«But Peter and the apostles replied, ‘We must obey God rather than any human authority’ » (Acts 5:29, NLT).
The children of Israel were being oppressed in Egypt, and even so they kept on multiplying. Then Pharaoh ordered the midwives to kill all the Hebrew baby boys; to commit infanticide. The Bible says these women (who were probably Egyptian and heathen), «feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive» (Exodus 1:17, NKJV). Although Shiphrah, Puah, and the other midwives feared Pharaoh, a greater fear and respect kept them from obeying him.
In Proverbs 1:7, we read that «the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.» Understanding that taking those children’s lives would be a grave and cruel sin, the midwives chose to disobey Pharaoh rather than God. The Bible says God favored them because of it (see Exodus 1:21). Some Bible commentators believe God favored them by giving them children of their own. According to the custom in those days, midwives normally performed their job because they could not conceive. However, since they feared God, He gave them families of their Own (Exodus 1:21, NIV).
The midwives’ civil disobedience saved the Hebrew boys. Then, Pharaoh ordered the people to «throw every newborn Hebrew boy into the Nile River» (Exodus 1:22, NLT). Moses’s mother disobeyed that order and hid her son for three months. When she could no longer hide him, she ignored the law. . . by «keeping it.» Moses’s mother kept the letter of the law: she threw her son into the river. But in a basket of papyrus reeds waterproofed with tar. Pharaoh’s own daughter disobeyed her father: she not only saved the boy knowing he was a Hebrew, but also allowed his mother to nurse him and paid her for doing so (Exodus 2:9).
Although the Bible states we should obey governing authorities (Romans 13:1, 2), we should never do so at the expense of our obedience to God. In that case, we should practice smart disobedience. Seeing eye dogs are trained to use that technique; they are trained to disobey their owner’s commands if it would place them in dangerous situations. Likewise, God expects us to use our wisdom to ignore illegitimate and cruel orders.
Lord, sometimes, in order to obey You, I will have to disobey others. Please give me the wisdom and courage to make the right decisions when I am being pressured.
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Take From: Devotional Thoughts for Women 2022
«NO FEARS»
BY: VANEZA PISSUTO
Collaborators: Alexandra Pérez & Angelica Cuate.
