Participants:
Series Code: IIW
Program Code: IIW001373A
00:00 ♪ [It Is Writ♪
00:07 >: It has stood the test of time. 00:12 God's book, the Bible. 00:16 Still relevant in today's complex world. 00:22 It Is Written, sharing hope around the globe. 00:36 JB: This is It Is Written. 00:38 I'm John Bradshaw, thanks for joining me. 00:41 There's a special day that comes around once every year. 00:45 Mother's Day. 00:46 And none of us would be here without our mother. 00:49 It's not a stretch at all to say that every personal life owes 00:52 his or her existence to his or her mother. 00:55 Now, obviously the same could be said about your father, but 00:58 we'll say that on another day. 01:00 I think I can say with some certainty that I have the 01:04 world's best mother, with the possible exception of your 01:06 mother, of course. 01:08 Any woman who could have endured raising my four brothers and I, 01:11 and our two sisters who I'm sure were angels and were never a 01:15 problem, is obviously a special person on the strength 01:18 of that alone. 01:19 But the fact that I'm able to say I have a wonderful mother 01:22 is a blessing in itself. 01:23 Thankfully, most people can say that. 01:26 Not all, but most. 01:28 And that's the way God set it up. 01:31 Childbirth and child raising and nurture and a mother's love are 01:36 not accidents, despite what some might say about 01:39 Darwinian evolution and the randomness of life. 01:42 God specifically designed that we have mothers, and part of 01:45 that is because a mother and a mother's love show us 01:49 an important part of the character of God. 01:53 Now, the Bible presents God as decidedly male. 01:56 I'm not suggesting otherwise. 01:58 But in God we see a father's love and a mother's love. 02:03 The Bible says in Isaiah 49:15, "Can a woman forget her nursing 02:07 child and not have compassion on the son of her womb? 02:10 Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you." 02:14 The love of God is compared to the love of a mother, except, of 02:17 course, God says His love exceeds a mother's love, 02:22 which is quite a thing. 02:24 In Matthew 23:37, Jesus said, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 02:30 the one who kills the prophets and stones those 02:32 who are sent to her. 02:34 How often I wanted to gather your children together, 02:37 as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, 02:40 but you were not willing." 02:42 Now, again, I'm not trying to say God is a female, but it's 02:44 clear, the creator embodies the characteristics, the strengths, 02:49 the love, of both a father and a mother. 02:52 What the Bible is making clear is that a mother's love reveals 02:55 something powerful about the love of God, and that makes the 02:59 role of a mother incredibly important. 03:04 Now, when you think of mothers in the Bible, who comes to mind? 03:08 I would guess the obvious ones would be Mary, the mother of 03:10 Jesus; and then, well, who? 03:14 You might say Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. 03:17 You could think about Jochabid, the mother of Moses. 03:20 Now there's a story. 03:21 Timothy's mother, Eunice, and his grandmother, Lois, are both 03:25 mentioned by name, by Paul in the Bible, 03:28 because of their great faith. 03:30 Sarah was the mother of Isaac, so she was special; 03:33 Rebecca was told that she'd be the mother 03:36 of thousands of millions, which is an honor. 03:40 And then think about the Shunamite woman, the one 03:42 promised a son by Elisha. 03:45 The boy spends a day in the field helping his father. 03:47 He ends up with something that could most likely be heat 03:50 stroke, and he dies. 03:53 The child dies. 03:54 So what does Mom do? 03:56 His mother gets a servant, they grab a donkey, she tells him to 03:59 ride as fast as he can to Elisha at Mt. Carmel; 04:03 when she gets there she dismisses Gahazi, Elisha's 04:06 servant, she charges into Elisha's presence, basically 04:09 rebukes him for promising her a son in the first place, 04:12 saying to him, "Didn't I say, don't deceive me?" 04:17 When Elisha tells his servant to go and check on the boy, the 04:20 mother isn't having any of it. 04:21 She says to Elisha, "I'm not going anywhere without you." 04:25 Well, what could Elisha do? 04:27 When Gahazi gets back, Elisha goes himself to the woman's 04:30 house, and the boy, the boy is brought back to life. 04:35 A mother receives her son again. 