Most people who are familiar with biblical text are aware of the story of the Israelites in Egypt. It of course is the account that kind of kicks off the redemption story, the one that the whole of the world should look back on as the start of it all.
God begins the work of the cross way back in Egypt, none of the people involved are coincidental or are mentioned by accident.
We are so familiar with the names of Jacob and Joseph, we grew up with them. You can’t go to Sunday School without learning about them, the infamous coat, the lying brothers and how through the hand of God, Joseph ends up in the Egyptian palace in a place of influence.
Joseph was about as high up in the palace as a person could get. He changed the course of an existence for the people of the nation that he was born into.
There would not have been a person of either Egyptian birth, or Hebrew heritage that did not know who Joseph was. From 70 people who first came to Egypt, we are told that they ‘had many children and grew in number”. They not only grew in number, but they also became very strong.
However, as the world turns, we of course lose people and we see names slowly forgotten, people’s impact wanes and time forgets.
This is where we see ourselves in the first chapter of Exodus.
The text doesn’t state how much time had passed, but we are told the nation has a new king. He obviously didn’t pay attention in history class as he didn’t know who Joseph was.
What we know for sure is that the Israelite community was getting under his skin. I can just picture him looking out his window, over the thriving population and wondering what he can do about the so-called people problem. Can’t you just see him kept awake at night – you know when something really annoys you – you just can’t let it go. Everything around you reminds you of the problem, every little thing that pops up agitates you and gets under your skin. I reckon that’s where our kingly ruler found himself. He was so frustrated and paranoid about these people, he began to bring his favoured advisors around and brainstorm ways to deal with it. He was worried that a war might break out and the massive population of Israel would join forces with ‘the enemy’, fight and ‘escape’.
Sounds so much like other paranoid world leaders over time doesn’t it! Many of them fought to come up with a ‘solution’ to a population problem – oftentimes it involved the Jewish nation.
I am not sure that at this stage the Israelites were actually held captive in Egypt. The original 70 had settled there due to famine and drought in a previous location and over time, their new nation obviously held enough benefits for them that from one generation to the next, they stayed put. They had no real incentive to leave. It makes me wonder why the king was so concerned about them leaving! They seemed to provide a workforce that greatly assisted previously in the growth of Egypt and maybe he could see the difficulties of losing hundreds of thousands of people. Overall, it would be a great loss to the economy.
What was going to be the kings amazing plan? Well, to make life pretty awful for them. He assigned slave masters over them, forcing them into labour. Yep – that’s going to prevent any unrest isn’t it!? I have always been amazed at how dictators show their hand and then get surprised at the outcome!
None of what the king put in place would have made the Israelite people happy. Everything he did had the potential to actually bring about the very situation he was most afraid of.
The hard work must have been good for the people, we see an incredible population boost! So much so that yet again we read that the Egyptians became more and more afraid. There is no mention of a tangible threat from the Israelites – just a growth in the actual head count!!!
So – of course as people who are afraid tend to do, they bunker down and make sure their plans WILL WORK! Their whole being becomes about the plan. The Egyptians lost any mercy for these people who were probably once seen as neighbours. I am sure there was moments when kids were friends, cultures were mixed, laughter and food was shared. But a shift came. Fear was instilled. Once this happens its very easy to change the way one people group see another.
Fear is the essence of evil plans.
In the midst of this account we meet two Hebrew midwives. Unlike the king, the writer of Exodus shows favour to these women because he tells us their names!
Shiprah and Puah.
Are you into names and their meanings? For sure! Names, particularly those mentioned in the Bible hold so much meaning. So lets have a look;
Shiprah – Handsome, trumpet, that does good.
Well – to me, this means that Shiprah was most likely a fine looking person. We used to say a woman was ‘handsome’. Not only does it infer that a person is good-looking, it lets you know that they are healthy and strong. To be referred to as a ‘trumpet’ means something is going to be heralded from this person. And to do good is pretty obvious.
Puah - to cry out
Well Puah was about to live up to her given name….
Now we have the back story, lets take a look at what these two women did.
Midwives of course as we know, help women deliver babies. They are brought into a woman’s life in their most intimate, critical moment. These women, we can assume were good at their job and were obviously known to the king in some way. They found themselves in an audience with the king.
The king was about to ramp up his evil scheme and requested that these two women play a part iin it all. What he asked them to do is completely shocking! I wonder how they managed to keep their composure so they could leave the kings presence in one piece.
