Shiphrah and Puah

Overview

Doing What Is Right: The Witness of Shiphrah and Puah

Between the closing of Genesis and the opening of Exodus lies a silent gap of some 300 years. Scripture does not narrate those years, but God was far from idle. He was keeping the covenant promise made in Genesis 12:2—land, offspring, and blessing—growing Abraham's descendants into a great people. By the time we meet Israel in Egypt, Exodus 1:7 tells us they were "fruitful and prolific; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong." Joseph had foreseen this faithfulness, telling his brothers in Genesis 50:24 that God would surely visit His people and bring them up to the land He swore to the patriarchs.

But a new king arose who did not know Joseph Exodus 1:8. Threatened by Israel's growth, Pharaoh imposed brutal forced labor and then issued a horrifying command to two Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah: kill every newborn boy Exodus 1:15-16. Yet Exodus 1:17 testifies, "But the midwives feared God" and let the boys live. This was not survival fear—the terror of someone who can harm us—but what Luther called filial fear: the awe, reverence, and love that does not want to disappoint the Father. Out of that holy fear, Shiphrah and Puah did the right thing, even when it was costly and dangerous.

Scripture is full of this calling. The four lepers in 2 Kings 7:9, having stumbled into abundance during a famine, recognized, "What we are doing is wrong... let us go and tell the king's household." Deuteronomy 6:18 calls us to do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord. Proverbs 21:3 says righteousness and justice please the Lord more than sacrifice. 1 Peter 2:15 urges that by doing right we silence the ignorance of the foolish. And James 4:17 warns plainly: "Anyone who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, commits sin."

Yet honesty compels us to admit we often fall short. We are silent when we should speak, inactive when we should act, and we look away when we should hold a steady gaze. Paul's confession in Romans 7:19 is our own: "For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do." And James 2:10 reminds us that even one failure makes us accountable for the whole law. Here is where the gospel breaks through. In what Luther called the "great exchange," Christ took our sin, guilt, and unrighteousness to the cross and credited His perfect righteousness to us. When the Father looks at His people, He sees the righteousness of His Son. We are not made right by doing right things; we have been made right by what Jesus has done through the cross and the empty tomb—and now, clothed in His righteousness and empowered by His grace, we are freed to do what is right as a way of adoring Him.

So the question for each of us is simple and searching: informed by the Word of God and empowered by the Spirit, where is it that you need to do what is right? What relationship, what situation, what issue is the Lord placing before you? Living in the forgiveness purchased by Christ and the joy of our baptism, may we, like Shiphrah and Puah, fear God rightly and act faithfully—doing right because we have been made right.

Transcript

What you open your Bibles, please, with me to the Book of Exodus in the Old Testament, 1s

Exodus the very first chapter for our study this morning. 7s

Quotes, do what is right and not what is easy. 15s

Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching. 23s

Knowing what's right doesn't mean much unless you do what is right. 32s

Wrong is wrong, even if everyone is doing it. 40s

Right is right, even if only you are doing it. 45s

Doing the right thing. 54s

Have you ever met Shifra and Pua? 59s

If not, I'd like to introduce them to you today. 64s

Shifra and Pua, these were two ladies that did the right thing. 68s

When one moves from the Book of Genesis to the Book of Exodus, there's 300 years. 80s

300 years that Moses is simply silent about. 88s

Moses was the author of the first five books of the Old Testament. 93s

What's called the Pentatuch. 98s

Genesis Exodus the Vitticus Numbers and Deuteronomy. 101s

There's a move from Genesis into Exodus. 105s

There's a 300-year gap. 108s

And the Holy Spirit did not inspire Moses to write about what happened in those 300 years. 113s

That doesn't mean, however, that God was not at work. 122s

God was very much still at work. 127s

I think, for example, of the covenant that God had made with Abraham and Sarah. 132s

Going back into Genesis the 12th chapter, it was a covenant of land, offspring, and blessing. 139s

God was going to create this people and out of this people would come the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. 146s

Land offering and blessing. 154s

In Genesis the 12th chapter, it says this, 158s

I will make of you a great nation. 162s

And so, during those years, going all the way back into Genesis and extending on into Exodus. 169s

God was at work. 179s

He was growing his people among other things. 183s

When the people came to Egypt, they were by that point, 188s

remembering literally in the hundreds of thousands. 193s

Genesis, the 50th chapter, records this. 200s

Then Joseph said to his brothers, 204s

I am about to die, but God will surely come to you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham to Isaac and to Jacob. 206s

This growing number of people that God was going to lead to that promised land that he had promised for his people. 218s

But little of the Joseph know that there would be 400 years that the people would be in Egypt until they were freed. 230s

