Shiphrah & Puah: Holy Resistance

The story of Shiphrah and Puah stands at the beginning of Exodus as one of the first great acts of holy resistance in Scripture. Peter’s words in Acts, “obey God rather than humans,” did not begin with the apostles. Exodus had already given those words flesh in two working women who stood before Pharaoh, heard his order of death, and said no.

Pharaoh saw the Hebrew people as a threat, so forced labor became surveillance, and surveillance became genocide. Pharaoh called the midwives and commanded them to kill the Hebrew boys at birth. Exodus does something powerful right there. Pharaoh, the most powerful man in the world, goes unnamed, but the text names the midwives: Shiphrah and Puah. The king becomes “the king of Egypt,” but the women who defied him are remembered.

The word used for these women carries the sense of helper, but not in a small or weak way. It means rescuer, protector, one whose vital strength helps others survive. The same kind of word gets used for God in the Psalms. Shiphrah and Puah became that strength for a people Pharaoh wanted erased.

The text says the midwives feared God, and because they feared God, they did not do what Pharaoh commanded. They did not have an army, weapons, titles, votes, or a higher court. They had courage, conscience, and awe of God, and that was enough. Their resistance was not loud or flashy. They simply kept doing their work. They kept delivering life.

Holy resistance can look like that. It can look like a nurse dignifying a patient the system has given up on, a teacher making sure a child is seen, a caseworker finding safety for a child, or a person in power risking that power to do what is right. Social holiness refuses the idea that faith is only “me and Jesus.” If everything is not fine in the world, everything is not fine to God.

The story of Shiphrah and Puah does not end with Pharaoh’s anger. It ends with God’s blessing. Because they protected life, Moses lived. Because Moses lived, the exodus came. Because the exodus came, God’s liberating justice kept moving through history all the way to Easter morning. Before Moses ever said, “Let my people go,” two midwives had already said, “Not us. Not through us.”

Key Takeaways

• 1. Obedience belongs first to God Peter’s words in Acts name the costly truth that human authority is never ultimate. Pharaoh, councils, laws, and systems may demand compliance, but God’s life giving will stands higher than every throne. Faithfulness becomes dangerous when power commands harm, yet that danger is exactly where obedience becomes clear. [33:01]
• 2. Quiet work can resist death Shiphrah and Puah did not begin with a platform, a protest, or a public speech. Their courage took the shape of doing their ordinary work faithfully when Pharaoh tried to twist that work into murder. The most hidden vocations can become holy resistance when they protect life instead of serving harm. [42:13]
• 3. Powerlessness is not the final word The midwives had no army, no weapons, no titles, and no institutional power. The world would have called them powerless, but Scripture names them and leaves Pharaoh unnamed. Courage, conscience, and the fear of God can crack the wall of empire in places power never bothers to watch. [44:21]
• 4. Christ measures what gives life The question is not only whether something is legal, acceptable, or even able to be defended with a Bible verse. Christ is the plumb line, the measure of whether an action protects, dignifies, and sustains people on the margins. Something may be biblical and still not be Christ like, so discipleship must ask what serves life. [51:09]
• 5. Freedom for some is not freedom Shiphrah and Puah understood that survival could not be separated from the lives of the vulnerable children before them. A freedom that protects only the comfortable and powerful is not God’s freedom. God’s liberation keeps pressing outward until the people with no voice and no power are also defended. [57:13]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [30:28] - Women at the Center of God’s Story
• [32:17] - Obeying God Rather Than Humans
• [34:48] - Social Holiness and the Margins
• [38:25] - Pharaoh’s Fear and Genocidal Command
• [39:46] - Scripture Names Shiphrah and Puah
• [41:36] - The Midwives Feared God
• [42:53] - Wisdom Before Pharaoh
• [44:21] - Courage Without Earthly Power
• [46:08] - A Crack in the Empire
• [47:42] - Ordinary People, Holy Resistance
• [49:33] - God Blesses Life Giving Faithfulness
• [50:49] - Christ as the Plumb Line
• [53:35] - Choosing Life in the Moment
• [54:50] - Not Us, Not Through Us

1. In Exodus 1:15-21, why do you think Pharaoh remains unnamed while Shiphrah and Puah are specifically named?
2. What practical actions did Shiphrah and Puah take to resist Pharaoh’s command, and how did they explain their actions to him?
3. How does Peter’s statement in Acts 5:29 (“obey God rather than humans”) connect to the story of Shiphrah and Puah?
4. What examples of “holy resistance” in everyday work were mentioned in the sermon (e.g., nurses, teachers)? [48:05]

1. The midwives “feared God” (Exodus 1:17). What does this phrase mean in the context of their decision-making, and how might it differ from mere religious ritual?
2. Shiphrah and Puah had no formal power or resources. How did their lack of institutional authority actually become a strength in their resistance?
3. The sermon states, “Something may be biblical but not Christ-like.” How can we reconcile this idea with the claim that Christ is the “plumb line” for our actions? [51:09]
4. Why is it significant that the story of Exodus begins with two marginalized women defying Pharaoh, rather than a military or political leader?

1. Where in your daily life (work, family, community) might you be called to practice “quiet resistance” by simply doing your job with integrity, even when systems pressure you to compromise? [42:13]
2. The sermon asks, “Where are you being asked to normalize harm?” What is one area in your sphere of influence where you need to say, “Not us. Not through us,” even at personal cost? [54:22]
3. How can you intentionally advocate for someone who lacks power or voice in your community, workplace, or church, as Shiphrah and Puah did for Hebrew mothers? [57:13]
4. The midwives used Pharaoh’s prejudices to protect life (e.g., claiming Hebrew women gave birth quickly). What creative, non-confrontational strategies could you use to resist injustice in your context?
5. Reflect on a time when you prioritized “what is legal” or “socially acceptable” over “what gives life.” How might Christ’s example reshape your approach to similar situations in the future? [51:38]
6. Who are the “Shiphrah and Puah” figures in your life—ordinary people whose quiet faithfulness has protected or empowered others? How can you honor or support them?