The Bible is filled with all kinds of mothers. For each of the types of mothers in the Bible, we find some specific examples of her in scriptures. Whether good or bad, there is wisdom to be learned from them.
To some extent, every mom can relate to one or more listed. Whether you’re called mom, mother, mama, mommy, or any other variation, you’ll find yourself in one of the types of mothers listed below.
This is not an all encompassing list of all the mothers in the Bible, but we can certainly learn something from each one of the ones represented here.
When looking at the types of mothers, I am not referring to their parenting style. I found throughout my studies that the type of mother you are is a direct reflection of where you stand in your personal relationship with God.
It is also a reflection of the season the Lord may have you in whether it be a season of waiting, a season of growth, your empty nest season, or even a season of becoming a grandmother.
Types of Mothers in the Bible
1. The Waiting Mother
There are different kinds of waiting mothers, nonetheless, they all find themselves waiting for a child to come home. They are faithfully waiting on the Lord to come through on His promises and fulfill His calling in their life.
The Mother waiting to conceive
The type of mother we call “the waiting mother” is the woman awaiting a child. The one who has not yet experienced motherhood, but has been waiting for God’s perfect time to bless her with one.
Sarah: The Waiting Mother
A well-known example of this type of mother is Sarah, Abraham’s wife. Sarah had her son, Isaac, in her old age. She waited so long that when God told her she would conceive, she laughed!
Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90 years old when Isaac was born. Sarah waited an entire lifetime, and yet, God still chose to bless her womb.
If God has made you a promise, in His time, He is faithful to His promises.
Lesson from the Waiting Mother
What is important here is how you wait. Sarah’s waiting was filled with disobedience and faithlessness. Ironic, since her husband is known as the father of faith (It matters who you marry and who the spiritual leader of your home is).
Sarah desperately wanted children so bad that instead of waiting on God’s timing, she took matters into her own hands. She told Abraham to sleep with her maid, Hagar. when Hagar conceived, Sarah hated her!
As a result of her impatience, faithlessness, and disobedience, Hagar conceived Ishmael. The lineage of Ishmael, historically, have been a group that come against God’s people.
I say this to encourage you to wait patiently and faithfully for God’s perfect timing in your life.
The Mother waiting on a Prodigal
Different from the mother waiting to conceive, this mother has already been blessed with a child. She has already experienced the joys and challenges of motherhood alike.
This mother understands the blessing of holding their child, and then unfortunately the heartache of having that child deceived by the enemy and ripped from your heavenly grasp. Fear not, mama, there is hope in Christ Jesus.
In Luke 15:11-32, we find the encouraging story of the prodigal son. In this story, Jesus does not mention the son’s mother. She could have passed away in years past, but I have another theory.
See, I was a prodigal daughter and thought myself very wise until the Lord humbled me and brought me home. But in that season, I know exactly where my mother was; Crying out to God in her prayer closet.
To this day, as a mother of 3, I attribute my coming home to being an answer to my mothers endless prayers. Without a loving, praying mother who interceded for me, I have no idea where I would be today.
So, though there is no proof of this, I choose to believe that the prodigal son’s mother was where any other loving mother would be; In her prayer closet crying out to God on behalf of her son.
Lesson from the Mother waiting on a Prodigal
Though she was never named or mentioned, I believe she was busy praying for her baby to come home.The mother waiting for a prodigal should be a praying mother.
Do not sit idle in your waiting. Instead, be confident in what God is capable of doing in your child’s life, and how He will one day use what is happening now for His glory.
In the story, we hear of the father who saw the prodigal coming home from far (faithfully waiting to witness God’s grace and mercy). We also hear of his brother’s Jealous reaction. But again we never hear of his mother.
Once again, purely theory, but I choose to believe that his mother was still in her prayer closet at homecoming. She clung to God so tight in that season of uncertainty, that she didn’t even notice when her prayers had been answered.
