What’s in a Name? Puah & Shiphrah - A Sermon for Sunday November 17, 2024

READING: Exodus 1:8-22

A reading from Exodus.

  8 Now a new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph. 9 He said to his people, “Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and more powerful than we. 10 Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase and, in the event of war, join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” 11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to oppress them with forced labor. They built supply cities, Pithom and Rameses, for Pharaoh. 12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread, so that the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites. 13 The Egyptians subjected the Israelites to hard servitude 14 and made their lives bitter with hard servitude in mortar and bricks and in every kind of field labor. They were ruthless in all the tasks that they imposed on them.
  15 The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, 16 “When you act as midwives to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.” 17 But the midwives feared God; they did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but they let the boys live. 18 So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this and allowed the boys to live?” 19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.” 20 So God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and became very strong. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. 22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall throw into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.”

Jacob, the one who wrestles with God,

who is named Israel,

hears the word from God,

“Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt,

for I will make of you a great nation there.”

(Genesis 46:3)

The twelve sons, the twelve tribes of Israel

come to Egypt,

70 persons in all.

Joseph rose to prominence.

Israel had a time of peace and prosperity in Egypt

with Joseph’s leadership.

400 years or so pass,

and the Israelites are growing in Egypt.

They went from 70 people

to filling the land.

More numerous, more powerful

than the Egyptians.

A new Pharaoh comes to power,

one who does not know Joseph.

This Pharaoh is not like the Pharaoh Joseph knew.

This Pharaoh is insecure,

tyrannical,

power-hungry,

wisdom-lacking,

and more than a little racist.

This Pharaoh sees the Israelites as a threat

and promises to do something about it.

This Pharoah reminds me of

a couple modern day Pharaohs, of sorts.

He goes so far as to try to have the first born

Hebrew boys killed,

ordering the midwives to kill the boys.

But there are two big problems here:

Midwives are not trained to deliver death,

they deliver life.

More importantly, these women do not fear the Pharaoh,

they fear God.

They bold-face lie to the Pharaoh,

They say that the Hebrew women are so fierce

they give birth before they can even arrive!

It is the first act of civil disobedience

in our bible.

God rewarded their faithfulness.

But in time, the Pharaoh will have his way,

he orders all his people 

to kill the Hebrew sons.

Next comes the part of the Exodus story

that we are more familiar with:

Moses.

Moses’ mother and sister take a leap of faith,

and perhaps run a little scheme.

Baby Moses is placed in the basket,

drifting through the reeds,

with his older sister watching at a distance,

ensuring that the daughter of Pharaoh

finds the babe.

Moses’ sister asks

“Shall I go get a Hebrew nurse??”

“Yes, take the child,

and I will give you your wages.”

And who does sister find,

but mom,

Moses’ mom.

Not only do these women find a way

to save their son and brother,

and to raise it themselves,

but to even get paid for it!

God bless them.

We know the Exodus story.

God acted powerfully,

freeing Israel from captivity in Egypt.

But this powerful act,

this faithful resistance,

did not happen out of the blue.

Mom and sister of Moses

and their faithful resistance

paved the way for Moses.

Mom and sister of Moses;

do they have the courage to defy the Pharaoh

If Puah and Shiprah don’t faithfully resist first?

One act of faithful resistance

Better, many little acts of faithful resistance

from Puah and Shiphrah

paved the way

for faithful resistance to follow.

I hope we are seeing a theme emerge in this

“What’s in a Name” preaching series.

Vashti’s faithful no,

refusing to appear in only a crown

paved the way for Queen Esther

to save her people.

The Daughters of Zelophehad

stood up for themselves,

they too have a right to inheritance,

and this paved the way for, well, all women

to be treated justly.

Onesiphorus’ kindness to Paul

visiting him in prison,

unashamed of his chains

paved the way

for Paul’s proclamation

of freedom amidst chains.

I get the feeling that this is a time of paving the way.

It feels like a reformation time for us,

that God is up to something in the Church,

in the world.

What kind of faithful resistance,

what kind of faithful no,

or what kind of yes to new life

might God be calling us into?

What’s in a name?

The two midwives, Shiphrah and Puah are named.

the Pharaoh is not.

I don’t mind that omission.

We know history is written by the victors,

and it is the Pharaoh’s of the world who are remembered,

not the midwives,

but that’s not how our God operates,

for in the kingdom of God,

the last shall be first and the first shall be last.

God doesn’t need another Pharaoh,

someone who sees the other as a threat,

or as someone to be dominated.

God calls us into faith.

To borrow from Anna Carter Florence,

perhaps a helpful image

for the faithfulness we are called into

is a midwife who fears God.

Midwives walk with those in labour,

and it sure feels like God is birthing something new.

Midwives are patient,

birth can take a long time.

Midwives have a thick skin.

They can handle strong words

from screaming people.

Midwives are not afraid of the mess.

Birthing something new is messy.

Midwives don’t want the spotlight.

they are not the mom giving birth,

nor the babe that is celebrated.

They watch and wait with mom and babe.

“Being a witness to a new creation is long, hard work,

and a lot to clean up afterward”

(Anna Carter Florence. “A is for Alabaster: 52 Reflections on the Stories of Scripture. 66.)

A midwife who fears God

does not fear the Pharaoh,

nor the administration,

but has eyes on the big picture.

God brings the tyrant down from their throne

and lifts up the humble of heart.

Empires come and go,

but the Word of God stands forever.

A midwife who fears God

does not give into the evil powers of this world,

but proclaims the power of God’s love

and serves with the power of God’s love.

A midwife who fears God

loves and serves whomever is groaning in labour pains,

regardless of where they were born

or who they voted for.

Midwives who fear God

are ready to wait and watch with the pregnant church,

they are not delivers of death,

but deliverers of new life.

God brings resurrection, new life, out of death,

so the midwife who fears God

does not fear the decline of the church

but helps birth what comes next.

In the words of Anna Carter Florence,

“Every time a midwife says no to Pharaoh,

we all get another chance.”

May we be midwives who fears God,

creating space for new life.

May we place our trust,

not in the Pharaohs and the Empires

but in the God of resurrection.

May our own Faithful Resistance

our own faithful “no” to the evils of this world

pave the way for faithfulness to come.

Thanks be to God. Amen.