Summary
Our biblical text for today is an ancient story, crafted at least 2,500 years ago but set in a timeline at least 3,200 years ago. The main characters are an unnamed king at the top of the nation, two lowly Hebrew midwives named Shiphrah and Puah, and a God who works in hidden yet detectable ways.[1]
The story begins with the death of Joseph, a wily and gifted man who rose from slavery to become the king’s right-hand man in charge of important pieces of national policy (Genesis 39-41). Now Joseph has died, and the king whom Joseph had worked for has also died. The new king now on the throne had never known Joseph.
[1] I’ve used some insights from Walter Brueggemann, “Exodus,” The New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. 1 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1994), 690-698; and Terence E. Fretheim, Exodus (Louisville: John Knox, 1991), 26-36.
Bible References
- Exodus 1:6 - 22
Sermon Text
