"MOSES' DECISION" (An Article by Christian Henry) ~ 9/15/26

“And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren. And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.” (Exodus 2:11-12)

In a recent article, I told the story of Baby Moses who was sent adrift on the Nile out of fear of the threats against male Hebrew children that the Egyptians recently leveled. A daughter of Pharaoh, uniquely able to protect him, recovers the basket and adopts Moses as her son, to be raised in the palace. Several years later, Moses, now an adult (“a full forty years old” according to Acts 7:23), goes out to dwell among the Israelites.

This is no “quick visit” or attempt to see “how the other side lives”; it’s a complete withdrawal from palace life and a renunciation of his position. He willingly chose to no longer “...be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;” (Hebrews 11:24-25). He decided to step away from his life of comfort and ease to undergo agony with the Israelites. Pharaoh’s daughter had never concealed from Moses that he was not her own child, but one of the oppressed race, and may even have allowed him to communicate with his family. His departure stemmed from his deep sympathy and tender affection for his people, which explains what comes next.

He examined their sorry condition of enslavement and watched their treatment by the masters until he had had enough. He witnessed an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, probably a taskmaster chastising one of his servants whom he accused of laziness, which was a clear-cut act of oppression. Moses must certainly have viewed it in this light, or he would not have been so moved to indignation as to kill the Egyptian. Though not necessarily a cruel nation, the Egyptians, no doubt, like other slavedrivers, occasionally abused their power and treated the unfortunate laborers with cruelty.

So, he looked around to observe if there were any within sight who could see what he was about to do, which did not come from any sense of guilt or regret for the evil he was about to display, but for his own preservation. He had to look both ways to ensure that he wasn’t seen by an accuser who would tell Pharaoh, who would likely punish him. Once he was sure he wouldn’t be seen, he killed the Egyptian in cold blood and buried the man’s body in the sand where, he hopes, the murder won’t be discovered. Obviously, murder is never right, and I shouldn’t be the first to tell you that, but that doesn’t stop some commentators from glossing over this act and painting it as patriotic, heroic, and even altruistic. However, it was clearly the deed of a hasty and undisciplined spirit. The offense did not deserve death, and if it had, Moses had neither the legal office nor the Divine call to justify him in acting as judge, jury, and executioner. This action of Moses was extraordinary, and is not to be justified by the common right of defending the oppressed, which belongs not to people, but only to God.

It was not Moses' place to take a life, but by his one wrong act, God, through Moses, started the process of freeing His people. God did not condone the evil act, which stemmed from anger, but worked His own good purpose through it. He probably should’ve identified more with the Egyptian, being from nobility, but he took matters into his own hands. No matter how wrong it was, God still accomplished what was right through it. Often in life, our Lord will use some of the worst decisions made to accomplish His ends, which are always good.