H is for the Hebrew Midwives
Exodus 1:15-17 "And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah: And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live. But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive.
The setting of this verse is the Israelites in Egypt. A new Pharaoh, who knew not Joseph and the history of his people, arose to power and made the Israelites serve as slaves, building his great cities. The people had grown in strength and number, and Pharaoh became nervous that they might rise up and revolt against his harsh treatment, so he came up with a plan to attempt to weaken this nation within a nation.
Pharaoh's plan was to kill all newborn baby Israelite boys, and allow only the girls to live. The girls could be used as slave labor and eventually be married to Egyptians.
Like all other attempts in history to obliterate the Hebrews, this one failed as well. This time, God filled several ladies with courage, and assigned them the task of saving His people.
Though these Hebrew midwives received direct orders from Pharaoh, King of Egypt, to kill the baby boys as soon as they were delivered, their fear of God and love and respect for life caused them to disobey Pharaoh's edict. They saved the baby boys.
Not only did they (more than likely) save the Jewish race, but they also saved many families from terrible grief and heartache. I'm sure their own lives were in danger for disobeying the command, yet they regarded not their own lives or success, choosing rather to do what was right and good.
May we, like the Hebrew midwives, have the courage to live out our convictions, and always do the right thing, no matter what the cost may be.
Great post! I love the example of the Hebrew midwives! So glad you chose this for the letter H! Their continual act of courage in saving the baby boys each and every time is a witness to us today to continually stand up for what's good and right in the sight of God in a world that is filled with sin. Those Hebrew midwives knew that what the king was asking them to do went against God's word. Their actions show us that we are to fear God and not man.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right - what a blessing and fine example they were!
Deleteoh indeed! That courage to do what the Lord God asked of them eh? Great example for us today.
ReplyDeleteAnnette @ A net in Time (http://anetintimeschooling.weebly.com/a-net-in-time-blog.html)
Amen - true courage!
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