Because They Feared God

Exodus 1:8-2:10

August 23, 2026

 

There is a key moment in the movie It’s a Wonderful Life when George Bailey has been granted his wish to have never been born. He doesn’t understand the insight that he’s been given at first, and along with his guardian angel, Clarence, he goes into his hometown of Bedford Falls and is scared and angry at the changes that he sees. Goerge and Clarence go to what should have been a nice, clean housing development that the Bailey Building and Loan has worked to build. Instead, he finds a cemetery, and in the cemetery, he finds the gravestone of his younger brother Harry.

George argues with Clarence that Harry Bailey is still alive. Harry Bailey is a war hero and the whole town is gearing up for a huge celebration for his homecoming and for the honor he received. Harry Bailey saved a whole transport ship of men from being killed when their ship came under fire. But Clarence tells George that on that cold winter’s day so long ago, Harry died when he fell through the ice on a frozen pond and drowned. And that whole transport ship of soldiers? They all died because Harry wasn’t there to save them because George wasn’t there to save Harry.

Even before Clarence tells George that it is strange how one person’s life touches so many others, those of us watching the scene play out recognize that truth. George’s life has touched so many others. George saved his little brother Harry from drowning when they were kids. Harry grew up and saved a transport of soldiers. Who knows if any of these soldiers when on to save other people? The point is that without George in the world, living in his life, the consequences are greater and more widespread than he could imagine.

I think we see this truth in scripture as well. When we talk about Moses being called to liberate the Israelites from enslavement in Egypt, we have to go back in time and consider the women who ensured that Moses could be born so that he could be called to liberate his people from Egypt. Moses’ story does not begin with a burning bush, nor does it begin with a basket on the Nile. Moses’ story begins with two women named Shiphrah and Puah.

First, it is remarkable that we know their names. Women often go unnamed in scripture, so to know the names of these midwives is a gift. Shiphrah and Puah were two midwives to the Hebrew women and Pharaoh commanded their presence. There is some debate as to whether these two women were Egyptians who midwifed the Hebrew women or whether they were Israelites. Dr. Wilda Gafney analyzes the etymology of their names and concludes that they are Israelites. Because of her scholarship, I am going to stick with the assumption that Puah and Shiphrah are Israelites as well.

So, these two midwives, who were part of the enslaved people under Egypt’s thumb, were ordered to come before Pharaoh. Pharoah gives them a terrible directive. He is terrified of the Israelites and their growing numbers, and he wants to stop their increase. From the very beginning of these verses we know that trouble is coming. This Pharoah is new to the throne, and what’s worse is that he does not know Joseph. The word know is better interpreted as remember. Generations have passed since Jospeh was alive, but the Pharoah should know that history. But he did not know or remember Joseph, and all that Joseph did to save the Egyptians from starvation during famine, or of Joseph’s close ties to the previous pharaoh. This new guy did not remember or know any of that, or maybe he didn’t care. But what he does know is that Israelites are many in number, and he does not like that at all. So, he decides to deal with what one scholar called, “the Hebrew problem.”

He directs these two women, who were responsible for bringing life into the world, instead to act to end life before it begins.

“When you act as midwives to the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, she shall live.”

Surely these two women were horrified by the decree Pharoah gave them. Gafney envisions that there were probably many more midwives than just Puah and Shiphrah, and that perhaps these two women were the heads of a midwifery association of sorts. She imagines that they go back and call a meeting and tell the other midwives what Pharoah has directed them to do, and then they come up with a plan to thwart this evil order. And it would seem that their plan was to continue on as usual. We won’t do anything. We’ll just let the babies be born as they are born until Pharoah notices.

Pharaoh notices. I suspect that when the king sent them out to do his dirty work, he never thought he would have to deal with these midwives again. But the Israelites were still multiplying in number and his Hebrew problem was not going away. So, he summoned the two women once more. They must have had their response rehearsed because at least from what we read in the text there is no hesitation in their reply. When Pharoah asks,

“Why have you done this, and allowed the boys to live?”

Shiphrah and Puah reply, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.”

