GOD-FEARING MIDWIVES!

Exodus 1:8-22 TLB

Then, eventually, a new king came to the throne of Egypt who felt no obligation to the descendants of Joseph. [9] He told his people, "These Israelis are becoming dangerous to us because there are so many of them. [10] Let's figure out a way to put an end to this. If we don't, and war breaks out, they will join our enemies and fight against us and escape out of the country." [11] So the Egyptians made slaves of them and put brutal taskmasters over them to wear them down under heavy burdens while building the cities of Pithom and Rameses as supply centers for the king. [12] But the more the Egyptians mistreated and oppressed them, the more the Israelis seemed to multiply! The Egyptians became alarmed [13-14] and made the Hebrew slavery more bitter still, forcing them to toil long and hard in the fields and to carry heavy loads of mortar and brick. [15-16] Then Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, instructed the Hebrew midwives (their names were Shiphrah and Puah) to kill all Hebrew boys as soon as they were born, but to let the girls live. [17] But the midwives feared God and didn't obey the king-they let the boys live too. [18] The king summoned them before him and demanded, "Why have you disobeyed my command and let the baby boys live?" [19] "Sir," they told him, "the Hebrew women have their babies so quickly that we can't get there in time! They are not slow like the Egyptian women!" [20] And God blessed the midwives because they were God-fearing women. So the people of Israel continued to multiply and to become a mighty nation. [21] And because the midwives revered God, he gave them children of their own. [22] Then Pharaoh commanded all of his people to throw the newborn Hebrew boys into the Nile River. But the girls, he said, could live.

 

Do you fear God? 

The God-fearing midwives of Exodus 1:8-22 are Shiphrah and Puah, who played a courageous role during a period of intense oppression against the Israelites in Egypt. When Pharaoh ordered them to kill all newborn Hebrew males, they refused out of reverence for God. Their "fear of God" meant they valued God's command above Pharaoh’s, choosing life over participating in genocide, even at personal risk. 

We may hide what we do from men, but nothing is hidden from God. Yet many of us do not fear God enough to abstain from things that offend the Holy Spirit, hurt those around us, or break God’s law. 

Without God’s teaching, we will go astray according to Psalm 86:11. Without the reverential fear and wisdom of the Lord, we will walk down the wrong path. 

There are people today who call themselves Christians but who might have easily obeyed Pharaoh by committing murder. There are those who steal—from pilfering pennies to embezzling large sums—yet both are stealing. 

How do you respond when a colleague is maligned, bullied, or mistreated around you? Do you intervene, ignore, or join them? 

How about situations that are not openly criminal, but are spiritually unacceptable? You know it is wrong, yet you rationalise it: “for the greater good,” “it’s not hurting anyone,” or “I don’t want to lose my job.” 

The Lord is friends only with those who fear Him says Psalm 25:14. He will only sanctify His truth, which is His Word according to John 17:17. This means that we have been consecrated and set apart from earthly, carnal, and common things—and wholly devoted to God and His service. 

According to Luke 12:5, the fear of God for unbelievers is the fear of His judgment and eternal death, which means eternal separation from Him. For believers, the fear of God means reverence and awe. 

The believer’s fear is reverence for God. Hebrews 12:28–29 describes this well, as a motivating factor for surrendering to the Creator of the Universe. 

This is what separates us from the world and keeps us from doing whatever others are doing—whether good or evil. It is what compels us to live according to Proverbs 19:23. 

Therefore, “God dealt well with the midwives” in verse 20. Some may argue that the midwives lied, but the fear and wisdom of God were at work in their choice. Faced with obeying man or obeying God, the Hebrew midwives chose to fear God. 

How about you? How will you respond when you are faced with a choice between pleasing people and obeying God? 

We fear many things: crime, accidents, storms, viruses, weapons, mass murderers, terrorists, earthquakes, demons, even Satan himself! Yet many have little or no fear of God. 

When we are faced with sinful options alone, we must still choose the one that shows greater glory to God through wisdom. 

To fear God is to have such deep reverence that it shapes how we live daily. The fear of God is respecting Him, obeying Him, submitting to His discipline, and worshipping Him in awe. 

If you truly fear God, you will love and obey Him. You will lack no essential need, whether spiritual or physical declares Psalm 35:9. 

“In all your ways acknowledge Him” says Proverbs 3:6. Every action, every purpose, begins and ends with fearing God. Fear Him as the midwives did—more than they feared Pharaoh—because they understood that God has far greater power than any man. 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS 

- In what ways have you felt pressured to compromise your values or beliefs, and how did you respond? What motivated your choice in that situation? 

- How do you demonstrate “the fear of God” in your daily life, especially when it requires courage or going against authority? 

- Can you recall a time when you witnessed—or took—a stand for justice or life, regardless of the cost? 

- What steps can you take to nurture and protect those who are vulnerable around you, even when it is difficult? 

PRAYER: Great and righteous Father, may I always remember that Your reward is far greater than anything offered to do evil. Grant me the courage to say “no” when it is needed. In Jesus’ name, Amen. 

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shalom

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