04:38 There could simply have been a funeral, 04:41 but this mother wouldn't take no for an answer. 04:45 This was her child. 04:47 And what she did for her little boy was responsible for the 04:49 little boy coming back to life. 04:51 She saved his life. 04:56 Mothers are heroes, really. 04:58 The modern idea of a hero is usually pretty hollow, but 05:02 mothers truly are heroes. 05:04 Heroines, if you'd rather. 05:06 Most of the time their heroism goes unnoticed. 05:09 Up all night with sick children, and whoever knows about it? 05:12 Not even the child in question will even remember 05:15 what was done. 05:17 Mothers of young children are up all night, every night, often, 05:20 and often for months and months, feeding children. 05:24 Now, I remember when our children were young, 05:26 they'd cry in the night and we knew what it would mean. 05:29 It meant Melissa would get out of bed and feed the child. 05:32 Now, me? 05:34 I slept. 05:35 There was no point in both of us being exhausted the next day, 05:38 was there? 05:39 At 2 a.m. 05:40 I had nothing those kids wanted, or 4:30 a.m., 05:44 or whenever it might have been. 05:46 Now, with one of them it was midnight, then 2, then 4:30. 05:49 And today, who would even know? 05:51 The children don't remember. 05:53 But you know, that's a selfless, heroic act that's performed 05:56 every day by millions of women, usually without anyone knowing, 06:01 anywhere. 06:02 Kids skin their knees and they come running to mother. 06:05 They're tired at the mall, and who picks them up and carries 06:08 them around all day long? 06:09 I'm not trying to stereotype the situation, I know dads aren't 06:12 entirely useless for these things, but we know, both of us 06:16 that most of the time it's Mom who does the heavy lifting, the 06:21 really important stuff, dealing with the physical needs and the 06:24 emotional needs of kids. 06:25 Shaping children into what they'll be later in life. 06:29 In many cases, shaping children into followers of God who will 06:33 spend eternity in an earth made new. 06:35 It's simply impossible to overstate the importance of what 06:38 a mother does. 06:40 Mothers are called to give of themselves, and they do. 06:45 Every single one of them. 06:46 It starts with pregnancy. 06:48 And I'll be honest with you, I'm not sorry that's women's work. 06:52 If men had to carry babies for 280 days, the human race 06:55 probably would have died out thousands of years ago. 06:58 But mothers do what they do because, well, 07:02 because that's what they do. 07:05 It's because it's what needs to be done. 07:08 When it comes to being a mother, a mother does 07:11 what a mother needs to do. 07:14 I'm going to give you an example of this from the Bible. 07:17 Now, if you're expecting it to be a neat and tidy example 07:20 you're going to be disappointed. 07:21 What we're going to look at is the gritty reality of life. 07:25 A mother doing what has to be done, simply because 07:28 she's a mother. 07:30 And, well, that's what mothers do. 07:33 More in just a moment. 07:35 [music] >: You are watching the 07:37 weekly It Is Written program with Pastor John Bradshaw, 07:41 but did you know that there's a daily program, too? 07:43 Every Word is a one-minute Bible-based daily devotional 07:47 presented by Pastor John Bradshaw and designed especially 07:50 for busy people like you. 07:52 Look for Every Word on selected networks, or watch it online 07:56 every day on our website, ItIsWritten.com. 07:59 Receive a daily spiritual boost. 08:01 Watch Every Word. 08:02 You'll be glad you did. 09:07 JB: This is It Is Written. 09:08 I'm John Bradshaw. 09:09 Thanks for joining me. 09:11 When you think about mothers in the Bible, there's a list of 09:14 remarkable women you might think of. 09:16 Mary, the mother of Jesus, Elizabeth, Hannah. 09:19 We could talk a lot about Hannah. 09:21 Sarah, Rebecca. 09:24 But there's another mother who hardly ever makes it onto any of 09:27 the lists of the great mothers in the Bible. 09:30 What she did isn't remembered by many people at all, but she was 09:33 a truly heroic mother. 09:36 Let's talk about her for a moment. 09:38 The story takes place in the Bible, in 2 Samuel chapter 20. 09:42 Israel is in a mess. 09:45 David the king has been forced out of Jerusalem by his 09:48 rebellious son, Absalom. 