John 17:1–5 (ESV): …he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

Although Mt 6:9–13 and Lk 11:2–4 have become known popularly as the “Lord’s Prayer,” that prayer was actually a prayer taught to the disciples by Jesus as a pattern for their prayers. The prayer recorded here is truly the Lord’s Prayer, exhibiting the face to face communion the Son had with the Father.

Very little is recorded of the content of Jesus’ frequent prayers to the Father (Mt 14:23; Lk 5:16), so this prayer reveals some of the precious content of the Son’s communion and intercession with Him. John chapter 17 is a transitional chapter, marking the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry and the beginning of His intercessory ministry for believers (Heb 7:25).

In many respects, the prayer is a summary of John’s entire gospel. Its principal themes include: 1) Jesus’ obedience to His Father; 2) the glorification of His Father through His death and exaltation; 3) the revelation of God in Jesus Christ; 4) the choosing of the disciples out of the world; 5) their mission to the world; 6) their unity modeled on the unity of the Father and Son; and 7) the believer’s final destiny in the presence of the Father and Son.

The chapter divides into three parts: 1) Jesus’ prayer for Himself (John 17: 1–5); 2) Jesus’ prayer for the apostles (John 17: 6–19); and 3) Jesus’ prayer for all NT believers who will form the church (John 17: 20–26). ¹

In John 17:1 the hour has come for the time of His death. (see John 12:23). The very event that would glorify the Son was His death. By it, He has received the adoration, worship, and love of millions whose sins He bore. He accepted this path to glory, knowing that by it He would be exalted to the Father. The goal is that the Father may be glorified for His redemptive plan in the Son. So He sought by His own glory the glory of His Father (John 13:31, 32).

In John 17:2 we note that Christ has authority over all flesh. (cf. John 5:27; Mt 28:18).  A reference to God’s choosing of those who will come to Christ is noted “to all whom You have given Him” (John 6:37, 44). The biblical doctrine of election or predestination is presented throughout the NT (John 15:16, 19; Acts 13:48; Romans 8:29–33; Ephesians 1:3–6; 2 Thess 2:13; Titus 1:1; 1 Pe 1:2).

In John 17:3 eternal life is brought into focus. (cf John 3:15, 16; 5:24; 1 Jn 5:20). In John 17:5 Jesus prays “glorify Me together with Yourself”. Having completed His work (John 17: 4), Jesus looked past the cross and asked to be returned to the glory that He shared with the Father before the world began (see John 1:1; 8:58; 12:41). The actual completion of bearing judgment wrath for sinners was declared by Christ in the cry, “It is finished” (John 19:30).

^{1 MacArthur Study Bible NASB}

God gave to sinful man some of the most essential truths in the Ten Commandments through Moses whilst coming down to him on the mountain of Sinai.

We may view these as outdated laws. However, God gave mankind the fundamental secrets of the universe — a blueprint for living.

The primary secret of the universe is that the entire universe is run by law, some proven and equated by physicists, others by chemists, and still others by mathematicians — all atomically generated, created and managed by a loving God — not by presumption or circumstance.

On the spiritual plane, it makes sense that the person who moves and lives and has their being in unison with God’s relational laws of mind, of love, and compassion will survive as long as his universe survives. On this basis, Jesus taught in John 8:51 NLT: I tell you the truth, anyone who obeys my teaching will never {spiritually] die!

Jesus knows all about the importance of these universal laws because he co-created the universe with his Father in the Spirit as taught by the apostle Paul: Colossians 1:16-17 NKJV: For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

The apostle John wrote this concerning Jesus: John 1: 1-2 ESV: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Christ revealed that the person who obeys his laws will endure for as long as the universe endures.

This is the apex of the teaching of Jesus Christ while on earth. The whole universe is run by law, not atheistic chance. He enlightened man to realize that law has nothing to do with chance. Life is not random — not casual — it’s causal. Each of us can review our life, myself included, to find our condition today and tomorrow is related to our obedience or disobedience to both natural and spiritual law.

This cause-and-effect relationship in life is referred to as the law of the harvest: to a sowing and a reaping consequence, and happiness depends on obedience to God’s laws. Spiritual pain and sorrow come through transgressing the blessed divine law, whether we yet know the law or not.

