Born of oppression, raised in privilege, Moses shows us God at work

By Dean Collins

Exodus begins with the generation of Joseph all dying off. It’s a new day, and a new king is in command. The new king doesn’t care to know the wonderful things that happened in Egypt because of God’s favor made visible at the hands of Joseph. Time had passed, the children of Israel had flourished, and the the king felt threatened by their growing numbers.

Pharaoh, the king—like all kings—thought he was in control. And when men think they are in control but feel that control threatened, they default to misuse of their power. And so this new king oppressed the children of Israel. But they continued to grow in number.

From his time and until our current generation, no king or leader has ever been able to stop God’s people or God’s kingdom from advancing. In recent years Christianity is thriving among those living under some of the most oppressive governments. Current missiologists tell us the fastest growth of the gospel is happening in Iran, with China number two. God’s purposes will advance regardless of who has political power. Historically it always advances most during seasons of persecution and suffering. The first-century growth of the church is an example.

We see oppression of God’s people in the book of Exodus. It tells the story of a Levite and his wife who had a baby boy in the midst of that difficult time in Egypt. Pharaoh had ordered the murder of all infant boys. But before this baby could be discovered, his mother created a lifeboat for this helpless child, offered a prayer, and pushed the vessel into the Nile river and into the hands of God. Soon he was rescued by a person of privilege. The Pharaoh’s own daughter discovered the baby, transporting him from death’s door to a golden spoon in one short trip.

Trapped

As he grew to manhood, Moses undoubtedly felt trapped between the power and privilege of Pharaoh’s household and the increasing oppression of his people. One day when he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, he took things into his own hands and killed the Egyptian. Even though he buried the body in the sand, word of his deed spread, and Moses fled a great distance to safety in Midian.

Moses might have escaped his surroundings, but his tendency to rescue stayed with him. We meet him again chasing away the shepherds of Midian when they attempted to prevent the priest’s daughters from using the local well. The heroic act of Moses was rewarded when the priest gave Moses the hand of Zipporah, one of those daughters, in marriage.

Chosen

While Moses settled into family life and a shepherd’s duties, the suffering of the Hebrews continued. The groaning of the children of Israel moved God’s heart, and he launched a plan of deliverance. Moses was tapped by God to lead this effort.

God picked Moses possibly because he was wired by God to lead and probably because God was doing a work of restoration and redemption in Moses—maybe not dissimilar from how Jesus restored Peter after his denials.

Motivated

The story of Moses illustrates God’s ultimate purposes for all people in all time. The end to oppression is achieved by the redemptive hand of God. In Scripture it is abundantly clear that God cares for the poor and the oppressed. And it is also clear that, as we experience our redemption by responding to God in repentance, we are to move motivated by the righteousness of God and show his freeing kindness to everyone. The transfer from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light is powerful. As children of the light, we must stop any and all acts of darkness. And we must not fall back into solving spiritual problems simply by exerting our power. We must work and act in and by the power of God expressed by the love of God.

As we follow the story of Moses, we can see just how hard it is to trust God and do his work and not take things into our own hands. Moses struggled often with both his own inadequacy and his strong inclination to fix things himself. I can relate to that tension.

God loved Moses through that tension, and while Moses himself never received more than a view of the Promised Land, we know God brought him to an eternal promised land as evidenced in the transfiguration of Jesus.

Responding

How are we to respond to God’s reconciling mission for our world? Do we give up and simply wait on God? No. We are called to love mercy, walk humbly, and do justice. Loving one’s neighbors as one loves self demands that we work for the justice of our neighbors.

Do we focus on political solutions to justice issues? Of course. As citizens we should advocate for right policy.

Will we see all oppression end through good policy? No, because policy and even laws do not stop the evil in our hearts and minds. Only God can change that.

And what about people of faith? We are not immune from seasons of oppression and persecution. According to Open Door, more than 340 million Christians today live in countries “where they experience high levels of persecution and discrimination.”

Such numbers feel overwhelming. The task to end human suffering and oppression feels too large to handle. But I suspect that our beginning place is similar to that of Moses. When God speaks to your heart about hard things and big things that need his intervention, take off your shoes, bow down and worship, and simply say, “Here I am.” God will take the next step.

Your time with God’s Word
Exodus‬ ‭1:8-12, 22‬; ‭2:11-12, 16-17, 23-25; ‭3:4-5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

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Photo by Valario Davis on Unsplash