I grew up hearing the story of Moses. I've seen the movie, can sing the songs.
I even went to see Exodus.
This past week, I listened to a sermon about the story of Moses. From a perspective that I have never heard or read before.
Pharaoh ordered all baby boys to be thrown into the Nile right? The story does not begin there.
That was his third attempt to get rid of them.
THIRD?? Yes.
Exodus 1:15-17:
"Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah,“When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.” But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. "
Pharaohs original plan was infanticide.
What is implicit about what pharaoh is saying here?
Pharaoh is saying that daughters of Israel are no threat to him. Simply kill the sons.
He basically is saying make it look like an accident.
During these times, Pharaoh was worshipped as a god.
He had the power of life and death over these women.
They go into his presence to tell him why they have not done what he has asked them to do.
Exodus 1:18-19“Why have you done this, and let the male children live?” The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.”
Do you think that's true? you know that's not true! maybe to an extent.
They are lying to cover up the fact that they are sparing these male children in childbirth.
The next verse says that God dealt well with them.
Exodus 1:20 " So God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong."
why is that? because the Hebrew midwives are more concerned with giving an account to God then they are with giving an account to Pharaoh.
What is their motive in giving this lie? it is to preserve life.
A righteous act is characterized by right motive and right action.
The Hebrew midwives give the truth to who the truth is owed.
You do not owe the truth to someone who is bent on committing murder.
God dealt well with the midwives.
These women were then given families.
Verse 21 " And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families."
Scholars believe that these midwives were women who were infertile or not yet married.
What you can emulate from them is that your role to the Church does not start when you get married or have a family. These midwives are already set on nurturing life.
Do you see how Pharaoh has dramatically underestimated the connection that the midwife has with the mother giving birth?
Do you know anything about midwifery?
These women develop a deep relationship with the mother.
Pharaoh has no appreciation for this at all.
He thinks that a midwife could give care to a woman over a period of seven or eight months, feel life moving inside of her belly, and then when it is time for the child to be delivered, that she will count it as nothing.
That she will fear him more than she will fear her God. And he is dead wrong.
He is dead wrong that daughters are no threat to him.
Because these midwifes behave as they do, means that a baby named Moses is now going to come safely into the world.
Exodus 2:6 "When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him."
Who? the daughter of pharaoh.
and what does she reply?
"this is a Hebrew baby I will obey my father and do what I am suppose to do."
NO!
Pharaoh has not just underestimated the daughters of Israel. He has underestimated his own daughter as well.
Exodus 2:9-10 " And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. 10 When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son."
Do you see what God just did there? Now, Moses's mother is being paid a wage to nurse her own child.
He stayed in the Hebrew home for what seems like quite a while, this child stayed in the home of his Hebrew family long enough that we find later on in the story that he is aware of his heritage, he knows about it, he values it.
Why?
All because Pharaoh believed that a daughter was no threat to his agenda.
In this passage we see 5 women behaving bravely.
Exodus is definitely a story of a strong deliverer.
but before we see a picture of the strong deliverer, Moses, we see a picture of 5 very strong daughters who are deliverers as well.
Israel's first deliverer was not a man in a flowing robe with a streaming beard and a miraculous sign.
Israel's first deliverer was a woman in average garb and streaming tears and a miraculous courage.
May we be those women today.
In 1 Peter women are referred to as the weaker vessel. Generally speaking, the only area in which women are weaker is physically.
Because of this women have a deeper understanding of what it feels like to be powerless.
Men generally are not hyper aware of their surrounding in a grocery store parking lot at night, and don't have their keys in their hand ready to jab.
I would be willing to bet that most women can relate.
Women understand powerlessness.
We understand what it is like to be physically less dominant than the other gender.
You know who probably felt extremely powerless?
The Hebrew midwives.
Moses's mother and sister.
but what did they do?
They were brave in spite of that. Not only that, but their intuitive understanding of what powerlessness felt like gave them eyes to see the defenseless, to see the marginalized in a way that other's might not.
Women understand powerlessness in a way that men might not.
What year did women win the right to vote? 1920
During WWI, more American women died in childbirth than American men died on the battlefield.
Still, male legislators didn't see it as an important issue until the suffragist's made it one.
In 1921, the suffragist's pushed through the Shepherd Towner act and almost overnight infant and maternal death rates dropped 16 percent. By the time those babies were having babies of their own, maternal fatalities were down over 70 percent. Primarily because of women's ability to influence public policy.
Do you know in all of human history who has never died in childbirth? A man.
Women have a different perspective than men do.
The Lord has made us that way for a reason, and it is not good for the man to be alone. That verse found in Genesis is not simply in marriage, but in all spheres.
The world, the church, the place that you work...needs your influence.
Pharaoh intended to capitalize on the lack of physical strength inherent to womanhood, by killing only the males.
Pharaoh believed the women lacked moral strength. He ordered the Hebrew midwives to kill the babies and expected them to cooperate.
Pharaoh believed that women lacked intellectual strength, the thought that sparing the daughters posed no strength to his power because how are they ever going to organize and think up a plan to thwart him.
Pharaoh believed that women lacked emotional strength, he thought that he could intimidate them in to do his biding.
He had no concept of female bravery or of the strength of the female compassion and empathy.
He underestimated the midwife-mother relationship and connection, and he underestimated the powerful connection to the giving of life that all women, whether they become mothers or not, can identify with.
Women have a unique and deeply personal vantage point on the Gospel that men don't.
Every 28 days, your body gives to you a parable of the Gospel.
The shedding of blood for the renewing of life. Every 28 days in your flesh!
What a gift we have as women. What a beautiful reminder.
Don't you dare call it the curse.
