Exodus 1

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

Exodus 1:21

Exodus begins telling the story of how there is a new king in Egypt who does not know Joseph, his family, his legacy, or his work. The king of Egypt told the midwives to kill the sons of Hebrew women. The midwives were disobedient to the word of the king and obedient to God. Often God's word is contrary to the word of the world, because Satan rules the world. When we think about who we are obedient to, oftentimes we think about following the laws of society, being good citizens, and so on and so forth. But what is more important is that we are obedient to God, to His word, and to His kingdom above our obedience to anything else. We should be faithful to God before we are faithful to our nation or to anybody else.

Jesus says that the two greatest commandments are to love God and to love our neighbors, and that all the other commandments hang on these two. So if we follow what God commands of us, we will be loving to everybody. Our society likes to frame it as if it is not loving, and as if it is oppressive to follow the rules of God, but it is actually not. It is actually encouraging us to live in the perfect way that we were designed to live, and it is encouraging us to be with God for eternity. It is encouraging us to be faithful to Him, and as we can see in this verse, because the midwives were faithful to God and because they feared Him, He gave them blessings. He gave them families. We know that the command to be fruitful and multiply is often associated with God's divine blessing on people, and here He blesses the midwives because they fear Him.

A fear of God is something that shows our faith. When we fear God, it means that we are convicted to follow Him faithfully and above all else. It means that we feel guilt when we don't follow Him. It means that the way that we live our lives is constantly drawn back to what God wants, what He thinks, and what He says. That thoughtfulness that we show towards God is a fear of Him, and the way that we put His rule above anything else is also a fear of Him. I mention this because oftentimes God and what is considered normal are things that oppose one another, which I know can be difficult on my spirit. But I also know that it should not be, because I was put here to serve God. And as I know through God's word and His commandments, everything that He wants for us boils down to loving each other, being honest, and being faithful. I want to be that person, and so that means that my fear of God needs to grow abundantly.