Moses was a guy in need of a COMEBACK. Actually, he needed a COMEBACK more than once. As Exodus 2:11 opens, we understand that Moses, born to a Jewish family, but raised in the palace by Pharaoh’s Egyptian daughter as an adopted son, never forgot who he was as a Jew.
I say that because as Exodus 2:11 begins we read:11 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.
I wonder how many times Moses replayed that day in his mind, the day he became a murderer, the day he let his anger get the best of him. I wonder if he had been a hothead in other settings, if he had been an impulsive slave to his feelings leading up to this moment. I would say it is likely given the extreme action that he took.
Even though it happened quickly, Moses knew that what he was going to do was wrong. We know that because verse 12 tells us he looked around to make sure no one was watching, to make sure he could get away with murder. Did Moses really think he could hide what he had done?
1. Moses’ failure began with unchecked anger. It would anger me to see someone beating someone else. The injustice of something like that would certainly infuriate me, so we can understand why Moses felt the way he felt. Listen, feeling the way we feel isn’t wrong, but allowing our feelings to dictate our actions will result in failure almost every time. Sometimes we need to take a breath. Sometimes we need to find others to help us with a situation. Sometimes we need to pray through and think through what the best way forward would be. Moses acted immediately and impulsively out of emotion. Our emotions may be indicators that something is wrong or something needs to happen, that’s true. But when our emotions prompt us that action is necessary, we need to act on those emotions wisely, thoughtfully, carefully, prayerfully and not impulsively.
I’ve written a few emails in my time that I never sent. I’ve rehearsed a few speeches in my house that I have never given. I have. There have been moments when I had to do something with my feelings, in order to get them out, in order to put them in perspective, in other to take authority over my feelings so that my actions didn’t wind up assassinating someone’s value and worth, so that I didn’t pulverize someone with my angry words. Church, we have got to get a handle on our emotional selves if we are going to sustain the kind of peaceful and joyful life God has called us to live. If we allow our feelings to become our boss, we are going to be a walking time bomb, always exploding on people wherever we go.
- Moses’ failure continued with a calculated decision to do what he knew was wrong. There is no doubt that Moses knew what he was about to do was wrong. Listen, if you have to look around and sneak around to make sure no one sees what you do when you are doing it, and then you have to cover up what you did to make sure no one finds out, you have no business doing whatever it is you are doing. Moses knew he had gone to far and had done the wrong thing.
Let’s read on in the text:13 The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?” 14 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.
Moses fled. Is that what often happens after a failure? Moses wasn’t going to be able to recover where he was. He wasn’t going to be able to have a comeback without removing himself from the place of failure. There had to be a physical separation, some personal refining and there had to be some time pass in order for Moses to have a comeback.
I do think it is interesting that verse 15 tells us he sat down by a well. I really don’t think that is a random extra detail. A well represents a place of refreshing, doesn’t it? Maybe Moses wasn’t consciously trying to refresh himself or initiate his Comeback, but God, in His Sovereign plan was at work. You see, I believe God led Moses to that well, and I believe it because God had a plan to use Moses, and Moses’ failure, his uncontrolled emotion and his inferior judgment didn’t change that God wanted to use him. Aren’t you glad? Aren’t you glad that our impetuous, impulsive, emotionally-charged and even immoral and calculated mistakes don’t make God want to wash His hands of us? Instead, friends, God wants to get us to the well. God wants to lead us to a place of refreshing, and the sooner we get there, the better. Here, in the desert of Midian, God was going to initiative Moses’ COMEBACK.
If you find yourself fleeing some failure, run to the WELL! There are Spring of Living Water that are meant to refresh you, refine you, and refuel you for a COMEBACK!
