Pharaoh
said: “When you act as midwives to the Hebrew women, and see them on the
birthstool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, she shall live. But
the midwives feared God; they did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them,
but they let the boys live.”
We’re finally out of the book of Genesis but
the story of Biblical childbirth doesn’t get any easier. Jacob and his family
had come down to Egypt to escape famine in Canaan. There they had multiplied to
the point where the Egyptians felt threatened by them. They were enslaved, and
Pharaoh eventually ordered that all male Hebrew babies should be killed at
birth. Two brave and cunning Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, decided upon a
bold course of action, lying to Pharaoh that the Hebrew women were so strong
that they gave birth without needing help. Shiphrah and Puah must have known
that they were risking their own lives by lying to Pharaoh, whom the Egyptians
worshipped as a living god, but that did not stop them.
Eventually Pharaoh took even more drastic
action, and commanded the Egyptian
people to kill the Hebrew boys themselves, but Shiphrah and Puah’s actions
saved many lives, and, according to the story God honoured them and gave them
families of their own.
·
The Hebrew midwives displayed astonishing
courage. How good are you at confronting things that are wrong? Can you recall
times when you have done so, or failed to do so?
·
Are there any stories in your family history
of the people, medically trained or not, who attended a birth? What do you
imagine it is like to be a midwife? What joys and fears might midwives have?
·
Pray for midwives and other medical
professionals who help mothers give birth. Pray also for those who do not have
access to the medical help they need.
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