Portraits: Shiphrah & Puah

There are many familiar names - David, Mark, Sarah, Mary, Steven...

Some names we miss entirely.

Heroes nevertheless.

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.

We know God can and will do whatever He chooses (it’s all his anyway), but He chooses to use us, broken, flawed, sinful humans to fulfill his beautiful and perfect will.

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.”

Of course, there is much more to this story overall, but if not for these two brave, God fearing women - that God appointed for such a time as this -Moses would have never lived.

Let’s analyze this a bit further:

Shiphrah means “Beautiful”

Puah means “to Cry Out”

It’s no surprise God uses specific people with specific names for their specific purposes.

Later in Exodus (Chapter 2):

23 During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. 24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.

The Israelites cried out to the LORD for deliverance. A beautiful cry of humility and worship to the LORD their God (OUR God) to liberate them from the oppression of the Egyptian royalty.

What’s the point?

Shiphrah & Puah are names we don’t hear too often and we typically don’t think of them when we consider the story of Moses, but their faithfulness was demonstrated by being in line with God’s purposes.

We may never know the greater purpose God is enacting through our faithfulness. Talk to Him, listen to Him, seek Him, and trust Him.

I encourage all of you to read Romans 8:18-30

English Standard Version Chapter 8

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.