Did you know that our Northside Writers’ Group writes devotions for Table Groups? What’s a Table Group, you ask? Head back over to the Northside Women main page and click the link at the bottom of the page to find out! (You’ll be glad you did.) This year, all of our devotions will be exploring God’s faithfulness to women in the Old Testament. The following is adapted from our April devotion:

Special Delivery

By: Cindy Browning

On Monday morning, April 29, 1991, around 3:00 am, I woke up with a terrible pain in my abdomen. I thought that those little Krystal hamburgers that I love so much were about to do a number on me. I paced about the house feeling my insides squeeze every few minutes. Clearly, the pain was not from those little gut bombs. Maybe it was from my busy weekend. I had cleaned the house and even scrubbed the kitchen floor on my hands and knees. Sunday was a whirlwind of activity with church and an afternoon baby shower. (Our first baby was due in one month.) Now that it was Monday, I had to get ready for school in just a couple of hours and I was hurting badly. I checked my first edition copy of What to Expect When You’re Expecting (remember that, 80’s gals?), and I thought that maybe I should talk to someone. I called the hospital and consulted with a maternity floor nurse. She encouraged me to come and get checked out. I told her that I would consider that, but I had to get ready for school soon. I finally woke Kent up and we decided together to make a quick trip to the hospital to be sure all was okay. We got there around 5:30 and politely explained to everyone who talked with us that we were in a hurry as I needed to get to school. I even told the nurse that I did not want to lie in the hospital bed and dirty the sheets because I needed to get going. An hour and a half later, the most beautiful, black-headed, squalling baby girl was placed on my chest. I said her name; she knew my voice and she quieted. She looked at my face with eyes trying to focus for the first time, and I fell forever, unconditionally in love. And school? Well, it did not seem quite as important.

I like to tell my story. I have noticed that when one mother shares her birth experience, other mothers want to share their stories too. Well, the Israelites have a birth story as well. Two women, Shiphrah (pronounced: Shif-rah) and Puah (Pu-a), played an important role in that story. Let’s briefly review what took place in the years before these two midwives entered the story.

The conception of the Israelite nation began with a promised son, Issac. Isaac was born to old Abraham and post-menopausal Sarah. Issac’s son Jacob fathered twelve sons. Beloved number eleven, Joseph, was sold into Egyptian slavery because of his brothers’ jealousy. By God’s hand, Joseph did not remain a slave but was given a high government position. Joseph’s authority became second only to Pharoah’s in the land of Egypt. Joseph prepared the land for a future famine. Because Egypt had food, and Joseph had compassion and mercy, Joseph’s brothers and their families came to live on the most fertile land in Egypt. God had miraculously provided.

The Hebrews, as they were called, were not enslaved right away. They had decades of peace as their numbers increased. Time passed, Pharoah and Joseph died, and a king that had not known Joseph came to power. This Pharaoh saw that the Hebrews were growing mightily in population and in strength. He feared them, wondering if they could possibly take over Egypt or conspire with enemies? So, he enslaved the Hebrews, and their slave labor became vital to Egypt’s economy. Not only did Egypt have free labor but, surely, the brutal work would cause the Hebrews to weaken and be incapable of revolting against Egypt. Instead, their hard work made them stronger, and the Hebrews continued to increase in number. Pharoah had to control their population, but how? He called for two women to personally come see him.

Shiphrah (meaning “beautiful”) and Puah (meaning “splendid”) were midwives to the Hebrew women. Midwives were the OB-GYNs of that time and were highly respected. Historical evidence shows that midwives during that period were highly skilled, and Egyptian women had excellent prenatal and postnatal care resulting in high live birthrates. Shiphrah and Puah were Egyptian midwives assigned to the Goshen region. It is doubtful that Shiphrah and Puah were the only midwives as there would have been a lot of child-bearing Hebrew women at that time. Perhaps they were the most well-known or oversaw other midwives. I don’t know for sure, but I am willing to bet they could have written a Hebrew version of What to Expect When You’re Expecting. What we do know is that Pharoah knew about them, and they were given a rare personal invitation to talk with the king. I bet their knees buckled and their minds raced when he told them to kill the Hebrew baby boys as they were being delivered. But instead of fearing the wrath of Pharaoh, they feared God. Here we see the first account of civil disobedience recorded in Scripture. Shiphrah and Puah courageously defied the king’s order. They valued the lives of others over their own.

Pharoah discovered that the Hebrews continued to grow in number, and he called the midwives back to give an account. I am sure they dreaded returning before him knowing they had not done what he had commanded them to do. Would they soon die for their defiance? When questioned, they bravely said that the Hebrew women were strong and delivered too quickly for them to carry out the mission. They even added a bit of a jab saying that the Hebrew women had a strength that the Egyptian women lacked. Some think that they lied, but I think the Hebrew women were indeed exceedingly strong and healthy, and I personally know how quickly a baby can come. And, because of their obedience to God, a baby with a special purpose was born. His name was Moses.

Now, what would have happened to Jacob’s sons and their families if there had not been a famine? Do you think that they would have scattered about far and wide living separate lives? I suspect so. I believe that God gathered seventy brothers, wives, and children and grew a nation within a nation. The land of Egypt was like a womb that confined them and allowed them to grow until God was ready to deliver them. Their intensive labor pains increased their strength for the endurance they would need to be delivered. God used two special “midwives” of sorts to bring about this delivery, Moses and his brother Aaron. When the days had been fulfilled, a baby nation, the offspring of Abraham, Issac and Jacob, began its transition from the womb. The water of the Red Sea broke, and a birth canal from bondage to freedom was opened. The cord of slavery was cut and, as they entered new life, the water closed and a nation, a promised child, was born. Then God, the Father, wrapped that infant nation up in an everlasting love just as a mother swaddles her baby, tight and secure. Now that, friends, is a delivery story!

"Then say to Pharaoh, 'This is what the LORD says: Israel is my firstborn son, and I told you, "Let my son go, so he may worship me.’” -Exodus 4:22-23