What does it look like to keep the faith? We’ve seen many examples throughout these pages, and we can find many more in the pages of Scripture. God’s Word is filled with famous examples of women and men who fought against their fear, moved beyond discouragement, won the victory against worry, and pressed on to finish the race despite their doubts.
Noah is a powerful example of keeping the faith. So are Abraham and Sarah. And Joshua. And Deborah. And Samuel. And Hannah. And Elijah. And Jeremiah. And Mary. And the disciples, including Peter. And Paul. And many others.
But I want to conclude this journey together by focusing on two biblical characters who are decidedly not famous—not well known. They are two women who had interesting and important roles in their community, yet we rarely hear about them in sermons or in songs. People today don’t name their children after these women, although it would be a proper tribute if we did.
Here is their story:
Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of one was Shiphrah and the name of the other Puah; and he said, “When you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstools, if it is a son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.” But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive. So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and saved the male children alive?”
And the midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are lively and give birth before the midwives come to them.”
Therefore God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and grew very mighty. And so it was, because the midwives feared God, that He provided households for them.
—Exodus 1:15–21
If you remember the context of this story, the families of Jacob and his sons had moved from Canaan to Egypt when Joseph was second-in-command of that great nation. The Israelites grew and thrived in that land for centuries. In fact, they become so numerous a people that Pharaoh grew nervous. He viewed the Israelites as a risk to his national security. That is why he ordered the Hebrew midwives to kill male babies at the moment of their birth, and that command made it necessary for those midwives to “choose this day whom they would serve.”
Shiphrah and Puah were heroes, no argument there. They risked their lives by defying one of the most powerful rulers in the world, and they did so to save the lives of innocent children.
Yet Shiphrah and Puah were also ordinary people. They were regular women with regular careers who—as Scripture points out on two separate occasions—“feared God.” They understood the danger they were in. Pharaoh had the power to end their lives with a word if they displeased him, yet they chose to directly disobey his command because they were motivated by fear of a Higher Power. A higher cause.
It’s likely that those midwives attended to Moses’ mother when she gave birth to her firstborn son. A “beautiful child” according to Exodus 2:2. Those midwives remained under orders to kill that beautiful boy, but they again refused. They again chose to fear God more than Pharaoh as they helped bring Moses into our world. By doing so, those ordinary midwives with their regular routines and regular jobs paved the way for the exodus from Egypt. They opened the door to the promised land for God’s chosen people.
In other words, the midwives helped deliver their people in more ways than one! They played a great role in giving birth to Israel as a nation.
Shiphrah and Puah kept the faith. They did not allow fear or discouragement or worry or doubt to pull them away from what they knew to be right. They put their fate in God’s hands, and He rewarded them: “Therefore God dealt well with the midwives” (Exodus 1:2).
But notice, by choosing to stand strong and refusing to take the easy road, those midwives also generated a blessing for their entire community: “Therefore God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and grew very mighty.”
Would you believe you and I have the same opportunity? We do.
You do. Every day. Even with your ordinary job. Even with your ordinary routine. Even with your ordinary place in your ordinary community.
In fact, it’s precisely because you and I are ordinary people that we must keep the faith even when our world turns upside down. We must continue pressing forward in the belief that God is with us, that God will empower us, and that God will support us no matter what obstacles we encounter or what threats attempt to bar our way.
When we act from our fear of God rather than fear of the world, we can change that world. We can make a real difference not only in our lives and our communities but in history—as Shiphrah and Puah did.
So be ready! Be willing! Be strong and courageous!