Q1. Moses the Murderer

[wifee]

a)He see’s himself as a Hebrew & loyal to his own folk &acts out of compassion to carryout his own basic justice.

Loyal,compassionate decisive &passionate to see justice done

c) He is afraid and runs away,impatient to wait for authorities system to exert justice on Egyptian task master, not leader yet,he didn’t trust God, wanted to take control & reacts without thinking of consequences.

[skittles77]

His motivation was to protect his hebrew brothers, his character thinking he could kill and get away with it, and he did not seek the face of God before he reacted he thought he was in control of anyone who did wrong that was not of his decendant, or him growing up in the palace.

[IvoryEagle]

Q1. (Exodus 2:11-15a) What do we learn about Moses' motivations, character, and leadership ability from the incident of him killing the cruel Egyptian taskmaster? What positive things do you see in his character? What negative things do you discern?

PASTOR RALPH OUTLINED IT:

Moses' response is interesting. He doesn't seek legal justice in Pharaoh's court. Rather, "glancing this way and that," provides his own rough but illegal justice. This suggests several things about Moses:

1. He identifies himself as a Hebrew.
   
2. He has a strong sense of basic justice.
   
3. He is willing to take charge of a situation, a man of action. On this occasion he is decisive, perhaps to the point of being rash. But he is not a timid man.
   
4. He is physically strong.
   
5. He seems to have no sense yet of acting for God.
   

TO ME, HE IS A LOADED HIGH POWERED RIFLE WITH NO INSTRUCTIONS. EVEN WITHOUT CLEAR INSTRUCTIONS HE HAS INSTINCT AND HE USES IT!!

[SISMONZICA]

1. What I learned about Moses, is that he was born from Hebrew woman and she was afraid for his life, so she places him in a basket in the river where Pharaoh’s daughter usually visited, and Pharaoh’s daughter found him the baby and took him in as her own.

2. That God had be watching over Moses from day one

3. Pharaoh’s daughter hire a sitter to help raised Moses not knowing that the sitter was his real mother

4. Moses was well educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptian and also powerful in speech and action

His motivations was, he had the arrogance of a member of the ruling class and he was strong

His character was of a man who had a strong sense of basic justice and he was willing to take charge of a situation

This leadership ability for the incident of killing the cruel Egyptian taskmaster was, when he took action and defended the Hebrew man.

The negative was his sense of basic justice and that he did not have no sense yet of acting for God.

[called2free]

I see that regardless of what we go through growing up we are still what God put down inside us from before we were even born. Moses was a Hebrew through and through although he was raised by Egyptians that couldn't change that deep yearning and connect that he felt when he saw the Hebrew man being beaten.

He knew what he was doing wrong or he wouldn't have looked around to see if anyone was watching. Maybe he knew something about the courts of Pharaoh that he did not bother to bring both men in, maybe he knew justice would not be reached.

The negative I see is he did not really think his actions out. He reacted to the situation before him instead of stepping back and resonding to it. He sought no counsel. He reacted in fear and ran instead of taking responsibility.

The positive I see is he had compassion on the Hebrew being beaten. He was strong enough physically to kill the Egyptian. He headed out the second day, I think he was desiring to protect his people best he could at the time, what he had understanding of.

[Katina Angelle]

Moses obviously felt a responsibility to his people (the Hebrews); therefore, stepping in to defend one of his brethren. He demonstrated an act of compassion, concern and courage.

Moses was mighty in strength and seemed to act on impulse.

He exemplified leadership characteristics...when he took charge of that particular situation. He observed someone being mistreated and decided to do something about it.

[Craig]

Q1. (Exodus 2:11-15a) What do we learn about Moses� motivations, character, and leadership ability from the incident of him killing the cruel Egyptian taskmaster? What positive things do you see in his character? What negative things do you discern?

 

We can learn from this passage of scripture that Moses acted out of compassion and concern for his own people the Hebrews.  However Moses killed the Egyptian out of anger and impulse, a rather unwise act.  At this moment Moses was not recognized by the Hebrews as a leader within their community.  Moses needed refinement.

