Mothers of Bible Series

Rachel, the Infertility of a Desperate Housewife

Rachel, the Infertility of a Desperate Housewife

Thoughts of pregnancy must have consumed Rachel. Each month brought a fresh hope and then the bloody reality of her emptiness. I can’t help but remember God’s poem to Woman: “In pain you shall bring forth children.” The pain of Genesis 3:16 includes infertility as much as it does labor contractions. The effects of the Fall are here—but so is God’s mercy.

Leah’s Eyes were Weak but her God was Strong

Leah’s Eyes were Weak but her God was Strong

Leah was a third wheel in her own household. Her husband slept with her but didn’t honor her with love. What tears those weak eyes must have shed! Jacob didn’t regard her—but God saw her. The giver of life enabled her to bear six sons and at least one daughter, Dinah (Gen. 30:19-21). The names of her sons are telling. They testify to her hope and her great suffering.

Rebekah and the "Happily Ever After" We Crave

Rebekah and the "Happily Ever After" We Crave

There should have been a “happily-ever-after” ending to Rebekah’s story. Rather, the author tells the account—not as a fairy tale but—as the drama of a post-Genesis 3 family. There’s discord in marriage, favoritism among parents, sibling rivalry, crafty lies, and threats of death. The deception that began in Eden crept its way to Genesis 24-28 and into Rebekah’s family. But the God of Eden is also in these chapters.

The Incest of Lot & his Daughters: Culture as a Schoolmaster

The Incest of Lot & his Daughters: Culture as a Schoolmaster

There is a subtle voice in our culture that tells parents not to press children too hard in any belief system. “It’s best that they choose for themselves,” this worldview says. The advice is given while culture itself remains busy in the evangelization of young hearts and minds.

Remember Lot’s Wife - and Gaze on Christ alone as Savior

Remember Lot’s Wife - and Gaze on Christ alone as Savior

Lot’s wife was surrounded by men and women of faith. She witnessed God’s work through the lives of these others – and even had angles stay in her home, later escorting her personally to safety (Genesis 19:1-22)! Yet she falls into eternal judgment for her gaze was on her possessions and her life in Sodom rather than on the Savior. The Lord Jesus uses this woman as an example in Luke 17:29-32. He states that when judgment comes, remember Lot’s wife, for whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it but whoever loses his life will keep it.

The God who Sees Me: the Opening of Hagar's Eyes

The God who Sees Me: the Opening of Hagar's Eyes

Those who look upon the God of Israel in trust are given sight to see the Living One who sees them. But those who trust in idols become as unseeing as their gods. In Hagar, we see the Living One who graciously opens the eyes of sinners—whoever they may be.

Sarah's Story: God does Great Things through Weak Instruments

Sarah's Story: God does Great Things through Weak Instruments

Within a year, Sarah conceived, Isaac. His name means “laughter.” God turned the source of Sarah’s laughter from cynicism to joy (Gen. 21:6-7). And her laughter reminds us that God’s gift of children is never given because of our works, but by his grace. Human reproduction, like spiritual regeneration, is ultimately the merciful work of the living God (Jn. 1:12-13).

Eve and her Pain and Hope East of Eden

Eve and her Pain and Hope East of Eden

This woman—who had obeyed the voice of the cunning snake—deserved nothing but death. Yet there she was, alive and producing life. Eve knew that her child was God-wrought and not the product of her own strength or merit. She called her son Cain. The name sounds like the Hebrew word for “gotten.”1 God had given her offspring—would this one be the serpent-crusher she longed for?