Exodus 1:15  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:
16  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.
17  But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive.
18  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?
19  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.
20  Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty.
21  And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses.
22  And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.

The king of Egypt was a wicked man. He was too lazy to check the history of his own nation. He was too lazy to find out who the Hebrews actually were. He did not like them and he tried to keep them from growing in population.
He spoke with the Hebrew midwives to interfere with the birthing process. God directed Moses to record the names of the midwives. The name Shiphrah means “fair” and the name Puah means “splendid”. These women were busy helping to deliver babies for the Hebrews.
The king wanted these women to kill any sons born to the Hebrew women. He wanted them to let the girls live. If there would be a shortage of males among the Hebrews, he likely assumed the girls would be content to intermarry with the Egyptians and this would weaken the Hebrew nation.
In verse 17 we read that the midwives feared God and did not obey the king’s commands. We see here that there is a higher order than a human king. Kings are supposed to govern according to God’s law. God’s law says that man is to be fruitful and multiply. God does not expect children to be murdered. These midwives did the right thing. They understood what their responsibility was.
It is important to walk in the fear of the Lord. It is important to honour Him. He has His ways of protecting those who honour Him. He is the same today as He ever was. There were God-fearing people killed at times in Bible times. There will be God-fearing people killed at times now as well. However, the saved person is safe in the hand of the God of Creation. That is the place to be.
In verse 18 we see that the king was monitoring the actions of the midwives. He was keeping track of the number of sons being born. He noticed that the midwives were not following his command. He called them into his presence and he demanded to know why they were saving the men children alive.
In verse 19 the midwives answered Pharaoh. They told him that the Hebrew women were strong and they would often deliver their child before the midwives even arrived. With a population as large as the Hebrew population was, and with only these two midwives, that would certainly be the case. They would not be able to keep up with all the births. God was protecting the women and He was making sure that the nation would grow.
In verse 20 we read that God dealt well with the midwives. We know that God does not condone lying. Some have suggested that the midwives lied to Pharaoh, but our text tells us that God blessed them for their actions. The Hebrew women were well aware of the wicked decree of the Pharaoh and they could well have avoided calling on the midwives to be sure their sons would live. Either way, God dealt well with the midwives and the nation of Israel continued to grow in numbers. Not only that but they were also a strong and healthy nation.
God even provided houses for the midwives. God is well able to bless those who honour Him. He has shown us this many times in the Bible. We also know this from recent history. God has protected those who feared Him and stood for truth during the Wuhan virus debacle.
Pharaoh was intent on hurting the nation of Israel. He now commanded his people to take the young Hebrew sons and cast them into the river. They were to allow the girls to stay alive, but the boys needed to be killed.
The Egyptians were a pagan people and they did not value life as they should. They would have been quite willing to do the king’s bidding.
We had the same thing during the Wuhan virus affair. There were snitches that were willing to report us to the authorities. They would take down our license numbers and they would watch if we were bringing food into the church. We learned to be more creative during that time.
In our text, we see that in spite of all the evil plans of the Pharaoh, God is bigger than any man. Man can scheme and some will bow to his evil plans. However, God has a way of protecting His own. He proves Himself to be greater than man. In our text, it was the midwives who were noted. They took their walk with the Lord seriously and they were blessed for it.
When we walk humbly with the Lord, He rewards us. His rewards will not always be material, but they certainly will be spiritual. Peace in the soul and in the mind is worth more than material gains. As He rewards us, we can take courage from that. It is not a time to become proud and boastful. It is a time to double down on glorifying God and seeking to help others to see the importance of knowing the true God and serving Him faithfully. He desires to bless us and He is worthy of all glory. Whether it be the government or the police or doctors and nurses, all need to be reminded of the importance of trusting in the true God.
Pastor Bartel