SUB-JUNIOR
AGE: 8 - 9
YEARS
STANDARD/GRADE:
III & IV
Permission is granted only for
free distribution among Sunday School children.
No part of this document can be
modified, sold or used for any commercial purpose.
LESSON – 5
SHIPHRAH
& PUAH – THE GODLY MIDWIVES
We learnt
in the previous lesson about how Joseph the young boy who was sold into slavery
by his brothers became the Second-in-command of Egypt. Later, Joseph's brothers
had to visit Egypt because of a famine. Joseph forgave his brothers and asked
them to come and live with him in Egypt. Joseph’s family including Joseph’s
father Jacob, his brothers and their families left Canaan and went to live in
Egypt. The number of men who entered Egypt was about 70. But soon their
number increased and in 400 years their number was about 20,00,000.
The
Pharaoh who reigned in Egypt during the days of Joseph died and there was a new
Pharaoh in Egypt, who did not know about Joseph's contributions to Egypt. He
became concerned that there were too many Israelites in Egypt. He feared that
in event of war, such a great number of people could easily turn against him
and help their enemies. Pharaoh decided to keep the
Israelites under control through oppression.
The Israelites
were made slaves and were compelled to do heavy labor. They were forced to build the royal store
cities of Pithom and Raamses under cruel conditions. They were treated badly by
the taskmasters set over them. However, the more the Egyptians oppressed
the children of Israel, the more they grew in number and strength. Pharaoh’s
plan didn’t work. But the Pharaoh somehow wanted to control the number of Israelites,
so he devised a wicked plan to kill all the Hebrew baby boys.
The Pharaoh
commanded the Hebrew midwives named Shiphrah and Puah to kill all the baby boys
right after they were born. Midwives are those who help the mothers to deliver
their babies. The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the Pharaoh
told them to do; they let the boys live.
The Pharaoh
was angry and he summoned the midwives and asked them why they had let the boys
live. The midwives thought of an answer and told Pharaoh that the Hebrew women are
not like Egyptian women; they are stronger and so the babies were born even
before the midwives arrived. Pharaoh believed the midwives and their lives
were spared from death.
The midwives
were brave enough to defy the orders of Pharaoh and saved the baby boys because
they wanted to be righteous and do the right thing. They wanted to obey God
more than Pharaoh. God was kind to the midwives and their families were
also blessed and they became prosperous in the land.
Bible Reference: Exodus 1: 15 - 21
Memory verse: He has shown you, O
man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of
you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?
(Micah 6:8 NKJV)
ASSESSMENT
ACTIVITIES
Answer the following questions:
1.
Where did Joseph’s family go to live? .....................................
2. What were the names of the Royal store cities
the Israelites were forced to build? …………………………
3. Name the
Hebrew midwives. ……………………………
4. Who did
the Pharaoh want to kill?
………………………………………..
5.
Did the Pharaoh believe the midwives?
………………………………………..
State
True or False:
1.
The new Pharaoh did not know about
Joseph's contributions to Egypt.
2. The Israelites were treated kindly by their task masters.
3. Pharaoh decided to let the Israelites flourish (to multiply and
increase in number).
4. The midwives did not fear God.
5.
God was kind to the midwives and their
families were blessed.
No comments:
Post a Comment