Exodus 2:11  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.
12  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.
13  And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together: and he said to him that did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow?
14  And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known.
15  Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well.
16  Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock.
17  And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.
18  And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, How is it that ye are come so soon to day?
19  And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock.
20  And he said unto his daughters, And where is he? why is it that ye have left the man? call him, that he may eat bread.
21  And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter.
22  And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land.

The Lord gives us the details He wants us to have about history. As John wrote at the end of his Gospel of Christ account, the world could not contain all the details of Jesus Christ’s life. That being the case there would never be enough room for all of the world history.
God gave us the information of the faith of Moses’ father and mother. God spent more time on Moses’ mother than his father. Now we are looking at when Moses was grown.
Moses never forgot where he belonged. He was born a Hebrew. He spent his early years at home under unique circumstances. He spent a number of years in Pharaoh’s court, but he never chose to align himself with the Egyptians. Moses had great liberty, being raised in Pharaoh’s court. He could go and see what the Hebrews were doing. He saw the hardships they were facing. He did not just shrug that off. He also saw an Egyptian smiting a Hebrew and he knew the Hebrew was one of his brethren.
In verse 12 we read that Moses did not approve of what he saw, and he looked around to see if anyone was watching, and he assumed there was no one and he went and killed the Egyptian. He buried the Egyptian in the sand. The digging would have been fairly easy there and he thought he had hid his deed.
In verse 13 we read that the next day, Moses again went to observe what was happening with the Hebrews. This time he saw two Hebrews fighting together. Moses was not accustomed to this and he could not just let this go. He tried to intervene in their fight. He obviously observed enough to know which one of the two was the instigator in the fight. He asked him why he was smiting his fellow Hebrew. Moses assumed they would all get along. Moses did not understand that strife will take place when people are not in agreement with the will of the Lord.
In verse 14 this Hebrew did not want to deal with his own need, but exposed Moses’ deed from the day before. Obviously Moses did not take into consideration that the Hebrew he had protected the day before, would talk about what he had witnessed. Moses’ deed was not a secret. The Hebrews at least knew what had happened.
Moses understood that he could be in trouble with Pharaoh for what he had done. In verse 15 we read that the news of Moses’ deed reached Pharaoh. Pharaoh did not take kindly to what Moses had done. Pharaoh hated the Jews. He likely would not have cared had Moses killed a Hebrew, but he killed an Egyptian. Moses would have some things to learn about dealing with conflict. In the meantime he needed to flee. He fled to the land of Midian and sat down by a well. The man, Midian, was a descendant of Abraham and Keturah. Abraham had married her after the death of Sarah. Abraham had sent his sons away after they were grown, and kept the land of Canaan for his son Isaac.
Moses did not run away from his roots. He may not have known the details of where he was, but God did.
We read that as Moses was sitting at this well, the daughters of the priest of Midian came to the well. This priest did not have any sons and his daughters were tending to his flock. They had come to this well to draw water for their father’s flock.
We read that the men of that area were not very friendly. They did not approve of these daughters coming there to draw water. Moses saw what was happening and he stood up to help these daughters and he drew water for the flock. We see that Moses was not one to sit around and ignore problems. He did not wipe his hands and think that this was not his problem so as not to get involved. He did not like injustices taking place.
When Reuel’s daughters arrived back home with the flock, their father noted that they were early. He wondered how that happened. They stated that an Egyptian had delivered them out of the hand of the shepherds and he drew water for their flock.
Moses, being raised in Pharaoh’s court would have been dressed like an Egyptian. There would be nothing about him that would resemble a Hebrew except that he knew their language.
Reuel wondered why his daughters had not brought the Egyptian home with them. He was obviously looking for men for his daughters to marry.
Reuel sent his daughters to find this man and bring him home to their house to eat bread. Moses was grateful for this hospitality and he was content to dwell with the man. Reuel gave Moses Zipporah his daughter to wife. Reuel was obviously happy to have a good man around.
As is common, after their marriage, Zipporah conceived and bare Moses a son and he called his name Gershom. Again we see that the name given was to remind Moses of what was happening in his life. He was a stranger in a strange land, and God had blessed him with a wife and a son.
God has His ways of leading individuals even when they are not necessarily looking for His leading. Moses was not a pagan. He needed some training, but he had learned the basics of the fear of the LORD from his few years with his mother.
A good foundation is very important. There were rough edges that needed to be chipped away in Moses’ life, but he had a right foundation. God can take a pagan and change that person as well. In this text, He took a Hebrew and would refine him to be His chosen leader for a very important task.
It is important to be willing to be led of the Lord. So many people waste so much time chasing after frivolous things. They wrongly assume that they will find happiness there.
I know I spent a number of years chasing after my dreams. I learned many things in those years, but looking back I know there were important lessons I did not learn nearly soon enough. I spent many years in the “wilderness” when I could have been enjoying the blessings of the Lord. In spite of my attitude, God protected me and gave me a good wife and three children. We have had our challenges and I still have things to learn.
God has been good to me. God knows what is best for each person that comes into this world. Few ever discover that fact. It is important to choose God’s way and submit to His leadership. He has the right plan for each person. He works in the heart of all people to draw them to Himself. Sadly, most push Him aside and choose to ignore His leading. The few that will submit to Him will find Him to be so much more than they could even imagine.
Don’t be a stranger to the Lord. Let Him lead you and bless you.
Pastor Bartel