10 MOSES
He Made His Choice
MOSES got his name, not from his Hebrew parents, but from the Egyptian princess who adopted him. She chose it because it meant something like “Saved out of Water,” and she had saved the baby boy that way. She likely hoped that he would grow up to become an Egyptian nobleman. She must have been pleased to see him get a prestigious education. We read: “Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians.”
He grew up to be a remarkable young man. The Bible says: “In fact, he was powerful in his words and deeds.” He could have pursued wealth, prominence, and pleasure in Egypt. However, Moses knew that such a life would cost him Jehovah’s favor. So Moses had a choice to make: What would he do with the rest of his life?
When Moses was 40 years old, he made his choice clear to all. We read: “By faith Moses, when grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing to be mistreated with the people of God rather than to have the temporary enjoyment of sin.” He made the right choice, one that showed his faith and courage. But he did not act on his choice in the best way.
Moses saw the Israelites as “his brothers,” and he wanted to help those who were being mistreated. One day, he went to observe their plight up close. He saw an Egyptian, likely a taskmaster, beating a Hebrew slave. Did Moses call out to the Egyptian to stop? We do not know. In any case, Moses “looked this way and that”—perhaps to see if there was anyone there who might intervene to protect the slave. But he saw no one. So Moses took action. “He killed the Egyptian.” Did he mean to do so? Or did anger drive him to strike the man harder than he had intended? The account does not say. In any case, Moses knew that he was now in great danger, so he hid the body in the sand.
The next day, he went out again. This time he tried to settle a fight between two Hebrew slaves. But the slave who was in the wrong said these chilling words: “Who appointed you as a prince and a judge over us? Are you planning to kill me just as you killed the Egyptian?” Moses then knew that his secret was out. He feared for his life.
Nothing was going the way Moses had hoped. What had he hoped? The Bible tells us: “He thought that his brothers would grasp that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not grasp it.” It seems that Moses believed that God had chosen him to lead Israel from slavery in Egypt. But Moses did not understand Jehovah’s timetable, and he had misread his own people. They did not trust this Hebrew raised by Egyptian royalty.
Would Moses choose to pursue wealth and prestige, or would he support Jehovah’s people?
Moses did not realize it at the time, but he was far from ready to lead Jehovah’s people out of slavery in Egypt. In God’s eyes, Moses was not yet qualified. True, he had a measure of courage. He was strong. And “he was powerful in his words” as well. But he still needed another quality that Jehovah values highly—meekness. He had rashly killed an Egyptian man, and Pharaoh soon learned about that violent act.
Without even giving Moses a hearing, Pharaoh sought to kill him. So Moses fled Egypt. He had to face the unknown, leaving wealth, comfort, and prominence behind. He surely needed all the courage he could muster. Moses bravely went ahead, traveling far away to the land of Midian. In that arid landscape, he would face decades as an exile, “a foreign resident in a foreign land.” Would he have the courage to grow, to change? Would he become the meek, humble man Jehovah wanted him to be? Let us see.
Read the Bible account:
For discussion:
In what ways did Moses show courage during this time of his life?
Dig Deeper
1. What historical evidence is consistent with the Bible’s account that the Israelites were slaves in Egypt? (w20.03 30) A
Courtesy Brooklyn Museum, gift of Theodora Wilbour
Picture A: Part of an ancient Egyptian list of slaves that features more than 40 Semitic names, indicating the presence of Israelite slaves in Egypt
2. How might Moses have been taught by his parents and then “instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians”? (Acts 7:22; w02 6/15 10 ¶2-5)
3. How did the Egyptians usually bury their dead? How might they have felt when Moses not only killed an Egyptian but also hid the body instead of embalming and burying it? (it “Egypt, Egyptian” ¶28) B
Picture B: An Egyptian mummy
4. Moses fled to Midian. What did the Midianites and the Israelites have in common? (it “Midian” No. 2 ¶1-2)
Reflect on the Lessons
What can Moses’ example teach you about controlling your temper?
What can youths learn from Moses about courageously choosing the right goals? C
Picture C
How else might you imitate the courage shown by Moses in this account?
Meditate on the Bigger Picture
What does this account teach me about Jehovah?
How does the account tie in with Jehovah’s purposes?
In the resurrection, what would I like to ask Moses about his early life?
Learn More
See how we can imitate Moses’ self-sacrificing course.
Imitate the Faithful, Not the Faithless—Moses, Not Pharaoh (2:27)
Moses gave up a lucrative future to serve Jehovah. Is that realistic today?