Unsung Heroes of Faith
Exodus
1:8 – 2:10
Rev. Randy Quinn
I don’t know if you followed the story in 2002, but
some women took over an oil terminal in Nigeria, demanding jobs for
their husbands and sons.
They were demanding that ChevronTexaco fulfill its promises to hire
local workers and to provide schools, electricity, and water systems to
their village – promises that seemed to have been forgotten by the oil
company as soon as the terminal was put into service.
The sad part of the story is that while
the villagers had received nothing but empty promises from the
multi-national corporation, the oil terminal itself was filled with what
we would call modern amenities, including a medical clinic, a cafeteria,
game rooms, and satellite TV.
The ironic part of the story is that
the name of the oil terminal is Escravos, from the Portuguese word for
slave!
The protesting women occupied the port
for ten full days before oil company executives met with them and showed
good faith efforts to fulfill their promises. But they only came to
Nigeria after the women threatened to “shame” the company by stripping
naked on the docks.
In a country where violence is
commonplace, these women bravely and courageously used a non-violent
protest to make change happen.
Theirs is a common story in world
history, though few of the people involved in those stories are known by
name. These same protestors were at Tiananmen Square in China. They
were in Selma, Alabama. They stood alongside Gandhi in India.
But they were in the Bible long before
that. Peter and Paul and Jesus did not resist arrest. Nor did Daniel
and his friends. They waited for the power of God to change the world
rather than using violent means to overcome the evil they saw.
It’s easy to think that our story today
is about Moses, but the real heroes are five women. We don’t even know
the names of all of these unsung heroes of faith.
But their story is told in our text
today. Let’s stand as we hear their story.
Read Text
If it were not for Shiphrah and Puah,
this story would sound very much like the story of another baby born
many years later – a baby whose very presence brought fear into the
heart of a king; a king whose fear led to the intentional slaughter of
innocent children (Mt 2:16).
Our passage today is about the triumph
of non-violence over violence, the triumph of right over wrong, the
triumph of the weak over the strong, the triumph of slaves over their
oppressors. It is the triumph of God that sets the stage for a much
larger triumph when Israel will be released from captivity and set free
in the Promised Land.
But for now, the children of Israel
remain in Egypt. They had come at the invitation of Joseph who promised
to meet their needs and feed them (Gen 45:11; 47:1-6). But that was
many generations ago.
The new leadership no longer remembered
Joseph’s good deeds. The new Pharaoh only saw a growing hoard of people
who could shut down the entire economic base of his prosperity by
staging a non-violent sit-in. The new Pharaoh feared they might join
with one of his adversaries and violently overrun Egypt.
So he did what many people in power
have done before and since. He turned on the screws and made life more
difficult for them. He used his power to make life miserable. It’s an
act he will repeat when Moses returns to free the people (Ex 5).
Pharaoh demands that all Hebrew boys
are to be killed at birth (Ex 1:16).
But Shiphrah and Puah resist the laws
of Pharaoh and continue to let babies be born and live. They know that
it is more important to obey God than to obey Pharaoh.
So Pharaoh updates the law and
instructs all of Egypt to kill baby boys born in Hebrew homes (Ex 1:22)
– the part of the story not depicted in the movie The Prince of Egypt
but alluded to in the dream sequence we watched a few minutes ago.
We don’t know how long that law
continued to be in effect.
We do know the story of the mother of
one particular baby who hides her son until she can no longer hide him.
And, miracle of miracles, not only does her daughter help, but the
daughter of Pharaoh joins the conspiracy against Pharaoh by raising this
Hebrew child as Pharaoh’s own son (Ex 2:10)!
And since we learn about Hebrew men
younger than Moses when he finally returns, we must assume that the law
was changed – or at least no longer enforced.
My theory? Pharaoh’s daughter caused
the change. By taking Moses into her care, she humanizes the very same
people her father is trying to demonize.
She joins other Biblical women – named
and unnamed – who have had a tremendous impact on the story of faith.
They are heroes.
And they are not alone. Other women,
other men, have stood up for right in the face of tremendous pressures.
They risked their lives – and at times they gave their lives – for the
sake of the Gospel
Their stories often make me feel pretty
insignificant.
What have I done that can
compare to their actions?
But the truth is, our actions do make a
difference. There are a host of unsung heroes of faith right here among
us this morning.
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Some have sacrificed time in the classroom
as a Sunday School teacher.
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Some have chosen careers based on a
calling from God rather than the calling of wealth.
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Some have served in the political arena,
whether as an elected official or lobbying elected officials on behalf
of others.
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Some have made room in their homes for
people who had no other place to stay – whether the invited guest was a
relative, a child, or a total stranger.
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Some have participated in non-violent
protests aimed to change existing laws or raise awareness of injustices
in our society.
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Some have simply spent time with children
so that the next generation will benefit from their lives.
Sometimes our actions touch the lives
of individuals and sometimes our actions affect policies impacting many
lives. Sometimes we are the ones in positions of power who change
policies and sometimes we pressure those in leadership to change them.
Sometimes we are like Pharaoh’s
daughter who encourages Pharaoh to see the Hebrew children as human
beings and sometimes we are like Shiphrah and Puah who simply help one
person at a time.
Every time we find ourselves doing what
is right, we join these heroes of faith. Every random act of kindness
as well as every letter to our elected leaders, every deliberate choice
to serve someone without concern for repayment as well as every policy
that is changed by our efforts puts us on the list of unsung heroes of
faith.
My hope and prayer is that our every
act will bring glory to God so that each of us may join the saints who
have preceded us, spreading the good news of God’s love and sharing the
grace of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