He asked them to kill any Israeli babies that were born male. The female babies at this stage were allowed to live.
A king is not to be messed with, however the women feared God. A great starting point to the decisions we make in our day to day life.
So, the babies continued to be born, and the midwives went about their business, allowing every baby to survive regardless of gender.
Time passes, we are not told how long but clearly enough time for the king to cotton on to the fact that the population was still increasing – all these little boys!!! Bring those midwives back! Human nature leads me to believe that the butterflies must have been fluttering, a call back to the king was definitely going to be ‘interesting’.
Of course he wants to know what has been going on. The midwives have a wonderful explanation ready to give. “The Hebrew women are much stronger than the Egyptian women. They give birth to their babies before we can get there.”
I love this so much! In just two sentences, these women put their lives on the line and lie directly to the most powerful man in the country – all while putting a little dig in there about the strength of the Hebrew women!
What happened from here is so beautiful. God blesses these women more than they could possibly imagine and I am sure that they didn’t make their choice based on personal gain. They had a nation and its little ones in their mind. The nation of Israel continues to grow, but even more special is that our two midwives are blessed with families of their own. A podcast that I listened to about this, suggested that the work of midwives was potentially undertaken by women who could not have their own children. God is the God of gifts.
What can we learn from the account of these ladies? Well, I think for me, it is an encouragement to know that we can in fact take a stand in the face of dangerous leadership.
Often we are told not to get involved, to just do as we are asked and not make waves. Shiprah and Puah were not rude or disrespectful, but they did take a stand. They did tell a ‘story’, one that really couldn’t be disputed unless the king assigned a handler to follow these women around I suppose.
They recognised a situation and the horrific outcome that would follow and they wanted no part of it.
We know that the plans of the king yet again escalated. The story of Moses in the basket comes up soon – the result of his fear increasing beyond what is reasonable. However the responsibility of now killing baby boys was taken from these two women and put onto all the people of Egypt.
The horror was only just beginning, but God was way ahead of the kings plans. His plan had been in play all along, but how wonderful for Shiprah and Puah to be chosen to play just a small part in the history of the world.
Of course we read on a little further and come across more accounts of women doing brave things in the face of a horrific edict from the government.
A young mum is able to hide her beautiful baby son for just 12 weeks before realising her time was up. To protect him from certain death, she designs a waterproof basket and floats him on the very river the Egyptians had been told to toss the babies into.
His sister follows and comes upon an incredible scene…
The daughter of the king is bathing, sees the basket and sends her servant girls to retrieve it. As she opens the basket, sees the baby and hears his cry she has compassion and decides to take him in – even though she recognises him as a Hebrew baby.
The baby’s sister speaks up – offers to ‘search’ for a Hebrew woman available to nurse him, the offer is accepted and his mother is immediately sent for.
She is a part of his life until he is ‘older’ and taken in as a child of the palace….and we know the rest of the story!
Because of their faithfulness and trust in a God much greater in power and mercy than the nameless king of Egypt, numerous women during this horrific time in history were blessed abundantly.
A few things jumped out at me;
· If you recognise laws put in place that go directly against the heart of the God of the ages, then you must do something about it. No ruler is greater than God
· You don’t have to do anything big, loud or outrageous – it can be quiet, sure and scary all at the same time – and you don’t have to explain yourself
· Doing something afraid and with absolutely no idea what the outcome may be, will potentially open you up to the most amazing outcome and blessing because of your obedience
During the middle of last year, my employer of 16 years decided that they were going to mandate the Covid-19 vaccines. I knew immediately that this was not a path I felt was appropriate. I did not agree at all with a government department holding my future employment over my head as a means for me to remain in my position. One I had held, like I said for 16 years, 5 of which were as an executive member of staff, leading and training a team of people.
So after a few months of prayer, I was more certain than ever and was unfortunately given my marching orders. My decision was extremely misunderstood by almost everyone in my close circle – Christian and not.
However, here I am. Almost 9 months down the track, and actually given the opportunity to go back to work if I want.
I was so scared at the beginning of this. I had no idea how we would financially manage with me not working.
Yet – God is good. He loves us so much. I have been so looked after and we are enjoying this new version of life so much more than we expected.
I have my little online store that I sell a few things from – if you want to have a look click here...https://www.farmerswifefarmerslife.com/
And Phil and I are just in this all together!
So, I encourage you - be brave and courageous, if you lean into God, He will lead you, guide you, protect you and bless you. The steps may be truly difficult
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