09:50 Then after a messy war, Absalom is killed and David 09:53 returns to reclaim his kingdom. 09:56 Except, it wasn't going to be that simple. 09:59 A man named Sheba, the son of Bickri, from the tribe of 10:03 Benjamin and therefore someone who was sympathetic to King 10:07 Saul, who lost the kingdom to David, rebelled. 10:11 Second Samuel verse 1 sees Sheba saying this: 10:14 "We have no part in David. 10:17 Neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse. 10:19 Every man to his tents, O Israel." 10:23 This wasn't looking good; in fact, it was an absolute 10:26 crisis in the making. 10:28 David feared Sheba would do more damage to Israel 10:31 than Absalom did, and he ordered his men 10:33 to pursue Sheba and put down the insurrection. 10:36 He said to Abishai in verse 6, "Now Sheba the son of Bickri 10:41 will do us more harm than Absalom. 10:43 Take your lord's servants and pursue him lest he find for 10:46 himself fortified cities and escape us." 10:50 But Abishai, along with his ruthless brother Joab weren't 10:53 able to capture Sheba. 10:55 They cornered him, but they weren't able to take him. 10:59 So what would happen? 11:00 They pursued Sheba to a city called Abel in Bethmaachah. 11:04 Sheba hid himself there, and so Joab's men intended to force 11:09 their way into the city and destroy everything in their path 11:12 on their way to killing Sheba. 11:14 Now, it says this in verse 15. 11:17 Then "they came and besieged him in Abel of Bethmaachah." 11:21 And they cast up a siege mound against the city, 11:24 and it stood by the rampart. 11:26 And all the people who were with Joab battered the wall 11:30 to throw it down; which is when a wise woman, 11:33 and it's interesting the Bible calls her wise, 11:36 called out to Joab. 11:37 She said, please say to Joab, come nearby that I may speak 11:41 with you. 11:42 Now, that was bold. 11:43 This woman was engaging Joab, and he had proven time and again 11:47 that he wasn't anybody you'd want to mess with. 11:50 So, she said to Joab, I am among the peaceable and faithful 11:54 in Israel. 11:55 You seek to destroy a city and a mother in Israel. 12:00 Why would you swallow up the inheritance of the Lord? 12:03 Joab protested. 12:04 He said, that is not so. 12:07 But a man from the mountains of Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bickri 12:10 by name, has raised his hand against the king, against David. 12:14 Deliver him only and I will depart from the city. 12:17 All I want is Sheba. 12:19 If I get him, I'll leave in peace. 12:22 Now, the inference was clear: If I don't get this guy 12:25 some other way, I'll bulldoze my way into 12:29 the city and destroy whatever gets in my way until I find 12:32 Sheba and end his life. 12:37 So here's a mother in Israel. 12:38 Wise, according to the Bible. 12:41 Now, we need to keep in mind, this was a different time, 12:44 a different era. 12:47 But this mother in Israel realized that her life 12:49 was in danger. 12:50 Her city was in jeopardy and therefore, her own children were 12:54 facing an uncertain future. 12:56 What do you do when your children are in danger? 13:00 This mother, like most mothers would, decided that she'd do 13:03 whatever it was she had to do. 13:06 And so, she said, watch. 13:09 His head will be thrown to you over the wall. 13:13 Now, that's grim, I know. 13:16 But think about what had to have gone through her mind. 13:19 This Sheba is a scoundrel, and he's endangering us all. 13:23 And the only way we're going to turn this thing around is by 13:25 convincing Joab that the man is dead. 13:29 And we won't be able to convince him of that without proof. 13:32 And so that means - You can imagine her 13:37 thinking this through, and she realized how awful 13:40 this was going to have to be. 13:42 Mothers give life, they don't take it. 13:46 For anyone to take a life, you've got to cross some pretty 13:49 significant mental and emotional bridges in order to make that 13:52 happen. 13:54 This wasn't a warrior in Israel or a solider in Israel. 13:59 She was a mother in Israel. 14:02 But her people were in danger, her children were in danger. 14:06 So what did she do? 14:08 She did what she had to, because she was a mother. 14:14 Now, notice how 2 Samuel chapter 20, verse 22, puts it: 14:18 "Then the woman, in her wisdom, went to all the people." 