Chapter 2-3
Moses went out in the field to see his kinfolk. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew slave and Scripture says, (2:12) “And he looked this way and that way, when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand”.
The first conclusion people come to is he didn’t want to be caught killing an Egyptian and so he made sure there was no one to see him do it. But when you think about it, there could be a logical explanation, other than secrecy that he looked about. That explanation is that he was looking for a man’s man, or someone who was man enough to have the courage to do what he was about to do. But seeing no one was willing to risk their own life Moses came to the defense of the Hebrew slave. He killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand.
Through the years, Moses has been highly criticized for this homicide. But what would you have him do? Should he have walked away turning his back on a terrible injustice? Should he have approached the Egyptian to persuade him to stop? That would have evoked a huge belly laugh on the part of the Egyptian. Should Moses have just walked away? That would have made him complicit in a murder. He would have been turning his back on a terrible injustice.
Should he have tried to persuade the Egyptian overseer to stop? That idea borders on the absurd. Should he have attacked the Egyptian without killing him? The Egyptian surely would have fought back and possibly killed Moses. Or he would have informed the authorities about Moses’s bad act of faith. It also would have resulted in his being accused of subversion.
It has to be, God approved of what Moses did. This was surely a way for God to test Moses and find out exactly what kind of man he was. Killing the Egyptian slave master is one of three stories with that exact purpose: finding out exactly what kind of man Moses was.
The second is, when Moses went out the next day, he found two Hebrews fighting; so he said to the offender, why do you strike your fellow. It’s interesting to know that the word used here for offender literally means, the Evil One. It’s also interesting to realize that when the Jews canonized the Scriptures that they were so truthful about them that they could be offended by it. God did not spare their feelings when he talked about their true nature.
The guilty party responded, (2:14) “Who make you chief and ruler over us. Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” This comment frightened him because now he knew this entire matter was known. Just think how you would feel: Moses was raised at the royal court, killing an Egyptian overseer and identifying with the Hebrews would have branded him a traitor and warranted the death penalty. Well, Pharaoh did learn of the matter and he did seek to kill him, but Moses escaped and fled from Pharaoh.
He went to the land of Midian and sat down beside a well. It just so happened that the priest of Midian had seven daughters. They came to draw water, and to fill the troughs to water their father’s flock. But shepherds came and drove them off. Our hero came to their defense and he filled the troughs.
This is the third time Moses showed his true character. All three times he refuses to tolerate the evil he sees around him. The first time he intervenes when a non-Hebrew oppresses a Hebrew. The Second time he intervenes when one Hebrew wrongs another Hebrew. And the third time he intervenes when non-Hebrew men oppress non-Hebrew women.
It’s obvious to God and man that all injustice infuriates him and prompts him to act. He is truly a man of principle.
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