They Tried to Kill Moses Before He Was Born: How the Hebrew Midwives Feared God and Changed History | Exodus 1–2.
By BILLIONAIRE PRIEST / August 26, 2026 / No Comments / BILLIONAIRE
They Tried to Destroy the Promise—But God Had a Plan
What do you do when powerful people tell you to compromise your values?
What do you do when following God requires courage?
And what happens when the circumstances surrounding your life seem designed to destroy your future before it even begins?
The opening chapters of Exodus give us one of the most powerful examples of faith, courage, divine protection, and purpose in the Bible.
Pharaoh had become afraid of the growing population of the Israelites in Egypt. His solution was horrifying: he ordered the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, to kill every Hebrew baby boy at birth.
But the midwives made a different choice.
They feared God more than they feared Pharaoh.
And their courageous decision helped preserve the life of a child who would eventually become one of the most important leaders in biblical history:
Moses.
Pharaoh Tried to Stop the Future
Exodus 1:15–16 records Pharaoh’s command to the Hebrew midwives:
“If it’s a boy, kill it, but if it’s a girl, let it live.”
Pharaoh was attempting to control the future by destroying the next generation.
But the plan did not work.
Exodus 1:17 says:
“However, the midwives feared God and didn’t obey the king of Egypt’s orders. They let the boys live.”
This is where the story becomes much bigger than two midwives refusing an evil command.
It becomes a lesson about courage under pressure.
The midwives had a choice.
They could obey Pharaoh and protect themselves.
Or they could fear God and protect innocent lives.
They chose God.
Fear God More Than You Fear People
Shiphrah and Puah were not more powerful than Pharaoh.
They did not have an army.
They did not control Egypt.
They did not possess political authority.
Yet they possessed something Pharaoh could not command:
The courage to obey God.
This is an important lesson for anyone trying to build a meaningful life.
There will be moments when the easiest decision is not the right decision.
There will be moments when people pressure you to compromise your principles.
There will be moments when doing what is right appears expensive, risky, or unpopular.
But your character is revealed when obedience costs you something.
Who are you when nobody can force you to do the right thing?
And who are you when doing the right thing could cost you?
The midwives answered that question with their actions.
God Saw Their Courage
Exodus 1:20 says:
“God was good to the midwives. So the people increased in number and became very strong.”
And verse 21 adds:
“Because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.”
Their courage mattered.
Their decision mattered.
Their faithfulness mattered.
And their actions became part of a much larger story.
They probably did not know exactly what the future held.
They simply made the right decision in the moment they were given.
That is a powerful principle:
You don’t always need to know the entire plan to obey God in the next step.
The Baby Pharaoh Wanted Dead Became Moses
Pharaoh eventually escalated his command.
Exodus 1:22 says he ordered his people to throw every Hebrew baby boy into the Nile.
Then Exodus 2 introduces a Levite woman who gave birth to a son.
She saw that the child was special and hid him for three months.
But eventually she could hide him no longer.
So she made a basket, coated it with tar and pitch, placed her baby inside, and put the basket among the reeds along the Nile.
Then the baby’s sister watched from a distance.
That baby was Moses.
Think about the contrast.
Pharaoh wanted Hebrew boys destroyed.
God was preserving the life of the man who would eventually stand before Pharaoh and lead Israel toward freedom.
Pharaoh saw a threat.
God saw a deliverer.
That should make you think differently about your own life.
Never Underestimate a Small Beginning
Moses’ story began in an extremely vulnerable place.
He wasn’t standing before an army.
He wasn’t leading millions of people.
He wasn’t performing miracles.
He was a baby lying inside a basket in the reeds.
Yet hidden inside that small beginning was a future leader.
This is a powerful lesson about potential.
A small business may contain the beginning of an enterprise.
A simple idea may become a life-changing invention.
A skill learned today may become tomorrow’s career.
A child who appears ordinary may grow into someone who transforms generations.
A small act of obedience may become part of something much bigger than you can see.
Never despise small beginnings.
The Basket Wasn’t the Destination
Moses’ mother placed him in a basket because she was trying to preserve his life.
But the basket was not his final destination.
Pharaoh’s daughter discovered him.
She felt compassion for him.
Moses’ sister approached her.
And remarkably, Moses’ own mother was eventually brought back to nurse him.
Exodus 2:9 says Pharaoh’s daughter told Moses’ mother:
“Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.”
Consider the irony.
Pharaoh had ordered the destruction of Hebrew boys.
But Pharaoh’s own household became part of the means through which Moses was preserved.
The very system that was trying to destroy the Hebrew children ended up helping protect one of the children who would challenge Pharaoh’s power.
God can work through circumstances you never expected.
Your Current Circumstances Don’t Define Your Future
Maybe your life feels like Moses’ basket right now.
Small.
Uncertain.
Hidden.
Vulnerable.
You may not see how your current circumstances connect to your future.
You may be starting with very little.
Maybe your business is small.
Maybe your savings are small.
Maybe your audience is small.
Maybe your skills are still developing.
Maybe your opportunities seem insignificant.
But Moses’ story reminds us:
The size of your beginning does not determine the significance of your future.
What matters is what you do with what God has placed in your hands.
Faith Requires Courage
The Hebrew midwives teach us something important about faith.
Faith isn’t merely believing something in your heart.
Sometimes faith requires action.
They feared God.
Then they acted on that fear of God.
Moses’ mother trusted enough to hide her child.
Then she acted.
Moses’ sister watched over him.
Then she acted when Pharaoh’s daughter discovered him.
Pharaoh’s daughter saw the child.
Then she acted with compassion.
Again and again, people made courageous decisions that moved the story forward.
