Deuteronomy 31: 6
Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
The “Hebrew midwives” were put between a rock and a hard place. The number of Hebrew slaves had multiplied (even though they were worked ruthlessly) that Pharaoh feared insurrection, and his next plan was to command the midwives to kill all baby boys.
Shiphrah and Puah were not likely the only midwives but probably the chief midwives. It is not known if they were Hebrew women or Egyptian women assisting the Hebrews. Right at delivery, when they were to catch the child, they were to determine its sex, and if it were male, they were to kill him immediately.
Pharaoh told them to commit what they knew in their hearts was wrong, and so they made a decision.
“But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive.” (Exodus 1: 17)
1828 Dictionary: “In good men, the fear of God is a holy awe or reverence of God and his laws, which springs from a just view and real love of the divine character, leading the subjects of it to hate and shun every thing that can offend such a holy being, and inclining them to aim at perfect obedience.”
Pharaoh observed his plan wasn’t working and he called for the midwives to appear before him and asked why they were letting the boys live.
Their response was: “Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively (robust), and are delivered ere the midwives come in unto them.” (Exodus 1: 19) They said the Hebrew women delivered the babies so fast that they didn’t need the help of a midwife. By the time the midwife comes, the baby is born, washed and with the mother. What could they do?
Perhaps this was true, or maybe they just didn’t say that their tardiness was deliberately planned. Regardless, these women chose to disobey the command because it was the wrong thing to do. Because they did the right thing, the thing that pleased God, God blessed them with households of their own, and the rest is history.
“Moral courage is requisite to meet the wrong and to proclaim the right.” S&H 327: 23