Scripture:
Exodus 1:8-22 NKJV
[8] Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. [9] And he said to his people, “Look, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we; [10] come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and it happens, in the event of war, that they also join our enemies and fight against us, and so go up out of the land.” [11] Therefore, they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. They built for Pharaoh supply cities, Pithom and Raamses. [12] But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were in dread of the children of Israel. [13] So the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigor. [14] And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage—in mortar, in brick, and all manner of service in the field. All the service in which they made them serve was with rigor. [15] Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of one was Shiphrah and the name of the other Puah; [16] and he said, “When you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstools, if it is a son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.” [17] But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive. [18] So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing and saved the male children alive?” [19] And the midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are lively and give birth before the midwives come to them.” [20] Therefore God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and grew very mighty. [21] And so it was, because the midwives feared God, that He provided households for them. [22] So Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “Every son who is born you shall cast into the river and every daughter you shall save alive.”
Observation:
I know there is a lot of Scripture this morning, but I believe the Holy Spirit has a purpose for it. Before I get too far into my observation, I want to take a quick trip back to Genesis. Yes, the very beginning of time as we know it. At the fall in the garden. GOD said something that fueled what we see here in Exodus and throughout the bible as well as in society today. What HE said was the seed of the woman will crush your head, and you will bruise HIS heel. This gave the enemy an idea about how redemption would take place. Fast forwarding to Exodus, we see the Pharaoh being influenced by the enemy himself. As he looks down over his kingdom, he sees that the Hebrews are a very strong group, and it brings fear to his heart. He says to his people that the Hebrews are greater than us. If it comes to war, they will overtake us. So he put taskmasters over them. To make their lives hard. So that they don’t realize who they are. Pharaoh didn’t even realize that what he had told his men to do would only make the Hebrews even stronger. The harder their lives were, the stronger they got. The physical labor and the heavy burden only gave them more purpose. I’m sure it didn’t take the Pharaoh long to realize his mistake. In some aspects, he seems like a smart man. So when he called the midwives to him and gave them orders to kill all the male babies. It seemed like a good idea. However, that’s where his assumed intelligence failed him. The one aspect he did not take into consideration was the one thing he was trying to keep the Hebrews from realizing. They were GOD’S chosen people, and the midwives had a fear of GOD, so they could not follow through with his request. They came up with a lie so that they would not be held responsible for killing the male babies. The scripture says that GOD gave the midwives favor for their decision to preserve their lives. This, however, fueled the Pharaoh even more. His next attempt was to throw all the male babies in the river.
Application:
Have you been lied to? Do you know who you are? I was talking to a young man last night, and this question came to my heart. I would like to say that for the past 40 or 50 years, there has been a plan in place to keep men from realizing who they are, but as we look at the Scripture. We can see it’s been from the beginning of time. It’s just become more in your face as time has gone by because some of us men have bought into it. Watching TV as they belittle the man’s role in the family and structure our homes after that lie. Is part of the problem. Weak men produce hard times, and hard times produce strong men. The enemy does not want you to understand exactly who you are. But right now, I’m going to cut his head off if you will do me a favor and just read on. This is who GOD has called you to be. Stand up, you mighty man of valor. The world wants you to believe that your role in the home is to be a stupid, weak-minded man who holds his Genitals and has no mind of his own. But that’s not what GOD says. HIS word tells me that I am the spiritual leader of my home. If I am weak, my whole family will be weak. So my question is, how much of the lie have you consumed? It’s not over… GOD says you are more than a conqueror through Christ Jesus. If you are a man who has believed the lie… it’s not over yet… I’m here to tell you that GOD has a plan for you, and the plan includes leading your family. Hitting your knees and asking the LORD to restore to you the joy of his salvation and leading your family to do the same. As the rightful leaders of our homes, what we do they will do. The key is leading in love. Leading the way GOD leads us. With grace and mercy. We can try to force our families if we want, but it’s only going to push them away from what they need. As we stay consistent in our pursuit of HIM and cover them with truth spoken in love, we will see GOD steadily draw them to HIM. Our job is to lead, not push. I have seen this in my life. If I do it, my family will want to do it as well. The more I chase after GOD, the more they want to do the same. The more I am riddled with sin, the more they will be as well. There is still more. Not only are you a mighty warrior called to lead your home, who is more than a conqueror, but you are designed to overcome. As you dive into GOD word and let it dwell in you richly, it will start to come to life inside of you. You will the principles unfold and a love of GOD be formed not only in your heart but the heart of your family as well. You are the head and not the tail. The very tip of the spear. You are the kill shot. As a man, it is up to you to bring a godly presence into your home. It has been put on my heart over the past few years to step up and build stronger men. The enemy has lied to you. My challenge to you is this… get into GOD’S word, find out who HE says you are, and live that out. As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
Prayer:
Father, we love you. I know that you can take what has been written this morning and bring forth a mighty army of men who would stand up and say. Satan, get your hand off my family. Strong men who will fight from their knees. Men who will stand at the foot of the cross knowing that it’s where the biggest battle was fought and won. Men who would fight from victory, not for it. An army for strong men who would lead the charge to the gates of hell to kick them down and retrieve their sons and daughters back. Give us the confidence of David, who would step up to a giant with a rock to cut his head off. Father, call out the men you have chosen and show us how to lead our families. It’s in the mighty name of Jesus I pray amen.