When the Apostle Paul says: Galatians 6:7-9 KJV: Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

This means that life is run by law. Look at a few examples from scripture:

The Egyptian Pharaoh caused the boys among the Israelites to be drowned. Later when Moses led the exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt, Pharaoh chased them into the parted Red Sea, and he drowned when the Red Sea rolled back on those chariots pursuing the Israelites. The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived. Exodus 14:28 (see context Exodus 14:21-29)

Jacob deceived his father about his father’s favourite son. As years rolled by, Jacob was deceived about his favourite son Joseph by his boys. Further, Jacob showed a deceptive spirit when he conspired to get the birthright, but in time his deceptive uncle Laban pulled the wool over his eyes – giving him Leah, not Rachel to initially marry. How did Jacob deceive his father? By putting on the skins of a goat; he, in turn, was deceived by his boys, who took the coat of his son Joseph, and dipped it in the blood of a goat.  (story in Genesis chapters 25 to 29)

In the story of Ester, Haman prepared a gallows for Mordecai, but he swung from it himself. Esther 7:9-10: And the king said, “Hang him on that.”So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the wrath of the king abated. So they impaled Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai, and the king’s anger subsided.

King Asa put the prophet Hanani in stocks, but Asa died of a disease in his feet. Sowing and reaping, cause and effect — listen, the breaking of the law brings a reaction in our lives.  (see 2 Chronicles 16: 10; 12-13: Asa became so angry with Hanani for saying this that he threw him into prison and put him in stocks. …In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the Lord, but only from the physicians. Then in the forty-first year of his reign Asa died and rested with his ancestors.

This is the teaching of Scripture revealed in life. It is such a universal law of God that many simply refer to this as Karma — what goes around comes around. When this dawns on a man or woman of reason, it becomes evident that everyone ought to be concerned about two things: (1) to find out the laws of God, and (2) to obey them and to be happy for time and eternity..

The Ten Commandments as given to Moses on Sinai

Exodus 20: 1-17 NIV:  And God spoke all these words:

2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

3 “You shall have no other gods before[a] me.

4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.

5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

7 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

13 “You shall not murder.

14 “You shall not commit adultery.

15 “You shall not steal.

16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

What did He say first at Sinai: “I am the Lord your God.” What commandments did He give first? The ones that pertain to Him. “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God.”

““Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God.” What did God put first? Worship–relationship to Himself.

The Bible begins with God: “In the beginning God.” The Lord’s Prayer begins this way: “Our Father.” God is trying to teach us to put first first–not first things first, but to put God first. He comes before things. Most people turn the tables around. They put things first, and then if there is a little time left over, that is for God.

And Jesus taught the same thing — put God’s kingdom first. Matthew 6:33 NIV: But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Actually, the mystery of human suffering is not fully explained. As Wesley Baker puts it: When the end of the book of Job comes, there is no answer written out. There is nothing there that would satisfy the logical mind! However, we can be sure of these two facts: First of all, Job’s suffering was not a direct result of his personal sin. God testified that he was a perfect and upright man; moreover, He called Job His servant: And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” (Job 1:8)

Also, God said that the reasoning of Job’s three friends—that God was punishing him because of his sins—was not right (Job 42:8). Secondly, although Job was not suffering because he had sinned, yet his trials did reveal pride, self-justification, and animosity in his heart. He was not delivered until he had a vision of his own nothingness — his primary lesson was to reveal his need of humility in contradistinction to God’s greatness (Job 42:1–6); and bore the fruit of the lesson, revealed by Job’s exercise   of a forgiving, humble sprit as he prayed for his friends, he had referred to as miserable comforters. (Job 42:10). Some of the lessons we learn about suffering from the book of Job are:

1. The righteous are not exempt from suffering.

2. Suffering is not necessarily a result of sin.

3. God has set a protective hedge around the righteous.

4. God does not send sickness or suffering. It comes from Satan (Luke 13:16; 2 Cor. 12:7).

5. Satan has some control in the realm of wicked men (the Sabeans and Chaldeans), supernatural disasters (fire from heaven), weather (a great wind), sickness (the boils on Job), and death.

