FRIDAY MORNING MANNA
Biblical Numerology: NUMBER THREE- Part XXXVII
Three Godly Mothers
Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers, mothers-to-be, grandmothers, surrogate mothers, elder sisters taking the role when their mother prematurely or tragically dies or became derelicts through drug addiction, etc., as well as faithful fathers doing double duty when their wives divorced them.
May God give you more love, power, patience, endurance, health of body and mind by the grace imparted by the Holy Spirit to continue making the difference in this confused, troubled, bewitched, antitypical Noachian final generation. Jesus forewarned: “But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of man be.” Matthew 24: 37-51. We are this final generation.
You are a major reason why God is mercifully holding back the four angels of Revelation 7 from unleashing the four winds of strife upon the earth because there are still souls yet to be saved before earth’s probation closes forever—starting with the unsaved members of your own family. So remain faithful to the end. You will surely reap with joy unspeakable what you have sown in suffering and tears. It won’t be long now.
“The day of God will reveal how much the world owes to godly mothers. . . . When the judgment shall sit, and the books shall be opened; when the ‘well done’ of the great Judge is pronounced, and the crown of immortal glory is placed upon the brow of the victor, many will raise their crowns in the sight of the assembled universe, and pointing to their mothers say: ‘Se made me all I am through the grace of God. Her instruction, her prayers, have been blessed to my eternal salvation.” Ellen G. White, Signs of the Times, Oct. 11, 1910.
There are unnumbered godly mothers since Eve, the mother of mankind, who have been largely responsible for bringing into the world men who have shaped the contours and highlights of mankind’s sacred and secular history. We will cite only three from the Bible as examples, while mentioning others of recent history to fill out the picture.
To all disconsolate mothers who have lost the children of their bosom to evil men and women, national and global wars of conquests, increasing massacres, deadly revolutions, political uprisings, gruesome crimes fueled by greed, lust, satanic cults, drug cartel wars, particularly to pedophiles and predatorial men of the cloth whom Jesus warned as “wolves in sheep’s clothing,” etc., God assures them that the day of final reckoning is at hand when all things covered up and “hidden under a refuge of lies” will be revealed in all their details to the gaze of men and angels. The divine Judge declares, “Vengeance belongeth unto Me, I will recompense, saith the Lord . . It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Heb. 10: 30, 31.
He also comforts them with special promises as a reward for doing His works of righteousness, sowing in tears, faithfully raising their children amidst overwhelming odds in the love and Word of God, willing obedience to His law, and aversion for all that is sinful:
“Thus saith the Lord; Refrain they voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. And there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border.” Jeremiah 31: 16, 17, Authorized Version.
The three godly mothers who represent all faithful mothers and stand as models to those are not are not yet faithful, are: (1) Jochebed, meaning “Yahweh is glory,” wife of Amram and mother of Miriam, Aaron, and Moses. (2) Hannah, meaning “graciousness,” one of the two wives of the Levite Elkanah, and mother of Samuel, in answer to her special prayer whom she dedicated to God at an early age and he became the founder of the schools of the prophets and (3) Elizabeth, meaning either “my God is fullness” or “my God has sworn;” wife of the priest Zacharias, a descendant of Aaron.
She gave birth Christ’s forerunner at an advanced age, as angel Gabriel predicted to Zacharias. She was related to Mary, mother of Jesus though belonging to different tribes. Of John the Baptist Jesus said: “Among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist.”Matt. 11: 9-13. Isaiah prophesied of him as “the voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord.” Isa. 40: 40: 3, 4. The last prophecy of the Old Testament (Malachi 4: 5, 6) is John the Baptist’s coming “in the spirit of Elias (Elijah) to begin the preparation for Christ’s second coming by a work of repentance and reformation—its final, closing movement being that of the third angel’s message and work of Revelation 14.
Three time opportunities. Parents-to-be, particularly mothers-to-be, remember that you have three time windows of opportunity to lay down the physical and moral foundations of your children after they emerge from your womb into the world: the first three years,the seventh year, and then the 12th year. After that a superstructure for the remainder of its life is shaped by multi factors running the gamut of home upbringing, education, environment, religion, life experiences, etc. When cracks begin to appear on the walls of a building too soon, it is likely that shoddy building material was used. When it collapses with the slightest quake it is likely because it had a weak foundation.
The Imaging Principle and the Natural Law of Heredity. – The mind develops from the subjects it is constantly allowed to dwell upon. Thus Paul says: “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” 2 Cor. 10: 4, 5, K.J.V. “As is the mother, so is her daughter.” Ezekiel 16: 44. “Like people, like priests.” Hosea 4: 9. The friends you choose may not be friends at the end of the day. Solomon said: “Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass by not it, turn from it, and pass away.” Prov. 4: 14, 15.
“Like Israel, Christians too often yield to the influence of the world, and conform to its principles and customs, in order to secure the friendship of the ungodly; but in the end it will be found that these professed friends are the most dangerous of foes.” E. G. White,With God at Dawn (Devotional), p. 117.
