Thank You to Heroic Medical Professionals
Text: Exodus 1:15-22 International Children’s Bible
Scripture Reading:
15 There were two Hebrew nurses named Shiphrah and Puah. These nurses helped the Israelite women give birth to their babies. The king of Egypt said to the nurses, 16 “When you are helping the Hebrew women give birth to their babies, watch! If the baby is a girl, let the baby live. But if it is a boy, kill it!” 17 But the nurses feared God. So they did not do as the king told them. They let all the boy babies live. 18 Then the king of Egypt sent for the nurses. He said, “Why did you do this? Why did you let the boys live?”
19 The nurses said to him, “The Hebrew women are much stronger than the Egyptian women. They give birth to their babies before we can get there.” 20 God was good to the nurses. And the Hebrew people continued to grow in number. So they became even stronger. 21 Because the nurses feared God, he gave them families of their own.
22 So the king commanded all his people: “Every time a boy is born to the Hebrews, you must throw him into the Nile River. But let all the girl babies live.”
Reflection: The book of Exodus starts off with important information that sets the scene for the birth of Moses. Part of that important information includes the nurses being told to commit genocide. The nurses become two of the heroes of the story by doing what was right, not what the king ordered them to do. I find it encouraging that even before Moses, nurses were changing history by doing what was right!
Prayer: Dear God, thank you for nurses and all medical professionals. Please give them strength, peace, and wisdom while they work. Amen.
Focus for the Day: Thank You to Heroic Medical Professionals
Author: Rachel Dudley, Director of Children’s Ministry