Exodus 1:15-21 New International Version (NIV)
15 The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, 16 “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.” 17 The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. 18 Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?”
19 The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.”
20 So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.
Did God bless the Hebrew midwives for lying to Pharaoh? God blessed them NOT because they lied, but he blessed them because they saved the lives of innocent children. This does not mean that a lie is the best way, but the midwives were blessed because they did not violate a higher law of God that forbids the senseless slaughter of innocent lives. The midwives’ faith in God gave them the courage to take a stand for what they knew was right in this situation. Disobeying Pharaoh’s authority was the right thing to do. God does not expect you to obey those in authority when they ask you to disobey God or his Word. If you are ever asked to disobey God or God’s Word, do the right thing and hold to God and God’s Word and follow God.
