible times were no different.
The Person - Hannah
Hannah was one of two wives of a man named Elkanah. Now before you jump to conclusions, Elkanah was a righteous man. His practice of having multiple wives created strife within his home. This practice allowed every family to have children. Hannah was the first wife and Peninnah was the second.
The Problem - Hannah was childless
Why did Elkanah marry a second wife? Hannah was unable to have children and so he married Peninnah to have a family. Hannah did not have any children and Peninnah had at least two or more. This become a serious issue for Hannah. One of the key expectations of a wife in Biblical times was to provide her husband with children. Hannah was experincing social stigma because she would have been looked down upon for not being able to have children.
The Person - Jochebed mother of Moses
One of the things that I notice immediately when I read this story is that woven throughout is an unwavering faith. Jochebed had an incredible faith in God. Think about it for a moment. Jochebed had faith when she discovered she was pregnant. She had faith when she placed Moses in the basket and then set it in the Nile. Jochebed had faith when she sent Miriam with the basket. She was a great woman of faith. Jochebed completely trusted God with the life of her son. She displayed a kind of trust that we rarely see in our society. She showed that no matter how great the difficulty, God is always greater. Her faith earned her a place in Hebrews 11 with the greatest people of faith in all of scripture. By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. (Hebrews 11:23)
The problem -
The Pharaoh was determined to destroy the Israelites and had already failed at one attempt. The new decree was literally Egyptian law and every Egyptian citizen would have been obligated to keep it. Failure to do so would have meant death.
The order was that all Hebrew male babies would be thrown into the Nile. The children would either drown or be eaten alive by wild animals living in or near the river. This would have been a horrid death.
This was the situation that Jochebed found herself in when she became pregnant. She refused to submit to the evil and placed her trust in God. In human terms, Moses didn’t stand a chance. He was born the child of a slave under a sentence of death. To say that the situation looked grim would be an understatement.
The Person – Nameless Mother
This mother saw the horrid effects of demon possession on a first hand basis. Each day she was reminded of the suffering of her daughter. Each day she was reminded of how helpless she was to stop the problem. Then she hears about Jesus and takes the chance to approach Him. Notice that the mother comes alone, she did not bring her daughter with her. She comes alone because she believed that Jesus could heal with only a word.
The Problem
There were major obstacles in this mother’s way
She was a woman
In the ancient times, women were not given any kind of regard in society. They had no position and were often abused, especially in pagan societies. Women had no rights, no voice and no power.
She was a gentile
This woman was not Jewish and did not truly understand who Jesus was. She had no right to even speak with Jews. In fact, from a Jewish perspective, Jesus had no obligation to answer her.
She was a Canaanite
To complicate matters further, she was a Canaanite. The Canaanites were the ancient foes of the Jews and were hated by Israel. Josephus wrote of this fact and even mentions Tyre. He said that Tyre was one of the greatest enemies of Israel. During the Jewish revolt against Rome, the people of Tyre killed and imprisoned many Jews.
Real Problems require real prayers
One of the things that is a constant in scripture is that when life gets tough, we can always turn to God. Prayer is the greatest resource that we haveand far too often we never make use of it.
Hannah was broken
The truth was that hannah was broken before God. This simple fact teaches us an important truth, we have to be broken with God before He can mend us. God wants us to be honest with Him and share all of hurts, our difficulties and our trials, as well as our joys.
Real problems require real trust
Jochebed defied her Egyptian masters and hid Moses for three months. This would have been extremely difficult. She would have had to hide an infant from every Egyptian person that she came into contact with.
When we place our faith in God, He expects us to be faithful. We have to be willing to obey even when the path may not make sense. Jochebed makes the basket and lays it into the Nile with Moses in it. Talk about trust, this would have been it. Jochebed laid the life of her son into the hands of God.
Jochebed understood that if God allowed her to become pregnant, it was a part of His master plan.
• God always has a plan even when we can’t see it
• God always completes His plan even when we don’t believe it is possible
• God always is faithful to His plan even when we forget it
Real results flow from real faith
"Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted."
It makes the most sense that Jesus was testing the woman to see the nature of her personal faith. Notice that Jesus uses this situation to also teach the disciples about faith.
Jesus was showing the disciples a living example of genuine faith compared to the superficial faith that permeated most of Israel
Jesus wanted the woman to not only have her prayer answered but to have an encounter with the true God of the universe.
Jesus answers her request and tells her that she has great faith. The Greek word for great there is mega. There were only two people in the gospels that Jesus says had great faith. This mother and the Roman centurion who wanted his servant healed. Jesus summed up the character of this mother with one statement: you have great faith.
When we believe in Jesus, great things happen. When we trust in Jesus, we see His power move.
