After Moses is taken out of the Nile river and adopted by the daughter of Pharaoh, it’s nearly forty years before we hear anything else about him (Acts 7:23). Like most royals, he probably enjoyed a very comfortable life, learning what it meant to be an Egyptian through education in culture, customs, and values.
All of that changed the moment he decided to go visit the area of the Israelites.
Maybe he had always wondered what life as an Israelite was always about. After all, his mom was his nurse, so it’s likely he knew where he came from. But the way that Stephen phrases it – “it entered his mind to visit his countrymen” (Acts 7:23) – makes it sound like, to him, it was just any other Tuesday afternoon.
When he arrives, he sees something that will change his life. An Egyptian, legally one of his own people, beating an Israelite, genealogically one of his own people. What should he do?
For most in his position, they would turn around and go the other way. They might be mildly disgusted at the barbarism (or not), but they would more likely see it as a necessary part of life. The subjugation and persecution by the Egyptians was nothing new at this point, so it might not have even been out of the ordinary.
Moses chooses to act. The Bible is very clear on this point. According to Hebrews 11:25, he chose to throw in his lot with the Hebrews instead of staying in the palace of Pharaoh. He kills the Egyptian and buries his body in the sand.
What’s just as compelling as Moses’ actions in killing the Egyptian is the why behind it. Stephen’s account gives us insight into this, when he claims that Moses assumed the other Israelites would see this killing as the first step towards deliverance (Acts 7:25).
Instead, they saw it as the murderous actions of a man who thought himself better than they. Their response was telling: “Who made you a prince or judge over us? Are you intending to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” (Exodus 2:14). Fearing his cover had been blown, Moses fled into the desert.
Jewish commentators see this action by Moses as nothing short of heroic. He’s the savior of the Jews, even though the rest of them just didn’t see it yet.
Others view Moses’ actions as impulsive and murderous, claiming that this impulse to wrath is what would eventually get him in trouble at the waters of Meribah when he struck the rock (Numbers 20:8-13).
I’m interested in what you think, though. Was Moses acting out of misguided rage when he killed the Egyptian, or was he justified in delivering his Israelite brother?
Drop me a line at brady@coffeeandaBible.com and let me know!