6. Satan can bring these things on a believer only by God’s permission.

7. What God permits, He often is said to do. “Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?”

8. We should view things as coming from the Lord, by His permission, and not from Satan. “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away.” From this perspective we can appreciate that regardless of how blameless, upright and god-fearing we are, there may yet be an un-sanctified aspect of our life, perhaps a self-righteousness, unbiblical doctrine overlooked, or an unknown sin;  we all have an overlooked blind spot, as we are all  fallen from the intended image of God.

9. God does not always explain the reason for our suffering.

10. Suffering develops endurance.

11. In visiting suffering saints, we should not be judgmental.

12. We should make our visits brief.

13. Human reasonings aren’t helpful. Only God can comfort perfectly.

14. At the end of the book of Job we see that “the Lord is very compassionate and merciful” (Jas. 5:11). We also learn that sometimes, at least, wrongs are made right in this life.

15. Job’s patience in suffering vindicated God.

16. Job’s patience proved Satan to be a false accuser and liar.

17. “A man is greater than the things that surround him and, whatever may befall his possessions or his family, God is just as truly to be praised and trusted as before.”

18. We should be careful about making blanket statements that do not allow for exceptions.

19. Satan is neither omnipresent, omnipotent, nor omniscient.

In spite of God’s allowing unmerited suffering, He is still just and good. From other parts of the Bible, we get further light on some of the reasons why God allows His saints to suffer:

1. Sometimes it is a result of unjudged sin in the life (1 Cor. 11:32).

2. It is a means by which God develops spiritual graces, such as patience, longsuffering, humility (Rom. 5:3, 4; John 15:2).

3. It purges dross or impurities from the believer’s life so that the Lord can see His image reflected more perfectly (Isa. 1:25).

4. It enables the child of God to comfort others with the same type of comfort with which God comforted him or her (2 Cor. 1:4).

5. It enables the saint to share in the non-atoning sufferings of the Savior and thus to be more grateful to Him (Phil. 3:10).

6. It is an object lesson to beings in heaven and on earth (2 Thess. 1:4–6). It shows them that God can be loved for Himself alone, and not just because of the favors He bestows.

7. It is an assurance of sonship since God only chastens those whom He loves (Heb. 12:7–11).

8. It causes saints to trust in God alone and not in their own strength (2 Cor. 1:9).

9. It keeps God’s people close to Himself (Ps. 119:67).

10. It is a pledge of future glory (Rom. 8:17, 18).

11. God never allows us to be tempted above what we are able to bear (1 Cor. 10:13). “You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful” (Jas. 5:11b).

The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols… nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts. – Revelation 9:20

Transgender rights ideology has pivoted from gay liberation. Note: I do not agree with or condone any of these alternate sexuality cultic ideologies herein discussed.

I am a conservative Christian, adhering to the Biblical creation story. God made man in His own image, male and female. I believe we need to think about this growing ideology that has merged with a leftist political view, affected university campuses, and is infiltrating non-Christians’ collective consciousness at a very fast pace. A prophecy in the book of Revelation points to  a time when people will not repent — they have entered the wide gate of destruction before the judgement when Christ returns. What is the key issue: sexual immorality and sorcery or witchcraft, which is actually demonic possession. The leaders of the world are also seduced and support their sexual cults. This will become full blown to the degree that the majority of the world will revel in wickedness. (Matthew 7:13; Revelation 21:8; 17:2)

Aspects of the gay rights movement placed no real burdens on straight North Americans. They asked for basic protections—not to be prosecuted or harassed, or fired from their jobs for who they are, to be allowed to marry the person they love—that already covered all other citizens of the nation. These past adjustments in the gay laws allowed the current pivot to the darkest politicization of the anti-biblical transgender rights movement.

Transgenderism is a far creepier perversion, demanding something different: their ideology about gender and identity is designed to totally displace traditional, binary, and scientifically accepted conceptions of sex and gender. Moreover, these demands come with an implicit threat: If you don’t get with the program, we’ll label you a transphobe and do our best to make you persona non-grata. Or try to have you arrested for misgendering someone! Behind the blame game of victimization is a push for laws that aim to suppress, especially the Christian viewpoint.