I suspect the son had to go find her, and bring her up from her knees to hug her and give her the good news himself! Cling to Jesus in the heart-wrenching season and faithfully wait for Him to answer in His perfect timing so that He may get the glory in the end.
2. The Adoptive Mother
The adoptive mother can often times relate to the waiting mother. Either she was once a mother waiting to conceive herself, or she can simply relate to the season of waiting for God to bless her with a child.
Even though the child she is waiting on may not be biologically hers, God has already etched that child into her heart as she eagerly awaits their arrival into her home and her arms.
Pharaoh’s Daughter: The Adoptive Mother
The most prominent example of an adoptive mother is Pharaoh’s daughter who adopted baby Moses after finding him in the very river that our trusting mother (#4) placed him into.
There are many more examples of adoptive fathers in the Bible, like Mordecai adopting Esther, and Jacob adopting his grandsons to the point of giving them blessings as though they were his sons by birth (Gen 48).
Lesson from the Adoptive Mother
Pharaoh’s daughter, though, shows us the love of a mother towards her children, whether biological or not! She saw the child, valued his life, and did everything she could to nurture him.
There was a couple at a church I used to attend that was never able to conceive. They testified after vacation Bible school (VBS) one year and their story brought me to tears.
Though they were never able to conceive, the prayed that the Lord would bless them with the opportunity to bless, nurture, and raise children.
Faithful to His word, God answered their request by allowing them to be heads of the children’s ministry. They did that for so many years that they were blessed with the opportunity to see children grow in age and in their faith.
They were blessed to be a major part of many children’s lives and love them as their own as they taught them the Word of God and poured joy and love into the children.
In her testifying, I remember tears falling down her face as she said “God didn’t give me one biological child, but He gave me hundreds to love. Those are my children”
Loving as a mother has very little to do with biology. One look at foster care will show us that.
But when God is in it and He is the one who has given you the heart of a mother, like pharaoh’s daughter and the wonderful couple at my old church, you will gladly extended that motherly love to however many children the Lord chooses to put in your path!
3. The Unmentioned Mother
Though they’ve gone unnamed and unmentioned, some of these have been the most influential women in the Bible.
The Unmentioned Mother
There are many amazing examples of the unmentioned mother that have truly changed my entire perspective on motherhood.
One of these is Enoch’s mother. She is a mother that no one knows her name, no one knows how she loved, and how she discipled her children.
Note: there are two Enoch’s in the Bible. The first, is Enoch, Cain’s son. The second is Enoch, a descendant of Seth, Cain’s brother. The Enoch who “was not”, and whose mother we are speaking of, is the descendant of Seth.
All we know about her is that she must have existed because she gave birth to Enoch. But this is the very example of a Proverbs 31 woman!
Favour is deceitful and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.
Proverbs 31:30 (KJV)
We may not ever know anything about her, but the fruit of her son’s walk with God shows us that her heart was with the Lord.
There are only two people in the entire Bible that did not die. And the first was her son Enoch. The second was Elijah.
What we have seen are the fruits of Enoch’s parent’s discipleship and obedience to the Lord.
Another amazing example of the unmentioned mother is King Lemuel’s mother, who will be discussed more in detail under #5 The Wise Mother.
Lesson from the Unmentioned Mother
If you’ve been a mother for any length of time, you know this can be a very thankless job. Sure your children and husband may show you appreciation here and there, but most of your day to day tasks may very well go unnoticed.
My mother always used to tell me “the suffering of a mother, only a mother can understand”. Her point being that even if others want to help, want to understand, and want to make you feel like they get your struggles, the truth is they don’t.
Because only someone who has experienced the trials of motherhood can truly understand another mother who may be struggling.
The Lesson here is to put your head down and keep up with the work the Lord has placed in your hands. God is faithful to his promises! So remember this one from Proverbs.
Train up a child in the way He should go: And when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6 (KJV)
Put your head down and finish strong. There is a calling on our life as mothers and though no one around us may know us or recognize our sacrifices, the Lord himself sees us, and honors our surrender to His will.
