Moses killed an Egyptian who
mistreated the Hebrew people and with that one act revealed his
choice between his Egyptian upbringing and his Hebrew roots. He
chose to be part of his people's suffering. Pharaoh soon found out
about this and wanted Moses killed. He realized now that Moses'
allegiance lied with his own people and not with them. It must have
been a very sad day for Moses' Egyptian mother. She had loved Moses
as her own son and here he turned his back on them. Poor woman, and
she didn't even have the Lord to comfort her…
Anyway, Moses realized that
Pharaoh wanted to kill him and he fled into the wilderness of
Midian. Now before I go on, I would like us to look at the events
from the perspective of the writer of Hebrews:
"It was by faith that Moses, when
he grew up, refused to be treated as the son of Pharaoh's daughter.
He chose to share the oppression of God's people instead of
enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. He thought it was better to
suffer for the sake of the Messiah than to own the treasures of
Egypt, for he was looking ahead to the great reward that God would
give him. It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt. He was
not afraid of the king. Moses kept right on going because he kept
his eyes on the One who is invisible." Hebrews 11:24-27
First of all I would like you to
notice that Moses' murder of the Egyptian was not mentioned here.
God is so wonderful in His grace. He promises us that if we live
for Him and ask for forgiveness of our sins, He would remember them
no more. Undoubtedly here God chooses not to mention it again, in
His eyes it never happened. He chose to inspire the Hebrews writer
to write only the good things about Moses.
Secondly I can't help but wonder
how Moses knew about God. This passage clearly states that he did
know about Him. But how? Moses grew up in an Egyptian palace where
several gods were worshipped and the God of the Hebrews were
certainly not one of them. So he couldn't have heard of Him from
them. Plus there's no evidence that he ever heard about God from
his own people, as it would seem that he didn't visit them often.
Plus they were in a depressed state and undoubtedly thought that
God had forgotten about them. So how did he know? God must have
revealed Himself to him. How? I don't know, maybe through a dream
like Joseph, or maybe He appeared to him or maybe He spoke to Moses
through His Creation. We will never know, but He must have, as
Moses had a deep faith in Him. Even today we can know that God
reveals Himself to all people.
God then reminded me of two
scriptures:
"For the truth about God is known
to unbelievers instinctively. God has put this knowledge in their
hearts. From the time the world was created, people have seen the
earth and sky and all that God made. They can clearly see His
invisible qualities - His eternal power and divine nature. So they
have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God." Romans 1:19, 20
"Even when Gentiles, who do not
have God's written law, instinctively follow what the law says,
they show in their hearts they know right from wrong. They
demonstrate that God's law is written in them, for their own
consciences either accuse them or tell them they are doing what is
right." Romans 2:14, 15
God is amongst all people and He
reveals Himself to all people. This could be quite an extensive
topic, but in short I do believe that all people will have a chance
one way or another to accept Jesus into their lives. He is faithful
and just and He wants all people saved. He would therefore either
let people hear through missionaries or speak to people through the
Creation itself. I have even heard of missionaries going into
Africa to show the Jesus' film, where the locals have confirmed
that they have seen the man portraying Jesus on the film appearing
to them. How amazing! He will not let people be lost without giving
them a chance.
In our countries, we of course have
no excuse whatsoever of not hearing about Jesus. We have ample
opportunity, unfortunately a lot of these opportunities are wasted
and even trampled upon. Why don't we make an effort to reach out to
these people too? Be a missionary right there where you are. Preach
the gospel with your life and be the living Word of God!
Thank you Lord that we can know
that You will never leave us or forsake us. You are so awesome and
true. Help us to preach Your wonderful Word by the way we live our
lives. Amen