This is a question often asked of pastors by followers of The Shepherd.
‘I am just an ordinary follower of Jesus; how can I possibly help to extend the Kingdom of God, as you keep suggesting?’
This is a good question, and one of the answers is to look at little known people in the Bible, who did amazing things for God.
The first people to look at are Shiphrah and Puah, who can be found in Exodus chapter 1.
15 The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, 16 “When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.” 17 The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. 18 Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?”
19 The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.”
20 So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. 21 And because the midwives feared God, He gave them families of their own.
Little is known about these two women, and historians and theologians can’t agree on whether they were Egyptians or Hebrews, but if they were Hebrews, then we do know that the names are apparently Semitic, Shiphrah meaning “elegant, beautiful,” and Puah, “one who cries out.”
One other thing we know for certain, is that the Bible says they feared God.
The context of this story is that it plays out in Egypt somewhere around 300 years after the death of Joseph. The King of the day, to whom Joseph apparently meant nothing, becomes really upset about the Hebrews, who keep growing in numbers and therefore presumably causing some difficulties for the nation.
The King’s solution to the problem he raises, is to kill all male babies at the point of their birth.
This is where Shiphrah and Puah come into the story. Because they feared God, they refused to carry out the King’s instructions, which meant that the King had to issue instructions to all who lived in Egypt, to do as he had commanded.
If you read on in the book of Exodus, you will see that the actions of Shiphrah and Puah provide the groundwork for the coming birth of Moses to his Levite mother, Jechebed, which ultimately leads to God calling Moses to lead His people out of captivity and into freedom.
Think what may have happened to God’s people, if Shiphrah and Puah had carried out the King’s instructions, instead of disobeying them?
Through their actions, these two little known women who feared the living God, were the ones God chose to start the journey that He had planned for His people. There was an unexpected blessing that Shiphrah and Puah received from God. He gave them families of their own.
Following this story, what seemingly insignificant action could you do today, that could impact the future for The Shepherd and His Kingdom?
The next little known person in the Bible we will look at, is Hannah, the mother of Samuel, whose story can be found in the book of 1 Samuel.
The Shepherd Speaks 