The racist king of Egypt has become so paranoid of the Hebrew people that he passes a law so appalling that the ones required to carry it out refuse to obey it.
In yesterday's study we learned that the Egyptian government forced the Hebrews into slavery. The king hoped this would decrease their numbers, for forced labor took a heavy toll on the health and lifespans of ancient people. He thought they would die younger and produce fewer children. But it appears as if the opposite happened: God blessed them and caused them to multiply even more. When the king sees that these Semitic people are continuing to grow in number, his irrational fear of them causes him to implement a new plan and issue a shocking decree.
"The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, 'When you are helping the Hebrew women during birth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.'" (Exodus 1:15-16) Though some versions of the Bible call these women "Hebrew midwives" it would be more accurate to render their identity in verse 15 as "midwives to the Hebrews". These two women were almost certainly Egyptian ladies, for it's difficult to imagine Pharaoh telling Hebrew women to kill baby boys of their own race.
Why were Egyptian women assisting Hebrew women in childbirth? I think until the Hebrews moved to Egypt their females in childbirth were attended only by female family members. As you'll recall, these people were few in number when they went to Egypt. Including Joseph and his sons, this family numbered seventy in all at the conclusion of Genesis. None of them worked as physicians or nurses as far as we know, so when a woman went into labor she was assisted by her own mother and perhaps another woman or two who had already been through childbirth. But in a highly developed society like Egypt there were a large number of citizens working in various fields of medicine. The Hebrew women now had access to better, safer medical care during labor and childbirth. When they went into labor they could send someone to hire an Egyptian midwife who had a great deal of experience in dealing with any complications that might arise. Pharmacists existed in ancient Egypt and I think it's likely that the Egyptian midwives were able to administer pain medications to women in labor, which would make hiring an Egyptian midwife seem even more desirable so that women were more comfortable during childbirth.
Scholars believe Shiphrah and Puah could not have been the only Egyptian midwives who worked with Hebrew women. There were far too many Hebrew women in Egypt by now for only two midwives to be able to assist them all, so scholars suggest that these two were the "head midwives" who oversaw the work of all the Egyptian midwives who were willing to go to Goshen to assist Hebrew women with their deliveries. If that's the case then the king is ordering not only these two women to smother newborn baby boys to death, but he's also ordering them to force their subordinates to do the same. I assume the mothers giving birth to the baby boys are not meant to be aware that their babies are being murdered. I think the midwives were supposed to do their dirty deeds quickly, before the mother had recovered enough to realize what's happening, and then these midwives are to say, "I'm sorry, ma'am. Your son is stillborn." Pharaoh's plot against the Hebrews is to reduce the number of males and also to reduce the people to despair. If every baby boy of theirs is stillborn, I think he wants them to conclude that the judgment of their God has fallen upon them. How else to explain why all their baby boys are born dead? Pharaoh is trying to harm them not only physically (by taking deadly action against their newborn males) but also spiritually. He wants them to give up. He wants them to become hopeless. People who are defeated emotionally and spiritually are not going to be able to mount a rebellion against him.
"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) Pharaoh failed to take something vitally important into consideration: these head midwives fear the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They fear the God whom Joseph served during his long years as governor of Egypt. They've seen how greatly God blesses and multiplies the Hebrew people who are faithful to Him. I can't say for sure whether these women worship God themselves or whether they still serve the false gods of Egypt, but I can say they don't want to get on the wrong side of a God who clearly exists and who is very powerful.
They refuse to carry out Pharaoh's orders, but due to fact that he has the authority to kill them for their disobedience, they lie about why they've been unable to obey him. "Then the king of Egypt and summoned the midwives and asked them, 'Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?' The midwives answered Pharaoh, 'The Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.'" (Exodus 1:18-19) I picture these women standing in front of the king, shaking inwardly with fear of him but determined to do the right thing. They fear God more than they fear any man. So they shrug their shoulders, throw their hands up in the air, and say, "It's not our fault! Our Egyptian women are pampered and weak and aren't used to any type of hard labor. They spend many hours in childbirth before they deliver their babies. But the Hebrew women are tough. They're used to hard work. They send for us when they go into labor but before we can get there they've already had their babies and are holding them in their arms. It's too late by then for us to stealthily kill their baby boys and pretend they were born dead."
The Lord blesses the midwives for their refusal to obey the king. "So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. And because the midwives feared God, He gave them families of their own." (Exodus 1:20-21) Midwives were usually barren married women. They had no children of their own to raise and this allowed them to work full time outside of their homes assisting women who could have children. Just imagine how difficult it was for women who longed to be mothers themselves to deliver new babies day after day. They were constantly placing newborn babies in the arms of happy new mothers while their own arms remained empty. Because Shiphrah and Puah and the women who worked under them refused to obey the king, the Lord healed their bodies. He healed whatever has prevented them from bearing children of their own. For the first time in their lives, someone is placing healthy newborn babies in their arms.
Now that the Egyptian midwives have children of their own to raise, they can no longer go out to Goshen to assist the Hebrew women in childbirth. They won't be in a position for the king to order them to commit heinous crimes. But this doesn't deter him. In tomorrow's passage he's going to give up on his plan to murder Hebrew baby boys stealthily. He's going to come right out into the open and issue a public order to throw them into the Nile River.
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