By Rev. Graylan Scott Hagler (above), Director and Chief Visionary, Faith Strategies, originally posted on the Faith Strategies weekly newsletter email (Jan 27, 2024)

One of the problems with telling and understanding biblical stories is that we take what is allegorical, symbolic, and/or critiquing of the human condition and seek to make it literal, factual and fixed in time. We have lost the art of story-telling, and in that we have lost the ability to see and understand what sage story-tellers of old were trying to communicate both then and now.

In the Exodus (1:15–1:21) story, Pharaoh reacts to the proliferation of the children of the oppressed and enslaved with a policy to kill all new born male children. This implies that the oppressed and enslaved female babies of the women were to be spared and used to procreate Egyptian children. Puah and Shiphrah, who are midwives are given orders by Pharaoh that while attending to enslaved and oppressed woman in labor, if it is a male child to kill him, and if a female baby to let her live. But in classic story-telling that speaks to the art of resistance, when Pharaoh realizes that just as many male children were being born as before, he summoned the midwives to make account. They stated to Pharaoh “You don’t know these women or their strength. When we are summoned, by the time we get there, they have already given birth!” These midwives were in defiance to the genocidal orders given by the king.

Is the story factual? This is not the point. The story, however, is that we should know the difference between right and wrong. These midwives knew the difference and did not allow themselves to be part of a genocidal pogrom. They engaged in their own act of resistance and subversion. They resisted the orders of those in charge, and they consciously subverted the policies that would have resulted in the extermination of the males.

This reminds me of a story that Rev. M. L. King, Jr. told of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. It goes that some white people in Montgomery were having a dinner party, and became engaged in a debate over Black support of the bus boycott. They turned to their Black maid and inquired, “Do you support that bus boycott?” The maid understanding her precarious position, but still wanting to support the boycott, replied, “No sir. I don’t support all of that trouble-making, and I am going to stay off of those buses until this mess settles down!”

We are often limited by our positions and find ourselves in precarious situations, but despite our position and condition we can still resist oppressive structures and policies.

The story of Push and Shiphrah exists in a male dominated society. Today, in general, we still exist in a male dominated culture where the family name is carried on through the father’s lineage. This means that if the males ceased to exist then the name dies, and along with the name, lineage and identification with place and people perishes. According to the teller of the story, the intention of Pharaoh’s policy was to wipe a people, a race, and a community off of the face of the earth.

It can be argued therefore, that these midwives saved a people from non-existence by their act of defiance. These midwives saved lineage, names, history, and a place in the world for these families secured into the next generation. Puah and Shiphrah exemplified that the actions of individuals can make a difference, and the only thing that is required is to respond to our sense of right and wrong.

The lessons of this story applies to Gaza, the Black community, and communities where BIPOC are oppressed by policies crafted by those in power to harass, harm, arrest, maim, and kill through one method or another. The flow of drugs into a community kills. Mis-education by institutions kills. The proliferation of guns kills. A lack of resources and economic security kills. Governmental policies kill. The police kills, and the jails are filled with the poor and oppressed. The individuals who help to implement destructive and genocidal policies may be considered cogs in a wheel of injustice, or people simply doing their jobs. Often we lay our conscience aside to engage in our work. Often we ignore the consequences of what we do by telling ourselves ‘It’s the system, and what can one person do?’ But the midwives of this Exodus story demonstrates that there are ways to resist the schemes of destruction, and it is up to us, each one of us to discover how we can become part of the moral resistance to death and destruction.

All of the Israeli forces in Gaza and the West Back need to ask themselves, ‘What are we doing? Will our actions produce justice and peace?’ And if not, what needs to be done to resist the orders of genocide and extermination. This question need not only be answered in Gaza and the West Bank, but in the US, and wherever else people are being destroyed because of the polices of those in power. We each have the power to resist destructive and hateful policies in one form or another, and the question becomes, do we use our power to resist, and if not, why not?

You will notice that this newsletter is about resistance to oppression and even genocide. There is a story about a young man refusing to serve in the military in Israel. There is also the story of a minister in the Israeli Knesset who is calling Netanyahu’s assertions lies and a fantasy. There is also the story of the Mayor of Chicago calling for a Ceasefire, even while DC Council members cite fear of congress and Zionist hostility for their inaction. Meanwhile, clergy and other groups will continue to press the DC Council for courage, and you can do you part by a call or postcard to the Chair of the DC Council. When the Mayor and DC Council bathed the Wilson building in the colors of the Israeli flag they did not ask us, and we are not asking them but demanding a resolution for an Immediate Ceasefire and the free-flow of Humanitarian Aid into Gaza. It is our tax dollars also, and this is the least we can say and do.

Rev. Graylan Scott Hagler is ordained in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ.  Rev. Hagler is the Pastor Emeritus of Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ, Washington, DC having served the church for 30 years. He is currently a Senior Advisor to Fellowship of Reconciliation, USA (the oldest interfaith and peace and justice organization in the country. Rev. Hagler was instrumental in ridding Washington, DC of Payday Lenders, was a co-founder of the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (NACA), and is Director and Chief Visionary of Faith Strategies, LLC, a collective of clergy manifesting progressive perspectives on human and civil rights in the public arena.