This is a political move, not a call for respect. It’s a power grab intended to silence even those with honest questions about trans identity and to crowd such people out of the public discourse. It’s predominantly a losing battle. It may be best not to share your pearls with the swine nor sniff in the garbage bucket of the depraved.

The serious downside is the complete erosion of morality. Education systems will want to reach and teach your kids with this knowledge about gender swaps. Medical systems will offer their Faustian Bargain—knives to do Frankenstein-like irreversible plastic surgery! Pharmaceutical firms will offer hormone drugs to destroy the manhood and womanhood of children incapable of making such ludicrous decisions without brainwashed coercion! Capitalism is quickly jumping on the bandwagon.

If a man wants to become a woman, some propose that psychologically may be an inherent desire for feminized homosexuality (drag queen syndrome — often a gay exaggeration of female gender signifiers). Alternatively, if a woman wants to become a man, that would be akin to masculinized lesbianism (butch syndrome — a lesbian whose appearance and behaviour are seen as traditionally masculine), each with a latent desire to allure the same sex. This argument acknowledges the evolution of the gay movement that preceded transgenderism. Thus they all view themselves as part of this broken “community.”

God help us to circumvent this twisted, ungodly narrative. This is one sure sign that we’re in the last days. And the dark side laughs sardonically as they veer down their wide gate, hellishly demonic path. We live in a very broken and very sad world. Since the moment at creation when God said, ‘I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed’, Satan has been hard at work breaking down the institutions God put in place in paradise – the institutions made to benefit us and glorify the Creator – the most beautiful one being marriage. Marriage was established by God for loving companionship and to procreate – to go forth and multiply.

Transgenderism is just one ploy, one devastating plot with heartbreaking consequences — to destroy sexuality in the confines of marriage by exposing children at incredibly young ages to ideas and images they were never intended to grasp and carry. They are being told to go against every instinct in their biological being — in their own human nature, to become who they are not. They are and will be ongoingly confused, vulnerable, and preyed upon by perverted predators – hiding their devilish motives that they will never admit to. Important Video: Miriam Grossman

This knowledge is very dark — taboo dark — so children should be able to trust their parents and institutions paid for by our taxes to shield children from this propaganda – to stop flooding society with this perverted cultic sexual ideology. Children were never intended to be exposed to such wicked knowledge – let alone sexual gender transference, at a very young age (at any age) and with such an impressionable mind. Yet here we are – young children manipulated by our educational institutions to think of these sordid ungodly ideologies.

Exploring the world of sexuality in the cultic dictum of those who wish to tear down every traditional institution given in the Garden of Eden and to whitewash every historically cultural viewpoint since, aiming to advertise themselves as being on the right side of history. If you are Caucasian, they’ll compare you — today’s white people to slave owners of yesterday, shifting the concept of past bigotry forward to those exposing their anti-Christian values.

We must stand up in the churches to make God’s people aware of this war on our children at every level. For parents unaware of what is infiltrating their children’s schools, begin to educate yourselves on the culture war we are already in the midst of. The documentary “What is a Woman” can begin to reveal how this cult has a strong grip on society at many levels.

Teach your children well: Happiness comes not from making the world affirm “who we are,” but by becoming who we were created to be. Important Video: Miriam Grossman

God’s Response: It is right for me to be enthusiastic about all Christ Jesus has done through me.  Romans 15:17

God alone made it possible for you to be in Christ Jesus. . . . As the Scriptures say, “The person who wishes to boast should boast only of what the LORD has done.” 1 Corinthians 1:30-31

God forbid that I should boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Galatians 6:14

Pride is appropriate when you feel a grateful satisfaction for what God is doing through you. It’s okay to feel pride in a job well done when you have honoured God in your task. It’s okay to be proud of your children; they are a gift from God. Paul was not proud of what he had accomplished but of what God had done through him. Like Paul, take pride in what the Lord has done. Then your focus is on him and not on yourself.

God’s Challenge: Those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. — Matthew  23:12

^{Excerpt from: Beers, Gilbert; Beers, Ron. The One Year Mini for Men (p. 141).}

Why is pride one of the “seven deadly sins” when other things seem so much worse?

