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We see a positive fulfillment of the fifth commandment in five women who conspired to serve the God of life, rather than the gods of fear and death. Shiphrah and Puah are much less famous than Pharaoh or Moses, yet their names are preserved in Scripture as guardians of life. They fear and love God more than Pharaoh’s decrees. They give people of faith a shining example of the courage to commit civil disobedience when lives are at stake.
Another keeper of life is Moses’ mother, who uses her faith and wit to craft him a lifeboat of sorts. Then there is the sister who watches over her little brother and cleverly volunteers to find a Hebrew wetnurse for the child – baby’s own mother! And fifth and most unexpectedly, we see the Egyptian princess, who takes pity on a fragile life, one that her own father had declared an alien and an enemy. Together, these five women formed a conspiracy of life for Moses, the savior of the Hebrew people. As a Christian, I can’t help but think how alike they are to the women who protected and nourished Jesus, the Savior of all nations.
This message is excerpted from the Bible study “The Ten Commandments: Reviving the soul” by Christa Von Zychlin in the March/April 2023 Gather magazine. Today we commemorate Perpetua and Felicity and companions, martyrs at Carthage, 202.