Faith and action worked together.
What This Story Teaches Us About Wealth and Success
At BillionairePriest.com, we talk about faith, wisdom, wealth, and legacy.
The story of Moses teaches an important principle about all four.
True prosperity begins with character.
The midwives could have protected themselves at the expense of others.
Instead, they chose integrity.
That decision was more valuable than immediate comfort.
When building wealth, business, or influence, the same principle applies.
Don’t sacrifice your character to gain temporary success.
Don’t destroy your integrity to make money.
Don’t compromise your values because an opportunity looks profitable.
Because what you build with the wrong foundation can eventually collapse.
Build wealth with wisdom.
Build businesses with integrity.
Build influence through service.
Build a legacy that your children can be proud of.
Your Greatest Asset May Be Your Character
Money can be earned.
Businesses can be built.
Skills can be learned.
But character determines what you do when opportunity, pressure, and temptation arrive.
Shiphrah and Puah demonstrated character when Pharaoh gave them an order.
They chose principle over pressure.
And their story reminds us that who you become is more important than what you temporarily possess.
If God increases your resources, increase your wisdom.
If God increases your influence, increase your responsibility.
If God increases your opportunities, increase your integrity.
If God increases your wealth, increase your generosity.
Because wealth without character can become a burden.
But wealth guided by wisdom and righteousness can become a tool for impact.
God Can Protect a Purpose You Cannot Yet See
Moses’ mother could not see the future.
She didn’t know exactly how Moses’ life would unfold.
She only knew that her child needed protection.
The midwives didn’t know the complete plan either.
They simply knew that obeying Pharaoh’s command was wrong.
Yet their small acts of courage became part of the preservation of a future deliverer.
This gives us a powerful lesson:
You may be protecting something today whose significance you won’t understand until tomorrow.
Protect your dream.
Protect your character.
Protect your family.
Protect your time.
Protect your faith.
Protect your ability to learn.
Protect the gifts God has placed within you.
Not everything valuable arrives looking valuable.
Sometimes potential looks like a baby in a basket.
What Should You Do When You’re Under Pressure?
The story of Exodus 1–2 gives us several principles.
1. Fear God More Than People
People can pressure you.
They can criticize you.
They can threaten your position.
But don’t allow fear of people to make you abandon your principles.
2. Protect What God Has Entrusted to You
Your gifts, family, time, knowledge, opportunities, and character are valuable.
Steward them carefully.
3. Be Courageous in Small Decisions
You don’t need to change the world today.
Make the right decision today.
Then make another tomorrow.
Small acts of faithfulness can accumulate into a powerful legacy.
4. Don’t Despise Your Beginning
Moses started in a basket.
Your beginning may also look unimpressive.
Keep building.
Keep learning.
Keep growing.
5. Trust God Beyond What You Can See
The people involved in Moses’ early story could not see the entire plan.
But God could.
And sometimes faith means taking the next right step without knowing the entire journey.
What Pharaoh Meant for Evil, God Used for a Greater Purpose
Pharaoh wanted to eliminate the Hebrew boys.
Instead, one of those boys became Moses.
He would eventually confront Pharaoh.
He would lead Israel out of Egypt.
He would become one of the central figures of the Old Testament.
The lesson is not that every difficult situation will automatically produce the exact outcome we want.
The lesson is that God’s purposes are not limited by human opposition.
People can make plans.
Circumstances can change.
Doors can close.
Powerful people can make decisions.
But God remains sovereign.
So don’t give up simply because your current circumstances look unfavorable.
Your Story May Be Bigger Than You Think
Perhaps you are in a season where nobody recognizes your potential.
Perhaps you’re building quietly.
Learning quietly.
Saving quietly.
Praying quietly.
Working quietly.
Growing quietly.
That’s okay.
Moses spent his earliest days hidden.
But hidden does not mean forgotten.
Sometimes the preparation happens before the public assignment.
Sometimes the foundation is built before anyone sees the building.
Sometimes the seed grows underground before it appears above the soil.
Your hidden season may be preparing you for your visible season.
The Billionaire Priest Principle: Faith + Wisdom + Courage + Stewardship
The story of Shiphrah, Puah, Moses’ mother, and Moses gives us a powerful framework:
Faith — Trust God.
Wisdom — Recognize what must be protected.
Courage — Do what is right even under pressure.
Stewardship — Develop what has been entrusted to you.
Legacy — Build something that can benefit future generations.
This is bigger than money.
It is a blueprint for a meaningful life.
Because the ultimate question isn’t simply:
“How much can I acquire?”
It is:
“What can I build, protect, develop, and pass on?”
Final Encouragement
The story of Moses begins with a death sentence.
Pharaoh wanted him gone.
Yet Moses survived.
Not because his circumstances were easy.
Not because his family had unlimited resources.
Not because they could see the entire future.
He survived because courageous people made faithful decisions—and God was working through the story.
So if you are facing opposition today, remember Moses.
If your beginning looks small, remember Moses.
If powerful circumstances seem to be working against you, remember Moses.
If you cannot see how your current situation connects to your future, remember Moses.
And remember the Hebrew midwives.
Fear God.
Stand for what is right.
Protect what has been entrusted to you.
Keep developing your potential.
Don’t despise small beginnings.
And trust God with the part of the story you cannot yet see.
The baby in the basket did not look like a deliverer.
But God knew what was inside that basket.
Your beginning may be small, your circumstances may be difficult, and your future may be hidden—but never underestimate what God can do with a life surrendered to Him.
BillionairePriest.com — Faith. Wisdom. Wealth. Legacy.
— BILLIONAIRE PRIEST
