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God’s Greater Authority
Scripture Reading — Exodus 1:1-22
Because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.
— Exodus 1:21
In our story today, at the beginning of the book of Exodus, we learn that many years have passed since Jacob and his family went to live in Egypt. Joseph, who had ruled at the king’s right hand, is long gone and forgotten. A new king reigns over the land, and this Pharaoh sees the Israelites— the descendants of Jacob—as a great threat to his power. So he aims to control and contain them.
Pharaoh, the Egyptian king, put slave masters over the Israelites, using them as laborers to build new cities. The people of Israel kept multiplying, though, so the king also ordered that their baby boys be killed. Midwives, who were trained to be helpers in childbirth, were assigned to be killers instead.
The authority of Pharaoh dominates this narrative, but another authority is at work in this story too. In fact, much of the early part of this book of the Bible is about battles between the gods of Egypt and the one, true God, who chose to bless all nations through the Israelites, the descendants of Abraham.
The midwives trusted in God rather than the Pharaoh, however, so they chose to be servants of life rather than death. Their actions helped the people of Israel to increase, and the Lord blessed them with families of their own.
Again we see that God is faithful to his promises.
Dear God, help us to be agents of life wherever we may be, and help us to honor you with our lives. Lord, thank you for blessing us, and may we trust and serve you faithfully. Amen.
About the author — Jul Medenblik
Rev. Jul Medenblik is a former attorney who was called to pastoral ministry and became the church-planting pastor of a congregation in New Lenox, Illinois. Since 2011 he has served as the seventh president of Calvin Theological Seminary, which, together with Calvin University, is celebrating 150 years of God’s faithfulness in their history as the educational institutions of the Christian Reformed Church in North America (see calvinseminary.edu/150th). Jul and his wife, Jackie, have been married for over 40 years and are blessed with two adult children and a son-in-law.
Scripture Reading — Exodus 1:1-22
Because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.
— Exodus 1:21
In our story today, at the beginning of the book of Exodus, we learn that many years have passed since Jacob and his family went to live in Egypt. Joseph, who had ruled at the king’s right hand, is long gone and forgotten. A new king reigns over the land, and this Pharaoh sees the Israelites— the descendants of Jacob—as a great threat to his power. So he aims to control and contain them.
Pharaoh, the Egyptian king, put slave masters over the Israelites, using them as laborers to build new cities. The people of Israel kept multiplying, though, so the king also ordered that their baby boys be killed. Midwives, who were trained to be helpers in childbirth, were assigned to be killers instead.
The authority of Pharaoh dominates this narrative, but another authority is at work in this story too. In fact, much of the early part of this book of the Bible is about battles between the gods of Egypt and the one, true God, who chose to bless all nations through the Israelites, the descendants of Abraham.
The midwives trusted in God rather than the Pharaoh, however, so they chose to be servants of life rather than death. Their actions helped the people of Israel to increase, and the Lord blessed them with families of their own.
Again we see that God is faithful to his promises.
Dear God, help us to be agents of life wherever we may be, and help us to honor you with our lives. Lord, thank you for blessing us, and may we trust and serve you faithfully. Amen.
About the author — Jul Medenblik
Rev. Jul Medenblik is a former attorney who was called to pastoral ministry and became the church-planting pastor of a congregation in New Lenox, Illinois. Since 2011 he has served as the seventh president of Calvin Theological Seminary, which, together with Calvin University, is celebrating 150 years of God’s faithfulness in their history as the educational institutions of the Christian Reformed Church in North America (see calvinseminary.edu/150th). Jul and his wife, Jackie, have been married for over 40 years and are blessed with two adult children and a son-in-law.
