“ARE WE GOING TO BE LESS BLESSED?”

EXODUS 1:8-21

 

8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.

9 And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us.

10 Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.”

11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses.

12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel.

13 So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves

14 and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves.

15 Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah,

16 “When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.”

17 But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live.

18 So the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this, and let the male children live?”

19 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.”

20 So God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong.

21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families.

 

The Apostle Paul said that it’s important to always speak the truth in love.

(Ephesians 4:15)

 

That’s not what happened though when a man went on a vacation and asked his brother to take care of his dog while he was away.  The brother was more than happy to help out.  Unfortunately, shortly after the man left for his vacation the dog died.  So, when the man called home a couple of days later to see how things were going the brother bluntly told him, “Your dog died.”  The man was devastated and scolded his brother for his lack of sensitivity when it came to breaking the news to him.  “What did you want me to say?” the brother asked.  “I don’t know,” the man said.  “You could have said anything.  You could have said ‘Your dog’s on the roof.’  Then when I called back a couple of days later you could have said, ‘Your dog fell off the roof and isn’t doing very well.’  Then when I called back a couple of days later you could have said, ‘I’m sorry to tell you this but your beloved dog has gone to his eternal reward.’”   The brother thought about it for a moment and then apologized.  “Thank you,” the man said.  “Apology accepted.”  “So,” he said, “how have you been?”  “Great,” the brother said.  “And how are the wife and kids?”  “They’re great too,” the brother said.  “And how’s mom?”  “Oh,” the brother said.  “Mom’s on the roof.”

The Apostle Paul was right.  It’s important to speak the truth in love.  There are times though when being blunt is the most loving thing you can do.  That’s why I think it needs to be said that Uncle Sam is on the roof.

I say that because all is not well in the good old U. S. of A.  All is not well in this land of opportunity that stretches from sea to shining sea.  It’s not just me saying that either.  According to a recent poll 83% of the people in this country believe that we’re heading in the wrong direction. (AP-Ipsos Poll, June 18, 2008)

Why? Open up the newspaper and you see a senator from Alaska who may be going to jail.  You see athletes who are cheating and using performance enhancing drugs.  You see people who are losing their homes because of shady mortgages that are now being referred to as liar loans.  You see pharmaceutical companies that are marketing drugs that are based on questionable research and actually do more harm than good.  You see movies that are constantly taking gratuitous violence and sex to new lows. You also see those loose moral everyday in all kinds of ways.

So, where are Puah and Shiprah when you need them?  Puah and Shiprah of course were the midwives who decided that they weren’t going to do what the pharaoh wanted them to do.  They knew that his order to kill all those male babies wasn’t just wrong.  It was downright evil.  So, instead of doing what the pharaoh wanted them to do they decided that they were going to do what God wanted them to do.

That’s really the question that needs to be answered today.  Are we going to be a people who do what God wants us to do?

 

The answer to that question might seem obvious until you look at the soccer games that are held on Sunday mornings, the stores that are open Sunday mornings and the debate over whether to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance. You can also see the trend away from God in a politically correct Christmas card that made the rounds in an email last December. Actually it wasn’t really a Christmas card. It was more of a holiday card. After all what do you call a card that says,

 

“Best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral, winter solstice holiday…plus, a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the generally accepted calendar year 2008, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of the other cultures whose contributions have helped make our society great.”

Now I’m all for being environmentally conscious and socially responsible and respecting other traditions, but whatever happened to Merry Christmas and happy New Year?  Whatever happened to peace on earth and good will to all? 

 

By the way take another look at Puah and Shiprah.  They didn’t just talk about doing what God wanted them to do.  They actually did what God wanted them to do.  They didn’t just talk the talk.  They actually walked the walk.  That’s why I really don’t like it when politicians end their speeches with “God bless America.” Being a nation under God means more than just giving God lip service.  Being a nation under God means passing laws and making policies that show that we’re a nation that deserved to be blessed by God.