Prayer

Holy Midwife,
  Grant your earthly servants:
  Favor,
  Energy,
  Agility,
  Recall,
  Empathy,
  Defiance.

So as we lean on your everlasting arms,
  There will be no harm
  As we welcome the push,
  Through hurt, pain, and water that rains.
  Let us see what only by your Spirit can be born again.
  Amen.

Key Scripture

Exodus 1:15-20

“The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah:
‘When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.’

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 1:15-17, NIV)

Main Point

The fear of the Lord is the fuel to do justice in whatever vocation we are called to. Shiphrah and Puah were ordinary women doing ordinary work, but the fear of the Lord led them to be extraordinary doers of justice.

Introduction to Shiphrah and Puah

Puah and Shiphrah, the midwives named in this passage, worked long before sanitized hospitals or well-equipped birthing centers existed. Their vocation required them to use their hands and skills to guide mothers through labor, delivery, and postpartum care.

While scholars debate whether Puah and Shiphrah were Hebrew or Egyptian, all agree on one thing: these women practiced non-violent resistance to Pharaoh’s empire. They stood alongside other women in Scripture—like Jael and Rahab—who used their vocation and courage to further God’s purposes and protect God’s people.

Pharaoh’s orders were gruesome: after cutting the umbilical cord to sever a newborn boy’s connection to his mother, the midwives were instructed not to tie it off as usual, but to let the child bleed out, lifeless on the birthing stool.

But Puah and Shiphrah feared God.

They took their vocation seriously. The word vocation comes from the Latin word vocare, meaning “to call.” These midwives were not priests, pastors, or missionaries. They did not work in a temple or a designated mission field. They were ordinary women, doing necessary and ordinary work—but with the fear of God as their guide.

Puah and Shiphrah had a front-row seat to the majesty of God’s creative power in the birthing process. To witness a baby being born is to glimpse the miraculous—to see something that was once undetectable emerge into a new world, ready to breathe and thrive. Birth work is holy work, and Puah and Shiphrah understood it as their sacred calling.

Digging Deeper

The opening pages of Exodus place us in a season of Israel’s history where a new Pharaoh rules Egypt—one who knows nothing of Joseph or the ways God enabled him to lead with wisdom and provision. Instead, this Pharaoh is intimidated by the rapidly growing population of Joseph’s descendants. He fears they might outnumber the Egyptians and pose a threat to his power.

In response, Pharaoh devises a sinister plan. He summons the midwives who care for Hebrew mothers in childbirth, commanding them to kill any male babies born. Without male children, Pharaoh reasons, not only will the Hebrews be unable to multiply into the powerful nation he fears, they will also be demoralized and hopeless, less likely to resist his exploitative rule.

Pharaoh intended to use Shiphrah and Puah as agents of destruction, but Shiphrah and Puah feared God. They weren’t just agents of God—they reflected God’s very character and nature. The psalmist describes God as a midwife in Psalm 22:9:

“Yet it was you who took me from the womb;
You kept me safe on my mother’s breast.”

This psalm of deep lament, famously quoted by Jesus on the cross, evokes the image of God as midwife to illustrate God’s presence in what birthworkers call “productive pain.”

Productive pain refers to the kind of pain that one must endure to bring forth something new. It is pain with purpose—a pain that has a clear beginning and end. Unlike other kinds of suffering, productive pain produces life. Some say that birthing people often forget the pain of childbirth once they see the child they labored to bring forth.

When Jesus quoted Psalm 22 on the cross, he too was in the midst of productive pain, attended by the midwife of the Spirit. Like a laboring mother, there was no turning back for him; he had to drink the cup of suffering in full. His endurance of the cross and his despising of the shame bore the ultimate fruit—everlasting life for all who believe.

#SheIsCalled and We Are Called

Historically, birth work was seen as “women’s work,” often excluding men entirely. The ancient practice is reflected in old movies in which expectant fathers pace in waiting rooms and smoke nervously while the women labor in separate spaces. Today, birthing rooms are shared spaces. Birth partners of all genders, alongside doctors, nurses, and midwives, now participate in the sacred work of bringing forth life—together.

Likewise, in the church, the work of bringing forth life is shared. As those who fear God, we are called to labor side by side, partnering to bring forth love, peace, justice, and abundant life in our communities. This can be painful work, but when pursued through the midwifing of the Holy Spirit, it is productive work that yields the good fruit of abundant life.

Conclusion

The church today is on the birthing stool—pregnant with the possibility of God’s kingdom. The principalities and powers demand that these promises asphyxiate, choking on the very blood of Jesus meant to save and restore.

But like Shiphrah and Puah, we must fear God more than we fear the powers of this world. Together, as God’s midwives, we resist injustice, nurture new life, and labor to see love, peace, and justice brought forth to flourishing. This is holy work worthy of the One who gave birth to us all.