God’s Response:

When he had become powerful, he also became proud, which led to his downfall. 2 Chronicles 26:16

Your heart was filled with pride because of all your beauty. Ezekiel 28:17

Instantly, an angel of the Lord struck Herod with a sickness, because he accepted the people’s worship instead of giving the glory to God. Acts 12:23

The proud Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: “I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else, especially like that tax collector over there!” Luke 18:11

Pride is the main reason for our falling away from God. We become vulnerable to Satan when we believe that we are strong enough to resist his attacks. He loves to prove us wrong. Pride can also creep in when we become prosperous and take the credit for our fine life. We forget the Lord when we have plenty and don’t rely on him for food each day.

The bottom line on pride boils down to forgetting God. You forget to thank him, to give him credit, and to rely on him. And when you get to that point, your pride will lead to a great fall.

God’s Challenge: Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall. Proverbs 16:18

^{Source: Beers, Gilbert; Beers, Ron. The One Year Mini for Men (p. 140). Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. Kindle Edition.}

Let’s pause to take a look at 10 extraordinary mothers in the Bible. These women obeyed God’s calling, served sacrificially, and built a life of faith for their family. We can learn much from the examples of these Biblical mothers. I am thankful for the compilation work done by Crosswalk here: ¹

1. Sarah: The Mother Who Waited

In Genesis 11:30 we learn, “Now Sarai was childless because she was not able to conceive.“ This would have grieved both Sarah and Abraham, and in Genesis 15 when the word of the LORD came to Abram he answered, what will you give me LORD since you have not given me an heir? God tells him to look at the stars in the Sky, for that would be the number of his offspring. Abraham and Sarah waited 15 years before God renewed His promise, and 10 more years before the promise was fulfilled and Sarah bore a son, Isaac.

Sarah probably wouldn’t win an award for waiting and she even laughed at the idea that God could do what He promised, but thankfully God’s promise did not rely on the level of Sarah’s faith. God fulfilled His promise according to His plan and Sarah responded in Genesis 21,

“’God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.’ And she added, ‘Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.’”

Can you imagine waiting that long for a blessing? Sarah tried to believe the promise, but she had doubts until it finally came to fruition. Then she laughed with joy at what the LORD had done. Isaac would go on to continue the legacy of his father Abraham.

2. Hagar: The Mother Who Endured

Hagar was an Egyptian slave and a maidservant to Sarah, the wife of Abraham; she didn’t have much say about anything and especially not in becoming Abraham’s wife. Though her status changed, she was still secondary to Sarah.

Once Hagar became pregnant with Abraham’s child, a rift developed between her and Sarah. After receiving mistreatment from Sarah, Hagar fled toward her homeland. But she met the angel of the LORD who told her to return, He also promised her numerous descendants through her son whom she was to name Ishmael.

Later, Hagar and her son Ishmael were sent away into the desert, where she believed they would both die. But God is faithful and showed her a well. Genesis 21 tells us, “God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer.”

Hagar thought she would get to escape her misery, but God called her to return to it. She obeyed, and He blessed her and her son just as He promised He would.

3. Rebekah: The Mother Who Believed

Rebekah was a woman of great faith, obeying God when Isaac’s servant told her of the man who wanted to marry her. Genesis 25 tells us that when Rebekah became pregnant she could feel the babies jostling within her. When she asked the LORD why this was happening, He answered her: “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.” In that time, the older would have never served the younger, and the firstborn son would have inherited the best of everything.

When Isaac was old in age, he told Esau to hunt and prepare food so that he could receive his blessing. But Rebekah overheard this and told Jacob to bring her food so she could prepare it for Isaac first. Jacob was unsure about deceiving his father, but Rebekah responded in Genesis 27, “My son let the curse fall on me. Just do what I say; go and get them for me.” I think it is safe to say that she remembered and took very seriously what God had spoken to her during her pregnancy.

Rebekah risked deception to follow God’s promise because she believed what He said was true. It should be noted that God did not call Rebekah to deception, but God is sovereign despite the good or bad choices we may make. And His plan unfolded exactly as He had told her. Later her son Jacob would wrestle with God and be given a new name, Israel.

