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Daily Devotions

Exodus

Exodus 
Day 
Day 11

"So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God." James 1:19-20

Text: Exodus 2 : 11-12

THE SILENT YEARS

Moses was brought up as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. The Scriptures are silent with reference to this period of his life. We may surmise that Moses was given the education that few were privileged to have. Being son of the Pharaoh’s daughter he would have received royal treatment everywhere he went. Forty years were spent under the roof of Pharaoh’s daughter! Moses was regarded as a prince of Egypt.

NATURE AND NURTURE

Strangely, the nurture that he received did not alter the Hebrew nature that was his by birthright. He found himself identifying with his fellow Hebrews.

“Now it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown,
that he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens.
And he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren.”
EXODUS 2:11

Though he was thoroughly nurtured in Egyptian royal culture, Moses found himself feeling deeply for “his brethren”. He was deeply aggrieved by “their burdens”. His anger was stirred when he saw an Egyptian “beating a Hebrew”. The Hebrew in him found expression in rage.

THE WRATH OF MAN

Moses’ heart was in the right place. He was deeply concerned about the welfare of his fellow-brethren. However, at this point of time, he had not learned how to control his spirit and he ended up taking the law into his own hands.

“So he looked this way and that way,
and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian
and hid him in the sand.”
EXODUS 2:12

Moses involved himself in a fight that ended up with his killing of the Egyptian who bullied a Hebrew slave! Did Moses intend to kill the Egyptian? The text candidly declares that he did! (And if we believe that Moses was the author of the Pentateuch, then we have a self-confessed statement of murder right here)!

Not only did he kill the Egyptian, he sought to hide all evidence that could convict him of this foul crime! Moses had not factored in the role that God must play! How many would he need to kill before he liberated all his brethren from the tyranny of the Pharaoh? How long could he go on surreptitiously killing and burying the Egyptian slave drivers before he was found out?

The anger that Moses felt in his heart clouded his thinking! If ever Israel was to be delivered from bondage, it would take nothing less than the power of God to accomplish it! Egypt’s power and glory were second to none in that region at that time! Moses may have slain one Egyptian, but he could not deliver the nation on his own!