Moses was a Hebrew, born in Egypt at the time his nation was enslaved by the Egyptians. He had a sister named Miriam and a brother named Aaron.
At the time of Moses’ birth, the Pharaoh had ordered that all male Hebrew babies be killed.
His mother kept Moses hidden for three months, but when she could not hide him any longer she made a basket that would float and placed him on the Nile river, hiding him in the reeds along the bank.
Very soon, Moses was found by none other than one of Pharaoh’s daughters. She took the baby in, but was unable to nurse him, so she found a Hebrew woman to take on this task. Per the will of God, the Hebrew woman was Moses’ mother.
Moses was raised in the Pharaoh’s palace, but knew that he was a Hebrew and an outsider.
One day, Moses saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew slave and without considering the consequences, he killed the Egyptian and hid his body.
The next day, a Hebrew slave accused Moses of the crime of murdering the Egyptian and in fear for his life, Moses fled Egypt and went to the desert of Midian where he would live for 40 years.
At this point in this short summary of the life of Moses, we must emphasize that God is in control and has a plan for all of us. God had a major plan for Moses, although he did not know it just yet.
God Confronts and Speaks To Moses
Moses had sinned by killing another person and was paying the consequences by living in fear in the desert of Midian.
It is here that God appeared to Moses in a burning bush, a bush that was on fire but was not consumed by the fire.
Moses would now learn what God had in mind for him. God wanted Moses to lead the Hebrew people out of bondage in Egypt, with His help of course.
Moses, like many humans, began to make excuses why he was not fit for this job. He even tried to negotiate with God to send someone else. However, God would not take no for an answer.
In order to ease his fears, God called Moses’ brother Aaron to assist and this along with God’s promises alleviated all fears.
Moses led the Israelites out of bondage with the help of many miracles from God.
Moses led them in the wilderness for another 40 years, a result of the sinfulness of the Israelites.
There is much more to study about Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt, the ten plagues, the crossing of the Red Sea, receiving the law and ten commandments, why Moses couldn't enter the promised land and many other events as they wandered in the wilderness.
In your study of the book of Exodus, you will find that God used Moses in mighty ways as His plan unfolded.
I hope this stirs your interest in Moses and you will study his complete life to fill in the blanks we have left out.
*More on Moses to come later...
RVH