Heroes of faith.
The book of Exodus is a deep dive into God’s rescue plan for the Children of Israel being rescued by the hero, Moses. Great! That makes Moses a key, central figure in this struggle for freedom. Awesome! But here is where we take a tangential turn to see some other heroes of the faith.
Let’s start with Shiprah and Puah. Do you remember their names from any Sunday School class or, most recently, from reading the Monday prescribed chapters for the book of Exodus? Here is the clip of Exodus that helps us to understand their essential role in developing the exodus/exit from Egypt:
“Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, 16 ’When you serve as midwife 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 them, but let the male children live” (Exodus 1:15-17).
These women, heavily committed to assisting other women who were giving birth to their children, became the target of Pharaoh’s godless disregard for life. Pharaoh was afraid of the prosperity God had promised and given to the Israelites (Genesis 15:13-16 and Exodus 1:7). Where God blessed, Satan was using Pharaoh to destroy. It is essential that we, as Jesus’ disciples, see this pattern continue to our present day: where God blesses, Satan seeks to destroy.
These midwives (named) did not fear Pharaoh (unnamed) as much as they feared God. Their God-given respect and awe of God’s position of Divine Creator and Judge caused their actions to become the first heroic mention in the book of Exodus. They saved lives and stood in opposition to Pharaoh’s unrighteous demands. They would rather obey God than man; God commends them for this: “So God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families” (Exodus 1:20-21).
These are our first heroes of faith listed in Exodus. Now comes our third:
“Now a man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman. 2 The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. 3 When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank” (Exodus 2:1-4).
Pharaoh saw that the his current genocide plan did not work so he adopted another strategy. He demanded that all baby boys be thrown into the Nile River. This mother gave birth to her son, looked intently at him and defied Pharaoh. Notice how she did it. She very creatively threw him into the Nile River but used an ark (a basket made of bulrushes) to keep him alive. In a sense she followed Pharaoh with her own creative twist. As Christians, the defiance of evil and obedience to God our Creator may come is some very creative ways. God used her contrariness to develop the next hero in the Exodus account. Jochebed (Moses’ mother - Exodus 6:20) shows godly character in rescuing and raising a son.
Who is a hero today? What does the world call a hero and who might God call a hero of the faith? Such a person might be a leader like Moses who gets the limelight and is used by God to rescue millions. But these first three heroes in the book of Exodus set the stage for Moses and many others. And God names them! God considers them so important that He names them in this book, but you will also notice that the evil Pharaoh never gets named by God. His moniker is left out.
I know that it is not close to Mother’s Day on our calendars, but I would like to mention those who are instruments of good in a world that would often disregard the role: Mothers! Jesus had a mother who gave up a good reputation and had to live with crowd imposed shame because she was pregnant before her marriage to Joseph. “And the angel answered her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God’ ” (Luke 1:35).
God uses men and women of faith to carry out His plan and to enlarge His Kingdom. As you continue to read through Exodus, maybe take one more glimpse at these two opening chapters to see the heroes of faith as God weaves them into the story. And remember that God has woven you into the story - you are a part of His plan to do good and to rescue the lost. Blessings as you aspire to this role He has given you!