seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Exodus 2:11 One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. 12 Looking this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13 The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?”
14 The man said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “What I did must have become known.”
14 The man said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “What I did must have become known.”
Moses is busted.... even though he looked "this way and that" someone saw him. Here's my question of the day.... why would a Hebrew turn in an Egyptian for killing an Egyptian if the Egyptians were so cruel to the Hebrews? The commentaries are full of church talk, you know, how Moses was this perfect guy who all of a sudden can't handle knowing he's a Hebrew living in an Egyptian world. That doesn't quite answer the question of why this Hebrew would turn him in for killing an Egyptian. I bet there was a bounty!
Bible.org offers a pretty good take on what happened.
This seems to mean that Moses had already made the critical decision to identify with his people, before he went out to observe the affliction of his brethren. Hebrews informs us that the reason Moses visited his brethren was due to his decision to identify with them and even to suffer with them. Thus, Moses did not lose his status as a son of Pharaoh’s daughter by the killing; he gave that up before the killing. Moses’ visit to his brethren backfired, in one sense, but it was used providentially to prepare him for his future calling.
We dare not seek to defend Moses in the murder of the Egyptian, no matter how cruel he may have been. Moses’ act was in defiance of the authority of Egypt, and it was premeditated murder (“he looked this way and that,” v. 12). While Moses’ method of dealing with this problem was wrong, we can see that his motivation was commendable. Moses sought to defend the oppressed. When he sought to rebuke his Hebrew brother for wrongly mistreating another Hebrew, Moses revealed, once again, the disposition of a deliverer. As Stephen’s message highlighted, the rejection of Moses’ leadership by this Israelite typified Israel’s hardness of heart and rebellion against God (cf. Acts 7:23-29).
Moses’ motivation was right, but his methods and his timing were altogether wrong. What seemed to start out with a bang (the deliverance of Moses and his rearing in the palace), appears to have ended with a whimper. Instead of rising to power and delivering his people, Moses ran for his life, away from his people, to the land of Midian.
We dare not seek to defend Moses in the murder of the Egyptian, no matter how cruel he may have been. Moses’ act was in defiance of the authority of Egypt, and it was premeditated murder (“he looked this way and that,” v. 12). While Moses’ method of dealing with this problem was wrong, we can see that his motivation was commendable. Moses sought to defend the oppressed. When he sought to rebuke his Hebrew brother for wrongly mistreating another Hebrew, Moses revealed, once again, the disposition of a deliverer. As Stephen’s message highlighted, the rejection of Moses’ leadership by this Israelite typified Israel’s hardness of heart and rebellion against God (cf. Acts 7:23-29).
Moses’ motivation was right, but his methods and his timing were altogether wrong. What seemed to start out with a bang (the deliverance of Moses and his rearing in the palace), appears to have ended with a whimper. Instead of rising to power and delivering his people, Moses ran for his life, away from his people, to the land of Midian.
So far we don't know a lot. The commentaries say Moses was about 40 when this happened. Did his mother raise him as an Egyptian, so he could stay in the palace, or did she raise him as a Hebrew? Did they have some kind of argument [as it shows in the movie] where she blurted out his heritage or did he know who he was all along.
One thing we do know. This was no accident.... he looked for possible witnesses before he killed the Egyptian. Guess his roots really do go back to Levi. Remember Levi and Simeon murdered every man of Shechem when their sister was raped [or dishonored].
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