The Midwives — Andrew Forrest

Exodus 1:15-22

15 Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, 16 “When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.” 17 But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. 18 So the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this, and let the male children live?” 19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.” 20 So God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. 22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.”

Pharaoh’s plan is devilishly shrewd—rather than killing the baby girls, he plans to have the boys killed, thereby ensuring that the girls will have to marry Egyptian men when they grow up. In that way, there will be no Hebrew people left—the boys will be dead and the girls’ children will be raised as Egyptians.

Once again, however, the malevolent plans of this all-powerful king are thwarted, in this case by the midwives to the Hebrew women. Note that the midwives are more concerned with pleasing God than they are with pleasing Pharaoh.

Remember that the central theme of Exodus is the forming of God’s people into a nation. Here, we have an important lesson that God will teach the Israelites over and over: namely that God’s law trumps human law. The midwives are a model of faithfulness.

How can you fear God more than man today?