Moses grew up in Pharaoh’s household as a prince of Egypt, but he was aware that he was a Hebrew (he would have been circumcised). At some point he also felt that he should do something about the situation his people were in. The problem was that he didn’t seem to know how to go about it. He killed an Egyptian for beating a Hebrew which he may have thought would make him look like a hero. But, in fact, it just made him look a fool in the eyes of the Hebrews. When you read this you might wonder what the difference is between Moses at this point in the story and the Moses that did eventually lead the Hebrews out of Egypt. The answer is simple. The Moses who led the people out of Egypt acted in obedience to God. In the early stage, Moses had no such mandate from God to do what he did. He was a proud young man. But 40 years herding goats in the desert would deal with this. God would not use Moses to deliver his people until Moses was weak enough to do so. The Moses who killed the Egyptian was a young man who felt that he could do something about the plight of his people. The Moses that parted the sea and led the Israelites to the promised land was a humble old man who knew that he could do nothing apart from God. Which of the two will you choose to be? Are you weak enough to be used by God for great things?
Are you trying to serve God depending on your own gifts and abilities? Think about how you can become more dependent on God.
Read Exodus 2:11-25
