Let's continue with Moses' life
story. Moses was living a very comfortable life in the palace and
then at a certain stage he found out that he was in fact one of the
Hebrews and not an Egyptian at all. As I've said before this must
have rattled him. So one day he decided to go out and visit them.
No doubt he had seen them at work throughout his life, building the
mighty empire of Egypt. But this time it struck him how hard they
were forced to work. For the first time it touched his heart. It
could have been that he had only recently found out that he was
actually one of them, we won't know, but it would seem logical why
he suddenly cared about them. Their mistreatment was such a shock
to him that he even intervened when he saw one of the Egyptians
beating one of the Hebrew slaves and in his anger he killed the
Egyptian. In that split second he made a choice between his life as
a prince of Egypt and his heritage of being a Hebrew. He chose to
give up his life of luxury to rather help his people. What a
tremendous thing to do. He had everything going for him; he could
have died a rich man living in ease. But he decided not to. He
stood up for what is right.
Sometimes in order for us to step
into God's destiny for us, we too need to stand up for what is
right and take a firm stand against all that is against God and His
Word. We need to step forward and make a choice. God always gives
us a choice. Now here in Moses' case it was clear what was the
right thing to do, however difficult it might have been, but these
days the difference between right and wrong becomes very hazy.
For example is it right for us to
take some of the work's stationery home for our own use? Is it
right for us to cheat just a little bit on our tax return? I mean
the government is only wasting the taxes, aren't they? Is it right
for us to fast, only to do it to lose weight instead of honoring
God? Is it right for us to pay our workers the bare minimum, after
all they are prepared to work for it? Is it right for us to stay at
work a little longer to flirt with our married colleague? Is it
right for you to charge for extra overtime you didn't really
work?
I can go on and on. The point is,
the time has come for us to stand up for what is right. No matter
how unpopular we will be. We need to prove our integrity before we
can truly stand up for all that God has planned for us and move
into His best for us.
However there is just one thing I
want to make clear. Moses did make a choice for his people here
which were very noble, but it still was not right for him to kill
the man. God does not condone it. The Ten Commandments were not
given yet, but God clearly told Noah after the flood that murder
was forbidden:
"And murder is forbidden. Animals
that kill people must die, and any person who murders must be
killed. Yes, you must execute anyone who murders another person,
for to kill a person is to kill a living being made in God's
image." Genesis 9:5, 6
Moses also knew in his heart it was
wrong, because he immediately buried the Egyptian he killed. He
felt guilty and didn't want anyone else to know. However God was
gracious to him here and allowed him to escape. He used this
opportunity to get Moses out of the Egyptian palace and into His
training ground; even though murder was not something He had wanted
Moses to commit. God can even use the bad things we have done to
further His plans for us.
So please, don't think you are
standing up for something good, by destroying someone else. Be
careful to act according to the Holy Spirit's leading and not your
own anger.
Lord, please help us to stand up
for what is right and to choose You in every situation. At the end
of the day we are only living to please You. You are our amazing
Lord and King. Amen