We will also include v.11-14
(1) Moses was the rescuer who had compassion for his fellow people and other people as well.
(a) He had the heart to rescue his people v.11a, one of his own people v.11b.
It indicated that "Moses has begun to feel close ties of kinship (NET)."
(b) Perhaps, he had the quality of rescuing others. He rescued the daughters of the Midian priest even when he fled there because of his 1st "heroic" rescue. Moses "defended" the daughters of the priest of Midian who were "drove away" by other shepherds v.17. They told their father, "An Egyptian man 'rescued us"
2:18 So when they came home to their father Reuel, he asked, “Why have you come home so early today?”(NET) the oppression at the well was a regular part of their routine because their father was surprised at their early return, and their answer alluded to the shepherds rather automatically.
(2) This rescuer felt sad for his own situation,
2:22 When she bore a son, Moses named him Gershom, for he said, “I have become a resident foreigner in a foreign land.”
Moses repeated the idea of being a foreigner. Moses, being a Hebrew, was treated as a foreigner. And now he fled to Midian which was the foreign land to him. In other words, he did not belong there.
(3) From ch 1 to 2:22, we saw the oppression to the Hebrews and how their baby boys were killed. Then we saw a rescuer figure arise, but the rescue did not take place. Why? There was a very important factor missing: God. Our rescuer needed to come before God.
v.23b They cried out, and their desperate cry1 because of their slave labor went up to God. 2:24 God heard their groaning, God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob, 2:25 God saw the Israelites, and God understood
(NET) To say God heard their complaint means that God responded to it. Likewise, the verb, “to remember” means to begin to act on the basis of what is remembered. A prayer to God that says, “Remember me,” is asking for more than mere recollection. The structure of this section at the end of the chapter is powerful. There are four descriptions of the Israelites, with a fourfold reaction from God. On the Israelites’ side, they groaned and cried out to God. On the divine side God heard their groaning, remembered his covenant, looked at the Israelites, and took notice of them. These verbs emphasize God’s sympathy and compassion for the people. God is near to those in need; in fact, the deliverer had already been chosen... the fourfold repetition of “God” in vv. 24–25 is unusual and draws attention to the statements about his attention to Israel’s plight.
Reflection: Rescue could not be accomplished just because we have a rescuer. Even Moses had a good heart to help those being oppressed he got himself into troubles and fled to Midian. We know that the most important Rescuer is God Himself. He was about to take action.
Have you tried to jump into some situations to help out when we thought that we could help?
Moses was compassionate to those being oppressed. God was also compassionate when He heard the groaning of the Israelites. We can be sure that we will have God's attention when we pray for our difficult situations.
Audrey
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