When things went south at home, Moses went east. Moses ran and hid. But the person he was running and hiding from was no ordinary person. This was Pharaoh and the reach of Pharaohs power was great. From the research I did on maps, when Moses left his home on the Nile river and fled to Midian he would have traveled over 600 KM or 375 miles if he went a straight route. Given that he was on the run and that a straight path would take him directly across vast deserts, it is unlikely he took anything resembling a straight path. A direct path walking would have taken 2-3 weeks and a more circuitous route could have stretched to more than a month.
When he sits at the well in Midian he would have been tired, hungry, weary, lonely, weak and emotionally spent. But when he saw injustice, he could not sit by and do nothing. Fortunately, his weeks of travel had taught him some constraint and he didn’t seek to avenge the 7 girls, he only stepped in to the extent to remove them from imminent harm. No one was killed. More so, he had now taken on a spirit of not simply trying to “fix” the situation, but to serve those in need. He didn’t stop with running off the shepherds, he drew the water, the cared for the women and their animals and he sought nothing in return (not even dinner).
There were so many excuses Moses could have given for avoiding the conflict. He was tired, this was not his fight. But despite all the possible excuses Moses burned with a fire of compassion for the oppressed and persecuted and that fire burning in him was creating a spirit of serving.
Do I burn with that same passion and spirit the way Moses did? Am I bold in protecting others from immediate danger or do I hide behind my excuses? When I am bold and step in to help, do I expect recognition and to be served as compensations or do I go the distance and share the water of life to those who are thirsty?
My Answers:
6.
Not Egypt, Outside of Pharaoh’s daily purview, Desert, had wells with water (not totally barren), flocks lived there
7.
a.
Compassion, strength, hard work, bravery, boldness
b.
He still stepped in when he saw grievous wrongs of persecution and oppression, but he didn’t kill anyone
c.
To be bold. To have the spirit of serving others burn in me.
The Notes are Good 