4. Leah and Rachel: The Mothers Who Had to Share

When Jacob went to stay with his uncle Laban, he met one of his daughters, Rachel, and loved her. He wanted her for his wife and was willing to work seven years to marry her. But Laban tricked Jacob by giving him his older daughter Leah in marriage instead. Jacob worked another seven years for Rachel, and he loved her more. Leah, knowing that she was unloved, bore Jacob many children to please him, while Rachel remained barren.

Both women ended up giving their maidservants to Jacob, who in turn bore him more children. Genesis 30 tells us, “Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and enabled her to conceive.” Rachel bore Jacob two sons, Joseph and Benjamin, before she died in childbirth with Benjamin.

Siblings like to compete, but can you imagine having to share a husband with your sister, feeling like you always had to outdo the other. But God blessed both Leah and Rachel with children, continuing his covenant promise with Abraham. Leah and Rachel’s sons would go on to form the 12 tribes of Israel.

5. Jochebed: The Mother with a Plan

A new pharaoh in Egypt came to power who was under no obligation to honor Joseph’s deeds in Egypt and keep the special arrangement with the Israelites. He was worried about the Hebrews outnumbering and overtaking the Egyptians, so he made them slaves. He also commanded the Hebrew midwives to kill Hebrew baby boys when they were born, but they did not listen. Then Pharaoh gave another decree in Exodus 1, “Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.”

A Levite woman, Jochebed, gave birth to a son and hid him for 3 months. Exodus 2 tells us that when she could hide him no longer, she coated a papyrus basket with tar and pitch, placed the baby in it, then she set it in the reeds along the bank of the Nile. Jochebed’s daughter, Miriam, watched to see what would happen as Pharaoh’s daughter went down to bath. When Pharaoh’s daughter saw the basket, her servant’s retrieved it for her and inside she found the baby crying and knowing he was a Hebrew child she felt sorry for him.

Miriam then spoke up and asked her if she would like her to fetch a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby; she agreed and Jochebed returned with her daughter to nurse her own baby. Pharaoh’s daughter paid Jochebed to nurse and raise the baby until he was old enough to come live with her. She then adopted him as her son and named him Moses.

Jochebed was determined to find a way to save her son, and God blessed her plan. Not only was her son saved from death, she was able to nurse and raise him until he was old enough to go live with Pharaoh’s daughter. Her son, Moses, went on to free the Hebrew people from Egypt, leading them in the desert toward the Promised Land according to God’s plan.

6. Samson’s Mother: The Mother Who Followed the Rules

She is not mentioned by name in the Book of Judges, although some would say she is the Hazelelponi mentioned in 1 Chronicles 4. We cannot know for sure, so we can deduce that what she did is more important than her name. She was married to a man named Manoah but was unable to conceive. Judges 13 tells us,

“The angel of the LORD appeared to her and said, ‘You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son. Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean. You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.’”

Samson’s mother knew there was something special about the angel of the LORD, and when her husband was afraid they would die for having seen the face of God she became the voice of reason saying He would not have told us these things if He were going to kill us.

She gave birth and named the baby Samson, and the LORD blessed him. Although some of his actions were questionable, the LORD used him mightily in His plan to defeat the Philistines.

7. Naomi: The Mother-in-Law Who Shared Her Faith

Naomi and her family fled to the country of Moab because of a famine in their land. Her husband died, and her two sons married Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. After 10 years both of Naomi’s sons passed away, and Naomi heard that the LORD had blessed the land of her people with food again. She told her daughters-in-law that they could return home to find new husbands. Although they both wept at her leaving, one refused to leave Naomi’s side. Orpah returned to her people and her gods, but Ruth said,

“Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.”

Ruth was already learning from Naomi’s faith even during a time of bitterness. Naomi continued to watch out for Ruth and instruct her wisely in her dealings with Boaz, who became her kinsman redeemer. The LORD blessed Naomi, and she gained a son when Boaz married Ruth. Ruth and Boaz had a child, and the women of the land said to Naomi,

“Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.”

The child was named Obed, the father of Jesse, the father of David who would be king. -Ruth 4:17.

8. Hannah: The Mother Who Kept Her Promise

Hannah was married to a man who loved her very much, but he also had another wife. This wife was able to bear children, but in 1 Samuel 1:5-6 we learn that the LORD had closed Hannah’s womb. The rival wife provoked Hannah continually, but Hannah would go to the house of the LORD to pray. Her husband tried to console her saying, “Don’t I mean more to you than 10 sons?” in 1 Sam. 1:8. Hannah prayed to the LORD and wept bitterly; she made a vow saying,

“LORD Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.”

