Moses lived in two different worlds.
One the one hand, he grew up in the Egyptian palace. He was the adopted son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He was educated alongside the rest of Pharaoh’s children. Moses, on some level, must’ve identified as an Egyptian.
On the other hand, Moses was a Hebrew. His parents were Hebrews and he could trace his lineage all the way back to Abraham. His faith, his history, his culture— all were deeply formed by this aspect of his identity.
So…which identity would Moses lean into?
The power of the Egyptians?
The suffering of the Hebrews?
His upbringing in the palace?
His historic root as a Hebrew?
When Moses grew up (we are not told exactly how old he was), he watched the Hebrews one day as they were suffering under their forced labor. “He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. Looking this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.”
-Exodus 2:11-12
Do you think Moses was conflicted when he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew? Did he wonder how, if he got involved, his actions might affect his level of acceptance in the palace— the Egyptian side of his identity? Did he think about what he’d be giving up if he chose to get involved?
Or did he just see an injustice that had to be corrected?
As we study Moses we’ll see a deep inner desire to stand up for what is right.
Moses cared deeply about helping people who were crushed and oppressed. He was profoundly moved when witnessing the suffering of others. This experience drove him to stand up for their situation– to get involved.
Notice also that Moses is not perfect. In trying to stop a beating, he commits murder. Overcome with passion, Moses acts in a way that is contrary to God’s commands.
Still, God chooses to work through Moses to rescue God’s people from slavery.
Because God uses imperfect people— and still does today.
But first, Moses must learn who God really is.
Moses is driven into the wilderness when Pharaoh tries to kill him. His Egyptian identity is stripped from him. For many years, Moses lives in Midian— on the other side of the desert from Egypt. He tries to forget about his past and forget about the plight of his people.
But God doesn’t let him forget.
It is to that part of the story that we’ll turn to next week.
This Sunday will be week 4 in the season of Lent. We’ll continue our 40 Days of Discipleship series with a sermon by Pastor Dana.
See you on Sunday!
-Pastor David
