Exodus 1:8-22 (AMP)
8 Now a new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph.
9 He said to his people, Behold, the Israelites are too many and too mighty for us [and they outnumber us both in people and in strength].
10 Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply more and, should war befall us, they join our enemies, fight against us, and escape out of the land.
11 So they set over [the Israelites] taskmasters to afflict and oppress them with [increased] burdens. And [the Israelites] built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh.
12 But the more [the Egyptians] oppressed them, the more they multiplied and expanded, so that [the Egyptians] were vexed and alarmed because of the Israelites.
13 And the Egyptians reduced the Israelites to severe slavery.
14 They made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar, brick, and all kinds of work in the field. All their service was with harshness and severity.
15 Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, of whom one was named Shiprah and the other Puah,
16 When you act as midwives to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, she shall live.
17 But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded, but let the male babies live.
18 So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, Why have you done this thing and allowed the male children to live?
19 The midwives answered Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; they are vigorous and quickly delivered; their babies are born before the midwife comes to them.
20 So God dealt well with the midwives and the people multiplied and became very strong.
21 And because the midwives revered and feared God, He made them households [of their own].
22 Then Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son born [to the Hebrews] you shall cast into the river [Nile], but every daughter you shall allow to live.

Do you fear the Lord?
We hide from man what we do, but nothing is hidden from the Lord, yet we do not fear the Lord enough to abstain from things that offend the Holy Spirit, hurt those around us, participate in things that break the law.
Without the Lord’s teaching, we will go astray says Psalm 86:11, without the reverential fear and wisdom of God we walk the wrong path.
There are people out there who call themselves Christians but easily would have obeyed Pharoah in committing murder, there are those who steal, from pilfering pennies to embezzlement of large sums of money.
How do you respond when a colleague is being maligned, bullied, or maltreated around you? Do you intervene or join them?
How about in situations that are not necessarily wrong but spiritually unacceptable? You know it’s wrong, but you rationalise it- “for the greater good,” “it’s not hurting anyone,” “I don’t want to lose my job.”
The Lord is friends only with those who fear Him according to Psalm 25:14, whatever we do, the Lord will only sanctify His truth which is His word says John 17:17. It signifies to be consecrated, for us believers to be separated from earthly, fleshy, carnal, and common things, and to be devoted to God and his service truly and confidently.
According to Luke 12:5, the fear of God is the fear of the judgment of God for the unbeliever, and eternal death, which is eternal separation from God while for the believer, the fear of God is something much different.
The believer’s fear is the reverence of God. Hebrews 12:28-29 is a good description of what the fear of God is. Reverence and awe are exactly what the fear of God means for Christians. This is the motivating factor for us to surrender to the Creator of the Universe.
It is what stops us from being like everyone else, from doing what everybody is doing whether good or bad, and it is what leads us to live according to Proverbs 19:23.
Therefore, God dealt well with the midwives, vs 20: some may argue that the midwives lied but therein lie the fear and wisdom of God. When the Hebrew midwives had to choose between fearing God and obeying the orders of the king of Egypt, they chose to fear God. How about you? How will you respond when you are faced with a choice between pleasing man and obeying God?
We fear many things: Crime, accidents, storms, viruses, chemical weapons, mass murderers, terrorists, earthquakes, demons, and Satan himself! But have little or no fear for God.
This teaches us that when we are faced with only sinful options, we must choose that which will give God greater glory through His wisdom.
Fearing God means having such a reverence for Him that it has a great impact on the way we live our lives. The fear of God is respecting Him, obeying Him, submitting to His discipline, and worshipping Him in awe.
If you fear God, you’ll love Him and obey Him, and there will be no want of essential needs, whether spiritual or physical according to Psalm 35:9.
In all thy ways acknowledge him says Proverbs 3:6, that begins, continue, and end every work, purpose, and fear God.
Shalom