In fact, she was praying so hard that her lips were moving but no sound came out so that the priest, Eli, thought she was drunk. The LORD blessed Hannah, and she gave birth to a son and named him Samuel, “saying, ‘Because I asked the LORD for him.’” -1 Sam. 1:20

She did just as she had promised, and when the boy was old enough she took him to the house of the LORD and presented him to Eli. Hannah then prayed,

“My heart rejoices in the LORD; in the LORD my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance.” And her beautiful prayer continues in 1 Samuel 2:1-10.

Samuel lived a life dedicated to the LORD, and he would go on to lead the people of Israel, anointing Israel’s first and second kings—Saul and David.

9. Elizabeth: The Mother Who Believed in Miracles

Elizabeth was married to a priest named Zechariah, and Luke 1 tells us that both Elizabeth and Zechariah were righteous before God, observing all of His commands. But Elizabeth was childless, and they were both old in age. Similar to people in Job’s day, people would have thought that sin prevented Elizabeth from bearing a child. This would have been very hard to face, especially being a wife of a priest.

When Zechariah was serving in the temple, an angel of the Lord, Gabriel, approached him and said,

“Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.” –Luke 1:13-14

Zechariah still questioned how this would be possible and because he doubted he was struck mute for the duration of Elizabeth’s pregnancy. Elizabeth was overjoyed at this blessing of life and said, “The Lord has done this for me… In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.” –Luke 1:25

When Mary, the mother of Jesus, came to visit her cousin Elizabeth, the baby leapt in Elizabeth’s womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She took great joy in Mary’s pregnancy and blessing from the Lord. And when it came time for Elizabeth to give birth, she named her son John. When neighbors went to confirm this with Zechariah he wrote the same name and his mouth was opened; everyone wondered at what the child would be since his birth was miraculous.

John would go on to baptize people from their sins with water. He would prepare the way for the Messiah.

10. Mary: The Mother Who Is Blessed among Women

Mary, a virgin pledged to a man named Joseph, was also visited by the angel Gabriel. He said to her in Luke 1:31,

“Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

Mary wondered at how this would be possible, and the angel told her, “The Holy Sprit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” Mary embraced these words in faith. When she visited her cousin Elizabeth, Elizabeth proclaimed, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!” Mary believed God would fulfill His promise.

An angel of the Lord also visited Joseph, who put him at ease with Mary’s pregnancy. As we read in Matthew 1, Joseph took Mary to be his wife, but they did not consummate the marriage until after she had given birth. Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem for a census, where she gave birth in the humblest of environments.

Mary treasured up many things in her heart as she raised Jesus, but she also had to endure the greatest sacrifice of all time—her son was the Son of God and He had come to give Himself up as a sacrifice, the one and only sacrifice that could be made for mankind. She had to watch Him suffer, be tortured and mocked, and die a cruel death on a cross by crucifixion.

John 19 tells us,

“Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, ‘Woman, here is your son,’ and to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.”

Even while He was dying, Jesus cared for His mother and gave her a new son to love her. Mary was blessed among women, for she was chosen by God to bear His Son and raise Him. Though there was death there was yet joy for Mary, as her son did not stay dead. He rose again from the grave, securing eternity for her and all who would believe.

^{1 Liz Auld is the managing editor for Crosswalk.com.}

Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, even Jesus. (Hebrews 3:1)

Herein is an excerpt from: Andrew Murray, The Holiest of All: An Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews. You can listen free to The Holiest of All at Librivox

Consider Jesus! This is the central thought of the verse, and of the passage of which it is a part, as it is indeed of the whole Epistle to the Hebrews. It is the one aim of the writer to persuade the Hebrews that, if they but knew aright the Lord Jesus as the faithful, compassionate, and almighty High Priest in heaven, they would find in Him all they needed for a life such as God would have them lead. Their life would be in harmony with their faith, in harmony with the life of Him whom their faith would apprehend.

