What Exodus 1:17 really means: Fear God, Not Kings

Context of the Midwives' Defiance in Exodus 1

The story of the Hebrew midwives unfolds at the beginning of Exodus, right after a new Pharaoh rises to power in Egypt and begins oppressing the Israelites out of fear of their growing numbers.

Pharaoh didn’t remember Joseph’s service to Egypt and saw the Israelites as a threat, so he enslaved them, hoping to weaken them (Exodus 1:8-11). When that didn’t stop their growth, he turned to more extreme measures - first commanding the midwives to kill newborn boys (Exodus 1:15-16), and later ordering all Egyptians to throw Hebrew sons into the Nile (Exodus 1:22). In this escalating crisis, Shiphrah and Puah stood at a critical point: they were ordered to carry out Pharaoh’s unjust command, but they chose to obey God instead.

Their quiet act of resistance - letting the boys live - went beyond disobedience. It was a faith‑filled decision that protected God’s people and positioned them to become a nation He would soon deliver.

The Fear of God That Launched Israel's Salvation

This quiet act of courage by Shiphrah and Puah was far more than personal bravery - it was the first recorded resistance in a divine rescue mission that would unfold through the Passover and the Exodus itself.

The phrase 'feared God' (Exodus 1:17) carries deep weight in Hebrew thought - it doesn’t mean being afraid, but living with reverence and moral awe before God, choosing His ways even when human authority demands otherwise. This same 'fear of God' appears later in Exodus 20:20, when Moses tells the people after the Ten Commandments, 'Do not fear, for God has come to test you, so that the fear of God may be before you, that you may not sin.' Here, it’s clear that fearing God is the foundation of faithful living. Shiphrah and Puah refused to kill babies and aligned themselves with God’s life‑giving purposes, standing against a culture that devalued Hebrew lives and treated children as political tools.

Their defiance echoes forward into the heart of the Exodus story. Because these boys lived, one of them - Moses - would survive Pharaoh’s next decree (Exodus 2:1-10) and grow up to lead Israel out of slavery. Without the midwives’ faithfulness, there would be no deliverer, no confrontation with Pharaoh, no Passover lamb marking homes for protection (Exodus 12:13), and no exodus through the Red Sea. Their decision was a hinge in redemptive history - small in human eyes, but pivotal in God’s plan.

God’s blessing on them - 'he gave them families' (Exodus 1:21) - shows that He honors those who honor life and stand for justice, even at personal risk. This theme continues in Scripture. In Daniel 3, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego fear God more than the king’s furnace. In Acts 5:29, the apostles say, 'We must obey God rather than men.'

Their reverence for God wasn’t just fear of punishment - it was deep trust that He saw them, valued life, and would protect them when they stood for what was right.

The midwives’ story doesn’t end with them - it flows directly into the next chapter of oppression and God’s response. As Pharaoh doubles down with a wider infanticide order (Exodus 1:22), the stage is set for a new kind of deliverance - one that will reveal human courage and God’s power to save through the most unlikely means.

How the Midwives' Faith Points to God's Bigger Rescue Plan

The midwives’ decision to fear God and spare the boys went beyond a moral stand. It quietly launched a pattern of faith‑filled women protecting life, echoing the Bible’s grand rescue story.

They obeyed God rather than the king, echoing the apostles’ declaration in Acts 5:29: 'We must obey God rather than men.' This principle isn’t about rebellion - it’s about loyalty to a higher, holier authority when human commands go against God’s value for life and justice.

When we choose to obey God rather than people, we step into His life-giving story - even in small, hidden ways.

Their courage mirrors other Hebrew women who played key roles in preserving God’s plan: Moses’ mother, who hid him (Exodus 2:2), and Pharaoh’s daughter, who rescued him (Exodus 2:5-6). Together, these acts show how God uses ordinary people - especially women in impossible situations - to carry forward His promise to bless all nations through Israel. This thread continues in the New Testament, where Jesus, born under a death threat like Moses, is protected by faithful obedience to God’s word. The midwives didn’t know it, but their reverence for life helped set the stage for the coming of the One who would bring life to the world.

How the Midwives’ Courage Points to Jesus’ Rescue

The midwives’ defiance in Exodus 1:17 not only preserved Hebrew boys but unknowingly safeguarded the future deliverer Moses - and, through him, pointed forward to the ultimate Deliverer, Jesus Christ.

Centuries later, another king - Herod - would also order the murder of infants in a desperate attempt to destroy God’s chosen one (Matthew 2:16). Like Pharaoh, Herod feared a rising threat to his power, but God protected the child Jesus, as He had protected the Hebrew babies through the midwives. This parallel shows that God’s plan of salvation cannot be stopped by human tyranny.

Matthew 2:15 quotes Hosea 11:1 - 'Out of Egypt I called my son' - tying Jesus’ return from Egypt to Israel’s exodus. Jesus is more than another Moses. He is the true and greater Israel, reliving their story but succeeding where they failed. The midwives’ act of preserving life was a small but vital thread in this larger story: God raising up a deliverer from Egypt to rescue His people, not only from slavery but also from sin and death itself.

As the midwives feared God and defied Pharaoh, Jesus later obeyed the Father completely - even to the point of death - defying the powers of darkness. The baby spared by faithful women in Exodus would lead a nation out of bondage. The baby spared by faithful obedience in Matthew would lead all who trust Him out of eternal bondage. Both stories reveal God’s pattern: using quiet faithfulness to advance His rescue mission.

God used the midwives’ quiet faith to protect the deliverer of Israel - just as He would later protect the Deliverer of the world.

This thread of divine protection for the promised Child continues God’s promise in Genesis 3:15 to bring a Savior who would crush evil. The midwives’ courage saved lives and helped preserve the very line through which Jesus would come.

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