Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 2:16-17

16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock.

17 And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.

When Moses intervened to save the Israelite slave things hadn’t turned out so well for him. Thankfully, it would seem that the disappointment of that experience was not enough to make him lose his heroic nature. Away, in a new land, with no obligation to these strangers, he still extended himself to help them in their time of need. The record does not tell us whether he confronted the troublesome shepherds or if he simply came to help the maidens after the mischief was over. I would be very curious to know whether he was still as bold as when he slew the Egyptian guard, or if he had started to temper his responses.

In either case, Moses does reveal a nurturing quality that wasn’t recounted when he freed the Israelite slave. In that earlier moment we only heard of his moment of passion when he destroyed the oppressor, but now he is shown exemplifying compassion and care, helping to gather the women’s sheep and watering the animals for them. Ultimately Moses will be called to lead a broken people, and that is going to require much more of an investment of time and effort, not just quick, instantaneous fixes.

Also, it occurred to me that one of these seven daughters must be Zipporah, whom Moses will soon marry. Their meeting at the well bears a striking resemblance both to the meeting of Abraham’s servant and Rebekah at the well, and to the meeting of Jacob and Rachel.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 2:15

15 Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well.

Yesterday we read how Moses’s slaying of the Egyptian guard was spreading as a rumor throughout the land, and how he became afraid of what would follow. It turns out that his concerns were valid, for soon the Pharaoh heard what happened and sought to slay Moses.

From his interview with the two Israelite men, it did not appear that Moses’s involvement had been received well by the slaves, and obviously he had made himself an enemy of the Egyptians. Without any friend or sanctuary, he had no choice but to run for his life, leaving the land of his childhood. He travelled quite a distance, too, due southeast, past the Sinai Peninsula and over the Gulf of Aqaba, into the land of Midian.

This change of scene represents the beginning of a new chapter in Moses’s life. He had condescended from his princely station to try and help the Israelites, but he had failed miserably, and his flight into Midian seems to have closed the door on that crusade, for we are given no indication that Moses ever intended to go back and try again. And so, Moses finds himself alive, but no longer with any purpose, while Israel finds itself once again lacking a champion who will fight for it.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 27:42-45

42 And these words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah: and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee.

43 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran;

44 And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother’s fury turn away;

45 Until thy brother’s anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him: then I will send, and fetch thee from thence: why should I be deprived also of you both in one day?

I can’t help but wonder whether Rebekah really believed that Esau would get over his anger so quickly when she told Jacob he would only be gone for “a few days,” or if she was just trying to break the bad news softly.

The reality was that Jacob would be gone for many years, at least fourteen and quite possibly more than twenty-five, and when he came back, he would still be afraid of his brother’s wrath. Rebekah had vowed that any holy retribution for their deceit would be upon her own head, but she didn’t have the ability to circumvent Esau’s wrath onto herself as well. Jacob had listened to his mother to his own detriment.

Or…so it would seem. As it would turn out, the hand of God was in all of this. Though it must have been a grim morning when Jacob set out from his childhood home, it was just what he needed to enter the larger story that Heavenly Father had prepared for him.