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The Fidelity of Shiphrah and Puah
Brian Mashburn
July 23, 2017
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The Fidelity of Shiphrah and Puah
I've heard it before, but I've really latched on to the word "fidelity" this week as I've considered two amazing, but under-noticed, women in scripture. Minor characters, to be sure, who made a major impact. To. Be. Sure.
Fidelity is intended as a strong, prevailing word. It conveys an uncompromising, unyielding loyalty to something. If you can be described as having fidelity, then your faithfulness to that something (or someone) is without one bit of wiggle room. It describes a durable and resilient devotion that is able to look in the face of any kind of threat and remain faithful. It is not a general loyalty where they may be some rationale for exceptions in actions taken. It is an allegiance that saturates even down to small details.
Fidelity is inflexible, but is not to be confused with some kind of legalistic stubbornness. Fidelity is predictable, but so rare these days that it is surprising and noteworthy to see it expressed. Fidelity, eventually, will cost you. It may cost you friends, power, social acceptability, culturally expected values, opportunities for certain pleasures or advancements or achievements. Fidelity, in some cases, can even cost you your life.
But fidelity does not care. And the minute is does, it ceases to be fidelity.
These two women exhibit a quiet fidelity to God that required them to risk everything. They faced circumstances that most of us would buckle under, and the rest of us would easily excuse them for having done so.
May God use the noticeable fidelity of Shiphrah and Puah in their culture to bring to life an equally noticeable fidelity in us, to God, in ours.