This child rearing race can seem like it’ll never end, and we will just drown in the laundry and dishes one day.
So sometimes, I like to think that I just need to finish strong until I hit the pillow and a new race will start again tomorrow with new mercies.
4. The Trusting Mother
The trusting mother is a mother filled with faith. And no greater woman exemplifies this than Jochebed, the mother of Moses.
Jochebed: The Trusting Mother
A quick synopsis on her story (Exodus 2) is that in order to save her child from being killed by the king’s orders, she had to hide him. She hid a newborn baby for 3 months.
And when she could not hide him any longer, she made a basket, laid her child in it, and placed Him in the river.
Jochebed’s faith allowed her to do the unthinkable! She may have physically placed Moses in a basket made with love and in the river exposed to danger.
But in faith, she placed Moses in the hands of God. She protected him for as long as she could and when she couldn’t do it alone anymore, she placed Him in the hands of God.
Lesson from the Trusting Mother
Jochebed’s story is so encouraging for me because God has entrusted me for such a short time on this earth to care for His children that He has placed in my care.
And no matter what kind of mother I am, I simply cannot do it alone. This is why we need to dedicate ourselves as parents to raise our children to know the Lord.
In faith, like Jochebed, we need to look beyond what makes sense sometimes and do what God is calling us to do for our children despite what the circumstances may look like.
For Jochebed, she may have thought her son would die when the guards came, or if anyone heard her suffering through childbirth, or even when he woke up in the middle of the night at 1-3 months old. She may have thought he would die by drowining in the river.
No doubt that was probably the most challenging thing she had ever had to do. But God was calling her to grow her faith and her trust in Him.
God, faithful to his children, not only kept baby Moses safe, but then allowed her to be the one to raise him (Exodus 2). She raised her child, in the kings house, and got paid for it!
God made sure Jochebed and Moses would be taken care of. She learned to trust in the Lord through obedience, and she learned of God’s faithfulness through a very tough act of faith.
Jochebed would have never experienced the fullness of God and His thoughts for her had she not faithfully trusted in the only one who could care for her and Moses.
5. The Wise Mother
Don’t we all pray to be the wise mother? I do not know about you, but boy have I made some foolish mistakes in motherhood!
Wisdom is something only God himself can provide; it is a gift. And it is one that we are encouraged to ask for.
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
James 1:5 (KJV)
God doesn’t just give wisdom, but He gives it generously! Don’t stop asking God to make us wise mothers for our children.
Only God knows the thoughts that our children keep from us and in His infinite wisdom, He can mold us into the mother each of our children needs.
The Wise Mother: King Lemuel’s mother
I cannot think of a better example here than the indirect author of the guiding chapter for women, Proverbs 31.
This was an unmentioned mother. No one will ever truly know her name, and yet, her wisdom has become the pillar example of what a wise and honorable woman is.
Not because she was out there shunning, rebuking, and fixing women to look and act a certain way, no. Her wisdom lives on because she, herself, lived it. The wise words of Proverbs 31 were written by her son.
The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him.
Proverbs 31:1 (KJV)
See, this unmentioned mother was acting in her role of being a wife and mother. In it, she was glorifying God to the best of her ability by teaching her children.
She understood that her children are her ministry that God has entrusted her with. She was a keeper at home and an educator to her children.
Her wise words were taught to her son, and exemplified by her very own actions.
She lived the very scriptures that keep us going! “a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised”. We may not know her name, but she sure is being praised for doing nothing more than fearing the Lord, and keeping Him at the center of her home.
Lesson from the Wise mother
In order for you to put God first in every area of your life, he must first live within your heart, and you must be in constant communion with Him.
When God is first on the throne of your heart, He then starts to spill over into those around you. Your children and husband first, and then family, friends, coworkers, etc.
Children are always watching. So the wise mother must first set her own eyes on God. Only then will she be able to show and teach her children what it truly means to walk with God.
