Shiphrah and Puah allow male
children to live
TO CHEW ON: "But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive." - Exodus 1:17
Imagine the anguish and soul-searching these women must have wrestled with when they heard Pharaoh's command to kill each male Israelite baby on delivery. With all their instincts and training shouting "Live!" I wonder if they, for even a moment, considered obeying Pharaoh's demonic order?
There's no doubt Pharaoh and his law sparked a smoulder of fear within them. But there was One they feared more: "... the midwives feared God..."
["Feared - yare'— means to fear, be afraid of someone or something, to stand in awe of something or someone possessing great power; to revere someone. ... The fear of God is not a terror that He is against us or will strike without cause or warning. Rather, the fear of the Lord produces wise, healthy actions, as in the present reference; the midwives were more afraid of angering God by destroying innocent babies than they were of disobeying Pharaoh" - Dick Mills & David Michaels, "Word Wealth - Feared," New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 78.]
I can't help but see the similarities between the situations of these midwives and people who work in the medical profession in Canada. Here the practice of abortion is widespread with no law against it regardless of how far along the mother is. In many hospitals nurses and doctors have the option of refusing to perform abortions, but not in all. Additionally, with state-paid-for medical costs rising, it's easy to foresee the day when it will be the law to abort any child that could be a potential drain on the medical system.
And so the question comes to us who are in these situations, indeed, to people in any place where convictions clash with the state's rules: Who do we fear more, Pharaoh or God?
PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for the example of these Hebrew women who feared You to the extent of putting their careers and lives in jeopardy. Help me to fear You above any human custom or law. Amen.
MORE: Civil disobedience
The fallout for civil disobedience for these Hebrew midwives was good: Exodus 1:21. But that is not the fate of all such actions. Whenever we disobey the law of the land in adherence to a higher law we risk consequences. Mary-Lynn McPherson describes the situation for pro-life nurses in Canada:
"Some hospitals require nurses to agree to 'perform any health service' as a requirement of hiring. Across Canada, nurses do not have the legal right to refuse to participate in procedures to which they are morally or religiously opposed. Some have been disciplined, and even fired, for discussing options to abortion with patients." (Read all of "Freedom of Conscience.")
Our willingness to suffer these consequences in the here and now tests our faith in many areas including our faith in God, the rightness of His standards, and His ability to bring about ultimate justice.
For those of us not on the front lines in these battles, let's pray for the people who are. In this particular battle in Canada they include physicians and pharmacists as well as nurses.
No comments:
Post a Comment