Read Exodus 1.
At the end of Genesis, Jacob's total family numbered only
70. They lived on the finest
land in Egypt ,
overseeing of all the nation's livestock and food supplies. At the opening of Exodus, several hundreds of
years have gone by. The family of Israel became a
nation of several million people living in this foreign
country. The new Pharaoh felt threatened
by them, but he did not want to lose their manpower. His solution was slavery. However, God blessed Israel with even more rapid population growth. Pharaoh's solution was to
kill all newborn males.
The Hebrew midwives were charged with the murderous task of
killing the newborns. "But the
midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the
male children live." Pharaoh's
order was self-serving and evil. This is
the first case in the scripture of civil disobedience.
Bernard Ramm wrote that the midwives had to choose among
their fears: a)to fear the invisible God or b)to fear the visible king. "Faith sees the real power; sight sees
the immediate power."
Once a person no longer cares what God thinks, there will be
no respect for His presence, no regard for His expectations, little regard for human life, and no fear of His
judgment. Such a person's heart becomes
wide-open to any, every, and all sinful behavior.
These women did not protest or raise a ruckus. They quietly and humbly did what was
right. When asked about it, they may not
have been lying, but they just did not say more than they had to. By faith, they trusted God. God took care of the two women involved and,
to this day, we even have their names: Shiphrah and Puah.
1. God protected them from punishment.
2. God blessed them, v. 20-"God dealt well with them".
3. God gave them their own families. v.21
A principle is seen throughout the Bible in such cases when
authority conflicts with the known will of God.
It is this: God is able to take care of the consequences of our
obedience.
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