Good Morning Friends,
“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.”
(Exodus 1:15-18)
The Hebrew midwives were given an order by
Pharaoh that went directly against God’s will. It wasn’t a gray area, God’s
will was very clear. Killing another person was wrong. God had spoken to Noah,
“From each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man.
Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the
image of God has God made man.” (Genesis 9:6)
God’s will also was clear with respect to the
obedience that was owed by His people to those who ruled over them. The Hebrews
were not to be a rebellious people, they were to respect their rulers and be
good citizens. The midwives were faced with a dilemma: should they obey their
ruler or obey the clear will and command of God.
Actually, it didn’t pose much of a dilemma for
the midwives. They knew what was right. When the ruler asked them to do
something that was clearly wrong, they refused to obey. They followed the plan
the apostles would later declare to the rulers of the Jews, “We must obey God rather
than men!” (Acts 5:29)
Fortunately, this kind of situation does not
arise often. Those who rule over us: the government, our employers, our
teachers … do not often ask us to do that which is clearly wrong. But when they
do ask us to do what we know is wrong, then the path before us is clear. We
must obey God, even if it means to disobey those who rule over us.
God’s will and commands take precedence over
all others. That’s what it means to be His disciple!
His, by Grace,
Steve
No comments:
Post a Comment