EXODUS 1
15 Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, 16 “When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.” 17 But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. 18 So the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this, and let the male children live?” 19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.” 20 So God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. 22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.”
– EXODUS 1:15-22
EXODUS 1 THE MIDWIVES WHO FEARED GOD
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
As the king of Egypt continue to feel threatened by the Israelites’ multiplication
He ordered the midwives to stop the Hebrew women from bearing male infants
But the midwives feared God, they disobeyed Pharaoh’s order and let them live
When Pharaoh confronted them, they reasoned that they were fast to give birth.
Pharaoh’s order to the midwives assigned to the Hebrew women to kill the male infants manifests the manipulativeness and cowardice of this tyrant. He didn’t even have the courage to fight with the male grown ups because of his fear of their number. So, he slyly made this order to the midwives to hide his plot to stop the number of the Hebrews from reproducing. It is ironic that he ordered the female infants to survive not thinking that they are the ones who give birth and not the male children. By the time they grow up, they can give birth to more Hebrews. The midwives must have been Egyptians who were ordered to stop the male babies from living. It is probably God’s plan to have Shiphrah and Puah have the wisdom to follow their calling to give life and not kill infants. Somehow, God’s fear has been passed on to them by the Hebrew women.
REFLECTION
· How was the disobedience of the midwives a manifestation of God’s protection?
