Moses' Rebellion

Copyright (c) 2008 Jon Straumfjord

By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. (Hebrews 11:24-26, NKJV)

Pharaoh's daughter took him away and brought him up as her own son. And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds.

"Now when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel. And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended and avenged him who was oppressed, and struck down the Egyptian. For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand. (Acts 7:23-25, NKJV)

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. So he looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.... When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian.... (Exodus 2:11-12,15, NKJV)

As an infant, Moses and all other male Israelite children were under a death sentence from Pharaoh. However, because his parents acted in faith by building a boat for him and letting it float in the river, Moses was actually saved by the daughter of Pharaoh himself. Since Moses was now living in the household of Pharaoh, he was living like a prince: he was one of the few people in the entire kingdom who was taught to read, and he always had the best food and clothing available. He lived a life of luxury.

Certainly Moses could have ignored the plight of the Israelite slaves, but Moses received a revelation that he was to aid the deliverance of the Jews from Egyptian bondage. Presumptuously, Moses killed an Egyptian who was beating one of his Hebrew brothers, and as a result, he was forced to flee for his own life to the land of Midian. Moses left a life of luxury and ease to live in relative poverty and hardship, all because Moses chose to act on a revelation he had received from the Lord.

Abraham was originally told that his descendants would serve another nation for 400 years (Genesis 15:13-14), yet Israel spent 430 years serving Pharaoh, king of Egypt (Exodus 12:40-41). It is therefore very possible that Moses' presumptuous action cost the nation of Israel an extra thirty years of bondage, personally cost him forty unnecessary years in poverty, all because he was unwilling wait for the Lord's timing.

So what can we learn about faith from Moses? Unfortunately, this is a case of the good, the bad, and the ugly: It was good that Moses' actions demonstrated that he believed the revelations he had received from the Lord. It was bad that Moses attempted to accomplish the Lord's will in his own power and timing, instead of waiting for the Lord to act. The ugly part, was that Moses had to flea to Midian to escape the wrath of Pharaoh, and may have cost the nation of Israel an extra thirty years of slavery to a tyrant king and him forty unnecessary years of poverty. Yes, it is good to receive the revelations of the Lord in faith, but it is better to wait for the Lord to fulfill those revelations in His time, in His power, and in His way. Anything else will simply produces negative consequences, as it did for both Moses and the nation of Israel.

Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. (Psalms 37:7, NKJV)

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