Moses In Exodus

In Exodus, Moses, a Hebrew, raised by Pharaoh’s daughter, was introduced as a leader who led the Israelites out of Egypt under God’s guidance. At that time, Israelites were enslaved and treated cruelly under the governance of Pharaoh, since their numerous decedents threatened Pharaoh as well as the development of Egypt. By experiencing and being a Hebrew, Moses stood out to protect his people by killing an Egyptian, who beat his people, before he gained any power from God. However, the death of the Egyptian made him be questioned for his abilities and rights to rule over Israelites by the two Hebrews, when he tried to stop the fighting between them. This first failed attempt at leadership seems to make him lack of confidence in the later performance

After the Israelites left Egypt, God hardened Pharaoh’s heart again and made him pursue Israelites. The fear made Israelites questioned Pharaoh, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness” (Exodus 14:11). Then they beg Moses to “let us alone and let us serve the Egyptians” (Exodus 14:12). Facing questions and distrusts from Israelites, Moses did not give upon his people or become insecure to defeat his enemies and to lead his people throughout the wilderness. Instead, he comforted his people by saying “The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still” (Exodus 14:14), which again shows his confidence of bringing the Israelites across the Jordan River. Although, throughout the journey, Israelites complained about their hunger, thirsts and suffering, Moses did not give upon them. Moses preached Israelites not to complain against God who saved them and enlightened them to have faith in God, which implies his confidence of leading Israelites and his sense of responsibility of saving Israelties. In the tough situation, Moses showed great tolerance either to the complains or the harshness of wilderness. The tolerance to the difficulties made him a responsible and confident leader under the

Before the tenth plague, Moses instructed Israelites to cover their doorway using lamb’s blood in order to preserve their lives under God’s guidance. After the plague, Moses gave Israelites the instructions which were “celebrate it as a festival to the Lord; throughout your generations” (Exodus 12:14) and “remember the day on which you come out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” (Exodus 13:3), in order to make Israelites become faithful and loyal to God who saved their community. Furthermore, those rules restricted the lifestyles of Israelites to restore the covenant between the God and Israelites and to build a prosperous community. When God planed to kill Israelites for their disloyalty and sins, Moses stood out and said “why does your wrath burn hot against your people whom you brought out of land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand” (Exodus 32:11). This time, Moses protected the Israelites and saved their community from God, who gave his power. Without enough confidence to persuade God and strong sense of responsibilities to the Israelites, Moses could not have enough courage and stand up to question God’s decision. Because of the sense of responsibilities, Moses led