6. The Teaching Mother
Just like King Lemuel’s mother showed us in her wisdom, we are to teach our children. And this does not only refer to teaching them of Christ.
If we intend to raise capable children, we must teach them about life, but we cannot leave Christ out of every area that isn’t church.
Life gets hard, and we cannot make it without Jesus guiding us. So this is what we must teach our children. Teach them about finances and how to spend and save wisely, after giving God the first fruits.
Teach them about hard work and perseverance even if it means delayed gratification. And teach them how to obediently follow God’s plan, even if we don’t see a way because God is faithful.
Teach them to study hard in school and pass a test with a good grade, but also teach to study the BIble hard so when the tests of life come, they know how to recognize God (the right answer) in the midst of temptations (wrong answers).
The Teaching Mother: Titus 2
But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:
2 That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.
3 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;
4 That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,
5 To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.
Titus 2:1-5 (KJV)
This is our calling! from youth to old, we are to teach the ones below us, we are to teach the coming generation of women (our daughters)! Many different versions word verse 5 differently.
I enjoy the King James Version of this scripture because there is no room for confusion or interpretation of what it means if we do anything other than these. It is straight up blasphemy!!
Just let that sink in. As women, we do not carry the burden of being the leaders of our homes. We do not experience the pressures of potentially leading our entire family astray for generations to come and then having to answer to God for that.
But as women, our actions speak louder than our words. We may say we are followers of Christ, but with Christ in our hearts are we also ” sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience”?
Are we sober? Do we love our husbands and our children? Are we discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, and obedient to our husbands?
Do we exemplify what we are supposed to be teaching?
Lesson from the Teaching mother
It is very much at the core of our calling as mothers to teach our children about all the things that life will entail and how to overcome these things with Christ at the center and without compromising our faith.
Scriptures remind us that you do not need to be an outright destructive mother to lead your children astray. Simply doing nothing in motherhood is equivalent (held to same degree) as blaspheming and speaking against God himself!
Motherhood is a high calling and we should feel honored and humbled to be considered worthy of such a task in the eyes of God. Chosen and trusted with His most precious gifts, our children.
7. The Praying Mother
I do not know who said this, but I love this quote.
You can always tell the health of your relationship with God, by your prayer life
And the same applies with tests and trials! You can always tell just how you will ride out that wave based on the health of your prayer life going into the valley.
Motherhood is no different. And we need to keep our prayer life continuous in order to fight off all that the enemy likes to throw at our children to try and keep them away from following Christ.
Praying does not need to look like getting on your knees for hours to praise, worship, repent, and request every single time.
Prayer is simply talking to God like you would a friend, or your spouse. It is conversational.
You thank him, and thank Him, and then repent, and He forgives, and then you ask, and He answers in His time, in His perfect way, and according to His perfect plan.
Sarah: The Praying Mother
Sarah is not the only praying mother in the Bible. Hannah is another great example, but I chose Sarah simply because of how long she prayed and waited.
Being a praying mother and having a strong relationship with Christ does not mean your life is full of rainbows and butterflies. It means nothing more than you are a praying mother! so PRAY!
Pray in the morning, while cooking and folding laundry; Pray while you’re at work or running errands; Pray over your children as they sleep on those nights that for whatever reason you heart cant rest and your mind is running so fast you can’t sleep.
Just. Pray.
Pray continually, pray often, pray sincerely, pray expectantly, and just keep praying Satan off of your children! Because Satan is definitely after them and will put anyone and everyone in their way to try and keep them from God’s calling for their life.
Lesson from the Praying mother
I say this all of the time “I may not know how to do a lot of things, but I sure do know how to pray”. I may not know all the logistics of the “right” way to discipline, teach, mother, make a home, etc etc.
But I know how to pray to the God who knows exactly what things and qualities my specific husband, children, and home need. I know how to pray and lay burdens before God that are too heavy for me to carry.
I know how to pray and place my children in God’s hands because He and I both know that if I try to mother them on my own, we’re all screwed.
