Exodus 1:13-17

Exodus 1:13-17 And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour: And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. ... And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, ... And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, ... if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live. But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive. The harder that the Egyptians made the Children of Israel work, the stronger they became. So Pharaoh called in the ladies who helped the Hebrew women to deliver their babies. These ladies are called midwives. He commanded the midwives to kill the baby boys but to let the baby girls live. That way, in a few years there would be no husbands for the Hebrew girls growing up and they would just marry Egyptian men and become Egyptians. But the midwives feared God more than they feared Pharaoh. And that is a good lesson for us. We should always obey God before we obey men. So the midwives made up an excuse. When Pharaoh called them in to explain why so many baby boys were still being born, the midwives said, “The Hebrew women are strong. When they call us to come and help to deliver their babies, by the time that we get there the babies are already born. We can’t do anything about it.” And God blessed the midwives. And God blessed His people as well. God always takes care of His own. And that’s a good thing – that is if you belong to God!