1.12.26 – Six Women Who Saved the World

I have heard it said by some men: "Women, you can't live with them, and you can't live without them."

I have heard it said by some women: "Men, you can't live with them, and you can't live without them."

Neither statement was the case for Moses. Although there were many things he did not understand about his woman, Zipporah, and though the women in his life did not understand him completely, he never forgot that there were six women in his life who made a significant difference. Behind the greatest man are six women!

Before I give you insights on the six women in Moses' life, I want to share with you a very scriptural thought (though not found in any one verse): "When the generations stop believing in themselves, God sends them women who still believe, and their belief becomes the cradle of redemption." Read that again, please.

In order to reveal these six women, we have to start at the birth of Moses. Moses' story does not begin with a calling, but rather with the introduction of these very prominent women in his life.

Six women are introduced in the opening Torah portion of Exodus (Shemot – "names"). And what we see is something remarkable: if you take the names of these women and combine them with their actions, they reveal a hidden pathway to redemption. And it is not just the redemption of the nation—a collective redemption—but rather we can apply the same principles, the same hidden pathways, to our own personal redemption and interpersonal relationships as well.

The names of the six women are:

• Jocheved, the Hebrew mother of Moses

• Miriam, his Hebrew sister

• Shiphrah and Puah, the two Hebrew midwives

• Batya, Pharaoh's daughter

• Zipporah, Moses' honey bunny

With a small amount of hindsight: take away one of these women, and we do not have a Torah, we do not have a Bible, we do not have a prophet like Moses, we do not have the pattern for our journey in Messiah, and we are up a redemptive creek without a paddle.

Yocheved: The root word of Yocheved is kavod, which means honor, respect, and dignity. She reminds us that during difficult times when life is trying to squash you like a bug, you do not ever give up your inner dignity. In a historical context, she defied Pharaoh and hid Moses because, in my mind, she said, "I am not going to let them lessen or diminish my light. I have a lot more self-dignity and self-respect than they realize." Our first pathway of redemption tells us that at some point, you have to look at your own life journey and come to the conclusion that circumstances do not dictate who you are! If I am not going to respect my own path and journey—whatever or wherever it took me, whatever pain, challenges, and struggle I have gone through in my life—at the end of the day, I need to respect it. I need to respect the lessons involved and the challenges involved. Because if I do not respect my own life journey, even with all the mistakes I have made, then who will?

Miriam: Miriam was born in bitter times, a bitter climate within the nation of Egypt, and her name means bitterness. But like her mother, Miriam would not allow the bitterness to remain bitter without transforming it into sweetness. It was the same Nile River—the river of death, where there was a death penalty for Hebrew males who were drowned in this river. It was here in this bitter environment that she stood over the river and saw the birthing of the new redeemer of Israel. This is Miriam. Miriam does not stop dreaming again! The moment you stop dreaming, you are already a slave. Miriam withstood the forces of her time and said, in my mind, "You are not going to define me. You can throw all the bitterness you want in my direction, but you will not find me conforming to it." Miriam the prophetess never stopped dreaming.

Shiphrah: One of the Hebrew midwives, she is a guard to the flame of each Hebrew child that needs to be protected and guarded so that flame will not be allowed to be extinguished (John 1:9). This is the responsibility of the midwives of this Torah. Shiphrah comes from a word which means "fair," related to the Hebrew word shapiro ("to make beautiful"). When we are in exile, when we are in darkness, Shiphrah comes to teach us to never ever stop recognizing the beauty in life around you. She is here to remind us that there are beautiful aspects of living. And she is here to midwife our way through the soul's journey by bringing our attention to the good and taking the good and making it beautiful.

Puah: Puah represents soft speech. Her name literally means "soothing" or "encouraging words." She is one who comes to comfort us with the right speech and represents not just the words you share with others but the way you use words to talk about yourself. Hence, Puah reminds us to always clean up our language, our conversation topics, and to elevate the way we speak about the world, others, and the way we speak about ourselves (Col. 4:5–6).

With the initial sparks of Miriam and Yocheved, you have the midway of the soul which consists of guarding and protecting the flame. And now we are going to take that torch—the flame that we have—and use it as light to light our way through life, to carry that torch and beacon of hope through the rest of the journey.

Batya: The daughter of Pharaoh will become known as the daughter of God (1 Chron. 4:18). Batya reminds us that we are not trapped by our upbringing. We are not limited by our past! In choosing God's way, you can become chosen. Batya, like Zipporah, is not a Hebrew, but she is given the highest title that surpasses any other name: "Daughter of God." That is the highest-ranking title to have in a woman's name.

Zipporah: Moses' wife. She is also not originally born into the covenant, but she also chooses values and becomes chosen as a result of her life choices. Just as the other women were active in rescuing Moses—meaning his life was saved and spared—Zipporah also plays a role in making the man, Moses. The one story we learned about her is this: when God chooses Moses to redeem the Israelites and take them out of Egypt, his wife becomes very instrumental and supports him in his legacy. At one point, he is ready to go back and confront Pharaoh again and get ready to lead the Israelites on their exodus, but he forgets to circumcise his sons, and the angel of death comes to take him away. Then Zipporah intervenes, takes it upon herself to circumcise both their sons, and by doing so she saves the life of Moses (Ex. 4:24–26).

Every stage of redemption, especially Moses' survival, depends on the wisdom and action of women's wisdom. Zipporah ("bird") is the morning bird that brings the good news—the bird that cannot be confined or trapped by one's status or one's temporal condition. She is the one to lead us to greater and higher places. She gives us her wings and reminds us that the way is open for us; the sky is the limit. Her name implies movement and growth. So, as long as we are here in this body, as long as we are breathing, we are not confined. As long as we are breathing, we are here to grow, to change, and to soar to new heights. We are here to accumulate virtue, commandments, statutes, and merit.

These biblical women are all past heroines to help us in our own journey, in our own exodus, in our own liberation and destination! Can you make a definitive statement with these ladies' names?

• Yocheved – Respect your journey

• Miriam – Sweeten the bitterness

• Shiphrah – See the beauty in it all

• Puah – Lift with gentle words

• Batya – Choose God, become chosen

• Zipporah – Keep moving faithfully toward destiny and cover your honey bunny when his life is on the line :-)

Truly, by these six righteous women, Israel was redeemed from Egypt, and because of that we have the blueprint for redemption and salvation—Yeshua Himself. The legacy lives on in you!

Shalom,
Alan