A Misguided Savior Exodus 2:11-22

-God uses an experience in the wilderness to transform Moses’s character so he could be used for God’s purpose.

Sometimes, you are just trying to help and things go poorly. When Suzanne and I were newlyweds, I decided I would help out and load the dishwasher while she was gone. Everything was going well until the time came to add the dishwashing soap to the dishwasher. We were out of the powder, but not to worry. I had a great idea to substitute for it. I sat down and watched tv and everything was going well until Suzanne got home. She came through the backdoor upset that the dishwasher was overflowing. I ran into the kitchen to see foam pouring out all over the kitchen. Turns out that Dawn is not the right tool for the dishwasher. My intentions were good, but boy was the outcome bad!

I. Moses has the Right Desire and the Wrong Method vv. 11-12

When we pick up our story, we meet the adult Moses and he has grown up

We don’t get a lot of Old Testament insight into what has taken place here, but we do get a glimpse that he is still caught between two worlds

On the one hand, he has grown as an Egyptian: Acts 7:22 tells us that he was instructed in all of the wisdom of the Egyptians and was mighty in words and deeds

On the other hand, he never seemed to have let of of his Hebrew identity. We see that displayed in a moment of passion

Moses looks on and sees an Egyptian beating a Hebrew man. In this moment, he makes an important decision:

Moses chooses the Hebrews

This is profound, because in so doing, he rejects the pleasures and power of Egypt to identify with the reproach of the Lord’s people (see Hebrews 11)

There is just one problem:

Moses leans into what he knows as an Egyptian: his own power and authority

He looks to make sure that he is not being watched

He strikes down the Egyptian

He buries the body in the sand

Moses has committed a murder

On the one hand, he has a good desire. He wants to free his people from slavery

On the other, he is going about it in a manner that is out of step with the character, intention, and power of the Lord

We can easily fall into this trap ourselves:

We feel like the ends justify the means

We divorce character from action

We want to be judged for good intentions and not the destructive effects

This is exactly what happens when we try to do God’s work in our own power and wisdom.

At their school carnival, our kids won four free goldfish (lucky us!), so out I went Saturday morning to find an aquarium. The first few I priced ranged from $40 to $70. Then I spotted it--right in the aisle: a discarded 10-gallon display tank, complete with gravel and filter--for a mere five bucks. Sold! Of course, it was nasty dirty, but the savings made the two hours of clean-up a breeze.

Those four new fish looked great in their new home, at least for the first day. But by Sunday one had died. Too bad, but three remained. Monday morning revealed a second casualty, and by Monday night a third goldfish had gone belly up.

We called in an expert, a member of our church who has a 30-gallon tank. It didn't take him long to discover the problem: I had washed the tank with soap, an absolute no-no. My uninformed efforts had destroyed the very lives I was trying to protect. Sometimes in our zeal to clean up our own lives or the lives of others, we unfortunately use "killer soaps"--condemnation, criticism, nagging, fits of temper. We think we're doing right, but our harsh, self-righteous treatment is more than they can bear.

II. Moses Receives the Reward of His Best Effort vv. 13-15

This has an effect, but not the one that Moses hoped for

The next day, Moses tries to intercede in a conflict between two Hebrews and it goes poorly:

He faces accusation- Moses does not have the authority to lead or judge the people

He faces distrust- Moses is a murderer and they know it

He faces shame- Moses must go into hiding because he is now guilty of the death of the Egyptian

He faces isolation- Moses leaves the land that he has known as home and now will live in a new and unfamiliar land, Midian

I think we need to understand how poorly this has gone for Moses:

His problem is not intention or effort. It just turns out that the anger of man cannot produce the righteousness of God

The best of Moses’s efforts only produces destruction, not righteousness

Moses’s best brings him condemnation

This is a truth that we all have to come to grips with

God doesn’t need our best; It’s not good enough

If we are trying to justify ourselves according to our works, we will only find condemnation

In the same way, we find our hope in a righteousness that comes from Christ, not ourselves

Philippians 3:4–9

[4] though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: [5] circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; [6] as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. [7] But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. [8] Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ [9] and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— (ESV)

III. Moses is Transformed in the Desert vv. 16-22

There is good news, however.

Moses finds transformation in Midian.

It turns out that God has a good purpose for his time in Midian: He will move from soldier to shepherd

Think about what takes place here:

Moses in anger went on the attack and killed the Egyptian

Now, Moses is faced with another injustice: the daughters of Reuel are being driven away from the well as they try to water his flock

We do not know exactly what took place, but the outcome is radically different:

He protects the women and their flock by standing up to the other men

He provides for them by compassionately drawing water and nurturing their sheep

Moses has turned from a soldier to a shepherd and he is beginning to develop the character of the kind of savior that God has for His people

Not only does Moses have a change of direction, but he experiences grace in the desert:

He gets a meal and his physical needs are met

He finds a home there with the family of Reuel

He gains a family, as he marries Zipporah and they have their first son together

Moses’s testimony is powerful: he learns the grace of living as a stranger in a strange land

All of it has been difficult

All of it has been for his good

All of it is for God’s ultimate glory

The year was 1920. The scene was the examining board for selecting missionaries. Standing before the board was a young man named Oswald Smith. One dream dominated his heart. He wanted to be a missionary. Over and over again, he prayed, "Lord, I want to go as a missionary for you. Open a door of service for me." Now, at last, his prayer would be answered. When the examination was over, the board turned Oswald Smith down. He did not meet their qualifications. He failed the test. Oswald Smith had set his direction, but now life gave him a detour. What would he do? As Oswald Smith prayed, God planted another idea in his heart. If he could not go as a missionary, he would build a church which could send out missionaries. And that is what he did. Oswald Smith pastored The People's Church in Toronto, Canada, which sent out more missionaries than any other church at that time. Oswald Smith brought God into the situation, and God transformed his detour into a main thoroughfare of service.