14:22 So as hard as this might be to really understand, what she did 14:25 is described by God as wise. 14:28 The details aren't recorded in bible, but the end result was. 14:34 "And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bickri and 14:38 threw it out to Joab." 14:41 We're not told how she communicated this to the people 14:43 and convinced them about what they had to do. 14:46 It might not have taken too much convincing, actually, 14:48 I don't know. 14:50 But what we do know is that by the time this episode was over, 14:54 Sheba has met with a very unfortunate end. 14:58 And after all this? 15:00 Abel of Bethmaachah was safe. 15:03 Joab didn't come inside, and the people there, 15:05 including the children, were left in peace. 15:11 That was a tough call, and very obviously, I'm not recommending 15:15 anybody think about imitating what this woman did. 15:18 But this was a desperate time and it called for desperate 15:20 measures. 15:21 And it was a mother in Israel who was wise enough to step 15:24 forward and say, we have to preserve our people, 15:28 our children, and I'll do whatever needs to be done 15:31 in order to make that happen. 15:33 That's what mothers do. 15:35 They nurture their children in a thousand different ways. 15:38 They give and give and give of themselves. 15:41 They're aren't paid for what they do as mothers and they 15:43 work, more often than not, unrecognized. 15:47 They're the glue that keeps thousands of school committees 15:50 and volunteer organizations and children's groups and sports 15:53 clubs and who knows what else held together. 15:56 When often, they don't have the time and they could be doing 15:58 other things or pursuing other interests. 16:01 But mothers do what they do because, well, 16:04 because they're mothers. 16:05 That's what mothers do. 16:07 That's what God has placed in their hearts. 16:11 And so we recognize mothers. 16:13 A day a year. 16:15 Come on, kids, and dads, can't we do better than that? 16:19 Surely we can. 16:21 Along with buying flowers or cooking breakfast or taking Mom 16:24 out to dinner or whatever it might be on Mother's Day, 16:27 make sure that's not the only time you do it. 16:31 And, you do it for them, why? 16:33 Well, tell them. 16:34 Because we love you, and we appreciate you, and because we 16:37 don't say thank you often enough. 16:40 So, mothers, which mother in the Bible do you aspire to be like? 16:45 Or which Bible mother do you most identify with? 16:48 What a question! 16:49 Now, that's one that will put on the pressure, isn't it? 16:51 If there's one you'd like to be like, maybe that would be Mary 16:55 or Hannah or, who do you think? 16:59 But you know what I think? 17:01 I think that, honestly, most mothers probably don't see 17:06 themselves as Mary, the nearest we have to a perfect mother. 17:10 Although we'll come back to that in just a moment. 17:12 Most mothers, most likely, don't see themselves as being like 17:15 Elizabeth or Hannah, these model mothers who seem to have all the 17:20 answers and an endless supply of spiritual wisdom and obedience 17:24 and faithfulness. 17:26 And that's okay, I think. 17:28 Because when you look into the Bible, you see a 17:30 lot of mothers who blew it. 17:34 Let's look at some of them. 17:35 Followers of Jesus strive for Christlikeness, 17:39 or at least they should. 17:40 That's the aim. 17:41 Our experience as Christians ought to see more and more of 17:43 Jesus being seen in us, and less and less of our selfish selves 17:48 seen in us. 17:49 But there's not a single redwood tree in the forest that didn't 17:52 start out as a tiny seedling. 17:55 And on the way from this to this, 17:58 there were a lot of tough days. 18:00 Hot days, freezing cold days, strong winds that blew the tree 18:04 this way and that and maybe even almost over. 18:07 I've seen magnificent sequoias up close, and some of them have 18:10 been ravaged by fire and they're scarred and they're damaged, 18:14 but they're resilient, and the experts will tell you that 18:17 those fires are actually good for the forest. 18:21 It sounds to me a little more like the reality of motherhood. 18:26 Rough days, good days, but rough days, stormy days, 18:31 scars, damage. 18:35 But motherhood, parenthood for that matter, isn't only about 18:38 the moment. 18:39 It's more about the journey, the destination, and that's what I 18:43 believe we see in the Bible. 