We can’t stop the baby boys from living, Pharoah. These women are so strong that they give birth before we can even get to them to help, to do our job. Moses leads his people out of enslavement in Egypt because Puah and Shiphrah ensure that no baby boys will be killed on their watch. Pharoah will have to find another way. And sadly he does. If killing the baby boys as they’re being born doesn’t work, then they must be killed afterward. He then orders that the Hebrew baby boys should be thrown in the Nile.

We don’t know if Puah and Shiphrah or another midwife was present at Moses’ birth, but we know that his mother looked at him and saw that he was a fine boy. In Hebrew these words are the same as God looking at his creation in Genesis and seeing that it was good. This child is part of God’s creation and he is good. But because he was a baby boy, he was supposed to be thrown into the Nile, yet Moses’ mother is not going to destroy God’s good creation. She is not going to be the instrument of her child’s death. She hides her son for three months. But after three months, a baby gets much harder to hide. So she takes a new action. She covers a basket in bitumen and pitch, the same materials that Noah used to waterproof the ark. In fact, the Hebrew word for basket in these verses is the same word used for the ark. Basket, ark, ark, basket. Just as the ark ensured that life would continue even in a catastrophic flood, so Moses’ mother ensures that life will continue in spite of Pharoah’s deadly orders.

Moses’ mother places her baby boy in this tiny ark and sets him in the reeds on the edge of the Nile. In this way, she obeys Pharoah, thwarting his wicked plan in a way he probably could not have imagined. But this did not mean that Moses was safe. His mother knew she was taking a great risk in doing this. She knew that her son may still not survive. Moses’ older sister, Miriam, is told to watch from a distance and see what happens.

It was Miriam who saw Pharoah’s own daughter find the little ark. It was Miriam who watched as Pharoah’s daughter opened the basket and discovered the baby boy. Pharoah’s daughter knew immediately that this was a Hebrew baby, and she must have known what was supposed to happen. But she took pity on the baby. She felt compassion for the baby. Even being a member of Pharoah’s household could not make her do her father’s vile deed. She did not throw this baby out into the river to his death. She saved him. Miriam steps out of her watching place and tells Pharoah’s daughter that she can find a nurse for the baby. When the other woman agreed, Miriam goes and brings Moses’ mother to her. This is strange and wonderful twist because not only did Moses’ mother save her child, but she is also given her baby back to nurse and is paid for doing it. When the boy is old enough to leave his mother, she brings him back to Pharoah’s daughter to raise as her own son. Moses’ mother ensured that her son would live, and the compassion that Pharoah’s daughter felt for the baby ensured that he would be raised in the household of the king.

Moses brought his people out of slavery because these women made certain that Moses could be born at all. Why did they do this? The answer for Puah and Shiphrah is stated clearly. They feared God. They feared God far more than they feared Pharoah. And other women? Moses’ mother saw the goodness of God’s creation in her baby boy, and maybe she feared harming that creation, that which is good. Even more, she was a mother, and she loved her child. She could not do what Pharoah commanded because she loved her child. Miriam, still a girl, must have loved her mother and her brother enough to stand guard, to stand watch, to act quickly and shrewdly when she saw Pharoah’s daughter discover the ark where her brother lay. And Pharoah’s daughter proved that compassion and kindness can win out over evil, even if that evil lives close to home.

Because they feared God. I’ll be honest, I struggle with the whole fear God aspect. I was brought up both to fear God who could annihilate me and to see God as a loving shepherd who loves me. It got confusing. But while I don’t spend most days afraid that God will strike me down or that God’s enormous foot will come down from the heavens and stomp me out of existence, it gives me pause to think of meeting God face-to-face one day and being asked hard questions. I do fear meeting God and being asked, “Why?” Why did I see injustice and not speak up? Why did I see someone hurting and pull back my hand instead of reaching out? Why did I stumble so many times while I was trying to follow Jesus, trying to live the good news, trying to live as though the kingdom of God is already here? Why did I live in fear?

Because they feared God. These women feared God. They respected God. They loved God. They feared God more than they feared Pharoah, and it must have been terrifying to defy Pharoah. But they did it anyway. And that’s the point. God calls us to act with courage, to live boldly, in spite of our fears. And that is what we must do because we fear God more than we fear those who deal in death. And we are not alone. God is mentioned very little in these verses. But God is there, with them, and God is here. With us. With us. Thanks be to God.

Let all of God’s children say, “Alleluia.”

Amen.