My friend’s daughter was bullied and at her lowest point desired to end her life. My friend listened to her child’s cries, sought out resources and learned how to advocate for her daughter when no one else would listen. They left their school and church and sought out new communities, so her daughter could find healing. I told my friend how much I admired her. Her response was “Love makes you brave!”
In the opening pages of the book of Exodus we find women from different generations, socio-economic classes, and ethnicities who demonstrate different forms of courageous love. There are the midwives (spiritual mothers), Moses’ mom (birth mother), Moses’ sister, and Pharaoh’s daughter (adoptive mothers).
When the story of Exodus begins, the situation is pretty bleak. A new king sits on the throne of Egypt. He doesn’t remember Joseph. Joseph and that generation had passed away. But God’s favor remained upon the Israelites and their population was exploding. Pharaoh felt threatened by their growing numbers, so he made their work conditions unbearable and commanded the Hebrew midwives to kill all the Israelite baby boys who were born. They were essentially enslaved and facing genocide.
In the face of such evil, we meet these women who rise up with courageous love. C.S. Lewis said, “Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means at the point of highest reality.” These are the women of Exodus living at that highest point.
The Courageous Advocacy of the Midwives
First, we’re going to talk about the midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, and their courageous advocacy. Pharaoh had ordered that they kill all the Hebrew baby boys who were born, but they disobeyed him and let them live. Imagine how these midwives must have felt when Pharoah summoned them. Defying his order could cost them their very lives!
Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.”
That something else that was more important for the midwives is that they feared God. The phrase “feared God” is repeated in Exodus 1:17 and 1:21. They feared God more than they feared the powerful Pharaoh. The midwives saved these baby boys and courageously advocated for them not just because it was the humanitarian thing to do, or the right thing to do. It was because they feared God.
That’s the secret to courage. When we fear God, He gives us courage to do the things we wouldn’t be able to do in our own strength. Sometimes it takes going to the margins and being with those who are suffering to gain God’s heart for the situation. Moreover, when we fear God and trust in Him, we are freed from seeking approval from others, we are freed from idols, we are freed from having to control the outcome. The midwives are the spiritual mothers in this passage by the way they feared God and advocated for the vulnerable.
The Courageous Nurture of Moses’ Mother
The second woman we are going to talk about in the story is the birth mother, Moses’ mother. Later in Scripture we find out that her name is Jochebed. She demonstrates courageous nurture in Exodus 2:1-3.
It takes courage to love and get close to someone when we might get hurt. Jochebed opened her heart to love baby Moses even though she knew she was going to experience deep pain. She knew she would not be able to hide Moses forever. He would only grow bigger, more active and more vocal. But she nurtured him and kept him alive and safe for as long as she could.
Exodus 2:2 (NIV) says: “When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months.” I bet Moses’ mom soaked up every detail about Moses and pondered them in her heart.
Jochebed leaned in with a loving presence and created a safe, nurturing space for him to grow. When you love someone, you want God’s best for the other person — not just what’s best for yourself. Sometimes that means letting go of preconceived notions or plans you have for them.
When Moses’ mother could hide him no longer, she carefully weaved a basket and coated it with tar and pitch to make it as safe as it could be to hold him. I’m sure she kissed him and held him tight, and with tears set him in the basket. She had to entrust Moses’ very life to the Lord. Can you imagine what that was like for her?
The Courageous Determination of Moses’ Sister
Moses’ sister, Miriam, followed the basket to see where her baby brother would end up. She ended up at the right place at the right time, when Pharoah’s daughter happened to notice the basket as she went down to the Nile to bathe.
Miriam courageously spoke up when Pharoah’s daughter recognized that this must be one of the Hebrew babies. She didn’t know the princess’s disposition when she made an audacious suggestion: “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?” (Exodus 2:7). She certainly could have been punished for recommending that the princess defy her own father’s order.
The Courageous Commitment of Pharaoh’s Daughter
The final woman we’re going to look at is Pharaoh’s daughter, the adoptive mother, who demonstrates courageous commitment. She is a woman of privilege. When you have privilege you have the luxury of turning a blind eye to those in need because their needs don’t personally affect you. She could have lived in a comfortable royal bubble and remained untouched by the problems of the real world.
But instead she chooses to see.
In Exodus 2:5-6, Pharaoh’s daughter “saw” the basket among the reeds, opened it and “saw” the baby. In contrast to Pharaoh who wouldn’t even look at his victims (he got others to do his dirty work), here Pharaoh’s daughter walked over to the basket, opened it, and chose to see the humanity of this baby boy.
