Commentary - Exodus 1:15-22

Bird's-eye view

In this passage, we come face to face with the central conflict of all history, which is the fear of God versus the fear of man. Pharaoh, the archetypal tyrant, represents the pinnacle of humanistic state power. His commands are not suggestions; they are backed by the sword. But here, in the opening salvos of this great conflict that will define the book of Exodus, the Lord raises up two unlikely heroines. Shiphrah and Puah are midwives, women in a lowly position, but they are armed with something far more potent than Pharaoh's chariots: the fear of the Lord. Their faithful disobedience to a wicked law sets the stage for the deliverance of Israel. This is a story of how God uses the weak things of the world to shame the strong, and how He blesses courageous faith that refuses to bow the knee to any authority that sets itself up against the authority of God Himself.

The narrative is structured as a contest of wills. Pharaoh issues a command rooted in his fear of Israel's strength, a command that is nothing less than genocidal. The midwives, motivated by their fear of God, refuse to comply. When confronted, they offer a clever, and likely deceptive, response. The result is not their execution, but God's blessing upon them and the continued multiplication of His people. Pharaoh, thwarted by these two women, escalates his wicked decree, making it a public law for all Egyptians. This sets the stage for the introduction of Moses, the child who will be saved from this very decree and who will ultimately be the instrument of Pharaoh's complete undoing. God is sovereignly orchestrating all these events, turning the wrath of a king into a prelude for redemption.

Outline

Clause-by-Clause Commentary

v. 15 Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other was named Puah;

The conflict intensifies and becomes more personal. Pharaoh, having failed to break the Hebrews with hard labor, now resorts to a more direct and sinister plot. He targets the very source of their strength: their fruitfulness. He summons the midwives. Notice that Scripture honors these women by recording their names, Shiphrah and Puah. In a story full of powerful men, kings and taskmasters, it is these two women who are named and remembered for their courage. God's economy is always different from man's. He sees and honors those who are faithful in the small, seemingly insignificant places. These women are what we might call lesser magistrates. They have a sphere of authority and responsibility given to them by God, and Pharaoh is attempting to co-opt that authority for his own wicked ends.

v. 16 and he said, “When you are helping the Hebrew women to give birth and see them upon the birthstool, if it is a son, then you shall put him to death; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.”

Here is the command in all its stark evil. This is not just oppression; it is state-sanctioned, systematic murder. The target is specific: the male children. Pharaoh understands, in his own twisted way, where the strength of a people lies. He wants to cut off the future leadership, the future soldiers, the future patriarchs of Israel. The daughters are to be spared, likely to be absorbed into Egyptian society as servants or wives, thus diluting the Hebrew identity. This is a calculated, demographic attack. The command is clear, unambiguous, and utterly contrary to the law of God written on the heart. It is a command to violate the sanctity of life at its most vulnerable point. This is the kind of raw, satanic evil that raw state power, untethered from the fear of God, inevitably produces.

v. 17 But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt had spoken to them, but let the boys live.

This is the pivot point of the entire narrative. "But the midwives feared God." This is the great antithesis to the fear of man. Pharaoh has the power of life and death, or so he thinks. He can have these women executed. But they possess a greater fear, a healthier fear, a righteous fear. They fear the one who can destroy both body and soul in hell. Their allegiance is to a higher throne than Pharaoh's. And so, they disobey. This is righteous civil disobedience. When the state commands what God forbids, or forbids what God commands, the duty of the Christian is clear. We must obey God rather than men. Their fear of God translated directly into action: they "did not do" and they "let the boys live." True faith is never a mere sentiment; it is active and obedient to God, even at great personal risk.

v. 18 So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and let the boys live?”

The plan has failed. The Hebrew population continues to grow, and the evidence is undeniable: male babies are surviving. Pharaoh summons the midwives for an interrogation. His question is one of astonishment and rage. "Why have you done this thing?" From his perspective, his command should have been absolute. He cannot comprehend a law higher than his own will. He is the state personified, and for these two women to defy him is to defy reality as he understands it. This is the perennial blind spot of the tyrant. He fails to account for God and for the courage that the fear of God produces in His people.

v. 19 Then the midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife can come to them.”

