Shiphrah and Puah: Courage When Doing Right Is Costly
☕ Morning Encouragement
Doing what is right is not always easy, especially when it means standing against someone with greater authority or influence.
Shiphrah and Puah were two midwives living under Pharaoh's oppressive rule. When Pharaoh commanded them to kill Hebrew baby boys, they refused.
Their names might not be widely recognized today, but Scripture preserves them while leaving the Pharaoh unnamed.
Their courage reminds us that faithfulness to God sometimes requires standing firm when obedience comes at a personal cost.
📖 Going Deeper: The Word "Feared"
The Hebrew word yārēʾ (יָרֵא), translated "feared" in Exodus 1:17, can mean to fear, revere, or stand in awe.
The midwives feared God more than Pharaoh. This was not simply terror of punishment but recognition of God's supreme authority.
What the Original Audience Would Have Understood
The Israelites knew Pharaoh possessed tremendous earthly power. Yet these women recognized that his authority did not supersede God's moral authority.
For the original hearers, this account demonstrated that even seemingly powerless people could honor God through courageous obedience.
❤️ Breakfast for the Soul
You may never stand before a king, but you will face moments when doing right is uncomfortable. Faithfulness is choosing to honor God even when compromise would be easier.
🙏 Morning Prayer
Heavenly Father, give me courage to stand for what is right. Help me fear You more than I fear the opinions or power of others. May my decisions reflect obedience, integrity, and trust in You. In Jesus' name, Amen.
📜 Scripture | Exodus 1:17 (KJV)
But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive.
Exodus 1:17 (NIV)
The Israelites Oppressed
1 These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah; 3 Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin; 4 Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher. 5 The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy[a] in all; Joseph was already in Egypt.
6 Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, 7 but the Israelites were exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in numbers and became so numerous that the land was filled with them.
8 Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt. 9 “Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become far too numerous for us. 10 Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.”
11 So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. 12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites 13 and worked them ruthlessly. 14 They made their lives bitter with harsh labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly.
15 The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, 16 “When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.” 17 The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. 18 Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?”
19 The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.”
20 So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.
22 Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.”
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