Exempting Exacting Exterminations
| The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, "When you help the Hebrew women in childbirth and observe them on the delivery stool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live." The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, "Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?" The midwives answered Pharaoh, "Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive." So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own. (Exodus1:15-21) |
They probably had a number of women working for them. Some commentators suggested that they were barren and the implication is that they poured themselves into their work because of what they could not have.
One has to question Pharaoh's sanity or recognise the excesses of his egoism in this account: Did he really believe that these women would obey him?
They do not.
They become the first known (beautiful and splendid) protectors of the unborn and newly born and examples of extreme courage in the face of a bully who could easily have them executed!
When they are called to account to Pharaoh, their response to his examination is incredible: "Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive."
Their answer has divided commentators.
Did they lie to him, and if so, how is this justified and how could God bless a lie?
Let's dig a bit deeper...
Here are some simple facts about their statement.
- "Hebrew women are stronger, more vigorous, than their Egyptian counterparts": Anyone with half-a-brain could refute this as a vague generalization.
- "They give birth before the mid-wives arrive:" If this were true then the need for mid-wives would disappear!
They refuse to be afraid of what he could do to them. Their "folklore excuses", as one commentator puts it, reveal the utter unreasonableness of what he had asked them to do.
I think Pharaoh realises that there is nothing he can do that will get these women to do his bidding. They're looking him in the eye and defying his wishes. To examine and refute their excuses would take too much effort and killing them won't achieve anything except strengthen the resolve of the remaining midwives and so he lets them go.
And God blesses the midwives with families of their own, because they feared Him more than they feared Pharaoh.
There is much to exclaim about here:
- The courage of these women.
- The importance of protecting the vulnerable.
- Exposing the bullies by openly and elegantly refusing them and even poking a bit of fun at them.
- Fearing God above all else and recognising He blesses this.
