One night a mother told her little girl to go outside and get her the broom. ” I don’t want to go out there Mummy.” Said the girl, ” I’m scared of the dark.”
The mother smiled reassuringly, “You don’t have to be, Jesus is out there. He’ll look after you and protect you.” The little girl looked at her mother and asked, “Are you sure he’s out there?”
“Yes, I’m sure. He is everywhere, and he is always ready to help you when you need him,”
The little girl thought about that for a minute and then went to the back door and cracked it a little. Peering out into the darkness, she called,
“Jesus? Can you please hand me Mum’s broom?

Following on from yesterday’s blog, the 2nd type of fear in our passage from Exodus 1 is the FEAR OF GOD

Lets look at the heroines of our story. Shiprah and Puah.
Who were they?
Some scholars think they were the leaders of midwives. Israelites were so numerous at this stage that its unlikely they were the only ones.. Many rabbis also teach that Shiprah is a pseudonym for Jochabed (Moses’ Mum) and Puah is one for Miriam (his sister) “¦ but the Bible does not specify.

Whoever they were, they have a test here.

Who will they fear?
The maniacal murderous pharaoh or the faithful Father God?
For them there is no contest.
V 17 says “Now they feared God.”

Fear of God is a strange and uncomfortable phrase. Unpopular in our culture. What does it mean? Well going back to the definition I wrote about yesterday. I think FEAR = worship.

There are so many benefits I could say about fearing God, but I have just picked 3.

1. Understanding
Ps 111:10 (NEB) The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and they who live by it grow in understanding…

The midwives were living in Wisdom. They weren’t controlled by fear of man. They could have been terrified of Pharoah and scared for their lives.

DO YOU NEED WISDOM RIGHT NOW? Then find that in your worship of God.

These women feared God when the evidence could have made them think that He’d abandoned Israel in slavery.

Why are they so armed with wisdom? Jewish people constantly tell stories to each other of their history, of God’s mercies and interventions – to remind themselves of who they fear and why they fear Him. “The God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob”¦ This is “God’s CV” that they repeat. This situation is not a surprise to them.

God had prepared Abraham for this. He had said:
1. You will be fruitful.
Genesis 15:5
“count the stars”¦ “So shall your offspring be”
2. You will be have hardship.
Genesis 15;13-16
“your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.”

Shiprah and Puah would have had access to this knowledge.

Knowledge changes everything.If you know it is going to work out ok, you can survive anything. What is more you will not be so afraid.

God’s word speaks of itself in Psalm 119 that it is a lamp for our feet and a light to our path. It doesn’t say bonfire or beacon. It’s a small light, enough to see by.

The midwives knew they were coming through this.

Who do you allow to tell you stories? What do you they say?

Fear of God is also

2. Nourishing
Fearing God is good for us”¦ Because these women feared God it was good for all the Hebrews”¦
Our fear of God will have impact on so many others lives. Not just now but in generations to come.

Let’s look at what their names mean.
Puah means “splendid” in Hebrew or having a “particular gift of soothing speech,

Just what you need in labour!

Shiphrah means “brightness “the capacity to make something better, or to improve its quality.”

Fear has a negative connotation as childish and something we must grow out of. But fear of God is about honoring him first. It is the healthiest way to live. It makes us mature. Its how we were designed.

Fear of God is about
3. Belonging
A Jewish boy comes home from school and tells his mother he has a part in the play. “¨She asks, ‘What part is it?’ “¨The boy says, ‘I play the part of the Jewish husband.’ “¨The mother scowls and says, ‘Go back and tell the teacher you want a speaking part.’

This joke is based on a cliché, but I have known some amazing Jewish women who have been the most tenacious characters. They know who they belong to. You don’t mess with a Jewish woman because they aren’t alone. They are strong people. They have community. They would not think of acting before asking twenty people.

Fear of God is about belonging to Him and his community. That’s why we encourage people to go on Alpha courses to explore truth together with others. Its why we want everyone to be in Grow Groups. We are not meant to do life alone.

Shiprah and Puah were together in this.

What Atmosphere were they living in?
Worship not whining
Faith not fear
What about you?
Fear equals worship

Fear of man makes us weak and keeps us weak.
An acrostic for this type of fear might be
False
Evidence
Appearing
Real

But the Fear of God makes us strong and keeps us strong!
An acrostic for this type of fear could be:
FACE
EVERYTHING
AND
RISE

Isaiah 40:31 says …”but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary.”
We will run and not grow weary.
How are you feeling today? Are you running or are you paralysed, stopped in your tracks by fear?

Look how generously God treats these midwives. He gives them joy in the presence of their enemies in v 20
God loves us to worship Him when we are afraid. He loves to be our hiding place.
God said something wonderful to me this week that I found so moving. He said, “Ems I will not remove you from the place of fear, but I will remove you from the FACE of fear.” In other words he will turn our head to focus on Him. Psalm 23 says He feeds us in the midst of our enemies. He lays a banquet table for us there. Not only providing for our needs but lavishing us with his generosity.

He gives the midwives husbands and babies of their own. They are not killed for disobeying, which is craziness. These would have been barren and maybe even old and single women. They would not be the beautiful ones in society. Their job was dirty, dangerous, difficult. But God remembered and honoured them. Not only that, they are named in history and the Pharoah himself is not, scholars are not even sure which one he was.

Proverbs 10:7 says “The memory of the righteous will be a blessing, But the name of the wicked will rot”

The midwives fought for those babies and those women and God was pleased with them.

When we stand up in the midst of fear and declare that we will have nothing to fear but God, he will lavish us too.

Why?
Because there is an edict that has been written about you in heaven that declares that God will use ALL things to work together for your good, not just the easy things. Not just the things you understand. All things… because his plan is to prosper you.

Prospering us means to make us rich in wisdom and discernment. Now you can’t be rich in wisdom unless you experience something where wisdom is needed.
You can’t be an overcomer unless you have overcome.

So God will provides you with a test.

How is your test going? Are you being faithful in it?

The Hebrew word “obhnayim” (birth stool) used here is also used in Jer 18:3, and there it is translated as “potter’s wheel.”

Look at the picture in the inset, as I finish. God’s hands get dirty as he touches us and moulds us but He sees us as worth it because He loves us so much.
What is God birthing and fashioning on the wheel of your life right now? It may look as though everyone is against you”¦ but if God is FOR YOU”¦ who can be against you?

Join me in a prayer:
Father, fear of man and fear over our circumstances often steals our hearts. And our terror is a sign of the unbelief that remains in us, opposed to you. So, help us to see with true vision. Illuminate our hearts and minds to see that you alone are worthy of our humble, joy-filled fear. Through your Son, Jesus, who takes away all other fe