Consider Jesus! is indeed the keynote of the Epistle to the Hebrews. The word consider, from the root of the Latin word for Star, originally means to contemplate the stars. It suggests the idea of the astronomer, and the quiet, patient, persevering, concentrated gaze with which he seeks to discover all that can be possibly known of the stars which the object of his study are. And Jesus, who is God, who became man, and perfected our human nature in His wonderful life of suffering and obedience, and now dwells in heaven to communicate to us its life and blessedness—oh, what reason there is for saying, Consider Jesus. Gaze upon Him, contemplate Him. For some increased knowledge of the stars what devotion, what enthusiasm, what sacrifices are ofttimes witnessed. Oh, let the study and possession of the Son of God waken our devotion and our enthusiasm, that we may be able to tell men what beauty and what glory there is in Jesus.

Holy brethren! Thus the Hebrews are now addressed. In the previous chapter the word brethren had been used twice. He is not ashamed to call them brethren. It behoved Him to be made like unto His brethren. The sacred name is now applied personally: Christ’s brethren are brethren in Christ. And the heart of the writer warms to them personally, as he seeks to urge them to what with him is indeed the one aim of the Epistle—Consider Jesus.

Holy brethren! He that sanctifieth, maketh holy, and they who are sanctified, made holy, are all of one. We saw how holiness is the common mark of Christ and His people: their bond of union, and the great object they both aim at. One of the great mysteries the Epistle is to reveal to us is that our great High Priest has opened the way for us into the Most Holy Place or the Holiest of All. In Hebrew it is the Holiness of Holinesses. There we have boldness of access, there we are to have our dwelling encircled by the holiness of God. We must know that we are holy in Christ; this will give us courage to enter into the Holiness of Holinesses, to have God’s holiness take complete possession, and fill our whole being.

It is Jesus who makes holy: it is we who are to be made holy: what more natural than that the thoughts should be coupled together: holy brethren, consider Jesus. Holy brethren! partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus! What is elsewhere spoken of as a holy calling is here named a heavenly calling. That does not only mean a calling from heaven, or a calling to the heaven, whence the call proceeds. No, there is much more in it. Heaven is not only a place, but a state, a mode of existence, the life in which the presence of God is revealed and experienced in its unhindered power. And the heavenly calling is that in which the power of the heavenly life works to make our life heavenly.

When Jesus was upon earth the kingdom of heaven was nigh at hand; after He had ascended and received the kingdom from the Father, the kingdom of heaven came to this earth in power, through the descent of the Holy Spirit. Christians, at Pentecost, were people who by the new birth entered into the heavenly kingdom or state of life. And the kingdom entered into them. And they were partakers of a heavenly calling, because the spirit and the life and the power of heaven was within them. It is to such men the invitation comes. Holy brethren! partakers of the heavenly calling! consider Jesus! If you would know what it is to be holy and to live holy, consider Jesus who makes holy! If you would know the privileges and powers that belong to you as partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus! He is God, the King of heaven! He is Man who has ascended to heaven as your Priest and Saviour, has opened it for you, and can communicate its life and blessedness.

Oh, consider Jesus! set your heart on Him; He will make you holy and heavenly. There is more than one of my readers who mourns that he knows so little what it is to live a holy and a heavenly life. Listen, God’s word speaks to you—Holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling! consider Jesus! This is your weakness: you have looked at yourself and your own strength; you have not studied Jesus! This will be your cure: each day, each hour, consider Jesus, and in Him you will find all the holiness and the heavenliness you need.

1. In the latter part of the Epistle all the glory of Jesus as He entered heaven, and opened it for us, as He became a minister of the heavenly sanctuary, and leads us to dwell in the Father’s presence, will be opened to us. But let us even now, from the commencement, hold fast the truth that the knowledge of Jesus seated in heaven is the power of the heavenly calling and the heavenly life.

2. Do not think that you know all that can be told about Jesus. Believe that there are wonders of heavenly joy to be revealed to you if you know Him better: His divine nearness and oneness with you, His ever-present indwelling to succour and lead you, His power to bring you into the Holiest of All, into the Father’s presence and love, and to keep you there, will be revealed.

Chapter excerpted from Andrew Murray, The Holiest of All: An Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews (New York: Anson D. F. Randolph & Company, 1894), 103–106.