SAVE-A-LIFE
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Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel. So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves.
Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, “When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.” But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. So the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this, and let the male children live?” 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.” So God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.”
THE IMAGO-DEI IS THE CHRISTIAN IMPETUS FOR INTERVENTION. HOWEVER, OUR INDIFFERENCE EXPOSES OUR THEOLOGICAL IMMERSION.
THE IMAGO-DEI IS THE CHRISTIAN IMPETUS FOR INTERVENTION. HOWEVER, OUR INDIFFERENCE EXPOSES OUR THEOLOGICAL IMMERSION.
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
It is not easy to stand up to Satan, or even to stand up to one of his lackeys like Pharaoh. This is why Shiphrah and Puah are two of the great women of the Bible. Shiphrah means something like “beautiful one,” while Puah means “splendid one.” Both of them lived up to their names.
Shiphrah and Puah were splendid and beautiful in many ways. They had a noble calling. As midwives, they had dedicated their lives to medical care. The many godly women who throughout history have devoted themselves to medicine are daughters of Shiphrah and Puah. These midwives must have helped many mothers and their babies survive desperate deliveries. No doubt they had also comforted many women upon the death of their newborn children.
The last thing that a woman like Shiphrah or Puah would ever do is take an innocent life. These midwives understood the mind and heart of God. Even though they had not yet received the Ten Commandments, they knew better than to commit murder. Perhaps they were familiar with God’s words to Noah:
“Whoever sheds the blood of man,
by man shall his blood be shed,
for God made man in his own image.
But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live.
By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for,
and by the fear of the LORD one turns away from evil.
This was an act of civil disobedience. Pharaoh gave the midwives a direct order, and they disobeyed it. But this is what God’s people always do when the laws of men contradict the laws of God. Our first allegiance is to God, and as Peter and the other apostles said, “We must obey God rather than men!” Acts 5:29.
But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.
There are times when Christians not only have the right but also the responsibility to resist. In a way this act of civil disobedience was the start of a revolution, the first beginnings of the slave revolt that ultimately led Israel out of Egypt.
By refusing to follow Pharaoh’s orders, Shiphrah and Puah became the first pro-life heroines. The reason these women had the courage to do such a splendid, beautiful thing is that they feared God much more than they feared Pharaoh. Pharaoh was the most powerful man in the world. With a simple wave of his hand, he could have had them executed. Yet Shiphrah and Puah dared to risk their lives because they “feared God” Exodus 1:17.
But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live.
They understood that obeying God is always the safest thing. They were acting in accordance with the command of Christ, who said, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul” Matthew 10:28
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
ABORTIONS EACH DAY
ABORTIONS EACH DAY
3,000 - UNITED STATES. 1.1 PER YEAR
3,000 - UNITED STATES. 1.1 PER YEAR
125,000 - WORLD-WIDE 40 MILLION PER YEAR
125,000 - WORLD-WIDE 40 MILLION PER YEAR
16 - NUMBER OF ABORTION EACH DAY IN ALABAMA
16 - NUMBER OF ABORTION EACH DAY IN ALABAMA
16.7% OF ALL PREGNANCIES END IN ABORTION
16.7% OF ALL PREGNANCIES END IN ABORTION
59% OF ABORTION OCCUR IN WOMEN AGES 20-29
59% OF ABORTION OCCUR IN WOMEN AGES 20-29
THE STATE OF FLORIDA RECORDS REASONS FOR ABORTION. 92.33 INDICATE THAT THERE IS NO REASON. ONLY .085% INDICATE RAPE AS A REASON.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA RECORDS REASONS FOR ABORTION. 92.33 INDICATE THAT THERE IS NO REASON. ONLY .085% INDICATE RAPE AS A REASON.
78% OF WOMEN WHO HAVE A SONOGRAM DON'T HAVE AN ABORTION.
78% OF WOMEN WHO HAVE A SONOGRAM DON'T HAVE AN ABORTION.
HOW CAN I BECOME A SHIPHRAH AND PUAH?
HOW CAN I BECOME A SHIPHRAH AND PUAH?
PRAY
PRAY
PRAY FOR GOD'S INTERVENTION.
PRAY FOR GOD'S INTERVENTION.
PRAY FOR YOUR IMMERSION.
PRAY FOR YOUR IMMERSION.
PRAY FOR YOUR INVOLVEMENT.
PRAY FOR YOUR INVOLVEMENT.
PARTICIPATE
PARTICIPATE
RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES.
RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES.
REACH OUT TO MINISTRIES & MOTHERS.
REACH OUT TO MINISTRIES & MOTHERS.
BE A REVELATION OF GOD'S GRACE.
BE A REVELATION OF GOD'S GRACE.