The Midwives Feared God

BIBLE STUDY # 812- CHURCH IN THE HOUSES TUESDAY, MAY 6 – 12, 2014

Topic: “The Midwives Feared God” Exodus 1:15-21 Although God’s nation was treated with harshness nothing destroyed them. On the contrary, the Lord’s nation grew in everything. All of Abraham’s descendants were strong and healthy. Even when Pharaoh thought he could eliminate them by weakening them and make them disappear by imposing a great burden of work and using inhuman and barbarian treatments, the contrary was happening. Then they were more numerous, they multiplied even more. Unable to put an end to them with maltreatment, now Pharaoh wanted to destroy them directly, he wanted to kill and make the male children disappear. He would seek advice for that evilness and it came to his mind. From the heart he sent for the midwives to destroy through them the roots of the Israelites, destroy the younger male children. Pharaoh was a great agent of the devil himself. This is where the matter is: we don’t face merely bad men, but rather our confrontation is against the devil. It is important to know that it is with the devil himself that we have to struggle. The devil possesses authorities on earth through which he rises to take away from you what is of God. This is how he wanted to eliminate the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The devil wishes to eliminate you, make you disappear to have the road free and not have any obstacles to continue abroad doing evil. Among those children sentenced to death by Pharaoh, Moses, who God would use later to pull out the people from Egypt and take to the Promise Land, was going to be born. Who would be closer to Moses when born? The midwives! Pharaoh was that agent who wanted to destroy God’s people and to achieve it he needed the help of someone who would be close to the Hebrew women when they gave birth, they were the midwives. They would terminate each Israelite baby boy as per Pharaoh’s sinister plan induced by the devil! The devil knew that among those Hebrew women about to give birth would be God’s chosen. Pharaoh, king of Egypt, spoke to the midwives about the Hebrew women. Apparently he spoke to only two of them. Either they were the heads of a great corporation of midwives or perhaps by interfering only with these two he proposed to intimidate the others in order to carry out the secret fulfillment of his desires. THE ORDER WAS TO KILL ALL BABY BOYS. To add a new note of barbarism to the executions ordered by that devil’s instrument, the tyrants had to be the midwives. In what position was Pharaoh placing these women who were used to bring children to life! It wasn’t to take them to death! Such was the devil’s scheme: death, death. The solution for the well-being of the midwives was: to fear God who closes all doors to the devil! The midwives were women fearful of God! Their faith inspired them with such courage. They did not comply with Pharaoh’s order even when their lives were in great danger for disobeying the command of the cruel tyrant. They did not fear Pharaoh; it was God who they feared. That fear made them deny the king’s command. Before the king of Egypt they heeded the law of God’s people. They feared God; they considered His law fearing more the wrath of God than the wrath of Pharaoh. Those midwives were courageous placing their trust in the God of Israel and refusing the Pharaoh’s order to kill the newborn baby boys. What they did was to protect them and allowed them to live. The excuse they gave the king when questioned was that the Hebrew women were very strong, so much when they arrived it was too late to assist them in the delivery (Vs. 18, 19). Since the fear towards God fell upon them; that stopped the diabolical criminal hand. God protected the midwives for what they did. Because the midwives feared God the nation grew powerfully. The Hebrews increased and prospered. To fear God is greater than fearing Pharaoh! God is not limited at all, Pharaoh is indeed very limited. The power belongs to God! The devil does not have the power to yield the power of God in those who fear him. The prize with which God rewarded the midwives for the attention they gave His nation was to bless their children, He prospered their families (Exodus 1:21). For being fearful women of God who received the order to execute, on the contrary they gave life; well God gave life to their families. What makes our own prosper is the fear we have towards God! The more we fear God the more prosper, not the government, or the economy or anyone else. Fear exists for with God, not for man on earth! Amen.