Note - Remember, the video and the text may differ a bit. I rarely stick 100% to my written material when I preach.
Exodus 1:15-21 NRSVUE - The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, 16 “When you act as midwives to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.” 17 But the midwives feared God; they did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but they let the boys live. 18 So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this and allowed the boys to live?” 19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.” 20 So God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and became very strong. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families.
You Too Can Prevent Genocide
Friends, let me tell you something about heroes: very often they are thoughtful, committed individuals. But we’ve been taught to look for heroes in all the wrong places. We look for them in marble statues and golden monuments. We look for them in history books with their names in bold letters. We look for them wearing capes and crowns and carrying swords.
But the God we serve? The God we serve shows up different. The God we serve shows up on the margins, in the forgotten places, with the forgotten people. And today, friends, we meet two heroes whose names appear nowhere else in the Bible, Shiphrah and Puah, two Hebrew midwives who changed the course of history not with armies or weapons, but with the simple, revolutionary act of saying “No.”
Sometimes the most powerful word in the world is a two-letter word: NO!
The Context of Oppression
Now let’s set the scene, because every act of resistance happens in a context. The Israelites are in Egypt, and what started as a welcome refuge during Joseph’s time has become a nightmare of oppression. A new Pharaoh has risen who “did not know Joseph,” which is code for saying he chose not to remember the contributions of immigrants, he chose not to remember how God’s people had blessed Egypt.
Sound familiar?
This Pharaoh looks at the growing Hebrew population and he gets scared. He sees their numbers increasing and he doesn’t see a blessing; he sees a threat. He doesn’t see families; he sees invasion. He doesn’t see children; he sees enemies.
That should definitely sound familiar.
And what does fear do? Fear makes us do terrible things. Fear makes us build walls. Fear makes us separate families. Fear makes us forget our humanity.
This Pharaoh decides that the Hebrew boys, the future of God’s people, must die. But he’s clever about it. He doesn’t want blood on his hands directly. So, he goes to the midwives, the healthcare workers, the ones trusted to bring life into the world, and he tries to make them agents of death.
The Courage of Shiphrah and Puah
But here’s where our heroes enter the story. Two women whose names mean “Beauty” and “Splendor,” Shiphrah and Puah. They’re not queens or princesses. They’re not wealthy or powerful in the world’s eyes. They’re healthcare providers. They’re the ones who show up in the middle of the night when life is coming into the world. Given that Pharaoh approaches them specifically, they likely had acted as midwives to the royal court. They were people who served royalty, but who royalty, power, and empire largely ignored.
And Pharaoh thinks he can use them. He thinks because they’re women, because they’re Hebrew, because they’re “just” midwives, that they’ll do what he says. He thinks they’ll be his instruments of genocide. But Pharaoh was mistaken.
You see, these women respected God and loved their people more than they feared Pharaoh. They knew that every life was precious to the Divine. They knew that their calling was to bring life, not death. They knew that no earthly power, no matter how mighty, could override the sacred duty to protect the vulnerable.
So, when Pharaoh commanded death, they chose life. When Pharaoh demanded compliance, they chose resistance. When Pharaoh ordered genocide, they chose God.
The Art of Holy Resistance
Now listen closely, friends, because this is where it gets beautiful. These women didn’t just resist; they resisted with wisdom. They resisted with strategy. They resisted with holy cunning!
When Pharaoh called them in and said, “Why are these Hebrew boys still alive?” they don’t say, “Because we chose to disobey you.” They don’t give him a lecture on civil rights. They used their knowledge, their professional expertise, and their understanding of their community.
They say, “Oh, Pharaoh, these Hebrew women aren’t like Egyptian women. They’re vigorous! They give birth before we even get there!”
Now, was this the truth? Probably not. But it was their truth, and it was a truth that protected life. Sometimes resistance looks like direct confrontation. Sometimes resistance looks like strategic misdirection. Sometimes resistance looks like using the master’s assumptions and the master’s tools against the master’s house!
These midwives understood something that we need to understand today: When facing fascism, when facing systems that seek to dehumanize and destroy, every act of preservation is an act of revolution. Every life saved is a victory against empire. Every moment of choosing compassion over compliance is a moment of holy defiance.