Now, what are we to make of this answer? It is, on the face of it, a deception. They are misleading Pharaoh. Is this a sin? Not in the slightest. Deception is an act of war, and Pharaoh had declared war on the people of God and their infant sons. These midwives were acting as field operatives in a spiritual war. Their duty was to protect innocent life from a murderous tyrant. In such a context, to tell the truth would be to become complicit in murder. It would be like telling the Gestapo that yes, you do have Jews in the attic. God Himself blessed these women for their actions, which included this deception. Their answer was also a magnificent insult, subtly tweaking the nose of Egyptian pride. The Hebrew women are more "vigorous," more full of life, than the Egyptian women. It was a way of saying that God's blessing on His people was simply overwhelming Pharaoh's ability to curse them.

v. 20 So God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied and became very mighty.

The verdict of Heaven is rendered. God approved of their conduct. He "was good to the midwives." The text is explicit. Their fear of God, their disobedience to the king, and their deception were all bound up in the same course of action, and God blessed it. This should settle any pietistic hand-wringing about their "lie." Furthermore, the outcome they were aiming for was achieved. The people not only continued to multiply, but they became "very mighty." Pharaoh's plan to weaken them was having the opposite effect. This is the consistent testimony of Scripture: when men set themselves against God's purposes, He uses their own schemes to advance those very purposes. He catches the wise in their own craftiness.

v. 21 Now it happened that because the midwives feared God, He made households for them.

The blessing is now made personal and specific. Because they feared God, He gave them families of their own. These women who protected the households of others were rewarded with households of their own. This is a beautiful picture of God's tender and covenantal care. He is not an abstract deity. He sees the faithfulness of His servants and rewards them in tangible, generational ways. They saved the sons of Israel, and God gave them sons of their own. The blessing fits the deed. This is the principle of sowing and reaping applied in a glorious way.

v. 22 And Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “Every son who is born you are to cast into the Nile, and every daughter you are to keep alive.”

Pharaoh, having been outwitted by the midwives, now escalates his tyranny. He moves from a secret plot to a public policy. The evil is brought out into the open. He commands "all his people" to participate in his genocide. This is what happens when a society gives itself over to a godless ruler; the people themselves become instruments of his wickedness. The command to cast the sons into the Nile is particularly satanic. The Nile was a source of life for Egypt, worshiped as a god. Pharaoh now turns it into an instrument of death. This is a complete inversion of the created order. But even in this, God is working His sovereign plan. For it is out of this very river of death that He will raise up a deliverer, Moses, whose name means "drawn out." Pharaoh's decree of death will be the very circumstance God uses to preserve the man who will bring death to Pharaoh's house and kingdom.

Application

The story of the Hebrew midwives is not just an ancient account of courage; it is a timeless lesson for the church in every age. We live in a world where the state increasingly makes Pharaonic claims on our lives, our families, and our children. We are constantly faced with the choice between the fear of God and the fear of man.

First, we must recognize that all authority is delegated authority, and it is limited by the higher law of God. When any human authority, be it a king, a president, or a school board, commands us to sin, our duty is to respectfully and firmly disobey. Shiphrah and Puah are our models here. Their defiance was not born of a rebellious spirit, but of a worshipful fear of the true King.

Second, this passage is a powerful affirmation of the sanctity of human life. The battle here is over the lives of infants. Our modern world has its own forms of child sacrifice, preeminently in the abortion industry. Like the midwives, Christians are called to be defenders of the unborn, to stand in the gap, and to refuse to comply with any law or custom that treats innocent human life as disposable.

Finally, we must trust in the sovereignty of God, even when evil appears to be winning. Pharaoh's decrees grew more and more wicked, yet God was always one step ahead of him, weaving even the most horrific acts into His grand tapestry of redemption. He blessed the faithfulness of two lowly women and used their courage to preserve His people. He will do the same for us. As we stand for truth and righteousness in our day, we can be confident that our God is good, that He will bless our obedience, and that the gates of hell, whether they manifest as a tyrant's decree or a cultural mandate, will not prevail against His church.