Dare to Be a Shiphrah and a Puah

Daily Scripture Threshing for Today, Tuesday, September 29, 2026

Today's Text: Exodus 1:8–22

Key Verse: Exodus 1:17 (KJV) — “But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive.”

Before M. oses was born, before there was a burning bush or a walk through the

. By ,. DRed Sea, God already had two women standing at the birth stool of destiny. A new Pharaoh arose who knew not Joseph, and fearing the increase of Israel, he commanded a genocide. He called two Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, and instructed them, “When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live” (Exodus 1:16). But these women feared God more than Pharaoh. Dare to be a Shiphrah and a Puah: dare to fear God more than the king, and to let your fear of God be greater than your fear of losing position, favor, or life.

They defied a tyrant not with swords, but with quiet, holy disobedience. They did not organize a public protest or write a petition; they simply refused to kill what God had called to live. Their hands, trained to bring forth life, would not become instruments of death. When Pharaoh questioned them, they answered with godly wisdom: “...the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in unto them” (Exodus 1:19). God honors holy cleverness when it is deployed to preserve life. Dare to be a Shiphrah and a Puah: dare to disobey ungodly orders, to keep your hands clean when a system asks you to shed innocent blood, and to let wisdom guard your defiance.

Their courage was not loud — it was secret, womanly, hidden in birth rooms. No one sang their praises in Egypt. No palace recorded their names, but Heaven recorded their fear. Because they feared God, God dealt well with them, made them houses, and caused Israel to multiply and wax very mighty. What Pharaoh meant to cut off, God caused to increase because two unseen women stood in the gap. Dare to be a Shiphrah and a Puah: dare to serve God in secret places where no one claps for you, and to believe that your private obedience can preserve a public destiny, even birth a Moses for your generation.

Therefore Scripture's verdict remains — before God raised a deliverer, He raised two deliverers of deliverers. Shiphrah, which means brightness, and Puah, which means splendor, turned their birthing chamber into a battlefield against tyranny. They show us that moral courage is not only for kings and prophets; it is for midwives, mothers, nurses, secretaries, intercessors — ordinary people who will say no to evil so that purpose may live. God is still searching for those who will fear Him more than Pharaoh. Dare to preserve life when a culture commands death. Dare to stand, dare to keep alive what God wants alive — what begins as your quiet no to tyranny can birth the freedom of nations.

Action Steps: Identify one instruction, system, or culture around you that asks you to destroy, abort, compromise, or kill what God has called to live — a destiny, a truth, a child, a marriage, a ministry. Say no to Pharaoh today. Choose to fear God more than man, and take one secret, courageous step to preserve life. Intercede for the destinies being born around you and ask God to make your obedience a house for generations.

Quote for the Day: “When women who fear God refuse to kill what God wants alive, tyrants lose and generations live; dare to be a Shiphrah and a Puah.” — (Simon Olatunji #quotablequotes)

Let Us Pray: Heavenly Father, like Shiphrah and Puah, I choose to fear You more than Pharaoh. Give me holy courage to disobey every ungodly order and to preserve what You have called to live. Give me wisdom to navigate hostile systems and keep my hands clean. Deal well with me, establish my house, and make my secret obedience the womb for the deliverance of my family, church, and generation — in Jesus’ most glorious name. Amen.

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Thank you for threshing the Word with me today. For further study on this topic, please read: Exodus 1:8-22; Proverbs 16:6; Daniel 3:16-18; Acts 5:29; Hebrews 11:23; Proverbs 24:11-12.

With all my love and prayers,

Simon Wale Olatunji, Ph.D.

Your Darling Bishop (DaBishop)

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