Too Soon

Exodus 2:11-12 One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. 12 Glancing this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
 
Exodus 2:14-15 The man said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?’ Then Moses was afraid and thought, “What I did must have become known.” 15 When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian, where he sat down by a well. 
 
Hebrews 11:24-26 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.
 
FROM Exodus it seems Moses’ impulse was to violence. He became a fugitive from Egypt’s justice. But Hebrews says Moses acted in faith. How do we correlate these two accounts?
    Moses is as each man we have seen in Hebrews’ record of faith. The chosen Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, called to be God’s leaders toward the Christ, had flaws that threatened their purpose. God had protected Moses and put him into Pharaoh’s court, where he learned much about the world and about being a leader. Other histories of this era tell us Moses was a conquering commander in Pharaoh’s army.
    And God had put a faith in Moses to direct him toward the Hebrews, his people. Moses went to his own people because he was discontent with Egypt’s ways. The Holy Spirit was moving Moses into a relationship with his people to prepare Moses to be God’s Deliverer. It is by faith Moses was discontent as an Egyptian. It is by faith Moses went to his people, believing he could lead Israel. But he went in his own timing and method. Acts tells us Moses killed the Egyptian because Moses assumed his fellow Israelites would realize that God had sent him to rescue them, but they didn’t. (Acts 7:25) It was too soon for Moses to fulfill God’s exodus plan.
    As a result Moses was forced to work 40 years in the desert. Did he know he was suffering for Jesus’ Kingdom? It’s not likely Moses saw God’s plan into the future. Moses’ response to God’s call in Exodus 3 tells us Moses was entirely unprepared for the work God called him to do. But Hebrews point is that God had directed Moses, so Moses would ultimately see the Christ. He prophesied in Deuteronomy 18:15 The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him.  
    What is stirring in your heart? Is God speaking to you? Do you believe you are to do something new? Are you reluctant and unsure? Do you feel unqualified? Or are you moving more quickly than God’s purpose? You can hear God’s voice when you listen while you pray. God will use others to speak to you about his plans for you. He will stir in your heart to know the direction he wants you to go.
    It is by faith that Moses became the Lawgiver and Deliverer. God created and shaped Moses to move God’s redemptive promise to the Promised Land.
    As individuals and the church, we must learn how God wants us to continue the gospel’s redemptive message.