Every year on Mother’s Day, ministers typically choose one of the great moms of the Bible to talk about. This year I considered looking at the “Bad Moms of the Bible.” There are actually quite a few to choose from: Athaliah, the wife of King Jehoram, the daughter of King Ahab and the only queen of Judah, was certainly bad (2 Kings 11). After the death of her son, she killed all the members of the royal family and took the throne, but I guess we can’t count her since technically, she was the worst grandmother of all time. If only she had remembered the names of all of her grandchildren, she would have realized she missed one (who was crowned king a few years later, 2 Kings 11).
My nomination for the worst mom in the Bible is Herodias, Herod Antipas’ wife. She was responsible for the death of John the Baptist after her daughter’s famous dance (Mark 14:8). I don’t think we give Herodias credit though, for taking Salome to all those dance lessons and recitals. Why she may have even worn her fingers to the bone making those cute little costumes, although I doubt it. Apparently there wasn’t much to them.
On the other hand, I had a great mom and there isn’t anything I wouldn’t give to just have fifteen more minutes with her to tell her so. She died suddenly during a “routine procedure.” I took her to the hospital for the test and we told stories, laughed together and shared a hug I will always treasure. Then they wheeled her into the operating room.
Mom’s death was sad, but it wasn’t a tragedy. Dad died a few years before and I always had the feeling she couldn’t bear to be apart from him. In fact, when we buried dad, mom had her name written on the grave marker with her birthday and they left a place to fill in the date of her passing. It gives me great joy to know they are together again, and it fills me with great anticipation to look forward to the day when I will see them both once more.
Happy Mother’s Day!