Little of the Joseph know, 244s

there were dark days ahead. 245s

Let's look now, please, at Exodus 1st chapter, we'll pick up in verse 6. 252s

Then Joseph died and all his brothers and that holds generation. 259s

But these relates were fruitful and prolific. 264s

They multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, 270s

so that the land was filled with them. 274s

Now, here that verse with the backdrop of Genesis 12th chapter, 279s

just listen to those descriptors once again. 283s

The Israelites were fruitful, prolific, they multiplied, they grew, 287s

and they were exceedingly strong, and the land was filled with them. 293s

That's just God living out his promises, growing his people. 299s

But, look at verse 8. 308s

Now a new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph. 313s

You see, king after king in the dynasty. 323s

They fondly remembered Joseph. 328s

Joseph was instrumental in preserving the land of Egypt from a famine. 330s

And so there was a special fondness here of this line of kings that would remember Joseph so fondly for what he had done. 336s

And remembering Joseph, they were kind then to the Hebrews. 345s

Year after year after year, the Hebrews were treated well until this guy, this king. 350s

Now a new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph goes on. 362s

He said to his people, look, the Israelites people are more numerous and more powerful than we come. 370s

Let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase and in the event of war, join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land. 378s

Therefore, they set task masters over them to oppress them with forced labor. 391s

They built supplies cities, pitom and ramsees for Pharaoh. 397s

But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread so that the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites. 403s

The Egyptians became ruthless and imposing tasks on the Israelites and made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar and brick and in every kind of field labor. 413s

They were ruthless in all the tasks that they imposed on them. 425s

Talk about a change from how the Hebrews had been treated from the kings before that fondly remembered Joseph. 430s

Now this new king comes along and task masters are imposed and they mistreat the people it's terrible. 437s

But remember what it said in first 12? 446s

But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread Genesis 12, the more they multiplied and spread. 451s

So, what did the king do? 466s

We go on, verse 15. 474s

The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shifra and the other Pua. 479s

When you act as midwives to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a boy, kill him. 488s

But if it is a girl, she shall live. 498s

Shifra and Pua were most likely in charge of the midwives that assisted the Hebrew women. 504s

This is an order now that comes from the king telling them that if a boy is born, you kill it. 513s

So what are they going to do? 525s

The very next verse says verse 17. 530s

But the midwives feared God. 534s

They did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them. 539s

But they left, they let the boys live. 544s

It's such an interesting word that word feared that they feared God. 550s

So often when we think of that word, we think of terror, that which frightens us, 557s

that which we're afraid of. 562s

But to fear something can also have the sense of all and reverence. 566s

Luther talked about it this way. 574s

He said there's a distinction between survival fear and filial fear. 575s

He said, survival fear is when you're filled with terror about someone that comes into your presence. 581s

