The Day of New Beginnings

Spiritual Midwives

 

Ex. 1:
1 ¶  Now these are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob; they came each one with his household:
2  Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah;
3  Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin;
4  Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher.
5  All the persons who came from the loins of Jacob were seventy in number, but Joseph was already in Egypt.
6  Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation.
7  But the sons of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly, and multiplied, and became exceedingly mighty, so that the land was filled with them.
8 ¶  Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.
9  He said to his people, "Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are more and mightier than we.
10  "Come, let us deal wisely with them, or else they will multiply and in the event of war, they will also join themselves to those who hate us, and fight against us and depart from the land."
11  So they appointed taskmasters over them to afflict them with hard labor. And they built for Pharaoh storage cities, Pithom and Raamses.
12  But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread out, so that they were in dread of the sons of Israel.
13  The Egyptians compelled the sons of Israel to labor rigorously;
14  and they made their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar and bricks and at all kinds of labor in the field, all their labors which they rigorously imposed on them.
15 ¶  Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other was named Puah;
16  and he said, "When you are helping the Hebrew women to give birth and see them upon the birthstool, if it is a son, then you shall put him to death; 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 had commanded them, but let the boys live.
18  So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, "Why have you done this thing, and let the boys live?"
19  The midwives said to Pharaoh, "Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife can get to them."
20  So God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied, and became very mighty.
21  Because the midwives feared God, He established households for them.
22  Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, "Every son who is born you are to cast into the Nile, and every daughter you are to keep alive."
 
This first chapter of Exodus speaks mystically of our descent into a fallen nature (Egypt) and the Enemy’s attempt to prevent the victory of Christ form being manifested in human flesh. 
 
It was God’s own people that fell into bondage. They went down into Egypt to remain alive in a time of famine but the respite from famine ultimately resulted in a far greater bondage. Verses 13-14 are especially interesting:
 
13 The Egyptians compelled the sons of Israel to labor rigorously;
14 and they made their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar and bricks and at all kinds of labor in the field, all their labors which they rigorously imposed on them.
 
The Egyptians (fallen, religious nature) compelled the sons of Israel to labor rigorously. Notice it doesn’t say sons of Jacob, but sons of Israel, which indicates the sons of promise. Their lives were made bitter with hard labor in mortar and bricks and labor in the field. This represents the futility of religious works the old nature produces. We too have been made miserable with the hard labor in “mortar and brick and labors in the field”. The labors of religious flesh cannot bring us again to the blessings we had before the fall. 
 
Our greatest enemy is not Satan per se, but the satanic input ingrained in our fallen natures. Our fallen nature continually fights and struggles to keep us in bondage. It fears the one thing that can bring its destruction, and that is the life of Jesus Christ manifested in our flesh. Prophetically, that is why Pharaoh commanded all the male children to be put to death. It was an attempt to abort the line of Jesus Christ. The Enemy’s goal was to prevent God being manifested in human flesh. The same attempt occurred centuries later by Herod when Jesus was born. It’s only a new nature within us that destroys the works of the devil (1st Jn 3:8). 
 
It’s important to see that it was to the Hebrew midwives that Pharaoh gave the command to kill all the male children. The Hebrew midwives become a type of the priesthood, ordained to minister to Christ within God’s people, to bring Christ forth in His many membered body. On a natural plane, the midwives were to assist in the birthing of the Hebrew children. If Pharaoh had convinced the midwives to destroy the male children, to corrupt their calling, it would have been disaster. Unfortunately, that is precisely what is happening today. Every Sunday in thousands of churches those ordained to bring forth the life and nature of Christ in God’s people minister death instead. How? It’s done by continually preaching a Jesus apart from us, by teaching of a God off in the heavens somewhere whom we must serve here on earth. Any teaching that separates Christ from His indwelling us is false. The Gospel that is preached constantly in Christianity of “accept Jesus and be saved and go to heaven one day” is not the true Gospel. Yes, Jesus died for our sins, but it can’t stop there. It must lead to His nature being formed in us. God in man is His purpose for us.
 
The Hebrew midwives refused to carry out Pharaoh’s command. They feared God and continued to bring forth the male children. Verses 20-21 state:
 
20 So God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied, and became very mighty.
21 Because the midwives feared God, He established households for them.
 
Because the midwives feared God, He established households for them. Again, on a prophetic plane, this refers to more than just physical houses being provided for the midwives. It speaks of a spiritual lineage being perpetuated, a true priesthood that would endure from generation to generation. The purpose of these spiritual midwives is to faithfully minister to the Christ coming to birth in God’s people. They are to assist in the divine nature and life of Christ being formed in His body. 
 
In New Testament language, Paul expresses it this way: “My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you,” and again, “Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand ( Gal. 4:19, 2nd Cor. 1:24).” We are to be helpers of one another’s joy. 
 
Let’s be part of that great heritage God established back in Exodus, faithful midwives bringing to birth Christ’s nature in our brothers and sisters!