The Daily Guide. grow. pray. study. from The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, United States "Brave midwives: more powerful than an obsessively fearful king" for Thursday, 18 August 2016
Exodus 1:15 Moreover, the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was called Shifrah and the other Pu‘ah. 16 “When you attend the Hebrew women and see them giving birth,” he said, “if it’s a boy, kill him; but if it’s a girl, let her live.” 17 However, the midwives were God-fearing women, so they didn’t do as the king of Egypt ordered but let the boys live. (ii) 18 The king of Egypt summoned the midwives and demanded of them, “Why have you done this and let the boys live?” 19 The midwives answered Pharaoh, “It’s because the Hebrew women aren’t like the Egyptian women — they go into labor and give birth before the midwife arrives.” 20 Therefore God prospered the midwives, and the people continued to multiply and grow very powerful. 21 Indeed, because the midwives feared God, he made them founders of families. 22 Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every boy that is born, throw in the river; but let all the girls live.”
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We read New Testament stories in which poor rabbis like the apostle Paul or Jesus himself
faced powerful Roman rulers—and we realize the durable power was with the person who
seemed weaker. Exodus did the same thing. Pharaoh was a title—Exodus didn’t even name
the fear-crazed, genocidal man who held it. But Shiphrah and Puah, two powerless midwives, “respected God.” In the end, their courage defeated the most powerful man in their world.
• Our world still tends to think in terms of “power.” Too often “might makes right,” it seems. Think of news stories you’ve heard in which some elected leader or celebrity, challenged for doing something wrong, responded with “Do you know who I am?” Can you imagine Pharaoh asking Shiphrah and Puah that question? How can you, however powerful or lowly your status, avoid dealing with others from a “Do you know who I am?” stance?
• Honesty is a virtue the Bible praised (e.g. Proverbs 12:19). Yet, faced with this extreme
situation, the midwives Shiphrah and Puah told Pharaoh what we might describe as a
“white lie,” or at least an evasive answer. (They did not say, “Your order is wrong, and we refuse to obey it.”) Are there times when one value (in this case, saving innocent lives) takes precedence over another value (telling the absolute truth)? If so, how can you avoid using that reasoning to excuse destructive behavior?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, give me the moral courage to do what’s right. Keep me from abusing any
great or small power I have in was that hurt others. And give me discernment to sense the
highest value in challenging situations. Amen.
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Insights from James Cochran
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We read New Testament stories in which poor rabbis like the apostle Paul or Jesus himself
faced powerful Roman rulers—and we realize the durable power was with the person who
seemed weaker. Exodus did the same thing. Pharaoh was a title—Exodus didn’t even name
the fear-crazed, genocidal man who held it. But Shiphrah and Puah, two powerless midwives, “respected God.” In the end, their courage defeated the most powerful man in their world.
• Our world still tends to think in terms of “power.” Too often “might makes right,” it seems. Think of news stories you’ve heard in which some elected leader or celebrity, challenged for doing something wrong, responded with “Do you know who I am?” Can you imagine Pharaoh asking Shiphrah and Puah that question? How can you, however powerful or lowly your status, avoid dealing with others from a “Do you know who I am?” stance?
• Honesty is a virtue the Bible praised (e.g. Proverbs 12:19). Yet, faced with this extreme
situation, the midwives Shiphrah and Puah told Pharaoh what we might describe as a
“white lie,” or at least an evasive answer. (They did not say, “Your order is wrong, and we refuse to obey it.”) Are there times when one value (in this case, saving innocent lives) takes precedence over another value (telling the absolute truth)? If so, how can you avoid using that reasoning to excuse destructive behavior?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, give me the moral courage to do what’s right. Keep me from abusing any
great or small power I have in was that hurt others. And give me discernment to sense the
highest value in challenging situations. Amen.
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Insights from James Cochran
James Cochran serves as Director of Counseling Ministries at The Church of the Resurrection, helping to connect the Resurrection family and community with counseling resources and group programming.Today we consider Shiphrah and Puah, a couple of Hebrew midwives in ancient Egypt. At first glance, I can’t think of someone less like me than a Hebrew midwife in ancient Egypt. Of course, as is so often the case with Scripture, a closer reading reminds me that I’m wrong.
The first dimension of the story is our relationship to power. Shiphrah and Puah are confronted by an authority who is (a) unyielding in his claim to absolute power and (b) commanding a behavior deeply at odds with their values. We still live in a world in which leaders sometimes make grandiose claims about truth and reality that don’t seem to reflect our lived experience. Shiphrah and Puah remind us that our obedience to earthly rulers is, at most, secondary to our obedience to God. They do not honor the Egyptian king’s request because he is beyond his jurisdiction. The King of King’s values take priority over any lesser authority’s challenge. If Shiphrah and Puah saw our present election year anxieties, they would likely remind us not to fret. We do not bow to the president, the legislator, the governor, or even the postmaster general (Megan Brennan, in case you’re wondering). Our obedience is first to God.
I think Shiphrah and Puah may have even more to teach us (me) about how we (I) process moral ambiguity. As a counselor, I’m often confronted with ethical dilemmas. I abide by certain strictures that protect the rights of my clients, but when these strictures seem to be at odds I have to find the “highest calling.” In other words, I try to find the “best” answer instead of the “right” answer, which is often elusive or non-existent.
I was reflecting on my own life, trying to imagine situations in which I could be sure that violating one value for the sake of another would be the right move. It’s a challenging mental exercise. As my friend Doyle said when processing this post, “We’re rarely confronted with ‘Shiphrah and Puah moments.’” Consider this example: You decide to throw a party. You invite several friends, but Cletus gets left off the list. You run into Cletus the day of the party and he asks what you’re doing that evening. What do you do? Is this a “Shiphrah and Puah moment?”
I understand–you don’t want to hurt Cletus’s feelings. Telling him that you’re visiting your great aunt in De Soto would spare him, so why not tell a “white lie?” But is that God’s highest calling? Asking whether it is appropriate to lie to protect Cletus’s feelings presupposes that God isn’t calling you to something else entirely. Why wasn’t Cletus invited? What would it mean for Cletus (or you, for that matter) if he were invited?
What becomes a little clearer after processing this narrative is that obedience to God and wrestling with moral ambiguity are inextricably connected. When we try to obey God without any recognition that some values deserve priority over others, we end up with a color-by-number faith that is at best devoid of beauty, and at worst morally dubious. When we try to resolve moral dilemmas without seeking God’s highest calling (i.e., obedience to God), we are prone to sin followed by self-justification. The story Shiphrah and Puah is a story about two women who recognized that righteousness is complicated. It isn’t color-by-number–it’s a finger painting by a six-month-old. In some cases, it requires going back to the drawing board and challenging the assumptions that got us into the mess in the first place. Sometimes honoring God’s highest calling may mean lying, cheating or stealing. But most of the time it doesn’t. Most of the time it just means taking a good hard look at the mess we’re in, finding God (because He’s there) and following Him out.-------
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