Blessed Mothers of the Bible (And One Cursed)

Mother is the most honored title given to women in the Bible. God's first blessing to Adam and Eve was for them to be fruitful and multiply.

Genesis 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply

Adam named Eve to be a mother.

Genesis 3:20 And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

God also tested and tried his servants by denying motherhood. Sarai, Abraham's wife, was barren until a miracle resulted in the birth of Isaac. Rebekah, Isaac's wife, could not conceive for twenty years until she brought forth twins, Esau and Jacob. Leah, Jacob's first wife, was a fertile puppy, but his favorite wife, Rachel, suffered from barrenness for many years.

When God punished the Abimelech on behalf of Abraham, He closed up all the wombs in his household.

Genesis 20:18 For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham’s wife.

A child was a blessing from God, and being barren was a curse. Yet in most, if not all cases, a woman who was barren prayed and was eventually rewarded with a child.

Sarah (Blessing):

Genesis 17:16 And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.

Rebekah (Blessing):

Genesis 24:60 And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.

Leah (Blessing):

Genesis 29:31 And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren. 

Rachel (Blessing):

Genesis 30:22 And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and
opened her womb.

Deborah (Blessing):

Judges5:7 The inhabitants of the villages ceased, they ceased in Israel, until that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel. 

Samson's Mother (Blessing):

Judges 13:5 For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines. 

Naomi, through Ruth (Blessing):

Ruth 4:17 And the women her neighbors gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David. 

Hannah (Blessing):

1st Samuel 1:19 ...and the LORD remembered her.
1:20 Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the LORD. 

Michal (Cursed):

2nd Samuel 6:23 Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death. 

Michal's name stands out like a sore thumb among the mothers of Israel. She is the sole example of a woman judged by God to remain childless, to never celebrate a Mother's Day. Or did she?

2nd Samuel 21 contains the sad note that David, Michal's husband, took..."the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite (her sister's husband) 21:9 And he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them in the hill before the LORD"

Being a mother is more than just bearing children, it is caring for them and bringing them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. God blesses mothers, whether natural or adopted.

Psalm 113:9 He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the LORD.

The seven reknown barren women in the Bible are: Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Leah, Manoah’s wife, Hannah and the woman Psalm 113:9 blesses. This is Michal who represents Zion/Israel. Like Israel, who is depicted as the cursed fig tree, empty armed and barren, she stands at the end of time blessed and happy with a multitude of children.