Standing with the Oppressed

Are you a midwife or a king? Does the question strike you as odd? What does it have to do with standing with the oppressed. Let me explain.

I believe we Christians have gotten off course. The focus has shifted from valuing life to that of personal blessing and kingship. We thank God for parking spots and bigger houses. We give him praise for good traffic and stress-free days, as if he were a genie here to grant us our personal desires. We tithe in order to receive a material blessing, rather than seeing the blessing in simply helping another human being.

Standing with the oppressed in quiet disobedience

In Exodus 1: 1-22 we read that Egypt was a great power. However, they saw their culture beginning to change. The king (Pharaoh) saw a power shift on the horizon as the minority (the people of Israel) began to grow in number. So the people of Egypt positioned themselves in power over the Israelites, they made their lives increasingly difficult. Their demands were unattainable and their laws allowed for the murder of their young boys.

There were those who refused.

There were those who protected the young boys.

Even when it put them in harm’s way.

Even when it meant lying.

Even when it meant lying. That line is hard for me to write. I want to scratch it out. I want good to be “black and white,” easy to understand, easy to identify. I want clear instructions of what is right and what is wrong, but I live in a fallen world. We live under the complex call of Scripture to honor authority and simultaneously stand for the oppressed. It is a dichotomy history has forced us to struggle with time and time again. If there is one thing the Bible is clear on, history repeats itself.

The Villans and the Heroes

Given thousands of years of perspective, we can all easily agree that the Pharaoh in Exodus is the villain and the midwives in this story are the heroes. A midwife’s purpose is to usher in new life to this world. They refused to go against who they were, they refused to be the same hands to destroy life. They lived to protect the innocent lives of newborns born into oppression and God rewarded them.

God rewarded their compassion, their quiet disobedience, their value of life, and their lies.

But even had God not rewarded them, they still would have followed their hearts. How do we know this? Because there was no promise of reward made when the decision to disobey the law was made.

Were there others standing with the oppressed?

Were there others who stood against the Pharaoh’s law? It’s not a question we can answer, only the midwives small resistance is noted. That small resistance was enough for God to sneak in and orchestrate the salvation of the Israelites with the arrival of a baby.

God used the compassion of women to free the oppressed! Sit with that.

In a patriarchal society, where women were not viewed as a threat but baby boys were, God used the compassion of women to usher in his people’s salvation. The midwives lied, a mother hid her baby, a sister stood guard, and an Egyptian Princess defied her father and raised a dangerous Hebrew as her own. Those who opposed the Pharaoh and his laws did not do so with violence, but with compassion. Their hearts were stirred by the value of life and they resisted, standing with the oppressed, placing a target on themselves, responding with gentleness.

Same Story Years Later

The midwives in Egypt are not the only ones who lied to save a life. Rahab, many years later, hid spies on her roof and lied to the soldiers who came to look for them. She saw value in their lives and corruption in the laws of her own city. God honored her for her compassion and her lie.

This is also not the only king who feared baby boys and ordered their deaths. Herod, many many years later, would fear another savior for the people living in oppression. There would be no midwives to save those children. It would take the resistance of travelers, a vision from an angel, and the obedience of two young parents to save just the one baby. The one baby whose life and death would one day become the model by which we all should stand for the oppressed. The one who would show us that our individual comfort means nothing when another is hurting. The one who would model for us and command us to love our neighbors.

When innocence is threatened what are we to do?

Your iniquities have turned these away, and your sins have kept good from you. For wicked men are found among my people; they lurk like fowlers lying in wait. They set a trap; they catch men. Like a cage full of birds, their houses are full of deceit; therefore they have become great and rich; they have grown fat and sleek. They know no bounds in deeds of evil; they judge not with justice the cause of the fatherless, to make it prosper, and they do not defend the rights of the needy. Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the Lord, and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this? - Jeremiah 5:25-29, ESV

We are not to profit from the oppressed. We are to stand up for them. We must reject the theology that brings blessing to “I” and seek instead to serve others, as Christ did. Christ did not come for his own comfort. He came to comfort the week, to bless the poor in spirit, the mourners, the meek, the merciful, the peacemakers… (Matthew 5). He did not come to bless those who hold all the cards. He lived and died for others.

Life in every shade, every background, every stage, disability, belief system……….. Life is valuable. Let go of your desire for kingship, grasp more tightly to the righteousness of the lying midwives. Acknowledge the past that we have inherited, don’t deny it. Our feet walk on ground stained by the blood of the oppressed. Learn from history so we can move towards compassion. Perhaps in doing so, you will play some small part in the salvation of our nation.

But it’s a lie?

Here is where I have landed in the grayness of this life. God sees the heart. When I lie for personal gain I am the oppressor. When I lie out of necessity to protect the oppressed I am living out the example of Rahab and the midwives. It is my job, my calling, as a Christ follower to love with NO ulterior motives. Even when this puts me in harm’s way.

What are your thoughts? I’d love to dig deeper. Share in the comments.

*Images taken from Unsplash.com Jon Tyson’s collection