 

Moses was a man of action but that action was not tempered by wisdom.  The killing of the taskmaster was a hot-headed act that alienated him from Pharaoh and the Hebrews.  However, God used this situation to move Moses toward an encounter with Him in the back side of the desert.

 

 

 

 

[Craig]

Q1. (Exodus 2:11-15a) What do we learn about Moses� motivations, character, and leadership ability from the incident of him killing the cruel Egyptian taskmaster? What positive things do you see in his character? What negative things do you discern?

 

We can learn from this passage of scripture that Moses acted out of compassion and concern for his own people the Hebrews.  However Moses killed the Egyptian out of anger and impulse, a rather unwise act.  At this moment Moses was not recognized by the Hebrews as a leader within their community.  Moses needed refinement.

 

Moses was a man of action but that action was not tempered by wisdom.  The killing of the taskmaster was a hot-headed act that alienated him from Pharaoh and the Hebrews.  However, God used this situation to move Moses toward an encounter with Him in the back side of the desert.

 

 

 

 

[Craig]

Q1. (Exodus 2:11-15a) What do we learn about Moses� motivations, character, and leadership ability from the incident of him killing the cruel Egyptian taskmaster? What positive things do you see in his character? What negative things do you discern?

 

We can learn from this passage of scripture that Moses acted out of compassion and concern for his own people the Hebrews.  However Moses killed the Egyptian out of anger and impulse, a rather unwise act.  At this moment Moses was not recognized by the Hebrews as a leader within their community.  Moses needed refinement.

 

Moses was a man of action but that action was not tempered by wisdom.  The killing of the taskmaster was a hot-headed act that alienated him from Pharaoh and the Hebrews.  However, God used this situation to move Moses toward an encounter with Him in the back side of the desert.

 

 

 

 

[Onerivertrail]

Q1. (Exodus 2:11-15a) What do we learn about Moses� motivations, character, and leadership ability from the incident of him killing the cruel Egyptian taskmaster? What positive things do you see in his character? What negative things do you discern?

Moses was raised in the wisdom of the Egyptians so his manner exhibited power as well as his speech. Unfortunately he seemed to have tied his personal importance to the reflection of power of where he was raised. He had yet to have an encounter with the God of the people of his hebrew blood. He still exhibited that part of him though when he witnessed the abuse of the hebrew people. Moses natural nature came forth with power but he made an unwise decision. He committed murder. He did not live to the letter of the law as his natural mother did. None the less he stepped forward for a hebrew. Murder was wrong, Moses knew this and exhibited a guilty manner of looking one way and then the next to make sure he would not be found out. He premeditated a murder. His heart I believe was that of a hebrew but his manner of acting and thinking was in a negative motion associated with his egyptian schooling. His spiritual line and the plans of a loving God would soon bring to light all of the goodness of Moses and the plan God had to deliver the hebrew people from slavery through him.

[Tan]

Q1. (Exodus 2:11-15a) What do we learn about Moses' motivations, character, and leadership ability from the incident of him killing the cruel Egyptian taskmaster? What positive things do you see in his character? What negative things do you discern?

 

Moses had compassion, and he was like the person who intervenes and helps the kid who is being bullied. He wanted to defend and protect. He wanted to bring peace; however, Moses didn't think before he acted and he needed to keep his anger and emotions in check. A leader needs to be compassionate, a peacemaker, but also needs to be humble and not let his/her anger cause him/her to stumble.

[sfaucette]

I imagine this was not the only time Moses had seen an Israelite being mistreated. We don't know at this point in time if he was living on his own outside the palace or if he had a position of authority or what.  One can only imagine.  If he was dressed as one from royalty when he killed the task master then why would it have made Pharoh so angry?

 

Anyway, that is not exactly answering the question at hand.

 

On the positive side Moses has a sense of justice.  He feels the need to be involved and not just report injustice to others.

 

On the negative side Moses may have not fully thought out the consequences of his actions.  Seems to be he let his emotions rule rather than his rational thinking.

[CrisC2u]

He identifies himself as a Hebrew. He has a strong sense of basic justice. He is willing to take charge to some degree (after ensuring no one is looking). He is not timid. He is physically strong. He seems to have no sense of acting on behalf of God. He ran from correction of his harsh punishment. He tries to assert leadership; but it rejected initially and questioned.

