This post is the second of Faithlogue’s 2023 Summer Series: “The Women of the Exodus.” Click here to receive each week’s post in your inbox!
As we discussed in the Introduction last week, Exodus 1-4 reveals how God worked through both named and unnamed women to preserve and prepare His people for rescue from Egypt. Today let’s review Exodus 1.
The story of the Exodus actually begins back in Genesis 12, where we discover that God promised to make Abraham’s descendants into a great nation and give them the land of the Canaanites (12:2-3,7). However, God also warned Abraham that his offspring would one day be enslaved in a foreign country until God led them back home (Genesis 15:12-16). Sure enough, at the beginning of Exodus, we find Abraham’s descendants enslaved in the foreign land of Egypt (Exodus 1).
The Israelites listed in Exodus 1:1-5 arrived in Egypt through a combination of evil intentions and relentless famine. Joseph resided in Egypt because his jealous older brothers sold him into slavery when he was young. However, despite their sin, God placed Joseph in a powerful position to rescue his brothers from famine through refuge in Egypt.
Before Joseph’s father, Jacob, brought his family to Egypt, God confirmed His promise to Abraham with the following proclamation:
“I am God, the God of your father,” he said. “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph’s own hand will close your eyes.”
Genesis 46:3-4 (NIV, all passages)
God indeed made Abraham’s offspring into a great nation in Egypt:
“The Israelites were fruitful and multiplied greatly and became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them.”
Exodus 1:7
After generations of population growth, the Egyptian ruler, Pharoah, began to fear an Israelite uprising. To quell their fruitfulness, Pharoah enslaved the Israelites and subjected them to hard labor. However, his scheme was no match for God’s plans. The Israelites continued to thrive:
“But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread.”
Exodus 1:12
Since hard labor only increased their population growth, Pharoah ordered the Israelite’s midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, to kill every newborn boy. Given the population size, these women likely represented a larger group of midwives who served God’s people.
Scholars debate whether these midwives were Egyptian or Hebrew (Israelite) women. In either case, the writer of Exodus gave them Hebrew names—Shiphrah and Puah—which mean beautiful and bright.[1]
Whether Israelite or Egyptian, these midwives represent the Israelites both in name and reverence for God. They certainly brought the Israelites a glimmer of beautiful and bright hope by defying Pharoah’s order:
“The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live.”
Exodus 1:17
The idea that these women “feared God” means they had great reverence or respect for Him. In other words, the midwives revered God more than Pharoah.
In Exodus 9:20, we see the same terminology applied to officials of Pharoah who feared the word of the Lord instead of ignoring Him. Therefore, we can ascertain that the midwives feared the Lord because they paid attention to Him.
Remember, the Israelites multiplied in captivity for generations, just as God promised. These women likely witnessed God’s provision for population growth over all that time. Therefore, I imagine the midwives already knew that Pharoah’s scheme could not stand against God’s plans. They feared God instead of ignoring Him.
Pharoah noticed his plan wasn’t working, so he summoned the midwives to account for letting the boys live. In response, the midwives stated that Israelite women were “vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive” (Exodus 1:19).
Scholars debate the ethics behind the midwives’ cover-up, but remember the meaning of their Hebrew names: beautiful and bright. It’s possible that the midwives weren’t only attempting to protect themselves, they were also trying to shine a light for Pharoah on God’s provision for the Israelites.
Unfortunately, Pharoah missed the message and broadened his order to command “all his people” to throw newborn Israelite boys into the Nile (Exodus 1:22). Instead of fearing God, Pharoah continued to ignore God and ordered his subjects to comply with his paranoia.
In the future, a Pharoah will lose his own newborn son as his heart hardens further against the truth of God’s activities. In contrast, because the midwives paid attention, God continued to increase the Israelite population and gave the midwives households of their own. God’s kindness to the midwives reveals His nature as the One who notices when we pay attention and respond out of reverence for Him.
The midwives’ choice to fear God provides the first beautiful and bright glimpse of God’s plan to return the Israelites to their promised home. Through these women, God revealed His ongoing work of fulfilling His promises and reminded the Israelites of His presence with them in a foreign land.
After spending decades on the front lines of the Israelite population boom, these midwives knew the power of God’s promises. They were able to shine a beautiful and bright light on God’s provision for the Israelites because they paid attention.
© 2023 Lori Myers Berry
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Throughout my years in seminary, I struggled to find sound theological resources that interpreted Scripture from the perspectives of the women of God. I believe we need to amplify that perspective, because (like the midwives) women often have a unique opportunity to pay attention and shine the beautiful and bright light of God’s promises in difficult or oppressive places.
In my search for resources, I discovered theologian and author, Carolyn Custis James. Her book, Half the Church, provides a global perspective of God’s work in the lives of His daughters.
Following is one of my favorite quotes from the book:
“God’s vision for us doesn’t just reassure us that we matter and that our lives do count for something. God’s vision compels us to look beyond ourselves, to ponder a picture of how things were meant to be that leaves us aching for his will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, and to look for ways to participate in moving the world toward that goal.”[2]
Carolyn Custis James, Half the Church
After the example of the midwives, Half the Church is an invitation for us to pay attention. Here is a link if you would like to learn more or purchase the book. Enjoy!
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Half the Church: Recapturing God’s Global Vision for Women (Paperback) By Carolyn Custis James |
[1] James Strong, James, The New Strong’s Dictionary of Hebrew and Greek Words (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1996), s.v. “8236” and “6326.” Logos.
[2] Carolyn Custis James, Half the Church: Recapturing God’s Global Vision for Women (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), 25.