GETTING STARTED
I knew it was wrong, but I did it anyway. When I was ten years old, my cousin and I stole fishing line from a sport shop. I didn’t even fish. I did it because I went along with my older cousin, trying to impress and doing whatever I could to avoid being called a wimp. In the moment, I was more afraid of my cousin than of getting caught. I was foolish.
- When have you been tempted to do what you knew was wrong because of peer pressure or fear of other people?
READ THE WORD: EXODUS 1:15-22 (ESV)
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.”
English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
DIGGING DEEPER
- Put yourself in Shiphrah and Puah’s shoes. What were they risking by disobeying Pharaoh’s orders? What temptations or justifications might they have had to obey?
- Why did these women disobey their king? What does that tell you about their understanding of ultimate authority and justice?
- Shiphrah and Puah refused to become baby killers, even when commanded by the state. When is it right to disobey civil authority?
- What situations do you face where you must decide between obedience to human authority and standards and Godly authority and standards? Are there any adjustments you need to make in repentance?
RESPOND TO GOD
Not all fear is bad. Two low-status women risked death by disobeying their king. They feared God more than anything a human could do to them. They knew that there was an ultimate authority to whom they would one day give account. They lived Jesus’ counsel thousands of years before he gave it: “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). Fear of man is foolish and leads to all kinds of deadly decisions. Fear of God brings life. It is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10, Psalms 11:10).
- Confess to God where you fear people or, because of the temptation to fear people, maintain the standards of the world rather than the standards of God.
- Thank God for his loving-kindness and forgiveness. Ask God for the courage that comes from appropriate fear.
