By Luke Dahlenburg
Read Exodus 1:8-22
Living for God is not always easy. Christianity is sometimes met with disdain and mockery. The wonderful news about peace with God through Jesus Christ as Lord (Acts 10:36) is not always valued or met with joy and we end up bearing the brunt of people’s frustration at God. Today, let’s be encouraged to have our fear and faith in the right place as we look at two women who lived in a hostile world, but knew that God was faithful, good and worth following even if they got hung out to dry.
- What are the words that show the suffering of God’s people and the evil of Pharaoh (8-16)?
- Pharaoh would have been pretty scary to defy – Especially when you’re just a nurse! In 17 we meet the first of five women to stand against Pharaoh (Three are in the next chapter. See if you can spot them). How do the midwives view God and how do they respond to Pharaoh? Do you feel and see the tricky spot they were in? Note their humorous reply – they imply that the Hebrew women are stronger than Egyptian women are don’t need them! Notice, too, how Pharaoh’s evil plan didn’t work.
- What do we learn about God, and living for God, from these events?
Prayer: Thank God that he rewards those who fear him – if not in this life, then certainty in the next (Luke 18:28-30). Ask for courage to obey his word, especially the under pressure.