And it is with you "Always"
(Just ask me and I can send you the link to the podcast)
I even went to see Exodus.
This past week, I listened to a sermon about the story of Moses. From a perspective that I have never heard or read before.
Pharaoh ordered all baby boys to be thrown into the Nile right? The story does not begin there.
That was his third attempt to get rid of them.
THIRD?? Yes.
Exodus 1:15-17:
"Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah,“When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.” But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. "
Pharaohs original plan was infanticide.
What is implicit about what pharaoh is saying here?
Pharaoh is saying that daughters of Israel are no threat to him. Simply kill the sons.
He basically is saying make it look like an accident.
During these times, Pharaoh was worshipped as a god.
He had the power of life and death over these women.
They go into his presence to tell him why they have not done what he has asked them to do.
Exodus 1:18-19“Why have you done this, and let the male children live?” The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.”
Do you think that's true? you know that's not true! maybe to an extent.
They are lying to cover up the fact that they are sparing these male children in childbirth.
The next verse says that God dealt well with them.
Exodus 1:20 " So God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong."
why is that? because the Hebrew midwives are more concerned with giving an account to God then they are with giving an account to Pharaoh.
What is their motive in giving this lie? it is to preserve life.
A righteous act is characterized by right motive and right action.
The Hebrew midwives give the truth to who the truth is owed.
You do not owe the truth to someone who is bent on committing murder.
God dealt well with the midwives.
These women were then given families.
Verse 21 " And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families."
Scholars believe that these midwives were women who were infertile or not yet married.
What you can emulate from them is that your role to the Church does not start when you get married or have a family. These midwives are already set on nurturing life.
Do you see how Pharaoh has dramatically underestimated the connection that the midwife has with the mother giving birth?
Do you know anything about midwifery?
These women develop a deep relationship with the mother.
Pharaoh has no appreciation for this at all.
He thinks that a midwife could give care to a woman over a period of seven or eight months, feel life moving inside of her belly, and then when it is time for the child to be delivered, that she will count it as nothing.
That she will fear him more than she will fear her God. And he is dead wrong.
He is dead wrong that daughters are no threat to him.
Because these midwifes behave as they do, means that a baby named Moses is now going to come safely into the world.
Exodus 2:6 "When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him."
Who? the daughter of pharaoh.
and what does she reply?
"this is a Hebrew baby I will obey my father and do what I am suppose to do."
NO!
Pharaoh has not just underestimated the daughters of Israel. He has underestimated his own daughter as well.
Exodus 2:9-10 " And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. 10 When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son."
Do you see what God just did there? Now, Moses's mother is being paid a wage to nurse her own child.
He stayed in the Hebrew home for what seems like quite a while, this child stayed in the home of his Hebrew family long enough that we find later on in the story that he is aware of his heritage, he knows about it, he values it.
Why?
All because Pharaoh believed that a daughter was no threat to his agenda.
In this passage we see 5 women behaving bravely.
Exodus is definitely a story of a strong deliverer.
but before we see a picture of the strong deliverer, Moses, we see a picture of 5 very strong daughters who are deliverers as well.
Israel's first deliverer was not a man in a flowing robe with a streaming beard and a miraculous sign.
Israel's first deliverer was a woman in average garb and streaming tears and a miraculous courage.
May we be those women today.
In 1 Peter women are referred to as the weaker vessel. Generally speaking, the only area in which women are weaker is physically.
Because of this women have a deeper understanding of what it feels like to be powerless.
Men generally are not hyper aware of their surrounding in a grocery store parking lot at night, and don't have their keys in their hand ready to jab.
I would be willing to bet that most women can relate.
Women understand powerlessness.
We understand what it is like to be physically less dominant than the other gender.
You know who probably felt extremely powerless?
The Hebrew midwives.
Moses's mother and sister.
but what did they do?
They were brave in spite of that. Not only that, but their intuitive understanding of what powerlessness felt like gave them eyes to see the defenseless, to see the marginalized in a way that other's might not.
Women understand powerlessness in a way that men might not.
What year did women win the right to vote? 1920
During WWI, more American women died in childbirth than American men died on the battlefield.
Still, male legislators didn't see it as an important issue until the suffragist's made it one.
In 1921, the suffragist's pushed through the Shepherd Towner act and almost overnight infant and maternal death rates dropped 16 percent. By the time those babies were having babies of their own, maternal fatalities were down over 70 percent. Primarily because of women's ability to influence public policy.
Do you know in all of human history who has never died in childbirth? A man.
Women have a different perspective than men do.
The Lord has made us that way for a reason, and it is not good for the man to be alone. That verse found in Genesis is not simply in marriage, but in all spheres.
The world, the church, the place that you work...needs your influence.
Pharaoh intended to capitalize on the lack of physical strength inherent to womanhood, by killing only the males.
Pharaoh believed the women lacked moral strength. He ordered the Hebrew midwives to kill the babies and expected them to cooperate.
Pharaoh believed that women lacked intellectual strength, the thought that sparing the daughters posed no strength to his power because how are they ever going to organize and think up a plan to thwart him.
Pharaoh believed that women lacked emotional strength, he thought that he could intimidate them in to do his biding.
He had no concept of female bravery or of the strength of the female compassion and empathy.
He underestimated the midwife-mother relationship and connection, and he underestimated the powerful connection to the giving of life that all women, whether they become mothers or not, can identify with.
Women have a unique and deeply personal vantage point on the Gospel that men don't.
Every 28 days, your body gives to you a parable of the Gospel.
The shedding of blood for the renewing of life. Every 28 days in your flesh!
What a gift we have as women. What a beautiful reminder.
Don't you dare call it the curse.
And it is with you "Always"
(Just ask me and I can send you the link to the podcast)
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