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. Glancing 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."
15. When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian, where he sat down by a well.
16. Now a priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came to draw water and fill the troughs to water their father's flock.
17. Some shepherds came along and drove them away, but Moses got up and came to their rescue and watered their flock.
18. When the girls returned to Reuel their father, he asked them, "Why have you returned so early today?"
19. They answered, "An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds. He even drew water for us and watered the flock."
20. "And where is he?" he asked his daughters. "Why did you leave him? Invite him to have something to eat."
21. Moses agreed to stay with the man, who gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage.
22. Zipporah gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, "I have become an alien in a foreign land."
23. During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God.
24. God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.
25. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.
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2 comments:
In this passage, Moses engages in premeditated murder but also shows unexpected kindness to the women. He is not a saint but a human being, like the rest of us. Capable of evil and goodness. And God loved him. Just as he loved the fickle and wretched slaves in Egypt. I thank God for his mercy and his eternal love.
Interesting how the Hebrews don't thank Moses or react in a kind matter since Moses stood up for them. Nevertheless murder was clearly wrong.
It seems Moses has a warm heart but lack of wisdom. Seeing how he reacted towards oppression and helping the women.
I wonder why God allowed the oppression for Israelite. Or more importantly could Israelite prevented this from happening through the wisdom from God? Perhaps the blessings they received through Jacob and Joseph were taken for granted and lost the grateful heart towards God.
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