EXOD18 That this is the only explanation the Bible offers for their behavior suggests that it was this fear that prompted them to act as they did. Pharaoh then commanded the Egyptian people, who presumably did not fear God but did fear him, to participate in his campaign: "Then Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, 'Every son born that is born you shall throw into the Nile'" Exodus 1:22. That fear of God can liberate people from fear of others explains why a disproportionate percentage of political dissenters in totalitarian societies such as Nazi Germany and the former Soviet Union were God-fearers. Such people presumably feared their country's rulers (they did not want to die), but they believed that obedience to God's will was more important than anything, including life. On the other hand, people who do not believe in or fear God are far less likely to risk their lives, the most valuable possession may have, to defy a country's ruler, no matter how immoral his edicts.