“The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt told them to do.” (Exodus 2:17)

During our current sermon series, has God said, let’s go, to you in your quiet time or through a friend’s nudging? We’ve heard Esther say, “but wait; I could be killed.” Gideon’s “are you sure, Lord?” pointed to his family’s pitiful standing. Peter doubted the fishing was any better “in deep waters.” If you said “wait a minute” to God because your Let’s Go moment might also pit you against a strong adversary, you have good company. Whose let’s go voice did you listen to? How much risk were you willing to take?

It’s challenging to stand up today for God’s standards when opposition is entrenched and has power to fire, jail, or generally make life miserable. But hasn’t it always been difficult, even dangerous? In Exodus, Pharaoh commands two midwives to murder newborn Jewish boys. Genocide, plain and simple. And if they disobey, they won’t simply be fired. But their fear of God is greater than their very real fear for their lives. They listen to God’s let’s go, risk everything, and “let the boys live” (1:17). End of story. All is well for the Israelites. 

Not so fast.

Whereas Esther saved an entire nation from extermination, Gideon secured a great victory, and Peter caught more than just fish that day, these two midwives see Pharaoh escalate his genocidal efforts by asking “all his people” to kill the Jewish male newborns (1:22). The future of the Jewish nation looks bleak. Did they wonder if following God’s let’s go was worth it? 

Let’s admit it’s challenging to follow God when physical danger looms or when it’s impossible to believe we’ll make any difference. We’re not guaranteed our righteous defiance will effect change. We’re not promised immediate blessing for doing what’s right (although God did bless Shiphrah and Puah with children). But we still need to follow the midwives’ example. What they don’t know, but we get to see, is by bravely obeying God’s let’s go and not Pharaoh’s, they prepare the way for a Jewish deliverer. Baby Moses will be dramatically rescued by Pharaoh’s own daughter! Had the midwives’ defiance encouraged her bravery? It will take decades to see the ultimate impact of these women’s actions, but one day this deliverer will tell this very Pharaoh, “Let my people go!”

Is some pharaoh telling you to do something contrary to God’s word and character? Sure, it would be easy to go along to get along. Of course, it’s hard to summon the courage these midwives showed. 

Yes, defying “pharaoh” and following God instead might be dangerous. But who knows what instrumental role you might play in God’s larger Let’s Go! movement? 

If you’d like to read or re-read the overview/summary of this week’s passage, you can find it here.