Non-Compliance
Leadership in Context with Keith Tucci
Episode 139
Exodus 1:15-22
Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other was named Puah; and he said, “When you are helping the Hebrew women to give birth and see them upon the birthstool, if it is a son, then you shall put him to death; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.” But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them, but let the boys live. So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and let the boys live?” The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife can get to them.” So God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied, and became very mighty. Because the midwives feared God, He established households for them. Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “Every son who is born you are to cast into the Nile, and every daughter you are to keep alive.”
Pharaoh’s motivation was to keep the male population down because he was concerned about an insurrection. He had seen that the Hebrew population was growing. He was concerned that if Egypt had a conflict with someone outside of their borders, the Hebrews could be recruited to fight for the other side.
His tactic was to cut off the male population by giving the Hebrew midwives a command. He specifically named two women in those verses. Maybe they were named because they were the ones who oversaw Moses’ birth and didn’t kill him or maybe because they were the ones doing the training or connecting midwives together. The king spoke to them directly, and they defied his order. They participated in non-compliance.
Often people ask, at what point do we resist? Before there is resistance, there is non-compliance.
Resistance: What you DO to push back.
Non-Compliance: What you DON’T DO to push back.
There are many examples in the Bible of people being non-compliant. In Acts 5, the disciples were non-compliant. The Apostle Paul was non-compliant in his ministry many times.
Non-compliance is not contributing anything that empowers evil.
God’s opinion of the non-compliant midwives: He was good to them and gave them households. (Verse 21) He gave them families--probably the very thing that they desired, as they were helping other people have them. There was a reward for their non-compliance.
These gracious, sacrificial, spiritual leaders were impacting families, and they decided that it didn’t matter what the king’s order was; they were not going to comply. Maybe this is where Moses’ mother got her wisdom, instruction, and faith to hide Moses. She didn’t comply either!
Sometimes the way to cut off strength from someone or something is to not comply. When the enemy tempts you to sin and you don’t comply, you are cutting off his strength. When someone presses your buttons and tries to engage you in something that is unhealthy, unfruitful, unspiritual but you don’t comply, you are cutting off their strength and allowing Jesus to be Lord of your life instead of that other thing.
We see this in Daniel’s life as well. He prayed. He didn’t go out in public and hold a prayer meeting. He just continued to do what he was doing. He did not comply, and God blessed that.
With whom should we comply? The disciples in Acts 5 said they must obey God rather than man.
Later in Exodus 1, when Moses pushes back against Pharaoh, Pharaoh said the Hebrews were hurting the Egyptians because they were not making bricks. Historically, non-compliance has taken on the form of not complying with our time, our treasure, and our talent. We aren’t talking about resistance, but individual people not participating.
Today we have people who commerce (wedding venues, artists, florists, bakers, etc.) who are simply saying that they are not complying. They aren’t trying to lead a union of cake bakers or pass legislation. They are just not complying. Of course, there is pushback, but I think God will bless them in the end.
Before we take a stand of non-compliance, we need to have an inward resolve, with integrity. More than just being bothered by something, we need to understand what we would be contributing to if we were to comply.
Is there any area in your life where you are complying? Where you are being silent when you shouldn’t be silent? Where you are contributing when you shouldn’t be contributing? Where you are part of a supply chain that you shouldn’t be a part of?
God blessed the midwives. As a result of their non-compliance, we got Moses. As a result of Moses, we got the emancipation. This history is critical to us, and God is good enough to us to outline how it happened. They did not fear the king’s command; they feared the Lord.
Join us next week as Keith Tucci continues to put leadership truth in the context of the local church. And as always, please like, share, rate/review, and invite others to listen. See you next week!
