Shiphrah and Puah: The Fear Of The Lord

Children’s Bible Page 71

In the first two weeks of this series, we have considered two of the most well known women in all of Scripture, not to mention in all of human history, as we first considered Eve and then last week looked at Mary the mother of Jesus.

Today, we are going to consider the stories of two women who are mentioned only once in Scripture, yet, what we learn from them is something we are all in desperate need of.

The two women we are considering today’s names are Shiphrah and Puah.

And while they are certainly not well known, their story is of great consequence to biblical history, and what we learn from them is of great consequence to our lives.

I want you to consider: what are some of the greatest motivating factors in your life?

For me, the answers I would want to share with you would be the motivating factors of God’s glory, love for God and others, a desire for the good of others, and a desire for self improvement.

Which are all very true and very acceptable answers in this space.

But, if I were to be plain downright gut honest with you, way too many times, the greatest motivating factor in my life has been fear.

I am naturally prone to fear, worry, and anxiety.

I do not naturally believe that difficult situations are going to work out well.

I am naturally pessimistic when it comes to the outcomes I expect.

I shutter to think how many times in my life, I have done something or not done something because of fear.

If we were to sit down over coffee and talk, I could relay to you many stories in my own life where I believe I succumbed to fear.

I realize I am not alone in this.

Though it plays out in different ways for different people, the truth is fear is something we all struggle with in one way or another.

We can fear things about the future and the unknown.

We can be afraid about our finances or our safety.

We can fear our relationships taking a turn for the worse or how other people perceive us.

We can fear a downturn in our health or getting a bad diagnosis.

We can fear failure or a loss of influence.

We can fear for our kids or our spouses.

The list can just go on and on.

And because fear is such a struggle, we can sometimes wonder what life would be like without fear.

What would it take to live without fear?

But, as we look at the Scripture, we come to see that our goal should not be to have all fear removed from our lives, but instead, the goal is to have the fears we so often have replaced and overwhelmed by an even greater fear.

Like imagine if you are preparing to walk into a work meeting, and you are really fearful about how it is going to go, then, right before you walk into the meeting, you get a phone call that your child has been in a car accident.

You know what just happened? You no longer have any fear about the work meeting, in fact, you aren’t thinking about work at all, because the fear brought on by the news of your child in a car accident totally replaced and overwhelmed the fear you had about the meeting.

In an even greater way, we are called to cultivate a fear of the Lord that replaces and overwhelms the other fears in our lives.

In Exodus 1, we read about these two women, Shiphrah and Puah who found themselves in a very fearful situation:

Exodus 1:8–22 ESV

8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. 9 And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. 10 Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” 11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses. 12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel. 13 So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves 14 and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves. 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.”

In order to catch us up in the biblical story, God’s people Israel had come to Egypt during the time of a famine in order to have good food and water,

And the king of Egypt, called the Pharaoh, welcomed God’s people because of Joseph.

Joseph was from God’s people but had lived and served faithfully under the Pharaoh for a long time.

But now, Joseph has died, and we read that a new king rose in Egypt who did not know Joseph.

And this new Pharaoh did not see the Israelite people as a blessing like the last Pharaoh who knew Joseph, instead, he saw them as a threat.

His thinking is that the Israelite people are too many and too mighty, and he is afraid if war breaks out, the Israelites could side with Egypt’s enemies.

So, in his own fear, he enslaves the people of Israel under his reign of tyranny.

He set taskmasters over them and forced them to build cities and work as slaves under ruthless and harsh conditions.

I don’t think I can truly fathom the level of fear that would dominate a people under such evil and oppression.

Yet, verse 12 tells us, Israel was not the only ones in a fearful state.

The Egyptians feared the people of Israel because the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied.

It mirrors what we see in the New Testament that the more the church was persecuted, the more the word of God spread and increased.

So, now that we understand the fearful conditions on the side of Israel and Egypt, verse 15 introduces us to our two women: Shiphrah and Puah.

