Remembering the Midwives Exodus 1:15-22

A midwife is a trained health professional who helps healthy women during labor, delivery, and after the birth of their babies.

The word derives from Old English mid, "with," and wif, "woman," and thus originally meant "with-woman," that is, the person who is with the woman (mother) at childbirth. The word refers to midwives of either gender.

According to our text Shiphrah and Puah were Jewish women who were midwives and they chose obedience. They decided to serve God and not man in their work and God rewarded them with their own families.

Many times at work we are so pre occupied with serving our masters that we seldom focus on the right thing.

We need to remember to serve God first and act in obedience. Due to the courage of these two women, Moses was born and Aaron and all the men who would later contribute to the deliverance of Israel from Egypt.

Sometimes God makes us spiritual midwives for visions of others... to hold their hand during childbirth and assist them. We need to remember to do this with God. In His purpose.

Midwives in Egypt assisted women in childbearing, cut the infant’s umbilical cord, washed the baby, and presented the child to the mother and father.

The midwives in this narrative possess a fear of God that led them to disobey the royal order to kill all of the male children born to the Hebrew women (Exod. 1:15-17). Generally speaking, the “fear of the Lord” (and related expressions) in the Bible refer to a healthy and obedient relationship with the covenant-making God of Israel. Their “fear of God” was stronger than any fear that Pharaoh of Egypt could put them under. In addition, perhaps their courage arose from their work. Would those who shepherd new life into birth every day come to value life so highly that murder would become unthinkable, even if commanded by a king?

Babies are special. They bring hope, carry on legacies and come leaden with God's promises. How blessed are you who help them come into this world. Let us purpose today to be a help to every expecting mother. From the Garden of Eden to Revelation God has manifested His Salvation through babies.

We need to also use this time to pray for the protection of children. In this time of Covid 19 I was sad to hear that the abortion clinics are the ones thriving the most in the US. This is demonic and must stop.

If you know of a young pregnant woman having second thoughts be her encouragement... help her have that baby. And God will bless your family as well.

God bless.