Will You Stand for Virtue?

Will You Stand for Virtue?

    

Israelite slaves

      At the beginning of Exodus, it had been over 350 years since Jacob and his family moved from Canaan to Egypt. Jacob's posterity had grown significantly, they became enslaved and built a massive empire for the Egyptian government. Time had passed and the memory of Joseph had long faded. 

    A new king ruled over Egypt and had been informed of a prophecy of a male child, a deliverer, coming to lead the slaves out of bondage. The king feared the growing numbers of the Israelites and the possibility of this prophesied uprising leading to the destruction of Egypt. A plan was devised. 

    The Pharaoh began by overworking the men and moving them from their wives and families, forcing them to work with "hard bondage, in mortar, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field." (Exodus 1:14) Then he demanded the Hebrew midwives kill all male children born to the Hebrew women. All of Egypt was to see that Hebrew male babies were to be thrown into the Nile River and drowned.

Pharoah speaking with 
Shiphrah and Puah   

    Two Hebrew midwives named Shiphrah and Puah were called to the king and told that as they attended to the Hebrew women in childbirth, they were to take any of the babies that were male and kill them. 

    These two women were good and feared Heavenly Father more than they feared the king. I'm not saying they feared as we may think of fear or being frightened of Heavenly Father, but they respected virtue. When the king called on these two midwives and asked if they were doing as he asked, they informed the king that Hebrew women often delivered without the midwives being present. They were "lively" unlike the Egyptian women. (v 19)

    It is not common practice in scriptures that women's names are mentioned and when they are, I feel that is important and a sign they should be revered and admired for their courage and faith. Because of the amazing faith and courage of these two brave women, many male children were saved. Maybe one of these women was the very lady who saved Moses.

     We don't know and it isn't made clear if these midwives were Hebrew women or if they were Egyptian women who served as midwives to the Hebrews. It's hard to think that Hebrew women would kill their own and this makes this act incredibly brave. They had no power compared to a Pharoah but chose the right anyway. God recognized these heroic midwives and blessed them for their character. 

    How can we follow the example of these brave midwives? Can we remember their names and tell our children how their bravery saved the very lives of many male children of the Hebrew slaves? Can we stand for virtue?