Women of Valor: Shiphrah, The Midwife Who Feared the Lord

by David Chadwick

My wife, Marilynn, wrote a book called Woman of Valor where she explains that more than a virtuous or excellent woman, the Proverbs 31 woman in Hebrew culture is actually referred to as a woman of valor. A strong, mighty courageous presence in the life of her family and community.

This week, I want to look at five women of valor from the Bible who played a significant role in saving humanity.

Shiphrah is today’s woman of valor. You’ll find her story in Exodus 1:15. She was a Hebrew midwife during the tumultuous times when the Israelites were under Pharaoh’s captivity.

Pharaoh issued a decree to have every single Israelite baby boy killed. This was all a part of Satan’s demonic attempt to kill the seed of the women of Israel who would become the Messiah of the world and one day crush the head of the serpent, Satan.

But Shiphrah refused to obey Pharaoh’s orders. Exodus 1:17 says that she feared God and did not do as was commanded. After letting the baby boys live, Pharaoh called Shiphrah in and asked her what was going on. Shiphrah told him that by the time she would get to the moms, the boy babies had already been born.

Was she lying? We aren’t totally sure, but she clearly felt some prompting to protect and guard those precious Hebrew baby boys. And as we see in verse 20, “God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families.” Shiphrah’s protection seems to have received God’s approval. And because of her obedience, the birth of these boy babies allowed the Israelites to grow and grow.

Shiphrah is a true heroine of the faith.

Why did she do this? She “feared the Lord.” Isn’t that the key for all our faith? We must fear the Lord more than anything else. It’s the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). Fear of the Lord leads to faith! And, as a result of their faith, God gave these women children of their own. God truly is the rewarder of those who have faith (Hebrews 11:6). The nation of Israel continued to grow because of Shiphrah’s faith.

And through that nation, Jesus was born—the one who would destroy the evil one’s works and life.

This midwife’s courage to save those young boys paved the way for the Savior of the world!