‘Radiant Courage in the Shadows’ 
There is something remarkable about this passage from Exodus. It begins with a powerful king whose name we do not know, but it remembers the names of two ordinary women: Shiphrah and Puah. A new Pharaoh has come to power. He has forgotten Joseph and forgotten the contribution of the Hebrews. Instead, he sees them as a threat. Fear turns into oppression, and oppression turns into genocide. Pharaoh orders that every Hebrew baby boy be killed at birth.

Against this backdrop of violence stand two women. Shiphrah, whose name means brightness or fair one, and Puah, whose name means radiance. How fitting that women whose names speak of light should shine so brightly in one of Israel’s darkest moments.
Some scholars suggest that midwives were often women who could not have children themselves. We cannot know if that was true of Shiphrah and Puah, but it is a moving thought. In a society where childlessness could bring shame and exclusion, these women chose not to give in to bitterness. Instead, they dedicated their lives to helping bring life into the world.

Then came the moment of decision. Pharaoh, regarded as a divine ruler, orders them to kill newborn boys. To disobey him would have placed their own lives at risk. Yet Scripture tells us: “The midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them.”
Notice what it does not say, they feared Pharaoh. It says they feared God.

The fear of the Lord is not terror but reverence. It is recognising that God’s authority is greater than any earthly power.
As Proverbs 9:10 reminds us, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Shiphrah and Puah knew that a God who creates life could never endorse the destruction of innocent life.

Rooted in reverence for God, they chose courage over compliance. Some have described this as the first recorded act of civil disobedience in the Bible.
Significantly, it is carried out by women, and they are named. Their resistance took place not in palaces or on battlefields, but in the hidden spaces of ordinary homes. Few people would ever have known what they did. But God knew.
And that is an important word for us.

Many of us can feel invisible. We may wonder whether our actions make any difference. Yet Shiphrah and Puah remind us that God sees faithfulness that the world overlooks. These women had no way of knowing what their courage would achieve. They could not see the future. They did not know that their refusal to obey Pharaoh would help create the conditions in which Moses would survive, grow, and eventually lead God’s people to freedom. They simply did the next faithful thing.

Perhaps e, that is the lesson for us. God does not ask us to control outcomes. God asks us to be faithful in our sphere of influence.
Where is God calling us to show courage today? Where are we being asked to stand against injusticspeak for the vulnerable, or challenge what we know is wrong? The step may seem small, but God can use it for purposes beyond our imagining.

So let us not lose heart. Let us remember the words Moses spoke to Joshua: “Be strong and courageous.” (Deuteronomy 31:7)
Like Shiphrah and Puah, may we be rooted in reverence for God rather than fear of the powers around us. May we trust that God sees every act of faithful courage. And may we shine with the same radiance that brought life, hope, and freedom to God’s people.
Amen.