The Importance of the Mother!

Temple Baptist Church - 5-10-2015

Genesis 2:21-24

Introduction: 

A.  I prayed and meditated about what to preach this year for Mother’s Day.  This is the 29th time that I have preached on Mother’s Day here at Temple.  I feel like I have preached everything that I know about mothers over these years but wanted to see something special this Mother’s Day so I simple asked God for help.  This message may or may not mean to you what it meant to me this week but I want to say that I am thrilled with what I found.

1.  Mother’s Day is a very special day as we recognize womanhood and pay tribute to our mothers. 

2.  I often use the First Mention Principle when studying the Bible so we find ourselves once again in the Book of Beginnings, Genesis.

B.  Genesis 1-2 give us the account of God’s creation of the heavens and the earth and all that in them is. 

1.  God finished His creation and declared that it was very good and I certainly agree with Him!  What a wonderful world He created for man to live in!  The crowning act of God’s creation was man!  Created in the image of God. 

2.  In the day that God made man, He made man both male and female.  It is the seed of the man that determines the gender of a child, thus God brought Eve out of Adam. Genesis 1:27  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

C.  God made woman very special.  Man was made for many purposes but Eve for a specific one, a helpmeet for Adam!  In the will of God, she was perfectly equipped for God’s intended purpose.  When in the will of God, she remains perfectly equipped today!

D.  In our verses for this special day, we find the establishment of both marriage between the man and his wife as well as the home.  We find Adam making a remarkable statement: “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”  There are a couple of things that I want to make mention of in these two verses. 

1.  First, the establishment of the procreation of all mankind.  The words “Woman” and “Man” are capitalized.  As a general rule, when they are not capitalized, they refer to an individual woman or man but—when they are capitalized—they refer to all women and all men.  Thus, these verses set a precedent for the generations to come. 

2.  Second, Adam made mention of the words “father” and “mother” for the first time.  Even though Adam and Eve had no father or mother, these words set up the parameters for the generations to follow.  The establishment of the home and marriage: one man and one woman!  The marriage was between she, called Woman, and he, called Man!  There were to leave father, a man, and mother, a woman!

E.  The word “father” is used 1214x in the Bible and means “principle.”  Here, the Lord sets up the authority of the home with the father being the “head.”  The word “father” establishes the unchanging will of God for the chain of authority in the home. 

F.  The word “mother,” used 220x in the Bible, is a very unusual word.  I took the time to research the meaning of “mother” and found something very interesting.

1.  Let me introduce a “three dollar word” that is important in the study of the word “mother.”  Etymology (et-uh-mol-uh-jee ) is the study of historical linguistic change, as manifested in individual words.  It finds “root” words and then tracks their change in different associated languages. 

2.  Though etymology is a secular study, its basics are used today in the study of our Bible.  Here is what many etymologists say that I found that I though was of Biblical interest: In almost every known language, the word for mother is very similar and probably comes from the same root word. The English words "mother" and "mama" have similar sounding equivalents in almost all languages, even those that appear to have no historical recent relationship. This suggests that "mother" / "mama" could be one of the oldest surviving words, belonging to some lost parent language from which most modern languages derive. 

3.  In Genesis, the whole world was of one language until God confounded the language.  “Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.” (Genesis 11:9)  The “parent language” or original language of all of the people was confounded and all other languages came into existence.  The words for mother and mama all point back to this Biblical, historical act of God.

G.  As far as I can discern, the word “mother” in our text means “the bond of the family.”  Its meaning is the consistently the same around the world.  Ladies, you are the “glue” that holds the family together!  Thus, the importance of mothers is a profound one.  Men are to rule the home but women are to bind it together.  When both of our mothers died, I told our siblings that the common denominator of the family was gone and it was up to us to continue to be close to one another.

H.  The importance of the mother in the home has so changed in our days of “unnatural affection” and homes have been changed at best and destroyed in many cases.

1.  It is important that the woman be faithful to the home!  2 Timothy 1:5 - When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.  (To the Lord first, then to their husbands and their children.  Mom, you are the “bond” that binds your home together.  It has always been the mother who is the “heart” of the home.  Without her, it is a house!  Dr. Jack Hyles wrote a book, Woman the Completer.  He referred to her as the Holy Spirit of the home.)

2.  It is important that the woman is to “guide” the home!  1 Timothy 5:14  I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children,guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.  (This is not to “rule the husband” but to guide the house.  Guide - One who shows the way by leading, directing, or advising.  The woman certainly has a leadership role inn the home as she sets the example of love, faithfulness, purity, etc.  She also directs or advises in the direction of the home.  Men are to be leaders and the final authority but the wisdom that God gave to woman is invaluable in the proper direction, running, and welfare of the home.)

3.  It is important that the woman’s desire is toward her husband and the home!  Genesis 3:16  Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. (The virtuous woman of Proverbs 31 helped in the support of the home [Proverbs 31:24  She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.] but her outside interest was the best interest of her family!)

4.  It is important that the woman pray for her home!  Matthew 15:22, 25. 27  And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil … Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me ... And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.  (Notice her persistence in prayer to the Lord for her daughter.  Ladies, it is all important that you hold your family up in prayer!)

5.  It is important that the woman teach her children the way of salvation!  Proverbs 1:8-9  My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:  For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.  (Ladies, you are going to be the greatest influence upon your children as your husband is gone much of the time and small children cling to and spend the majority of their time with mom!  Do not be negligent in teaching your children about Jesus Christ and the way of salvation.)

6.  It is important that the woman “learn” to love her family!  Titus 2:4  That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children.  (Do you not find this verse interesting?  A woman must be taught to love her husband and her children!  Why?  Because there is a wrong and a right love for your family, ladies.  Placing their welfare both physically and spiritually above your one welfare.  “A bear robbed of her whelps” gives a vivid description of a mother’s concern and love for her family!

7.  Ladies, your Lord must come first in your life, then your husband, then your children, then your home in order for you to be successful in this life.  You are the bond; you are the glue; because you are the heart of the home!