Exodus 2:11-22
Moses Flees to Midian
Read the passage
11One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to his own people and observed their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people.
12After looking this way and that and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand.
13The next day Moses went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you attacking your companion?”
14But the man replied, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you planning to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “This thing I have done has surely become known.”
15When Pharaoh heard about this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, where he sat down beside a well.
16Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came to draw water and fill the troughs to water their father’s flock.
17And when some shepherds came along and drove them away, Moses rose up to help them and watered their flock.
18When the daughters returned to their father Reuel, he asked them, “Why have you returned so early today?”
19“An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds,” they replied. “He even drew water for us and watered the flock.”
20“So where is he?” their father asked. “Why did you leave the man behind? Invite him to have something to eat.”
21Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage.
22And she gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land.”
Berean Standard Bible
Read aloud
Moses grows up and goes out to see the hard labor of his own people. He sees an Egyptian beating a Hebrew. Moses looks around, strikes the Egyptian, and hides the body in the sand. He has intervened on behalf of an oppressed Hebrew, but Israel is still in slavery and the Egyptian is dead.
The next day, Moses sees two Hebrews fighting and asks the one in the wrong why he is attacking his companion. The man answers by questioning Moses' authority and asking whether Moses plans to kill him as he killed the Egyptian. Moses is afraid because what he did has become known.
Pharaoh seeks to kill Moses, so Moses flees to Midian and sits beside a well. There he sees seven daughters of the priest of Midian trying to water their father's flock. Shepherds drive them away, and Moses rises to help them and waters the flock. Far from his own people, he again comes to the aid of people being mistreated.
Their father Reuel asks why they returned so early. They tell him that an Egyptian rescued them, and Reuel invites Moses to eat. Moses agrees to stay, marries Zipporah, and has a son. He names the boy Gershom because he has become a foreigner in a foreign land.
Stephen later explains that Moses thought his people would understand that God was using him to deliver them, but they did not (Acts 7:23–29). The man who tried to help is rejected and becomes a fugitive. His concern for Israel has not brought them freedom. God will have to accomplish the deliverance that Moses cannot secure by his own intervention.
Questions
1 What did Moses see when he went out to his own people?
AnswerHe saw the Israelites' hard labor and an Egyptian beating one of them. Moses recognized the man being beaten as one of his own people.
2 What did Moses do to the Egyptian?
AnswerAfter looking around and seeing no one, Moses struck down the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand.
3 Why did Moses leave Egypt?
AnswerPharaoh learned what Moses had done and sought to kill him, so Moses fled to Midian.
4 Whom did Moses help at the well?
AnswerHe helped the seven daughters of the priest of Midian after shepherds drove them away, and he watered their flock.
What This Means for Us
Moses' concern for his people is real, and their rejection is painful to read. Yet God's work for Israel will not depend on whether they recognize Moses at this moment. We can care deeply about a wrong without being able to put everything right ourselves. We need God's help and wisdom as much as courage.
When someone is being mistreated, consider what would actually protect them. Get help from someone able to intervene, stay with a person who has been isolated, or speak truthfully about what you witnessed. This account of Moses does not give us permission to use any means we choose because our cause is just.
Prayer
God of justice, make us honest about wrong and honest about our own reactions. Give us strength to protect people who are being harmed, wisdom to seek help, and restraint so that our anger does not create more damage. Lead us in Your way. Amen.