Thwarting the Will of Pharaoh

Exodus 1:15-19

The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, “When you act as midwives to the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, she shall live.” But the midwives feared God; they did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but they let the boys live. So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this, and allowed the boys to 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.”

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Why; our backs are now against the wall
Listen all of y'all it's a sabotage
Listen all of y'all it's a sabotage
Listen all of y'all it's a sabotage
Listen all of y'all it's a sabotage

"Sabotage" by The Beastie Boys

In the beginning of Exodus, we learn that time had passed. So much time had passed that there wasn't a king in Egypt that remembered Joseph or what he did to save Egypt. Also since the death of Joseph, the Hebrew nation had grown mighty in number. So between forgetting the historic relationship between the two nations and Israel growing mighty in number, Pharaoh worried Israel was becoming "mighty" within his borders. He worried that if the Sons of Israel had become too mighty that they would conquer Egypt, and that's no position a monarch wants to be in.

So what did he do? He demanded the infant sons of the nation of Israel be slain by the midwives while their mothers were on their birth stools. How nasty is that? Pharaoh expected the midwives to use the knives which would cut the umbilical cord to slit the newborn's throat. Pharaoh expected the midwives to wrap the umbilical cord around the throat of the boys and strangle them. Pharaoh expected the midwives to obey, but they did not.

It's easy to understand their fear, they feared God. Who wouldn't? Slaying a baby immediately after the mother gives birth has got to be among the nastiest, coldest evils a person could ever do. When you see God after this little thing, you'll have some 'splaining to do. It's also quite a tyrant could expect a subject to do this. If the king could expect a midwife to slay a baby it's hard to imagine what else the king is capable of doing. It's easy to understand that they would fear Pharaoh.

They would have been foolish if they hadn't feared God; and they would have been foolish if they hadn't feared Pharaoh. The midwives had two fears, one for each course of action. Each action could have cost them their lives. But there are differences in their fears.

Fearing Pharaoh they could die. Lying to the king is never a way to make friends and influence policy. They could have died. Once.

Fearing God, they feared the one who could take their life and so much more. In the end they chose to fear the One who could give them life as well as take it away. They feared the One who gives life, and because they did they were rewarded with children of their own.

Listen all of y'all it's a sabotage! Because the midwives chose to thwart the will of the King of Egypt, because they chose to sabotage the will of Pharaoh they saved the lives of many Hebrew boys, including one we know as Moses. Le chiam to the sisters who helped preserve the law.

The Source of Wisdom

Ephesians 1:17-19

I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power.

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I sailed an ocean, unsettled ocean
Through restful waters and deep commotion
Often frightened, unenlightened
Sail on, sail on sailor

"Sail on Sailor" recorded originally by The Beach Boys. This version features Brian Wilson with Matthew Sweet and Darius Rucker.

Paul has a well developed theology of wisdom. This is extended in his greeting to the Ephesians praying that they may be given a spirit of wisdom from the Father of glory, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul doesn't want them to be wiser in the ways of the world, he wants them to receive only the good gifts of God.

Paul's hope has never changed either, that we all increase in wisdom, but there's a lot more of the earthly variety of smarts out there today than there was 2,000 years ago. Paul would be amazed that the wealth of human wisdom is now doubling at a rate of every ten years, and soon will be down to doubling every two. He would be amazed at things like the internet to store and share human knowledge. Amazed, but not impressed.

So much stuff and so little of it wrapped around wisdom that matters. As the old song goes, we ride the unsettled ocean of intelligence, not wisdom. Sometimes it's restful, more often it's frightened, unenlightened deep commotion. There is so much commotion that our choices are to sail through or get swamped. Both Brian Wilson and the Apostle Paul knew about this from their many journeys.

So we are to seek God's wisdom, not the wisdom of the world. Facts are the junk food of wisdom, God's word is bread for our life's journey. We seek this gift so that our hearts may be enlightened knowing the hope of God's glorious wisdom; these riches Paul calls the inheritance of the saints. This is the gift for all who receive God's wisdom.

The Value of our Stuff

Luke 12:16-21

Then he told them a parable: “The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”

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They were all impressed with your Halston dress
And the people you knew at Elaine's
And the story of your latest success
Kept 'em so entertained

"Big Shot" by Billy Joel from 52nd Street

This biblical land owner appears to be endowed with all of the best qualities of the protestant work ethic. He is hard working and diligent. He is wise; a long term planner and strategic thinker. He saves, he doesn’t squander his wealth. He doesn’t seek to go out and buy the best new toys from the first century Monkey-Ward catalog, he is ready to build new barns and store his crop for many years. Even if he was just lucky; even if he had great seed, prepared soil, favorable weather, and the best luck in the world; chance favors the prepared and he was definitely prepared.

Reflecting on the bounty, he tells his soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” This rich farmer has just made a major deposit in his ancient Individual Retirement Account and life is good. He is a small business owner who has done all of the right things. As soon as he makes a new place for his stuff he’ll be ready to take a breather. His earthly debts are paid off and he is ready to take a little time with his family. That’s the plan, a plan that would make any investment specialist proud. Relax, eat, drink, and be merry. Friends, let’s face it, this guy could not be more typically American unless he baked an apple pie and invented the hot dog.

This farmer is not the vain woman from the Billy Joel song, but they do both love their stuff.

This is where we come to the harsh reality. Relax, eat, drink, and be merry is found in the Old Testament books of Ecclesiastes and Isaiah where it isn’t a blessing. It’s a foreboding of impending doom. The mistake that he has made is that he has received a great blessing and chosen to sit on his hands and on his wealth.

Resting on his laurels watching the world go by sitting on the veranda in his porch swing is not the life God calls him to live. This is not the life we are called to live either. Our call is not to rest on God’s blessings; our call is to do God’s will with these blessings.

Good and bad come from the use of riches, not the riches themselves. To the ancient Greeks, riches were seen as blessings from the Gods. The Greek word for “riches” shares the same root as the words “fill” and “full.” Riches, the filling of the barn if you will, were seen as a blessing from God. Still, riches were not to be confused with the blessings of God. Things like “wealth of wisdom” or “wealth of grace” were not promised in these riches.

It’s not riches, but our attitude toward riches, the way we use riches that is important. The rich farmer in the parable is the man who embodies the American dream, but with one fatal flaw. He wanted to use his riches, the bountiful gifts of a gracious God, for his own comfort instead of for God’s kingdom. When we trust our lives to the security of riches instead of the richness of God, we trust in something that is fleeting.

As the farmer learns, life can be over in a flash. Our lives can be demanded of us in any given moment. When this happens, Jesus asks, “Who will receive the blessings that have been trusted to you?” One blessing will last; the other will become dust in the wind. We have received so many blessings, and often they are squandered on things that don’t last until the next season, just like a Halston dress.

Ours is not to squirrel away the blessings we have received into new barns because these riches are fleeting. We are to seek the greater blessings, the blessings of God. We are not to store up treasures for ourselves but are to be rich in the blessings of God.