Shiphrah and Puah: Fearless Midwives

 ^“And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah:

 And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live.

But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive.

 And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men children alive?

 And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in unto them.

Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty.

 And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses.”  ^{Exodus 1:15-21}

Shiphrah and Puah were gutsy women. They were Hebrew slaves and understood the consequences of disobedience yet they chose to disobey the great Pharaoh and save the Hebrew children. Why? Because they feared God. 




Because of what they did, fearing God and saving the lives of the male children God dealt well with these women and He made them houses. I simply love women who take God at His word, who are not intimidated by the enemy’s lame roar.


Shiphrah and Puah positioned themselves to help birth the deliverer of Israel whom they saw firsthand. God could have bypassed them and raised another but they stood their ground, their faith tested even at the most difficult period. God ensured their lives were spared. It never occurred to Pharaoh to execute them or refuse to accept their claim that the Hebrew women birthed vibrantly. Through them, the people multiplied and waxed mighty. 


That was a huge responsibility but they didn’t fail God.

1.      Shiphrah and Puah feared God and as a consequence were not afraid of the repercussions of their actions and decision

2.      They followed God’s assignment for their lives, to save every male child and through their obedience, the people multiplied.

3.      God highly favoured them and blessed them.

May every assignment, every seed the Lord has committed into our hands be judiciously utilized and sown in righteousness and like the servant with the ten talents, may the Lord come that day and say “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” Amen and amen!

(c)Histiara