Exodus 2
Moses. None compare to Moses as far as being used of God.
Infant Moses Spared (2:1-10)
Mature Moses’ Escape From Egypt (2:11-25)
vv.11-12 When Moses saw the Egyptian smiting a Hebrew, his motive was right. He knew that the oppression of his people was wrong, and that God would use him to deliver the Hebrews from the Egyptian taskmasters (see Acts 7:24-25). But there was a lesson that he had to learn which could not be learned in Pharaoh’s court – the lesson of self-judgment. He had to spend forty years (a third of his life) on the back side of the dessert after which time he is called the meekest man that ever lived (Numbers 12:3). As young people we see the problems among us, but we don’t have the experience of a life of self-judgment needed to act in accord with the mind of God. His desire to deliver Israel was good. But the way he went about it was wrong. We cannot be used to deliver God’s people in the energy of the flesh. If he had been acting according to the mind of God, he would not have “turned this way and that way”. Murder was not justified. He thought no one saw, but he was wrong. Moses could never deliver Israel by burying the Egyptians one by one in the sand. God was going to bury them in the Red Sea! Nevertheless, Moses was taking his place with his people (Heb. 11:24-25).
v.15 Perhaps The Lord allowed him to act in a fleshly way to bring him to a reality about what this world is really like. Hebrews 11:27 tells us he forsook Egypt, not afraid of the wrath of the king… that is the second time, when he led the people out. But this is where the deliverer starts… fleeing for fear of the king. If Moses had been able to deliver Israel’s through diplomacy, it could have brought glory to Moses. But God’s way would glorify Himself, and Moses would be humbled.
vv.16-17 The heads of families would function as priests (Abraham, Job). A well: a good place to sit when we are discouraged (cp the broom tree, pomegranate tree). The word can encourage us, and then we can help others. He saw some trying to gain refreshment from a well, a picture of the Word of God, but there were those who were trying to prevent them from accessing the well. Moses’ character as a shepherd is seen in Midian was well as Egypt; he defended the oppressed and sought to care for their needs. We need both the well and the protector: the enjoyment of the Word of God and the spirit of a doorkeeper to keep the assembly preserved from evil. This event is characteristic of Moses’ time on the back side of the desert. He needed to learn the true character of a shepherd if he was going to be able to lead the flock of God.
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