Exodus 2
Exodus 2
Exodus 2 gives us the first phase in the narrative of Moses’s development as a patriarchal figure in the Christian walk. The dualities in identity directly opposing one another swell to illuminate what the New Testament identifies as a decision made in faith in what would lead to his own fleeing from Egypt.
As a baby born in rather violent times, Moses’s parents had no choice but to float him in a basket down the river to the pharaoh’s daughter. Knowing this to be ‘one of the Hebrew babies,’ his cries convinced her to do away with her father’s ambition, and in compassion, she adopts him, bringing him into royalty. Moses then grows up with what is a divided sense of identity. Firstly, he now belongs to not just any Egyptians but the ruling family. The same family who are enslaving the Hebrews, to which Moses feels he also still belongs. This duality of identity wells up to where we see a grown-up Moses looking at his people (v.11). Enduring word clarifies the intensity of the verb ‘watched’ here, as it is more a kin to seeing something with emotion, similar to the statement made of Pharoh’s daughter drawing him from the water. This compassion is clearly something he can not resist acting upon. Causing him to kill the Egyptian, beating on someone he views as his own.
He stands up for the enslaved and oppressed people he belongs to out of compassion, yet he comes the next day as the Egyptian Royal. Or as Enduring Word puts it, he is seemingly tending to his ‘princely’ duties by engaging in Hebrew conflict once more. Exposed by the men he tries to break up, the collision of his two competing identities is received as wrongdoing in both the eyes of the Israelites and the Egyptians. The two worlds he felt as though he always had a fallback in reject him, so he opts to flee to a distant land, settle down, and tend to someone else’s sheep.
Both Acts and Hebrews provide more perspective for us in understanding the larger impact of these events and their effects on the spiritual landscape. Firstly, we know true compassion leads to action on another’s behalf. Likewise, as best told in Acts, “Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not” (Acts 7:25). How could Moses not see the difference between himself and the other Hebrews? He had position, power, and intellect that the others did not. Maybe he could use these things to free them! Perhaps God had equipped Moses in such a way to use these attributes. We know this isn’t how the story goes, though… It’s seemingly in Moses’ DNA to help those in need, so he makes what I like to call a faith decision. A decision he knows might cost him, but one his faith mandates of him. Hebrews 11 puts it as “ By faith Moses when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward” (11:24-26).
Moses’ plan for rescuing the Israelites most likely did not include plagues, killing Pharoh’s firstborn, crossing a sea, or prophesying the coming Messiah we have in Jesus. To have Moses in a position internally where God could call him, and he would respond in willing obedience took time and humbling, spending 40 years in a distant land. What came first though, is Moses’ decision to choose Christ over the life of pleasures he had as a royal family member in Egypt; his faith decision the Hebrews 11 so victoriously references. Ultimately, it was God who remembered His people and decided to act. Spiritually, much more is going on than Moses knows, and the delivering of Israel from the hand of Pharoh would be on God’s terms, out of compassion for His covenant people. A heart learned and shared eventually by Moses.
God’s plan for our lives isn’t often revealed in the first step of faith we take towards Him; rather, it is simply just that, taking a step towards Him and away from our sinful lives.
Think back to times you stepped out in faith for the Lord,
What happened?
How did God move you towards Himself and out of sin?
Was there ever a time God had a completely different plan for something more glorious than your own?
Remembering these moments can be fruitful in remembering our God's moves in compassion for His covenant people. And who are His covenant people now? Those who belong to and believe in Jesus.