Exodus 2:6 (ESV) says “Behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him.” She beheld Moses, and the word in Hebrew word for “took pity” can also be translated “felt compassion for” (Ex. 2:6 NET)Pharaoh’s daughter opened her eyes and her heart to the cries of this baby. She was moved by the suffering of the one in front of her.
We don’t know how Pharaoh’s daughter felt about her father’s decree. Often the abstract paralyzes us, but seeing the concrete in front of us can move us to action.
Baby Moses couldn’t offer Pharaoh’s daughter anything in return. In fact, adopting Moses would certainly bring greater hardship upon her. It doesn’t say in Scripture, but I wonder if Pharaoh punished her for what she did! After all, he gave the order for everyone to drown all the Hebrew baby boys and here his own daughter is not only defying his order, but she’s bringing one of them into his palace to raise.
The Ongoing ‘Yes’ of Pharaoh’s Daughter
Exodus 2:10 (NIV) says “When the child grew older, she [Moses’ mother] took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, ‘I drew him out of the water.’”
Pharaoh’s daughter named him Moses. The act of naming represents that she is making him part of her family. This is a transracial adoption before that was a thing!
She raised him as her own son and gave him a place to belong in her own family, with all the privileges of being an Egyptian prince. Pharaoh’s daughter could have easily saved baby Moses’ life without adopting him as her own. She could have given him to one of her handmaidens to raise discreetly. Moses could grow up as a servant in the palace.
She also could have changed her mind. Back then, mothers nursed babies for 3-4 years, so she had to wait many years for Moses to be weaned. In that time span, Moses grew up from a cute cuddly baby to a walking, talking toddler. She may have been motivated by compassion when she first said “yes” to adopting baby Moses, but she followed through with her choice years later and committed every day to the ongoing yes of raising him.
To me, this ongoing “yes,” the daily unseen things we do to care for others, is where the rubber meets the road. It’s this ongoing commitment to care that forms our character over time to become more like Jesus. I bet Pharaoh’s daughter was changed for the better because of Moses. I bet she didn’t look at the Israelites in the same way. I bet she grew into a less entitled, more generous, compassionate human being because of Moses.
We Are Called to be Agents of Courageous Love
God also adopted each of us as His children (Ephesians 1:4-5). He didn’t just make us servants or second class citizens — which would be more than we deserve, actually. In the ultimate act of courageous love, Jesus humbly came to earth and endured the trauma of dying a humiliating, painful death on the cross, so that we can become children of God. We can love courageously because we have been the recipients of courageous love.
And we have the examples of these women, who in the face of great oppression and opposition linked arms across the river. They used whatever influence they had in their role to selflessly advocate, nurture, and commit to doing what they could. We may sometimes feel powerless to change unjust policy on a grand scale. There’s so much oppression and injustice in our world, it can feel overwhelming. But Shiphrah and Puah, Jochebed, Miriam, and Pharaoh’s daughter just responded to the problem right in front of them and they did what they could do in their role.
Every person, no matter how humble, has an important role to play in God’s kingdom. Shiphrah, Puah, and Moses’ mom and sister were all marginalized women. Yet God delighted to use them to accomplish his cosmic, salvific plan. As we know, Moses led his people out of slavery to the promised land and eventually, through the tribe of Judah, to Jesus, to bring salvation to all. And here these women are at the center of Moses’ incredible birth story that began it all.
Each of us has a crucial role to play in God’s kingdom! The way you courageously love matters. Depending on where God has placed you, your love will take different forms: you may be an advocate like the midwives, nurture like Moses’ mother, speak up to power like Moses’ sister, or provide resources and opportunities to the less privileged like Pharaoh’s daughter. When you do those things, you are ushering in the kingdom of God through your courageous love.
What roles have women in the Bible played in advancing God’s story of salvation?
Redeeming Eden, by Ingrid Faro and Joyce Koo Dalrymple, stands out by highlighting the often overlooked but significant role of women in shaping redemptive history. It weaves together a cohesive narrative that demonstrates how women, despite being frequently undervalued in Ancient Near Eastern cultures, courageously initiate and advance key movements in Scripture.
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Joyce Koo Dalrymple (JD, MDiv), is an author, speaker, and spiritual director. She brings her creativity and ability to connect with audiences to conclude each chapter with reflections, action step, and short prayer. Joyce is the chief of content and engagement for Khora Collective and leads Refuge for Strength, a women's ministry focused on spiritual formation. A former television journalist and attorney, Joyce received a BA from Stanford University, a JD from Boston College, and an MDiv from Metro Atlanta Seminary. Joyce is the author of Women of the New Testament and Jesus’ Passion Week. She and her husband, Tim, have three daughters.