18:46 So let's look at a couple of case studies of mothers and 18:49 mothering in the Bible. 18:51 Did the mothers in the Bible always get it right? 18:55 Well, first let's consider Sarah. 18:58 Ah, now there's a great mother, the mother of Isaac, the wife of 19:04 Abraham the great man of faith. 19:06 Wonderful Sarah, who lacked faith, didn't believe God and 19:12 actually recommended to her husband that he father a child 19:16 by another woman. 19:17 And we know how that turned out. 19:19 She was then cruel to the woman in question, and that union 19:23 between her husband and the other woman, the union she put 19:26 her husband up to, has had historically catastrophic 19:30 consequences. 19:32 And Sarah lied. 19:34 You remember that? 19:35 Not only did she lie, but Sarah lied to God. 19:40 She's 90 or so years old when God stops by to visit Abraham. 19:44 They prepare a meal, and the Lord says in Genesis 19:49 chapter 18, verse 10, "Sara, your wife, 19:53 shall have a son." 19:54 That's what God told Abraham. 19:56 And Sarah hears this, because she's at the door of the tent, 19:58 and she laughed and she says to herself, "Am I going to have a 20:01 child at my age?" 20:03 And the Lord said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh?" 20:08 In Genesis 18:15, the Bible says this: "But Sarah denied it, 20:12 saying 'I did not laugh.' For she was afraid." 20:15 And He said, now that's God, "No, but you did laugh." 20:19 God told her off. 20:21 Sarah, this woman was far from perfect. 20:26 And then you've got Rebecca, encouraging Jacob to lie to 20:29 Isaac, which caused all kinds of strife including that she never 20:33 saw her son again after he fled. 20:36 And how hard must that have been? 20:38 But in spite of this failing, their not insignificant 20:42 failings, how did it turn out? 20:45 How did it turn out for Sarah? 20:48 Sarah is one of only two women to be mentioned by name in the 20:52 faith chapter, Hebrews 11. 20:54 In spite of her failings, which were not trivial, Sarah is named 20:59 by God as a giant of faith. 21:03 Isn't that something? 21:05 Mothers can't always get it right. 21:08 It's the toughest job in the world to master. 21:11 At least that's what I think. 21:12 Mothers are nurses, doctors, counselors, psychologists, 21:17 a mother is a chef, a tailor, a decorator, an event planner, 21:19 a teacher, an emergency room physician, 21:22 a negotiator, a provider. 21:24 Then you've got to balance all of that with the demands of 21:26 work, the demands of being a wife and a daughter and a friend 21:29 and a thousand other things. 21:32 God understands that. 21:34 Sarah is in the faith hall of fame, and she did some stuff I 21:39 hope you would never do. 21:42 It's a journey, isn't it? 21:43 And the question isn't how many potholes you hit along the way, 21:46 or whether or not you have the occasional fender bender. 21:49 The question is: who do you lean on, when you need support? 21:53 Who do you trust your heart to? 21:56 Who's in control of you, even if you don't always feel as though 21:59 you're in control. 22:01 You see, God is gracious. 22:04 And if anyone needs grace and help for the journey, it's a 22:07 mother, because there is no more important job in the world. 22:12 And God knows that. 22:13 And if you're a mother, He's with you in this. 22:17 Wouldn't it be nice if all mothers were perfect, 22:20 all the time? 22:22 Well, they're not. 22:23 Let me give you another example. 22:25 Maybe one you're not expecting. 22:26 Let's think about Mary, shall we? 22:29 Yes, Mary, the mother of Jesus. 22:33 I think it's fair to bring this up. 22:34 Jesus was 12 years old. 22:37 They go to Jerusalem to observe the Passover. 22:40 Look at this, it's in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 2, 22:43 verses 43 and 44. 22:46 "When they had finished the days, as they returned the boy 22:49 Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. 22:52 And Joseph and his mother did not know it. 22:55 But supposing him to have been in the company, they went a 22:57 day's journey and sought him among their relatives and 23:00 acquaintances." 23:01 Walk through this. 23:03 Somehow, Jesus is allowed to linger in Jerusalem. 23:07 He's 12 years old. 23:09 Now sure, it might have been a safer society than we have now. 23:13 I had a whole lot more freedom at 12 than either of my children 23:15 had. 23:17 Times have changed. 