For the next 40 days or so I will be plowing my way through Exodus, journaling my thoughts and reflections about this wonderful book. Some of what I encounter I will keep to myself. Things that are special between God and I. But much I wish to share here, inviting others to journey with me. For it is not good to be alone on any journey…
The Miracle of a Midwife
Egypt is ruthless to make sure God’s people are kept silent, still, enslaved. It will stop at nothing to keep one oppressed and chained. It heaves heavy burdens upon our shoulders, heavy yokes, causing us to toil in our misery thus snuffing out all hope.
Egypt will kill off (or at least try to kill off) those things, events or people in our lives which might suggest there is reason to hope. In chapter one of Exodus the hope for a struggling people wondering if there is a future for them lied within their progeny – their boys who would soon become men. These boys gave Israel a reason to hope that one day they might be free. One day they might prosper. One day they might have life.
Egypt knows this. Egypt seeks to snuff out the boys. Kill all hope. Erase any chance of becoming free.
Our oppressors know that the best way to keep one in chains is to cut off these rays of hope, in whatever form they may appear.
A midwife is a person that stands between death and life. Between hope and despair. A midwife is one who ushers in new life.
Midwives = Grace.
Egypt, in its lust for total control of us, will even try to recruit grace. It will try to subvert it, turn it into its own tool for oppression. It will attempt to turn what is meant to be pure gift into a serpent.
“Kill the boys,” Egypt demands.
The midwives refuse. Grace wins. Love wins. They let the boys live. They allow seeds of hope to be planted. A new day is dawning.
Even while in bondage, even while enslaved, even while hope seems dead and our oppressor appears to have the final word, grace is manifested. Somehow, someway, someone or something (like a midwife) enters the jail cell of our lives with a key. Or, if not a key, a word of grace and peace that suggests there is a key. Which, for some of us, is the greatest news of all. Midwives in our lives open a window to the possible. They look at Egypt and say, “No!”
And they tell me I can, too.
May we all discover a midwife today. Perhaps where we least expect her.
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Filed under: Exodus | Tagged: Bible, bondage, Egypt, Exodus, Grace, Journal, Midwives, Oppression, Pain, sin, Slavery
Chad,
Thanks for doing this series of posts. I took your idea and I’m doing my own from Ezra/Nehemiah. I was going to preach a series of sermons from these books before I was fir…resigned from my church. I know you won’t mind, but just so you know, I’ll link to your posts as often as they appear. Good job.
jerry
Jerry-
Thanks. I look forward to reading your thoughts….
peace.
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