Exodus 1:8–22 ESV

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.”

So, because of the fear the tyrannical Egyptian Pharaoh had of the growing Israelite people, he gives a command to two Hebrew midwives.

Hebrew is just another name for Israelite, and midwives were women who cared for mothers by helping deliver the babies.

Now, it is extremely unlikely given the vast number of Hebrews being born that there were only two midwives for all of them.

It is most likely that Shiphrah and Puah would have not only been midwives themselves, but overseers and managers of many other midwives as well.

So, Pharaoh forms a plan and goes to these two Hebrew midwives and commands them that as they do their work, they should let Hebrew daughters live but they must kill all the newborn sons.

Now, I think we can often read biblical accounts yet take for granted what kinds of positions the people really find themselves in and how traumatic this situation would have been.

Pharaoh was the most powerful leader the ancient world had ever known and his heavy handed tyranny of the Israelite people had already convinced everyone how far he would go to oppress others and maintain power.

So, when he gave this command, though it doesn’t say so in the text, there is no doubt it came with the threat of punishment.

Now, it is established in the beginning of the Old Testament that the great command of God to his ancient people was to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth, and we read over and over in the Old Testament that the great work of God was accomplished through the genealogies of mothers birthing children.

And we learn later that God ends up blessing Shiphrah and Puah with families of their own, which tells us that at the time of Pharaoh’s command, they did not have families of their own.

In other words, serving as midwives to God’s people was all these two women had.

This was their goal and their purpose in life.

So, this command from Pharaoh to kill the boys who were born would have been unthinkable to them, yet it would also come upon the threat of the loss of their positions and very likely the loss of their lives.

Verse 17 is the key verse of the entire passage:

But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live.

There is no doubt in my mind that the command of Pharaoh struck fear in the hearts of Shiphrah and Puah.

It had to have.

But, while they were living in a world of fear in the midst of a fearful situation, they were overwhelmed with and controlled by an even greater fear: the fear of the Lord God.

And it was because of their fear of God that they did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them.

They resisted his command and let the male children live.

We are not told how long it took before Pharaoh realized that the midwives had disobeyed, but when he did, he called them in to question them.

No doubt, Shiphrah and Puah must have talked often about what they would do if and more likely when they were caught and called into the Pharaoh.

And sure enough, he brought them in and asked them why they had let the male children live.

Verse 19 shows us their answer:

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.”

Well, what does that mean? Are you telling me that the best answer the midwives could come up with was that the Hebrew women are so physically impressive that they are just popping out their babies on their own before the midwives can get to them?

It’s like the midwife comes in and the Hebrew lady is just laying there in bed holding their baby clothed in its onesie with a bow on its head, and the mom is just like, what took you so long?

Sorry, I just struggle to simply accept something when it seems super far fetched or unrealistic.

Thankfully, an understanding of the original Hebrew language helps us here.

The word translated “vigorous” can also be translated “to take action” or “to be active in.”

So, it is very possible that there is more of a cultural difference at play here than some kind of genetic superpower.

It is possible that Egyptian women took very passive roles in childbirth.

I am told that it used to be in our culture that women were more sedated and passive during childbirth than the more active role they play today.

So, maybe the Egyptian culture was more passive where it would make sense that a midwife could deliver a child, identify its gender, and strangle it if it is a boy without the mother being aware.

Whereas, the Hebrew ladies took a more active role in labor to the point where it would be impossible for the midwife to do all that without their knowledge and intervention.

I think this is even more likely the case given the fact that after the Hebrew midwives answer the Pharaoh, he does not have them killed, instead, he forms a different and more overt plan to kill the baby boys.

It seems that the Pharaoh received the women’s answer as reasonable and logical, although it was still a huge risk to defy the Pharaoh’s command in this way.