[sandsboys3]

I think Moses saw that this was a great injustice that the Egyptian was causing and Moses knew the Egyptian would not be punished so Moses took it upon himself to fix the situation.

The positive is that Moses recognized the wrong that was being committed.

The negative is that he became fearful and fled.

[102253]

MOSES IDENTIFIED WITH THE SLAVES AND THEIR PLIGHT, HE FELT THEIR INJUSTICE AND DID SOMETHING ABOUT IT,  HE HAD NO SENSE OF WAITING OR ACTING FOR GOD, HE TOOK MATTERS INTO HIS OWN HANDS,

[jdaco3]

Q1. (Exodus 2:11-15a) What do we learn about Moses' motivations, character, and leadership ability from the incident of him killing the cruel Egyptian taskmaster? What positive things do you see in his character? What negative things do you discern?

 

The killing of the Egyptian taskmaster by Moses shows his lack of self control. Yes, he had good intentions about standing up for his fellow Hebrew but he didn't act wisely when trying to fix the problem. Instead, he "solved" the manner in an extreme way which ultimately led to fear and running off to Midian.

 

One could also assume that because of his social status of growing up in Pharaoh's household, that there was a longing to belong with his own kind. The text says "he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor." Maybe he wanted to fit in and thought that by killing the Egyptian he was in fact trying to gain favor from his fellow Hebrew. But of course, this had backfired on him.

 

As far as his leadership ability, he didn't have influence just yet which is why the Hebrew put him to shame when he called him out about his murder. Also, not taking responsibility for his actions shows how God had to do much work in him before he could lead a nation to freedom. He himself had to be free of his old ways before he could free others.

 

The positive I do see in him is with his heart. He had compassion on his fellow Hebrew but made a bad judgment call. You can also see a desire to fight in him. Yes he killed someone, but he used that desire to fight in the wrong way but you can also use it in a good way and it doesn't always have to be in a physical way.

 

The negative I see is his lack of integrity, responsibility, and how he let fear get the best of him. But we know that God has a way of pruning us to be more like him which is probably why he stayed in Midian for 40 years.

[Shogird]

On 2/12/2011 at 9:13 PM, NancyinBelize said:

Americans march into foreign countries on a regular basis killing people in the name of fighting for the rights of some oppressed group.

Are you referring to Iraq war, fighting with Taliban or killing Osama bin Laden?

[Isreal]

Moses know exactly what he was doing in Ex 2:12 Moses looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and his him in the sand. So Moses did this out of love that he have for his Hebrew brethren.

even when Moses saw two Hebrew fighting and trying to tell the one that wrong. They refuse to acknowledge him and telling him who make him a judge and a prince over them. So they did not accept him as one of them.

[Paula Price]

Let us not forget that Moses, unknowingly , had been chosen and was being molded by God to be the deliverer promised to a people.  We learn here in these verses of the kind of man he was before he becomes aware of his purpose.  He is a man born a Hebrew but raised with wealth and knowledge and advantages.  In killing the taskmaster, he is hot headed and although he felt justified in doing it he knew it was wrong.  He is unassured of himself and now fearful for his life.  He has sympathy for his people but does not know what to do to help their situation or even if he is capable of doing so.  He has the knowledge to be a leader but he does not have the confidence to apply it. God has place him in this situation for a reason.. We need to keep our minds focused on God's will in all things when we study the word as well as in our own lives. We have the habit of thinking that we live to ourselves, but we don't!  We live to God and his purpose for us.  His will is all that matters. He molds us and shapes us to do his will.  That is what we agreed to when we accepted him as our savior. So although we think we are in control of our lives, we are not.  Our lives belong to God and everything we do and say is for His glory and used to serve him.  This is what Moses is facing and being prepared for....doing the will of God.

[Eman]

Moses had the right intentions but his implementation for doing the right thing was wrong, in like manner we also have the right intentions like Moses, but our implementation of doing the right thing may still happen in an immature way, wherein the outcome brings a burden rather than peace. This also happened when Peter tried to defend Jesus. Peter in his Zealousness ended up cutting off one of those soldiers ears. How else will this soldier hear of the Gospel when Zealousness cut off his ability to hear? In like manner we should also be careful of false religion or false zealousness, lest we cut off our brother and sister's spiritual ears or in Moses's case we end up totally killing our fellow brother whom Jesus also loves. 

