One of the choices we have to make on a daily basis is: who am I going to put my trust in? Who am I going to obey? It's a decision that Adam and Eve had to make in the Garden of Eden, and it's a decision that we continually have to make on a daily basis. It's a choice everyone has to make, and one you can't get away from.

Here in Exodus, we come across the midwives. They have been given a very clear instruction from the new king of Egypt: "When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth, if you see the baby is a boy, kill him."

You see, Pharaoh was concerned. He could see the Israelites growing in number, and it brought fear. He had come up with a shrewd plan: oppress the Israelites and work them hard. But the more they were worked and oppressed, the more the Israelites grew in number. And then came the instruction to the midwives.

So the midwives had a decision to make. Were they going to follow the order or not? I wonder what thoughts were going through their heads? What would be the consequences of not following Pharaoh's order? But then we come to a key verse in the passage: "The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do." (Exodus 1:17)

The midwives had come to a crossroad where they had to make a decision: trust in man or trust in God? And we come to the same crossroads each day, where we have to make that same choice. Proverbs 29:25 says "Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe."

These midwives came to the crossroad and they chose to fear God and put their trust in him! The result? 'God was kind to the midwives... And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.'

God blessed the midwives for their obedience and for their trust. And it is the same for us too! Jeremiah 17:7 says "Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him."

So, where will you put your trust today?

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NEWBOLD BAPTIST CHURCH