Dale Ridge church of Christ

           In our society today, we are constantly bombarded with values that are contrary to the will of God.  We are told that we should be accepting of a woman’s “right to choose,” two members of the same sex’s “right to marry,” a teenager’s “right to choose whether or not to have sex,” and such other ungodly ideas.  However, what should our attitude be in the face of this irreverence for God’s word?  Should we obey God even in the face of opposition, or should we choose to follow the ideas of man?  Let us look to the Hebrew midwives mentioned in Exodus 1:15-21 and Moses’ mother Jochebed in Exodus 2.

            In Exodus 1, we read how a new king “who knew not Joseph” (v.8) arose in Egypt and was afraid that due to the number and might of the children of Israel, they would join with Egypt’s enemies if war were to break out (Exodus 1:9-10).  In order to try to take care of this problem, Pharaoh had the Egyptians to make the children of Israel engage in hard labor and ordered the Hebrew midwives named Shiphrah and Puah to kill the Hebrew boys as soon as they were born (Exodus 1:15-16).

            If you had been Shiphrah and Puah, what would you do?  Here, the king has given you an order to kill the infant sons of the Hebrews.  Who would you obey?  God or Pharaoh?  Let us look at Exodus1:17-21 to see the choice Shiphrah and Puah made.

            In v.17, we read that the midwives “feared God and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them…”  They saved the male Hebrew children alive despite Pharaoh’s order.

            Shiphrah and Puah chose to obey God rather than Pharaoh.  This was a brave choice considering disobedience to Pharaoh was punishable by death.  Yet, Shiphrah and Puah did as God would have them to do.

            In Exodus 1:20-21, we see how God blessed the midwives for saving the male Hebrew children.  He will bless us as well if we choose to obey Him rather than men.

            In Exodus 2:1-2, we are told about Jochebed, Moses’ mother, and how she hid him for three months until she could no longer hide him.  She knew that Pharaoh would have had Moses killed if he had been found, but she still chose to obey God and protect her son (Hebrews 11:23). 

            As a result of her obedience to God, Jochebed is blessed.  In Exodus 2:5-6, we are told how Pharaoh’s daughter found Moses in the river, had compassion on him, and allowed Jochebed to nurse Moses.  We know from future chapters of Exodus how Moses would grow up and eventually lead the children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage.  One woman’s willingness to obey God helped to bless an entire nation.

            Let us always remember the examples of Shiphrah and Puah and Jochebed as well as the words of Peter in Acts 5:29 as he is facing opposition:  “we ought to obey God rather than men.”  God will bless us for our obedience.

Published by Michael  Email This Post  Print This Post
Filed under: Authors, Devotional, Michael Carter, Uncategorized on July 21st, 2008