Notice that Shiphrah and Puah were blessed of God for their actions, the Hebrew people continued to multiply and grow strong, and the because the women feared the Lord, God blessed them with families of their own.

Two women who had committed their lives to serve others who were growing their families were finally blessed by God to have familles of their own.

1. Cultivate The Fear Of The Lord In Your Heart And Life

Shiphrah and Puah help us understand what the fear of the Lord is by seeing them in the midst of a fearful situation where whatever they decided to do was going to have real and irreversible consequences.

The fear of punishment and possible death, the fear of losing their jobs and livelihood, on the other hand, the fear of killing their own people.

It was a horrible situation to be put in.

But our key verse 17 says: But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live.

In other words, while they were in the midst of a fearful situation, their fear of the situation was replaced and overwhelmed by a greater fear: the fear of the Lord.

Because these women knew the Lord, the biggest most fearful reality in the midst of their situation was not Pharaoh and his threats, the biggest and more fearful reality in the midst of their situation was the God of the universe.

It echoes Jesus’ words from the New Testament:

Matthew 10:28 ESV

28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Having someone who wants to kill you is understandably a scary thing!

But even the person seeking to kill you has no authority or control over your eternal destiny. Only God does.

It was a more fearful thought to sin against a holy God than to disobey the tyrant Pharaoh.

A lot of times we tend to balk at this idea of the fear of the Lord because we know that we are supposed to have a close and intimate relationship with God, so how could I fear someone that I am supposed to be close and intimate with?

So, I find it helpful to not first and foremost think of fear as an instinct to run from something scary.

But fear is most fundamentally something that is weighing on our hearts and minds.

I don’t fundamentally fear the boogie man in the closet because he is ugly.

I fear him because I believe he wants to harm me, and a desire for physical safety is weighty on my mind and heart.

I don’t fear my boss because He gives me an ugly look or says critical things.

I fear him because my ability to provide for my family through this job weighs on my heart and mind, and he has the authority to fire me.

When we understand fundamentally what fear truly is: then we can come to grasp better what it means to fear the Lord.

We are to fear the Lord because He is the greatest most powerful most consequential reality in the universe who has done everything to love and save us and show us his glory, and when we grasp this, God and his glory become more weighty in our mind and heart than anything else.

The Hebrew word for God’s glory literally translated means weight, because living in light of God’s glory means living with God and His glory being more weighty on your mind and heart than anything else.

That’s what worship is the mind and heart ascribing the most worth and the most weight to God alone, who is the only one able to sustain that weight.

You see, that is the great difference between the fear of the Lord and the fear of anything else.

God is the only all powerful, all sovereign, boundless in compassion and mercy toward his people, so he is the only one that can sustain the weight of our minds and hearts.

When our minds and hearts are more weighed down by anything else, it cannot sustain the weight, and that’s why when we fear other things we have anger, worry, and anxiety and when we fear God we have peace, and joy, and are able to obey God.

Proverbs 9:10 ESV

10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

We see this demonstrated in the event of Shiphrah and Puah.

Without the fear of the Lord, these women were put in a lose lose situation.

Kill the boys and be hated by their own people, or let the boys live and be punished possibly killed by Pharaoh?

Both of these questions that would so naturally weigh down their minds and hearts have their source in the fear of man.

Fearing their own people or fearing the Pharaoh.

But, the only wise way came through the fear of the Lord.

Not only did it give them the ability to resist Pharaoh’s command, but God gave them wisdom and insight to answer the Pharaoh in a way that was received by him.

I don’t know about you but so many times, I get stuck in cycles of fear and anxiety and I think there is no way out, and it is a lose lose situation because I am fearing man and I am not fearing God enough to believe He sees the way and he sees the solution that I’m not able to see.

That’s why we are called to

Proverbs 3:5–6 ESV

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Shiphrah and Puah had absolutely no control of the outcome, but because they feared the Lord, they resisted the Pharaoh’s evil command, and God gave them wisdom about how to answer the Pharaoh when the time came.