My favorite though? I really know how to praise God. I don’t know if i’ll be homeless tomorrow, but I know that today I can give Him praise! Praise for what He has already done in my life. Give Him praise for healthy children.
Praise for food on my table, shoes on my feet, and clothes on my back. Give him praise that “little is much in the hands of God”! Praise because He can take a small Burden in my heart and turn it into an entire online ministry like this!
I can praise God till the day I die, and I would just be getting started because there is simply way too much to be thankful for!
8. The Chosen Mother
Mary, the mother of Jesus is a perfect example of a chosen mother. She was not perfect, she was not holy, and she was not very different than any other young virgin at the time.
Mary: The Chosen Mother
What was different about Mary was her heart. The scriptures say she was “highly favored”.
WOW! What an honor, that God would look upon her and see that she would be the one fit to carry the burden of all the backlash, accusations, and attacks that came her way.
God saw that she had a heart for God! He knew that He could trust her to fulfill the calling on her life because she had already placed Him on the throne of her heart.
I hope that by studying the types of mothers in the Bible, you can begin to realize that regardless of which type of mother you are, you’re still a chosen mother!
Lessons from the Chosen mother
Each and every one of us is a chosen mother. Out of 7 billion people in the world, God chose you to mother your children.
Out of 7 billion people in the world, God thought you were the one who is most fit to be the mother to your specific children. The one who would love and care for them the way they need. God has trusted you with the calling of mothering them.
Whether you’re a waiting mother, adoptive mother, or a biological mother, you have a mother’s heart and have been chosen by God to bear the burdens and experience the trials, and joys that you have.
God chose you to mother and bear your burdens, but not alone. Within your calling to motherhood (or awaiting motherhood), there is still the overarching calling of a child of God. Which is to first follow Christ and His commandments.
Any calling in our life from God is a high calling and motherhood is no different. God places His most prized children in our possession and entrusts us to care for them, teach them, and guide them to Him.
The very first prerequisite to fully understand the gravity of this calling is to be in a personal relationship with God. Without having a personal relationship with God, it is impossible to adequately fulfill this high calling. Hebrews 11: 6 tells us that :
Without faith it is impossible to please God
KJV
Within any calling to be a mother, just like with anything else in life, we can rise up and fulfill the will of God, or we can walk away from God’s plan, rely on our own understanding, and lead our children astray without ever intending to do so.
9. The Destructive Mother
The destructive mother is not a mother who innately sets out to destroy her home, misguide, and mistreat her children. There are definite examples of bad mothers in the Bible, and most of them did not intend to be that way.
The destructive mother is birthed out of being a mother who simply does not have a personal relationship with God and does not walk, daily, in the subjection of the Lord.
The destructive mother was a chosen mother just like you or I. This was just a mother that chose not to keep Jesus on the throne of her heart and her home.
Scriptures tell us that we cannot serve two masters (Matthew 6:24). By choosing not to serve and walk daily with God, we are indirectly then choosing to serve the world and the things of this world.
Either God is our Father or the Devil is; and if we are not doing the will of God, we will inevitably end up doing the will of the Devil (John 8:43- 44).
When Jesus was crucified, He asked God the Father to forgive them because they did not know what they were doing (Luke 23:34).
The Romans that day didn’t sign up to do the work of the devil, but by rejecting God himself, they ended up working on Satan’s behalf without even knowing it.
Lessons from the Destructive mother
The same happens with the destructive mother. Simply by choosing not to walk with God and edifying our homes, we can easily succumb to the temptations of the enemy.
Overwhelm, distractions, and chaos can slowly shift our perspective of seeing our children as burdens or as a tool, or means to an end, rather than the blessings that they are to be our first ministry.
When God is first in our life and guiding our hearts, He works in us to realign our priorities. He makes sure that serving our first ministry (immediate family) is our main priority.
Now that we’ve looked at all the types of mothers in the Bible, you get to decide which one you will choose to be.
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