Revolutionary Mid-Wives
Revolutionary MidWives:
Bold! Defiant! Faith!
A Beautiful Profession
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The midwife profession is as old as time. Nowadays, the career has morphed into something altogether different than how it was historically viewed, given our emphasis on giving birth in hospitals. However, the profession of midwifery is one of relationship between the expectant mother and baby. It is a women’s world. It is an environment where most men feel a sense of trespass and therefore, do not step foot. The relationship between the mom and midwife is tender, supportive instructive and endures after the baby is born.
An Evil Decree
When we read the first chapter of the book of Exodus, we are immediately confronted with a cruel declaration made by Pharaoh. He ordered that all Jewish boys be killed. Listen to Pharaoh’s words,
“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” (Exodus 1:16).
Why would Pharaoh decree this? Simple! Kill all the baby Hebrew boys and this only leaves the girls. The girls would grow up and their only option for marriage would be Egyptian men. Thus, through marriage, the Hebrew nation would be lost by assimilation into the Egyptian culture.
What Was At Stake?
The nation of Israel stood to be annihilated. If the Hebrew nation were exterminated, then the Messiah would not come into the world and save people. Neither would he come to set up his Kingdom. The nation of Israel, the descendants of Abraham, were the people that God chose to bring the Messiah into the world. If the nation was brought to an end, the plan of God would be finished.
And, by the way, the women risked their own lives if they decided not to go ahead and flow Pharaoh’s decree.
Rare, Raw Courage
I know we like to think of ourselves as bold people who would stand and do the right thin. We see ourselves as those who, when push came to shove, would stand firm and resist. But, in my experience, almost every person is a coward when the moment of raw, iron courage is needed. Few of us would defy governor’s orders or the legislative acts that we believe are immoral. Most of us want a peaceful life. We quietly walk away from evil situations. We are conflict avoidance. We do not want to risk being arrested, lawyers fees, losing a job and gaining a bad reputation that would jeopardize future career prospects.
This where we need to respect the bold steps of these midwives. They decided that they would not do what Pharaoh had asked them. Listen to what they said,
The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do they let the boys live. 18 Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?”
19 The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women. They are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive” (Exodus 1:17-19).
Notice what they did?
- They feared God more than Pharaoh.
- They disobeyed the Pharaoh.
- Although they did not lie, they were not exactly honest with Pharaoh.
To the best of our knowledge, these midwives were not professional wrestlers, MMA fighters or trained militia. They were women, in a profession that involved caring for pregnant mothers through their delivery. So, why such courage? Where did they find such powerful resolve?
God Honored Their Defiance Against Pharaoh
Here is the beautiful outcome. God honored their obedience to him, their fear of him above Pharaoh in two ways.
- He gave them families of their own.
- He allowed them to prosper in their career by overseeing the birth of many babies.
It’s Easy in Comparison
Few of us will ever face a situation like this, where it is life or death, defy and die. Most of us are facing simple issues in our lives that require simple courage. We may not be used to save a nation, but our fear of God and trust in him to do the right and courageous thing, will be honored by God.
