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The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, “When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.” The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. (Exodus 1:15-17)
In our Exodus story this week, we find the Egyptian Pharaoh turning to Plan B when Plan A failed. Enslaving the Hebrew people just made them multiply even more! So, what was his Plan B? He decides to try birth control. No, not a pill, something more barbaric – he forces the midwives to become executioners, to commit infanticide. Boys could become soldiers, a potential threat for an uprising, so he told them to kill them at birth. Leaving only girls would ultimately dilute the Israelite bloodline, forcing them to become Egyptian, less a threat to his reign.
Notice the ironies in this passage. For instance, the Egyptian king’s fear of the nation of Israel led to a wicked plan of genocide, but it failed. Whereas the midwives fear of God led to a refusal to do wickedness in order to preserve life, and they succeeded – and God blessed them with families of their own.
There is also irony in the mighty Pharaoh being dependent upon midwives to carry out his plan. Notice also that the midwives are named, Shiphrah and Puah. Interestingly, no reigning monarch of Egypt is ever named anywhere in the entire book of Exodus, but the midwives are.
Now, imagine the implications from this passage. How should we view abortion and medications like the Plan B pill? Is the sanctity of life worth risking our lives in order to defend and protect it, like the midwives? How about euthanasia, slavery? Plenty to think about here.
The situation with the midwives also begs the question: Whom will you serve?God or Pharaoh. Whom will you fear? God or Pharaoh. Who is sovereign? God or Pharaoh. These brave, godly, courageous, faithful women choose to obey God, not Pharaoh. Will we be faithful to God when our culture, our government, or our friends and family ask us to disobey God?
It may not be easy. The temptations to disobey God can be subtle, or even forced upon you. But we see in verses 20 through 22 that God blesses those who fear Him, and He pours His judgment on those who don’t. For these faithful midwives, the blessing is not for their lying, but for their courage in refusing to do that which was wrong. God was good to the midwives, and the Israelites continued to multiply.
The story doesn’t end here. Pharaoh ordered all the males of Israel to be drowned in the waters of the Nile, only to see his whole of the army drowned in the waters of the Red Sea in a future chapter. And of course, the savior of Israel, Moses, rather than being drowned in the waters of the Nile, will be saved by Pharaoh’s daughter, and go on to lead God’s people to the promise land.
God is sovereign. Fear Him, not Pharaoh! Let us stand firm and praise Him always! His mercy endures forever.
Pastor Dan
Announcements:
· Please join us for a delicious lunch in the Fellowship Hall immediately following worship today.Thank you to everyone that helped put them in.
· The First Evangelical’s 100th Anniversary mailings subcommittee is meeting in the Fellowship Hall this Sunday to begin preparing mailings and gathering addresses.
· We are having Vacation Bible School on June 24-25-26 from 6:30-8:00 pm in partnership with the other ministries onsite. We also need volunteers to sign up in the next few weeks - contact Kaitlyn Hallett to sign up. Registration for youth 1st to 5th grade (ages 6-12) will open on a later date.
· Join us this Wednesday for a Soup Supper at 6:00 pm followed by the Exodus series class at 7:00 pm, both in the Fellowship Hall. There will be teaching by the pastors and small group discussions. Free!
