Read Exodus 1.
At the end of Genesis, Jacob's total family numbered only 70. They lived in luxury on the finest land in Egypt, overseeing of all the nation's livestock and food supplies. At the opening of Exodus, several hundreds of years have gone by. The family of Israel became a nation of several million non-Egyptian people living in this foreign country. The new Pharaoh felt threatened by them, but he did not want to lose their manpower. His solution was slavery. The result was even more rapid growth of Israel's population. Pharaoh's solution was to kill all newborn males.
The Hebrew midwives were charged with the murderous task of killing the newborns. "But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live." The Pharaoh's order was self-serving and evil. This is the first case in the scripture of civil disobedience.
Bernard Ramm wrote that the midwives had to choose among their fears: a) to fear the invisible God, or b) to fear the visible king. "Faith sees the real power; sight sees the immediate power."
Once a person no longer cares what God thinks, there will be no respect for His presence, no regard for His expectations, and no fear of His judgment. Such a person's heart becomes wide-open to any, every and all sinful behavior.
These women did not protest or raise a ruckus. They quietly and humbly did what was right. When asked about it, they may not have been lying, but they just did not say more than they had to. By faith, they trusted God. God took care of the two women involved and, to this day, we even have their names: Shiphrah and Puah.
1. God protected them from punishment.
2. God blessed them, v. 20-"God dealt well with them".
3. God gave them their own families. v.21
A principle is seen throughout the Bible in such cases when authority conflicts with the known will of God. It is this: God is able to take care of the consequences of our obedience.
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