Once in a great while, as one reads through the Bible one comes upon a person that God seems to set apart from others that He draws attention to in His Own Holy Word. Noah, Daniel, and Job are set apart as men of faith; Joseph is highlighted as a father of Israel. In thinking of mothers we could mention Eunice or Lois, but any other mention of them than Timothy’s godly faithful mother and grandmother is just speculation.
There is one lady in scripture that could be set up as a master mother to which all others could be compared much as all keys to a certain building could be compared to a master key.
This lady of favour and grace is not a queen or princess like Esther. She is just one of the wives of a Levite, just one, albeit the favoured one because he loved her and gave her a worthy portion even though she was barren. She was grieved about that because it was a disgrace in Israel, and her companions wouldn’t let her forget it.
She didn’t follow Sarah’s example. Sarah impatiently tried to do God’s work in the flesh by using Hagar. She didn’t pass the blame on to someone else like Rachel blamed her barrenness on Jacob. She didn’t quarrel and nag like Jacob’s wives. She disciplined herself with fasting and consistently prayed. When she poured out her soul to the Lord, the high priest gave her an answer and she, in simple faith expected the Lord to give her a son.
All of this was just preparing her to be the mother of the prophet who would lead Israel. She only had him from the time he was born until he was weaned, but in that short time she trained him in discipline and consistency to be a faithful prophet for many years.
Study the first chapter of First Samuel and you’ll find one of the greatest mothers of all time. This lady of favour and grace, the mother of one of the greatest prophets in Israel balanced her grief with grace. She was a worthy wife; She knew the power of prayer; She was a generous giver; She gave the son that the Lord had given her back to Him. and because of all this Hannah was abundantly blessed.