God Shows Up on the Margins
And here’s what I love about our God, here’s what makes me excited: when these women chose life over law, when they chose mercy over might, when they chose to fear God rather than Pharaoh, how did God respond?
The text says, “God dealt well with the midwives.” God blessed them. God gave them families. God honored their courage.
You see, church, we serve a God who doesn’t just notice when ordinary people do extraordinary things, our God rewards it. Our God doesn’t just see the resistance happening on the margins, our God blesses it. Our God doesn’t just witness the courage of the overlooked and underestimated, our God multiplies it.
This is the God of liberation! This is the God who consistently, throughout scripture, throughout history, throughout our lives today, shows up not in the palace but in the birth chamber, not with the powerful but with the powerless, not with Pharaoh but with the midwives!
Say it with me: “God shows up!”
This is liberation theology lived out in real time, friends. This is what it looks like when God’s preferential option for the marginalized becomes flesh, blood, breath, and bone. God didn’t send angels to resist Pharaoh. God didn’t rain down fire from heaven. God worked through two ordinary women who made an extraordinary choice.
Contemporary Applications: The Midwives Among Us
Friends, I need you to hear me now, because this isn’t just ancient history. This isn’t just a nice Bible story about brave women from long ago. This is a blueprint. This is a roadmap. This is a call to action for every single one of us sitting in these pews today.
Because right now, in our communities, in our nation, in our world, there are modern-day Pharaohs issuing modern-day death decrees. Right now, there are systems, structures, and policies that are saying to vulnerable people: “You don’t belong here. You don’t deserve dignity. You don’t deserve life.”
And right now, God is looking for modern-day Shiprahs and Puahs: ordinary people who will make the extraordinary choice to resist, to protect, to preserve life in the face of forces that would destroy it.
When our Transgender siblings are under attack, when their very existence is being criminalized, when their healthcare is being denied, when their families are being torn apart, we are called to be midwives. We are called to create safe spaces where life can flourish. We are called to use our voices, our votes, our very presence to say: “These are children of God, and they deserve life and love and dignity!”
Say it with me: “They are children of God and they deserve love!”
When immigrants in our communities are facing deportation, when families are being separated, when children are waking up not knowing if their parents will be there when they come home from school, when people are afraid to access healthcare or education or even immigration courts and services; we are called to be midwives. We are called be and create sanctuary. We are called to protection. We are called to say: “We will not let fear win. We will not let hate have the last word.”
Say it with me: “Fear will not win.”
Say it with me: “Hate will not have the last word.”
The Multiplication of Resistance
But here’s the beautiful thing, friends. Here’s what happens when ordinary people start doing extraordinary things: it multiplies! The text tells us that because of the midwives’ courage, “the people multiplied and became very strong.”
Resistance is contagious! Courage is catching! When one person stands up, others find the strength to stand. When one person says, “No!” to injustice, others discover their own voice. When one person chooses love over fear, it creates ripples that become waves of transformation!
Think about it, church. The Hebrew boys that Shiphrah and Puah saved grew up to join Moses in leading the Hebrews out of Egypt.
You never know what life you’re saving when you choose resistance. You never know what future you’re preserving when you choose courage. You never know what liberation you’re birthing when you choose to be a midwife in the delivery room of justice.
Practical Midwifery: How We Resist
Now, some of you might be thinking, “This sounds great, but what does it look like? I’m not Martin Luther King, Jr. I’m not Harvey Milk. I’m not William Barber, Marsha P. Johnson, Gloria Steinham, Angela Davis, or Yvette Flunder. I’m just me. I’m just ordinary.”
Listen to me, friends! Shiphrah and Puah were “just ordinary” too! They were women doing their jobs. But they made a choice in a moment, and that choice changed everything.
Being a midwife today might look like:
Volunteering with organizations that support Transgender youth.
Attending city council and school board meetings to advocate for inclusive policies.
Opening your home to be a safe space for vulnerable neighbors.
Using your professional skills to serve marginalized communities.
Speaking up when someone makes a derogatory comment.
Voting for leaders who protect the vulnerable.
Supporting businesses owned by marginalized communities.
Learning the stories and struggles of people different from yourself.
Say it with me: “I can do that!”
