Dear Sister in Christ, Greetings to you in the name of our Saviour Lord Jesus. It is my joy to share with you from the word of God. 

In Exodus chapter 1 and 2 we read about Moses’s birth and his growing up. And something to be noted in these chapters are the characters whom God used to protect this promised deliverer Moses, from the claws of the enemy. Interestingly, all these characters are women. Let us go through together the history to meet these beautiful women and see how they played their small, yet a significant role.

Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt. “Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become far too numerous for us. Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country. So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly. They made their lives bitter with harsh labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly. Exodus 1: 8-12

1. The Midwives: Shiphrah and Puah

The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.” The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?” The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.” So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own. Exodus 1: 15-21

Aren’t these women amazing that they risked their own lives to save the baby boys of the Israelites, among whom was Prophet Moses. We see that they were God fearing women. They also acted with wisdom towards pharaoh

Also, in another point of view, their conduct in their career was honourable before God.

2. Moses’ mother: Jochebed

Exodus 2: 1-3 “Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.”

Jochebed is the mother of Moses, who is full of love towards her baby boy for whom she violates the laws of pharaoh and is determined to save her son. An ordinary Israelite slave mother whose love blossoms into determination and boldness. She too acts with wisdom. 

While pharaoh had commanded the people to throw the baby boys into the river Nile, Jochebed did not throw the boy but hid him for 3 months. It must have been very challenging to hide an infant for 3 months! 

And when she discerns that she can no longer hide her son, she built an ark like basket. She was careful to build it well with papyrus and then coated it with tar and pitch. It could be that she was knowledgeable, or she learnt how to build one just for her baby’s sake, either wise she did the best she could and let him in the river. All her effort shows her heart for her baby’s survival and her trust, hope and faith in God to save Moses from the river.

3. Moses’ sister Miriam, Pharaoh’s daughter and her female slave: 

Exodus 2: 4-10 “His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him. Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it. She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said. Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?” “Yes, go,” she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took the baby and nursed him. When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, “I drew him out of the water.””

Moses’ sister Miriam kept watching the basket. She must have been concerned about what would happen to her little baby brother. And God gives her a beautiful surprise by sending the pharaoh’s daughter who takes note of the basket. Pharaoh’s daughter seems to have been curios, to know what was inside the basket and out of this curiosity, she sends her female servant who then carefully brings the basket to her and when she opens and sees the baby crying, her heart of compassion crosses over the boundaries set by her own father. And again, Miriam comes into the picture and acts with courage and wisdom to ask of the need for a nursing mother, which then is being granted. The next verse in the bible starts with the words, “One day, after Moses had grown up…” 

It is wonderful to see how God had used simple and ordinary women to save Moses, who one day would save the entire nation of Israel from bondage. How wonderful it is to know that little or simple deeds of these women were very essential for this mighty prophet Moses to be protected and raised. So, don’t underestimate your design, your emotional strength, your knowledge and wisdom, your abilities, your curiosity and your timidness and so on… You can be of great significance in God’s incomprehensible doings, if you can only walk in alignment with your Maker. Both your strengths and weaknesses does not matter to God, as He makes every little thing of yours fit into His artwork if you are with God. And never forget your role as a helper. Woman playing her role in a man’s life is of great significance too. 

Happy New Year to you sweet daughter of God.