Dear Beloved Followers of Christ,
Peace and blessings to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. My name is Shiphrah, a name perhaps unfamiliar to many, yet my story is intricately woven into the fabric of our faith's history. I write to you from a time long past, from the land of Egypt, where the cries of my people, the Israelites, rose to the heavens under the yoke of Pharaoh's oppression.
The book of Exodus recounts a dark period when fear gripped the heart of Pharaoh. The Israelites, once welcomed guests in this land, became a source of fear due to their burgeoning numbers. Pharaoh, in his paranoia, saw us not as people but as a threat that must be controlled, even extinguished. In his decree, he conspired to strip us of our future by targeting the most vulnerable among us – our newborn sons.
As a Hebrew midwife, alongside my fellow midwife Puah, I found myself caught between the tyrannical edicts of Pharaoh and the sanctity of life that God cherishes. Pharaoh commanded us to kill the Hebrew boys at birth, a decree that chilled our souls. But we feared God more than Pharaoh, and so we chose to defy the king's orders and let the baby boys live (Exodus 1:17).
Our defiance did not go unnoticed. When questioned by Pharaoh, we spoke of the strength and vitality of Hebrew women, who gave birth before we could reach them. In this way, God's providence protected us and the innocent children. Our actions, born out of fear of the Lord and love for our people, became a beacon of hope in a time of despair.
Among the children we saved was a boy named Moses, whose story you know well. Moses' mother, with a heart full of faith and desperation, placed her son in a basket and set him adrift on the Nile, entrusting his fate to God. Moses was drawn from the water by Pharaoh's daughter and raised as an Egyptian prince, yet he never forgot his Hebrew roots.
Moses' life is a testament to God's miraculous ways. He grew up in the very household that sought his demise, gaining knowledge and status that would later be instrumental in liberating our people. At forty, witnessing the suffering of his brethren, Moses acted impulsively and killed an Egyptian. This act, though born out of a sense of justice, led him to flee to Midian, where he would encounter God in the burning bush and receive his divine mission.
As followers of Christ, our journey is often marked by trials and tribulations, much like the Israelites in Egypt. We may sometimes find ourselves in situations where standing for what is right in God's eyes means defying the powers of this world. In these moments, remember the courage of two midwives who feared God more than a king, and in doing so, became part of God's plan for salvation.
Moses' story, and indeed the story of our deliverance from Egypt, began with acts of faith – the faith of a mother who placed her child in a basket, the faith of a sister who watched over him, and the faith of a Pharaoh's daughter who chose to defy her father's edict. These acts of faith remind us that God often uses the humble, the weak, and the courageous to bring about His purposes.
Let us, therefore, take heart and hold fast to our faith in Christ. Let us be courageous in standing for truth and justice, compassionate in our actions, and trusting in God's sovereignty, even when the path ahead seems uncertain. For just as God was with Moses from the Nile to the Red Sea, so He is with us, guiding, protecting, and using us for His glory.
In closing, I encourage you to be steadfast in your faith, bold in your witness, and loving in your service to others. Remember, God's plans are often greater than we can see, and He can use even the smallest of our actions for His grand purposes.
In His Love and Service,
Shiphrah, A Servant of God
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