You see, resistance doesn’t always look like dramatic protest, though sometimes it does. Sometimes resistance looks like a teacher who refuses to deadname a transgender student. Sometimes resistance looks like a landlord who doesn’t ask about immigration status. Sometimes resistance looks like a business owner who flies a Pride flag despite pressure not to. Sometimes resistance looks like a neighbor who drives an undocumented friend to the doctor.
Sometimes resistance looks like showing up. Sometimes resistance looks like speaking up. Sometimes resistance looks like standing firm.
Say it with me: “I will show up!”
Say it with me: “I will speak up!”
Say it with me: “I will stand up!”
The Theology of Holy Defiance
Church, what we’re talking about here is holy defiance. This is what feminist theology teaches us: that sometimes the most faithful thing we can do is refuse to comply with systems that deny the full humanity of God’s children.
This is what womanist theology shows us: that resistance in the face of oppression is not just political, it’s spiritual.
This is what Queer theology reveals: that God’s love is expansive enough to include everyone, and our resistance should be too.
Shiphrah and Puah understood something profound: When human law contradicts love, we must choose love. When earthly power demands we participate in oppression, we must choose resistance. When empire commands death, we must choose the God of life.
This is not about being rebellious for rebellion’s sake. This is about being faithful. This is about recognizing that sometimes the most faithful thing we can do is say “No” to powers and principalities and “Yes” to the God who liberates.
Friends, our God is not a God of the status quo. Our God is not comfortable with injustice. Our God is not neutral in the face of oppression. Our God takes sides and God consistently sides with the marginalized, the vulnerable, and the oppressed.
Church, say “Amen” if you choose the God who sides with the marginalized, the vulnerable, and the oppressed!
The Promise of Divine Blessing
And here’s the promise I want to leave with you today, friends. Here’s the promise that will sustain you when resistance feels hard, when courage feels costly, when standing up feels scary:
God blesses the resistance. God honors courage. God multiplies love.
The text tells us that God “dealt well with the midwives” and “gave them families.” God didn’t just protect them. God blessed them. God didn’t just preserve them. God prospered them. God didn’t just notice their courage. God rewarded their faithfulness.
Say it with me: “God blesses resistance!”
When you choose to be a midwife for justice, you’re not just changing the world, you’re aligning yourself with the very heart of God. You’re participating in the divine work of liberation. You’re joining the long moral arc of the universe that bends toward justice.
And that work, that sacred, holy, necessary work…that work comes with a promise. Not a promise that it will be easy. Not a promise that there won’t be a cost. But a promise that you will not labor alone. A promise that your work will bear fruit. A promise that love wins.
Say it with me: “Love wins!”
The Call to Courage
Church, the same God who called Shiphrah and Puah is calling you today. The same Spirit that gave them courage is offering you strength. The same divine love that blessed their resistance is ready to bless yours.
But it starts with a choice. It starts with a decision. It starts with you saying, right here, right now, in this place that you will resist, you will bless, and you will support.
Repeat after me:
“I will not be silent in the face of injustice!”
“I will not be comfortable while others suffer!”
“I will not comply with systems that deny the dignity of God’s children!”
“I will be a midwife for justice!”
“I will choose courage over comfort!”
“I will choose love over fear!”
The Legacy of Ordinary Heroes
Friends, when the history of these times is written, it won’t be the presidents and politicians who are remembered as the heroes. It will be the teachers who protected transgender students. It will be the lawyers who defended immigrants. It will be the neighbors who opened their doors. It will be the congregations who chose sanctuary over safety.
It will be you. It will be us. It will be ordinary people who made extraordinary choices.
Shiphrah and Puah didn’t know they were making history when they chose life over law. They were just doing what their hearts and their God told them was right. They were being faithful in the moment they were given.
That’s all God is asking of us today. Be faithful in this moment. Be courageous in this time. Be a midwife for the justice that wants to be born in our world.
And may the God who blessed Shiphrah and Puah bless you. May the God who honored their courage honor yours. May the God who multiplied their resistance multiply ours.
May we go from this place ready to be midwives. May we go from this place ready to resist. May we go from this place ready to say “Yes” to God.
In the name of the Creator who liberates, the Christ who resists, and the Spirit who sustains. Amen.