We quote more from the inspired pen of Ellen G. White, a godly mother herself, in the book, Ministry of Healing, subtitled, “The Mother,” p. 371-379:
“What the parents are, that, to a great extent, the children will be. The physical conditions of the parents, their dispositions and appetites, their mental and moral tendencies, are, to a greater or less degree, reproduced in their children.”
“The nobler the aims, the higher the mental and spiritual endowments, and the better developed the physical powers of the parents, the better will be the life equipment they give their children. In cultivating that which is best in themselves, parents are exerting an influence to mold society and to uplift future generations.”
“Fathers and mothers need to understand their responsibility. The world is full of snares for the feet of the young. Multitudes are attracted by a life of selfish and sensual pleasure. They cannot discern the hidden dangers of the fearful ending of the path that seem to them the way of happiness. Through the indulgence of appetite and passion, their energies are wasted, and millions are ruined for this world and for the world to come. Parents should remember that their children must encounter these temptations.”
Pregnancies should be prayerfully and carefully planned for. “Even before the birth of the child the preparation should begin that will enable it to fight successfully the battle against evil. Especially does responsibility rests upon the mother. She, by whose lifeblood the child is nourished and its physical frame built up, imparts to it also mental and spiritual influences that tend to the shaping of mind and character.”
“It was Jochebed, the Hebrew mother, who strong, in faith, ‘was not afraid of the king’s commandment’ (Hebrews 11: 23), of whom was born Moses, the deliverer of Israel. It was Hannah, the woman of prayer and self-sacrifice and heavenly inspiration, who gave birth to Samuel, the heaven-instructed child, the incorruptible judge, the founder of Israel’s sacred schools. It was Elizabeth the kinswoman and kindred spirit of Mary of Nazareth, who was the mother of the Savior’s herald.”
Temperance, Self-Control and Prenatal Influences. “The carefulness with which the mother should guard her habits of life is taught in the Scriptures. When the Lord would raise up Samson as a deliverer for Israel [in the time of the judges or “chieftains” about 3 centuries], ‘the angel of Jehovah’ appeared to the mother, with a special instruction concerning her habits, and also for the treatment of her child. ‘Beware,’ he said, ‘and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing.’ Judges 13: 13, 7. [See Lev. 11 and Deut. 14 for clean and unclean animals.
This is not a ceremonial law as they are still the same animals today hence their classification remains unchanged]. “The effect is by many parents looked upon as a matter of little moment; but heaven does not so regard it. The message sent by an angel of God, and twice given in a most solemn manner, shows it to be deserving of our most careful thought.”
“In the words spoken to the Hebrew mother, God speaks to mothers of all ages. ‘Let her beware,’ the angel said, ‘All that I commanded her let her observe.’ The well being of the child will be affected by the habits of the mother. Her appetite and passions are to be controlled by principle. There is something for her to shun, something for her to work against, if she fulfills Gods’ purpose in giving her a child. If before the birth of her child she is self-indulgent, is she is selfish, impatient, and exacting, these traits will be reflected in the disposition of the child. Thus many children have received as a birthright almost unconquerable tendencies to evil.”
“But if the mother unswervingly adheres to right principles, if she is temperate and self-denying, if she is kind, gentle, and unselfish, she may give her child these same precious traits of character. . . . “
Egregious Error of the Filipino Concept of “Naglilihi” – “Many advisers urge that every wish of the mother should be gratified; that if she desires any article of food, however harmful, she should freely indulge her appetite. Such advice is false and mischievous. The mother’s physical needs should in no case be neglected. Two lives are depending upon her, and her wishes should be tenderly regarded, her needs generously supplied. But at this time above all others, she should avoid, in diet and in every other line, whatever would lessen physical and mental strength. By the command of God Himself she is placed under the most solemn obligation to exercise self-control.” – pp. 372-3.
The Role of Husband and Father. On the other hand, “Great care should be exercised to have the surroundings of the mother pleasant and happy. The husband and father is under special responsibility to do all in his power to lighten the burdens of the wife and mother. He should bear, as much as possible, the burden of her condition. He should affable, courteous, kind, and tender, and especially attentive to all her wants. Not half the care is taken of some women while they are bearing children that is taken of animals in the stable.”- E. G. White, Adventist Home, p. 257.
Susanna Wesley is known as “the Mother of Methodism.” She was a wife and mother of a large Anglican family when the Church of England, papacy-like, asserted its supremacy over other English Protestant “Non Conformist” or “Dissenting” churches.(Seewww.historyswomen.com/womenoffaith/SusannahWeslesy.html). Her godly example influenced her two famous sons for life–Charles and John Wesley–founders of the Methodist Church in the 18th century Protestant Revival in England. This mother said:
“Whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, or takes the relish off spiritual things, in short—whatever increases the strength and authority of your body over your mind, that thing is sin to you however innocent it may be in itself.”
Dear Christian mothers, is this also your view of what is sinful amidst today’s moral degeneration and “liberal,” me-centric indulgent abandon, justified by a perversion of the real Biblical meaning of “the liberty in Christ”? (Continued next week).