Throughout Scripture, adoption and orphan care are spoken of favorably, beginning in the Old Testament. The book of Exodus contains a story (Exodus 1:15-22) of a Hebrew woman, Jochebed, who had a son at a time when Pharaoh ordered all Hebrew male infants be put to death. Instead, Jochebed found a basket, waterproofed it, placed her son inside, and gently sent him down the river.

Not long after, one of Pharaoh’s daughters caught sight of the basket and retrieved the young boy. She would eventually adopt him into the royal family, and named him Moses (Exodus 2:1-10) — the same Moses who grew to be an important leader, prophet, and faithful servant of God!

Esther, for whom her own Biblical book was named, found herself as an orphan following her parents’ death. Fortunately, Esther was adopted by her cousin, and later she even became a queen. Today, we can read how God used Esther’s story to bring deliverance to the Jewish people.

In the New Testament, Jesus was conceived through the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18), and was adopted by His mother’s husband. Joseph took Jesus as his own child, and along with Mary, raised a Son who changed the world.

In addition to a physical adoption, the Bible also speaks about adoption in a spiritual sense. As Romans 8:15 so beautifully states, “The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’”

God says we become part of His family in much the same way a family welcomes a new child — it is done out of love. As God adopts those who receive Christ into His spiritual family, it is Show Hope’s mission to continually see more and more children also adopted into their forever families.