No doubt it felt risky.

No doubt they had no control of the outcome.

But they feared God, trusted in him, and put one foot in front of the other in obedience.

One theme we see all throughout the Scripture is that God humbles the proud, but he exalts and honors the lowly.

I want you to consider how odd it is that the book of Exodus calls these two lowly women, these women who did not have families of their own, but instead, spent their lives serving other women who were having families when they did not, I want to consider that the book of Exodus calls these two women by name.

And here we are, a group of God’s people in 2025 honoring the names of Shiphrah and Puah.

Do you know whose name is not mentioned in the book of Exodus?

The Pharaoh of Egypt.

The man who in the world’s eyes held the greatest most powerful position of glory and influence the ancient world has ever known and all we know of him is his title, never his name.

You want to know why?

Psalm 112 ESV

1 Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments! 2 His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. 3 Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever. 4 Light dawns in the darkness for the upright; he is gracious, merciful, and righteous. 5 It is well with the man who deals generously and lends; who conducts his affairs with justice. 6 For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever. 7 He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord. 8 His heart is steady; he will not be afraid, until he looks in triumph on his adversaries. 9 He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn is exalted in honor. 10 The wicked man sees it and is angry; he gnashes his teeth and melts away; the desire of the wicked will perish!

While we have now considered how Shiphrah and Puah demonstrate for us what the fear of the Lord is and the great blessings of the fear of the Lord,

the final and most important question remains, how do we cultivate a fear of the Lord in our minds and in your hearts?

Well, just like every other event in the Scriptures, while these women, Shiphrah and Puah are honored and blessed for their fear of the Lord, they are not the ultimate heroes that this story points to, but this story points us on to the glory of God and His Christ.

For it is incredible to consider how all of Scriptures fit together.

We saw two weeks ago that God promised that He would put enmity between the snake who was Satan, and the seed of the woman.

And the snake would bruise the seeds heel, but the seed of the woman would crush the serpent’s head.

As the book of Exodus begins, God’s people are enslaved and oppressed under the evil Pharaoh who wore the symbol of a snake on his head.

Instead of submitting to the true God, Pharaoh had set himself up in place of God.

But, when the serpent Pharaoh made a command of the women, we see enmity between the snake and the women as the women resist.

Because of the women’s resistance, the seed of woman continued to be born and grow and multiply even under the snake’s reign of terror.

And because these women feared the Lord, it paved the way for a certain baby boy named Moses to be born in chapter 2, and God would use Moses to lead his people out of bondage and slavery by crushing the head of the snake through great plagues and finally through his drowning in the Red Sea.

And God’s people continued to be fruitful and multiply until finally another baby boy was born.

And this baby boy was also born during the time of a cruel leader Herod who had commanded all the Jewish baby boys to be murdered.

But the woman Mary and her husband Joseph were at enmity with Herod and safely took their baby boy away to Egypt in order to keep him safe.

And at the proper time, as we as sinners languished under the fear of God’s judgment and condemnation due our sin, Jesus Christ submitted himself to be tortured and killed in our place for our sin!

It seemed the snake had finally won his victory over the seed of the woman, but God raised his son Jesus three days later, crushing the head of the serpent, and saving all who would believe on the Lord Jesus Christ through repentance and faith.

Now, our fear of sin, punishment, and death has been overcome by the weightiness of the awe and wonder of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We lived under the power of Satan and were slaves in His kingdom until God saved us through His son and promised us eternity in the kingdom of God where the weight of His glory will be our great delight and our great fear for eternity.

So, how do you cultivate the fear of God in your mind and heart, you dwell on the gospel, and you center your life on your Savior who brought you out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of his beloved son.

In closing, I invite you to consider this Scripture with me:

Hebrews 12:18–29 ESV

18 For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest 19 and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. 20 For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” 21 Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” 22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. 25 See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27 This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming fire.

Let’s pray.