Prayer: Heavenly Father, may we be men and women who would always choose to obey God rather than men.
Note: Matthew 9:20 And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment: 9:21 For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. 9:22 But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.
One of the consequences arising from Eve’s disingenuous contribution to the fall of mankind would be the difficulty during the birth of a child. This painful reminder of the consequences of disobedience might have turned Eve, the first woman, wife and mother, into a default midwife. It was a profession that needed to be taken seriously as every new entry of human life into the earth came with the ramifications of pain for women. Eve’s first experience in childbirth might have taught her valuable lessons that were to be transferred to the next generation.
Workplace abuse of power by superiors in the maltreatment or bullying of subordinates is very prevalent today. Most work places have been able to mitigate such ethical and moral misbehaviours with workplace policies and guidelines that seek to protect the less powerful, especially women, whose natural construct is such that unethical men may want to take advantage of them, relying very much on their ignorance in invoking the law to their defence.
Shiphrah and Puah were the two notable Israelite midwives who must have been operating in the capacity of supervisors over other trained midwives and apprentices, considering the huge population of the Hebrews in Goshen (Exodus 1:8-22). These were women who suffered workplace abuse at the hands of no less a person than the king of Egypt. The king wanted them to commit genocide against the Hebrew male babies. It was at a time when the Hebrews were made to serve with rigour, afflicted with heavy burdens and their lives made bitter with hard bondage. But the midwives feared God and chose to disobey the king, inspite of the risks to their lives.
Food for thought: Doing the right thing under severe pressure to do otherwise, leads to abiding rewards.
Declaration: But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive. Exodus 1:17
Wednesday, July 13, 2022
©Author: Rev Fred Aboe
