Obedience

I'm diving into Exodus and Leviticus this week for my Old Testament Survey class. Man, I love to read and reread about the life of Moses and how God accomplished His will for the people of Israel through this inarticulate murderer whose life was transformed by the presence of God alone. But this time around, I'm really getting more out of Exodus than I have before...Perhaps because God has changed my heart about the way I view the Old Testament. Thank You, Lord! Here's a thought for the day. Let's call it "Obedience".

Scripture--
"The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives...'When you help the Hebrew women in childbirth and observe them on the delivery stool, if it 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...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 1:15-16, 20-21

Observation--
Pharoah was so afraid of the ever-increasing Israelites, which he viewed as parasites in his country, that he made a decision to snuff them out at the root--kill off the male population from birth. But despite the oppression and slavery the Israelites were living under (or perhaps because of it), the Israelites feared the Lord. They disobeyed the commands of Pharoah, who had political authority over them, in order to remain faithful to God. As a result, God honored them, giving them families, and increasing them ever more.

Application--
As an American, I consider myself fortunate and blessed to live in a country and culture where obeying the Lord does not conflict with the laws and orders of my government. And yet I almost long for such a situation, because I know this would challenge me to take a firm no-turning-back stand for my faith. I feel like American believers (myself included) have a tendency to be quite wishy-washy in our faith; because it is acceptable in our culture and government to say we follow Christ and to go to church and Bible studies, etc, the only opposition we face is verbal persecution and maybe alienation from certain groups of people. What would happen if we HAD to take a stand for our faith, if we reached a make-it-or-break-it moment in which a clear conflict presented itself through which we would have to choose our god, with the possible threat of imprisonment or death? These Hebrew women had to do just that, choosing between obeying Pharoah's commands and remaining safe or refusing to obey him and trusting God. And they chose to trust in the Lord. As a result, He blessed them and continued to multiply His people.

And if they had chosen to obey Pharoah? They still would have saved their own lives but at the expense of an entire nation that God was raising up to be His people. Are the choices we make based on obedience to God or obedience to the authorities that we live under? Is it OK to disobey the authorities if we become aware that what they are asking us to do is against God's Word? I believe so, because God's Word is true, without error, and has authority over all things.

I once had a boss who asked me to do her kids' English papers. So I did it, and with the cooperation of some co-workers we even managed to "help" her son win a state essay contest. I wasn't a follower of Christ at the time, so I didn't have as problem with this. But looking back on it, I realize that it was clearly dishonest of me to do that. Now I know that this wasn't a life or death situation, and the penalty of telling my boss no would only have resulted in some tension between us at work, but still I think it illustrates the point. I disobeyed God to please the human authorities in my life.

Have you experienced a situation like this in your life?

Prayer--
Lord, please give me the faith to obey You no matter what happens in the world. Thank You that I live in a society where it's "OK" to obey You, and many times even considered honorable by many people. But please help me not to be wishy-washy because of this. I want to stand for You and even ask You to put me in situations that would force me to do this in a bolder and more definitive way. I want to be willing to serve You and trust You and obey You, regardless of what the authorities in my life may tell me to the contrary. I love You. Amen.