Moses: Day 2
Tuesday, August 31
The Midwives
The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, “When you help the Hebrew women in childbirth and observe them on the delivery stool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.” Exodus 1:15-17
Suggested reading: Exodus 1:15-22.
Shiphrah and Puah, and other midwives like them, are the first heroines in the book of Exodus. I knew these women were a part of the Moses-story, but I personally have not given them much thought until writing this post. I certainly did not remember their names. Maybe we should all pause and clap for them right now! Wow, how inspiring…
Rather than abiding by the command of Pharaoh, the Hebrew midwives decided to protect the newborn baby boys. (Can you imagine killing a newborn after his first cry of life?!) Scripture says, (the midwives) feared God and did not do what the king had told them to do; they let the boys live (v.17).
These women took a stand for what was right. They decided to fear God more than fear Pharaoh. Another way to put it is, they decided to please God more than to please Pharaoh.
I love the rest of this passage: So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own (v. 20-21).
Thoughts:
We are living in a time that Christian values look distinctly different than the world around us. From the blatant atrocity of sex-trafficking to the subtle yet luring lies of our culture, our children and grandchildren’s lives are at stake, be it emotionally, mentally, physically, or spiritually.
What does “taking a stand” look like today? One suggestion is to start with prayer. On our morning walks, Madelaine and I have been convicted to pray these specific things over our own grandchildren (as well as our friends' grandchildren):
--that they would be confident in God’s love for them through Christ Jesus
--that they would be confident in their divinely appointed sexuality
--that they would be confident in their unique God-given personality
--that they would be confident in “wooing” others in these three things mentioned above.
After praying, I am certain God will lead us to take action in some way. In each situation and conversation, we can ask Lord to make us both wise and winsome in our response to culture’s ideology. Jesus did it perfectly while on earth, and scripture tells us that he was full of grace and truth (see John 1:14).
The midwives in Exodus quietly went into the Hebrew homes and obeyed God, saving one child at a time. We too, have a place to make an impact. Let’s learn from Shiphrah and Puah who chose to fear God rather than man…and because of their courage, a baby boy named Moses entered the world.
Going deeper and sweeter: Psalm 119:110-112; Galatians 1:10; Hebrews 11:6
Dear Lord,
Make us wise and winsome in this world today. Help us to be bold in our faith, active not passive, desiring to please you more than to please others around us. Show us, individually, how you want us to make an impact for the next generation. Write a child’s name on each of our hearts today. Amen.