Cues to character

Exodus 2:¹¹ Many years later, when Moses had grown up, he went out to visit his own people, the Hebrews, and he saw how hard they were forced to work. During his visit, he saw an Egyptian beating one of his fellow Hebrews. ¹² After looking in all directions to make sure no one was watching, Moses killed the Egyptian and hid the body in the sand.

Exodus 2:¹⁶ Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters who came as usual to draw water and fill the water troughs for their father's flocks. ¹⁷ But some other shepherds came and chased them away. So Moses jumped up and rescued the girls from the shepherds. Then he drew water for their flocks.

There may have been some early cues to the character of Moses.  From the two incidents above we see that Moses had some kind of inner sense of justice and a heart to deliver from harm.  The first incident, where he ends up killing an Egyptian, shows his passion for his people but it also shows a lack of restraint.  The second incident shows his concern even for strangers in a foreign land.  Perhaps we see cues to our own character and our own spiritual gifts from God.  Compassion, hospitality, service...there may be many heavenly jewels buried within the rough soil of our makeup.  But perhaps we, like Moses, need some tempering...some maturing...some direct guidance from the Lord to refine the ore that contains those gifts.  Perhaps we can begin by recognizing that the Lord desires to reach others through our lives.  The experiences we encounter and endure may often be part of God's process of refinement to ultimately find an effective place of life service for Him.  It will be interesting to see  how God shapes Moses life in the story of Exodus!

blessings,

Rob Smith