Moses was compassionate for his fellow brother getting beat up, and reacted upon impulse, on the other hand, compassion was completely blurred out for the other dude, who was probably was just implementing the law of the land, doing his job, trying to get food on the table. 

If you were Moses how would you have responded to the situation? Does every situation need a response? 

 

 

[Fiona]

Moses tried to deal with a WRONG SITUATION WITH A WRONG SOLUTION.

Realizing what he had done after the heat of the moment he COVERED UP HIS ACTIONS in the sand.

He did NOT FEAR CONFRONTATION. 

His PASSION FOR JUSTICE in his mind and emotions still needed a touch of God to change and guide his heart. 

[kukaro]

What do we learn about Moses'  motivations, character, and leadership ability from the incident of him killing the cruel Egyptian taskmaster? What positive things do you see in his character? What negative things do you discern?

The fact that Moses looked "this way and that way" before murdering symbolizes that he is torn between both worlds, nationalities, and doesn't want to be caught as he acts on his emotion. He lives a physically comfortable life but still in conflict with his true identity. Moses is not yet heeding to the voice of God and still struggling in his human limitation and knowledge. The incident took Moses from his given comfort zone and made him rely on God to accomplish God's will. Our lesson here is that God can and will make the changes in us to accomplish His purpose and the perspective is often very different than the worldly view. 

[Irmela]

Q1. (Exodus 2:11-15a)

What do we learn about Moses'  motivations, character, and leadership ability from the incident of him killing the cruel Egyptian taskmaster?

What positive things do you see in his character? What negative things do you discern?

Moses went out to see his brothers and how they were being treated.   From what we read in the text, we are not told that Moses had never seen this before or why he went that particular time, we are only told the fact that he went to where they were.  So it could have been to survey how everything was going in that particular place of work.  What he saw was a cruel task-master beating a Hebrew.  This stirred up such anger in Moses that he killed the man, after checking that no one was watching him.  One can say it was an action showing irascible behaviour. (We do come across it again ).   He hid his deed knowing there were horrible consequences if found out.  Some have called this a sneaky side in his character.  The following day Moses saw two Hebrews fighting each other.  This really did not make sense. Was it not enough to be beaten by the task-masters.  When he questioned them they in turn retorted back to him, who did he think he was.  There we see the gentle part of his nature being portrayed.   Not only that, they queried his motives, did he think he was a judge over them, was he also going to kill as he had done before.  Then Moses fled, for he knew his life was in danger.  He had acted without thinking of the consequence.

From this picture I see someone checking out a situation. Coming across a cruelty and taking the law into his own hand and eliminating the perpetrator, then being horrified that evil actions are also found where the Hebrews should have been standing together. Leadership was lacking.  We see Moses to be a strong man and fearless to right what he saw or believed was wrong.  But he was not ready to lead a liberation movement as yet.  He was headstrong and had anger issues to deal with.  We would say he had a short fuse.  He was all for treatment to be fair and not cruel.  In these few verses we see that although Moses had grown up in royal circles, he sure also learnt to fend for himself. He was not a pampered spoilt brat.

Definitely a rough diamond. Lots of potential for leadership if chipped and polished the right way.  This God did out there in the desert.

[Krissi]

Pastor Ralph mentioned that Moses was not a real leader at the time he killed the cruel Egyptian. This may be true, but he was differentiated from the people, perhaps by his position or appearance. He was seen as from a cut of people "above" the slave class of his people.

He was middle-age at the time he murdered the man, not young and brash but older yet not self-controlled. What I see in Moses is a man with a sense of entitlement, spoiled and lacking self-discipline. 

Positively, he had a sense of justice though it was raw and undeveloped. He was quick to anger in a self-righteous manner because he identified with the Hebrew slaves at some level. He knew, then, right from wrong, at least in the behavior of other people, though his self-assessment was obviously less well developed.

I'm wondering why he wasn't tempered by a family and marriage, as are most middle-age men. Most men seem to "settle down" as they age, but not Moses. He still had the impulsive behavior of a teenager.