And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his
brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he saw an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew,
one of his brethren. And he looked this way and that way, and where he saw that
there was no one else around, he slew the Egyptian, and hid the body in the sand.
Exodus 2:11-12
Moses! The Messianic deliverer of his people, the Jews...
brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he saw an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew,
one of his brethren. And he looked this way and that way, and where he saw that
there was no one else around, he slew the Egyptian, and hid the body in the sand.
Exodus 2:11-12
Moses! The Messianic deliverer of his people, the Jews...
...the man who boldly confronted Pharaoh to demand the release of the Hebrew people from the bondage of Egyptian slavery. Moses, the writer of the first five books in the Old Testament. The one whom Jewish people admire and adore unto this very day.
But there was something else about Moses that many know little about. He was a murderer, and a fugitive on the run. Spared from death when he was but a tiny baby, Pharaoh's daughter rescued little Moses from the Nile River, and raised him in Pharaoh's household.
Moses, however, grew up with the knowledge that he was an Israelite. He retained an emotional bond with his people. And when he was older, Moses set out to meet up with his fellow Hebrews. When, as he was walking through the land, he came upon an Egyptian slave owner beating one of his Israelite slaves. Moses became enraged.
Looking in all directions to see if anyone was watching, Moses crept up to the Egyptian. Perhaps he had a knife with him, or maybe he picked up an object to bludgeon him, or maybe, so full of anger, he strangled the Egyptian with his bare hands? No one knows. But what is known is that Moses killed the man in cold-blood. He then tried to hide the crime by burying the Egyptian's body in the sand.
Moses hoped to get away with murder, but it didn't work. Some of his fellow Israelites exposed him. Knowing he was a wanted man and learning the news that King Pharaoh wanted to execute him for the crime, in a panic, Moses ran for his life.
Facing the death penalty, Moses was a wanted man. So he took off for distant lands and ended up in the region of a people known as the Midianites. Whereupon he married a Midianite woman from a big family, probably with the hope of blending in, and thus being better able to hide.
It worked. Moses successfully hid from the Egyptian authorities for forty years. But I don't think there was a day that went by when Moses wasn't looking over his shoulders, wondering if his arrest would soon come.
Then one day something unique happened. As Moses was out in the desert tending to his father-in-Iaw's flock, a bush began to burn. Puzzled, Moses walked towards it, confused that the flames were not consuming the bush. Suddenly a voice called out to him, "Moses, Moses!" Seeing no man, he addressed the mysterious voice.
The voice then identified itself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Immediately, Moses began to fear. Being a murderer with a guilty conscience, Moses perhaps thought God had appeared on the scene to demand his life.
To his surprise, Moses learned this was not the case at all. The God of Israel did not come to claim his life. Instead, He had come to call upon Moses to deliver his people, who were still slaves in Egypt. Moses protested. In hiding for forty years, God was asking Moses to return to the scene of the crime, and to possibly face those who demanded his very life. Crazy!
But the Lord explained that those who had been seeking Moses were all gone, and that the Israelites needed deliverance, and that God in His wisdom and mercy had chosen Moses for the job. A murderer and wanted criminal was now being selected by the Lord himself to be the one to lead his people into a land overflowing with milk and honey.
Yes, Moses. So typical of the Lord, the One whom the Scriptures say does things His way, as opposed to the ways of men (Isaiah 55:8-9). The God Who many times chooses the "foolish" things of the world, and those at the bottom of the social scale, in order to humble those who think they're so smart and powerful; folks who think they're about something (1 Corinthians 1:26-29).
And so God chose Moses, a broken and frightened man living in obscurity, to go forth in God's power, and with His authority to set the Hebrew captives free. Moses, though nervous, was obedient to the Lord's commands. He went in the strength of the Lord, and he stepped out in faith. The rest is history.
But God is no different today. He can take the worst of society and make the best of them. He can take a murderer, and make him into a saint. Nothing is impossible for the Lord (Luke 1:37).
D.B.
But there was something else about Moses that many know little about. He was a murderer, and a fugitive on the run. Spared from death when he was but a tiny baby, Pharaoh's daughter rescued little Moses from the Nile River, and raised him in Pharaoh's household.
Moses, however, grew up with the knowledge that he was an Israelite. He retained an emotional bond with his people. And when he was older, Moses set out to meet up with his fellow Hebrews. When, as he was walking through the land, he came upon an Egyptian slave owner beating one of his Israelite slaves. Moses became enraged.
Looking in all directions to see if anyone was watching, Moses crept up to the Egyptian. Perhaps he had a knife with him, or maybe he picked up an object to bludgeon him, or maybe, so full of anger, he strangled the Egyptian with his bare hands? No one knows. But what is known is that Moses killed the man in cold-blood. He then tried to hide the crime by burying the Egyptian's body in the sand.
Moses hoped to get away with murder, but it didn't work. Some of his fellow Israelites exposed him. Knowing he was a wanted man and learning the news that King Pharaoh wanted to execute him for the crime, in a panic, Moses ran for his life.
Facing the death penalty, Moses was a wanted man. So he took off for distant lands and ended up in the region of a people known as the Midianites. Whereupon he married a Midianite woman from a big family, probably with the hope of blending in, and thus being better able to hide.
It worked. Moses successfully hid from the Egyptian authorities for forty years. But I don't think there was a day that went by when Moses wasn't looking over his shoulders, wondering if his arrest would soon come.
Then one day something unique happened. As Moses was out in the desert tending to his father-in-Iaw's flock, a bush began to burn. Puzzled, Moses walked towards it, confused that the flames were not consuming the bush. Suddenly a voice called out to him, "Moses, Moses!" Seeing no man, he addressed the mysterious voice.
The voice then identified itself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Immediately, Moses began to fear. Being a murderer with a guilty conscience, Moses perhaps thought God had appeared on the scene to demand his life.
To his surprise, Moses learned this was not the case at all. The God of Israel did not come to claim his life. Instead, He had come to call upon Moses to deliver his people, who were still slaves in Egypt. Moses protested. In hiding for forty years, God was asking Moses to return to the scene of the crime, and to possibly face those who demanded his very life. Crazy!
But the Lord explained that those who had been seeking Moses were all gone, and that the Israelites needed deliverance, and that God in His wisdom and mercy had chosen Moses for the job. A murderer and wanted criminal was now being selected by the Lord himself to be the one to lead his people into a land overflowing with milk and honey.
Yes, Moses. So typical of the Lord, the One whom the Scriptures say does things His way, as opposed to the ways of men (Isaiah 55:8-9). The God Who many times chooses the "foolish" things of the world, and those at the bottom of the social scale, in order to humble those who think they're so smart and powerful; folks who think they're about something (1 Corinthians 1:26-29).
And so God chose Moses, a broken and frightened man living in obscurity, to go forth in God's power, and with His authority to set the Hebrew captives free. Moses, though nervous, was obedient to the Lord's commands. He went in the strength of the Lord, and he stepped out in faith. The rest is history.
But God is no different today. He can take the worst of society and make the best of them. He can take a murderer, and make him into a saint. Nothing is impossible for the Lord (Luke 1:37).
D.B.
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