That's survival fear. 589s

Someone that can do harm to you. 594s

Survival fear. 597s

Filial fear, he said, that's different. 600s

Filial fear is it's all, it's reverence. 603s

It's not wanting to disappoint. 608s

What Shifra and Pua display is that, 614s

filial fear. 618s

They feared God in the sense that they respected him. 621s

They were in awe of him. 627s

They didn't want to disappoint him. 628s

And so what did they do? 633s

They did what was right. 637s

They did what was right. 644s

I think of four men in second kings in the seventh chapter. 649s

All four men had leprosy. 653s

They were outside of the city gate. 657s

It was during a time of famine. 659s

They realized that being outside of the city gate with no food, 663s

they were going to die. 667s

But they realized if they could somehow go in to the city, 668s

the famine was there and they would die there also. 671s

So they decided to desert the city. 675s

They went to the camp of the Aramians. 680s

They thought to themselves, well, if the Aramians kill us, 683s

we're going to die anyway. 687s

But perhaps they would somehow show kindness to them, 689s

at least give them some food. 693s

So they desert the city. 696s

They go to the Aramian camp. 697s

And what do they discover? 699s

But everyone in the Aramian camp had fled. 701s

God had arranged for an experience that caused fear 708s

and the people fled. 712s

And so here come these four men upon camp. 714s

Everybody is gone. 718s

But everything is still there. 721s

So what they do? 726s

They went from tent to tent to tent. 728s

They ate and they drank and they carried away stuff. 733s

But then they realized. 740s

Verse 9 of 2nd Kings, the 7th chapter, 742s

it says this, then they said to one another, 746s

what we are doing is wrong. 752s

This is a day of good news. 755s

If we are silent and wait until the morning light, 757s

we will be found guilty. 761s

Therefore let us go and tell the King's household. 764s

You see, they felt guilty. 770s

That while people were starving in the city, 772s

here they were gorging themselves, 775s

going from tent to tent. 777s

So they realized what they were doing was wrong. 780s

They needed to go back and tell the King of what had been discovered. 782s

These four men, they did the right thing. 787s

Do it around the me, the 6th chapter, it says. 798s

Do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, 802s

so that it may go well with you. 808s

First Peter, the 2nd chapter says, 812s

for it is God's will that by doing right, 816s

you should silence the ignorance of the foolish. 820s

Proverbs 21, 826s

to do righteousness and justice is more acceptable 829s

to the Lord than sacrifice. 834s

Doing what's right. 839s

It's so, quotes again, right? 842s

Do what is right, not what is easy. 845s

Integrity is doing the right thing, 848s

even when no one is watching. 850s

Knowing what's right doesn't mean much, 854s

unless you do what is right. 856s

Wrong is wrong. 860s

Even if everyone is doing it right is right, 861s

even if only you are doing it. 866s

Those four guys, they did the right thing. 870s

Shifra and Pua, they did the right thing. 876s

And with us, 888s

sometimes we don't do the right thing, 894s

do we? 898s

Sometimes we don't. 901s

We can be silent when we should speak. 905s

We can be inactive when we should be active. 909s

We should not look away, 918s

but sometimes we do. 922s

Those times when the gaze should be strong, 927s

yet sometimes we look away from the situation. 932s

We can see the whole set in Romans, 936s

the seventh chapter. 941s

For I do not do the good, 944s

I want, but the evil I do not want 947s

is what I do. 951s

It goes on them to say. 953s

So I find it to be a law, 956s

that when I want to do what is good, 959s

I want to be an evil I close at hand. 961s

James writes in the fourth chapter of James. 967s

Anyone then who knows the right thing to do 971s

and fails to do it, commits sin. 974s

Shifra and Pua, they did the right thing. 982s

Why? 994s

Because they were human too. 1001s

They were sinners. 1008s

You see, we fall short. 1014s

We fall short. 1017s

We fall short because we are sinners. 1018s

James, the second chapter, says this. 1031s

For whoever keeps the whole law, 1036s

but fails in one point, 1039s

has become accountable for all of it. 1042s

One little word, one little thought, 1046s

one little deed. 1050s

Just one sin. 1053s

Makes us accountable for the whole guilt 1056s

of the law to come upon us. 1060s

But one sin makes us unrighteous 1065s

in the sight of God. 1070s

But what does God do? 1075s

God in his grace sends his son the Lord Jesus Christ 1079s

to the cross. 1083s

And a great exchange, as Luther termed it, 1086s

a great exchange occurs. 1088s

When Jesus went to the cross, 1092s

he took all of our sin, all of our guilt, 1094s

all of our unrighteousness upon himself. 1097s

He died in our place. 1102s

And he gave to us his righteousness. 1106s

In other words, Jesus is perfect life, 1112s

credited to our account. 1116s

So that when the Father looks at us, 1120s

what He sees is the perfect righteous, 1122s

life of the Lord Jesus Christ. 1127s

That's what He sees when He looks at us. 1133s

We're not right because we do right things. 1142s

We're not right because we can somehow make ourselves right. 1147s

We're not righteous because we can somehow make ourselves righteous. 1152s

No, we have been made right because of what the Lord Jesus Christ has done 1156s

for us through the cross and the empty tomb. 1163s

We have been made right. 1167s

And having been made right now, 1171s

having been cloaked in the righteous garment of the Lord Jesus Christ, 1174s

having been made right by His grace, 1179s

we are to do that which is right. 1186s

That is a way to adore Him. 1192s

And so beloved of God, let me ask you this. 1199s

Informed by the Word of God, 1204s

where is it that you need to do? 1209s

What's right? 1212s

Where is it? 1214s

What's the situation? 1217s

What relationship? 1218s

What issue? 1220s

Informed by the Word of God, 1222s

where is it that you need to do? 1223s

What's right? 1227s

Empowered by God Almighty. 1231s

Beloved, where is it that you need to do what's right? 1234s

Living in the forgiveness that is ours through the Lord Jesus Christ, 1245s

living in the joy of our baptism. 1250s

Where is it? 1254s

Where is it that you need to do? 1257s

What's right? 1263s

Where is it? 1269s

God has come in the Lord Jesus Christ. 1274s

He has made us right, 1280s

made us right through the cross and the empty tomb, 1286s

and God comes to empower us by His grace to do what's right, 1293s

all Lord, do that work in our lives, 1306s

and may you be glorified as we do by your grace. 1313s

What's right? 1321s