Sometimes a reward doesn't look like we thought it was going to...

"He gave them households of their own"

Exodus 1:21

The story of Moses is one we all know well.  Moses' mother defied Pharaoh's order to kill all male babies by placing him in a basket on the River Nile, where he floated happily until he was picked up by Pharaoh's daughter.  He was raised in the palace, and, of course, went on to deliver the Hebrews from their life of slavery.

The obvious, but often unsung, hero in the amazing saga of Moses, was his mother, who hid him for three months before preparing the basket for his escape, and trusting God to protect .

But there are other, even more unsung (or is it "less sung"?) heroes in this chapter of Exodus, and that is the Hebrew midwives, Shiprah and Puah.   Pharaoh, fearful of the increasing number of Hebrews, ordered the midwives to immediately kill baby boys.  But according to 1:17, the midwives feared God more than they feared the king of Egypt, and they let the children live.   Without their courage in disobeying Pharaoh, Moses would not have lived long enough for his mother to see that he was a beautiful child (2:2) and take steps to save him.

Their reward for this obedience to God is rather surprising.  But it's remarkable, really, because it's so unremarkable.  Verse 21 says that because the midwives feared God, He provided households for them.  I've always skimmed right past this detail, but for some reason it jumped out at me today.  Households?  That was their reward for disobeying the mighty Pharaoh??

This prompts a lot of questions for me.  What was their situation before?  Did they live together?  Does this mean He provided husbands and children of their own, or does it just have to do with their living situation?  (Just for comparison, I'm reading from the New King James version.  The New International says He gave them families of their own.  But in the original language, the word implies a house.)

I don't know the answers to these questions, but I do know that this reward seems somehow like a letdown.  When I think reward, I think large sums of money, or.... things that can be purchased with large sums of money....

But the truth is, when I think about the things I value most in the world, most of them are within the four walls of my home.  I have loved ones I don't live with, of course, but for the most part, my household represents that which is most important to me, both the people in it, and the household itself.  A home of our own, soft beds and food in the pantry.  Not to mention things like books and computers and TV's and innumerable things of sentimental value.

It never occurred to me before today that the "everyday" things of my life, the things and people that I take for granted, might very well be God's reward to me, for my obedience, my faith or my courage.  It gives me a new appreciation for my household.  And I don't think I could ask for a better reward.

~ "may the Lord reward you with good for what you have done" ~

1 Samuel 24:19