23:18 But even so, the Bible says Joseph and Jesus' mother 23:23 did not know it. 23:25 They didn't know Jesus had remained behind in Jerusalem. 23:30 How do you now know? 23:32 They supposed he was in the company, the group of people 23:35 traveling together. 23:37 Supposed? 23:39 A mother "supposes" her son is in the group, 23:41 but she doesn't know? 23:43 They traveled for a whole day and they didn't know Jesus 23:47 wasn't with them. 23:49 And they didn't find him for three days. 23:53 Who'd been taking care of him? 23:55 Who fed him? 23:56 Who tucked him in at night? 23:57 Who prayed with him before he went to sleep? 24:00 Not his parents, not his mother, Mary. 24:03 She "supposed" Jesus was in the group, and she supposed wrong. 24:11 Now, I don't want you to stone me for saying this, 24:13 but you could say easily, Mary was negligent. 24:17 If this happened in modern-day America, she and Joseph would 24:20 get a visit from child protective services. 24:22 She lost her son, because you could say she was careless. 24:28 It's not like he snuck off. 24:30 Mary and Joseph left Jerusalem without making sure they knew 24:34 where their boy was. 24:37 So, I say this to say this: If you're not perfect, well, 24:42 the truth is not even Mary was always perfect. 24:47 I hate to put it like that, as she was obviously 24:49 an incredible mother. 24:50 Don't get me wrong. 24:51 She was blessed among women, chosen by God, raised her son in 24:54 Nazareth, and he still turned out perfectly. 24:59 But you know, mistakes happen. 25:01 And that's not to say they're okay, it's to say that we are 25:03 human. 25:06 Mothers are human, too. 25:08 In spite of Sarah lying to God, in spite of Rebecca messing up 25:12 her family, in spite of Mary losing Jesus for three days, 25:18 it turned out well enough. 25:19 Love makes the difference. 25:21 And love is what affects a child most. 25:25 If you can love your child and lean on God, then that's what 25:28 you need to be a truly great mother. 25:31 God's grace makes the difference. 25:34 And if you're a mother who's ever made a mistake, I want you 25:37 to remember today that God is gracious. 25:42 And God cares, and God loves mothers, and God is with you, 25:47 and God knows a mother's heart. 25:52 Today, I want to offer you this special free book on the 25:55 subject of God's promises. 25:57 You'll find it very encouraging. 25:59 It's called "God's Promises." 26:01 Dozens of promises from the Word of God with encouragement for 26:03 you to know God and grow in His grace. 26:07 Just call or write and I'll send you "God's Promises." 26:10 There's no cost or obligation, it's absolutely free. 26:13 Just call this number 1 (800) 253-3000, 26:18 and ask for "God's Promises." 26:20 If the lines are busy, please just keep on trying. 26:23 Or write to It Is Written, Box 6, Chattanooga, TN 37401, 26:29 and we'll mail a copy to your address in North America. 26:33 Please note, this free book is limited to the supply on hand. 26:37 For immediate access you can download a free electronic 26:40 version of this book "God's Promises" from our website 26:43 ItIsWritten.com. 26:45 Thank you for your continued support. 26:47 Our toll-free number is 1 (800) 253-3000, and our web address is 26:52 ItIsWritten.com. 26:57 Let's take a moment to pray together. 26:59 Our Father in heaven, I think You that in Your infinite wisdom 27:02 you gave all of us a mother. 27:04 I not only thank You, but I praise You for Your perfect 27:07 plan, and I want to pray especially for mothers. 27:10 That they would know Your presence, that they would know 27:13 how much You appreciate them, that they would be appreciated, 27:16 and that they would be given great grace for that most 27:20 important job in the whole world, that blessed role of 27:25 being a mother. 27:27 It's a role full of joys but it has its challenges. 27:30 But with You, the challenge of even motherhood 27:33 is not too great. 27:34 Bless and keep us all, I pray. 27:37 We thank You in Jesus' name, amen. 27:46 [music] I want to thank you for joining me today, and I'm 27:48 looking forward to seeing you again next time. 27:49 Until then, remember: It Is Written: 27:52 Man shall not live by bread alone, 27:55 but by every word that proceeds 27:58 from the mouth of God. |
Revised 2015-06-18