Today’s Reading: Exodus 1; Exodus 2; Psalm 88; Luke 21
Scripture: Exodus 1:17-21
17 The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. 18 Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, "Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?"
19 The midwives answered Pharaoh, "Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive."
20 So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.
Observation: The Hebrew midwives had been ordered by Pharoah to kill the boy babies but let the girls live. However, their fear of God was greater than their fear of Pharoah and they did not do as Pharoah had commanded them. When they are summoned before Pharoah to give an answer for their disobedience, they make up a story -- they lie. What is interesting to me is that God blesses them for what they did, lies and all!
Application: I love this about the Bible. Like yesterday's post, this one points out that God really does not fit into our neat packaging. I was taught in Sunday School that it is always wrong to tell a lie. Here, God blesses the liars. Why? Because there is a deeper truth than not lieing. It is to preserve innocent life. Their lies saved lives. And apparently God is not so narrow as to judge them on the smaller violation when that helps them avoid a great violation. Who knew?! Actually, we do no service to God or people when we paint a picture of a narrow-minded God. We will be surprised when we really see how broad-minded God truly is.
Prayer: Lord, deliver us from our narrowness. Help us to hold on to truth, rejecting error, but being open to things beyond our comfort zone or way of thinking. You are good and Your ways are past finding out. Help us to never think that we have You down pat. Keep us humble and sweet.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.
1 comment:
Righteousness is not easy. It is something that takes great spiritual maturity to understand. We tend to want to make it simple by making a list of rules. The Pharisees did that and it caused them to not be able to reason well and to miss seeing truth. We are to be persons of integrity and light, wise as serpents, but innocent as doves. There is perplexity and complexity in that call.
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