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Ring of Truth provides 366 daily ‘proofs’ that the Bible is consistent throughout from Genesis to Revelation, and relevant for our lives today!
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Exodus 1:17
“The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live.”
Joseph and all his brothers have died.
However, God had prospered the people so much that they became a perceived threat to the Egyptians. The good Pharaoh had also long since departed the scene and Joseph’s memory within Pharaoh’s court had been forgotten. So the Egyptians put the Hebrews under taskmasters.
I wonder why they didn’t just get right out of Egypt then and there. Was there no leader? It seems very similar to what has happened to the Jews – through the ensuing centuries right up to modern times. They were ‘easy pickings’ for many, especially the Romans, the Spanish, and the Germans.
So they stayed and became slaves. The Egyptians used them to build the great cities of Pithon and Ramses. But “the more they are oppressed the more they spread and multiplied” (v 12). So the Egyptians became harsher and treated the Hebrews ruthlessly. They ordered that every male baby be thrown into the River Nile.
They brought in the midwives, Shiprah and Puah, and told them to kill the baby boys but let the girls live. That was a mistake. They had picked two women who feared God more than men. The enemy had overplayed his hand. Sooner or later, someone would say “Enough is enough” and their names became recorded in the history books.
Where are you when it comes to choices? Do you fear men more than God? As has been said so often – we reap what we sow – we live in the society we deserve and indeed in our democratic countries, we get the leaders we deserve – and vote for.
Don’t complain about the state of your nation or the morals of your city or society if YOU have done nothing about it. What we need today is more and more people like Shiprah and Puah who will stand up to injustice and let the righteousness of God begin to bloom as it always does, given half a chance.
Oh, the midwives weren’t allowed to ‘get away with it’. They had to front up to Pharaoh. What a fantastic answer they gave. I reckon they prayed first, don’t you? “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive” (v 19). I call that arrogant. Not only did they not answer the questions – they technically could still have killed the boys even if they were born before they arrived, but they added a bit of cheek into the bargain. Hebrew women are ‘better’ than Egyptian women. That threw the men off guard.
What was the response? God blessed the people and the midwives. The people became even more numerous and God gave the midwives families of their own.
You see, when you stand up for righteousness, not only does the society or nation get blessed but so do you.
Why not stop and think about this for a bit this morning? What are you doing today or going to do this year, which will exalt God’s righteousness in your family, neighbourhood, society and nation?
Or will you stay like the majority and just let evil triumph and allow life to become even harder for you?
Don’t just moan about life and society – change it.
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