Pharaoh’s attempt to kill all the male children of Israel leads to the rescue of a Hebrew
child by none other than his own daughter, who raises the
boy with an education and
training that could be offered only in the palace of the king of Egypt. As with Joseph,
what men intended for evil, God uses for good. Pharaoh’s daughter names the boy Moses,
which in Hebrew means to “draw out of water.” This name not only signifies how Moses
is taken out
of the waters of the Nile, but also foreshadows how Moses will lead Israel to
salvation through the waters of the Red Sea.
Holy Ground
When Moses is a young man, he sees an Egyptian beating a Hebrew slave. Identifying
with his own people, he steps in and kills the Egyptian, hiding his
p 63
body in the sand.
Even though he has been raised in the Egyptian court, Moses feels deeply his kinship with
the Hebrew people. But Moses’ first attempt to liberate his people, using his own power,
fails.
Word about the murder gets out, and Moses flees for his life to Midian (in modern-
day Saudi Arabia). Moses comes to a well and finds his wife, Zipporah. As in Genesis,
wells and wives go together (Abraham’s servant finds Rebekah at the spring [Gn 24] and
Jacob meets Rachel at a well [Gn 29:1–12].) Jethro, Zipporah’s father and a high priest
of Midian, becomes Moses’ father-in-law, and Moses spends
forty years living with his
new family.
Suffering Servant
Throughout salvation history, God’s chosen ones are allowed to suffer in apparent defeat, but
their suffering brings vindication and blessing for others. Abraham leaves his homeland and
suffers many trials, yet becomes the father of nations. Joseph is taken to Egypt as a slave, but what
his brothers meant for evil, God meant for good for all Israel. Moses likewise is exiled, but he will
one day return and lead Israel to the mountain of God. Jesus will go to his death “despised and
rejected by men” (Is 53:3), yet he will be revealed as the “pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who
for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the
right hand of the throne of God” (Heb 12:2). God’s chosen ones are called to make a gift of
themselves for others.
One day, while shepherding his father-in-law’s flocks, Moses comes to
Mount Horeb,
the mountain of God. There, Moses sees a bush on fire yet not consumed. He investigates
and encounters the Lord, who instructs Moses to remove his sandals, for the ground upon
which he is standing is holy. This is the first occurrence of the word “holy” since the
creation story, when God made the seventh day holy. Not
since the expulsion of Adam
and Eve from the garden has humanity trod on holy ground.
Here, God calls Moses to a new mission. God tells Moses that he has looked down
and seen the affliction of his people and that he will send Moses to Pharaoh
p 64
to bring
the people of Israel out of Egypt. Moses, however, is a man under a death sentence. He
fled Egypt for fear of his life, and now the Lord is telling him
to march right into
Pharaoh’s court and make demands on behalf of Israel! No wonder Moses is not
immediately convinced of his chances for success. He asks, “Who am I that I should go
to Pharaoh, and bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?” (Ex 3:11). The Lord reassures
Moses, promising that he himself will be “with him.”
Chia sẻ với bạn bè của bạn: