Moses in the Book of Exodus

Moses in the Book of Exodus

There have been many individuals who could be considered leaders, but some stand out among the others. An example of a superb leader is Moses. Moses is viewed as a righteous man in God's eyes and is chosen to lead the Hebrews out of oppression in Egypt. Contained in the story of Exodus are many examples of Moses' sacrifices and the hardships he endured while freeing the Hebrews. The faith of Moses was tested numerous times throughout the story, and, in some instances, it seemed that Moses had lost faith, however, being the "righteous" man that he was, he stuck it out until the end. Moses is a "pillar of faith" for surviving his tests and for being the perfect tool for God's plans.

The Old Testament, model of a great patriarch, is one who possesses faith coupled with voluntary obedience to God's wishes and gratitude. These things combine to make up God's standard of moral goodness. If the person obeys God's laws and meets His standards, the individual may obtain happiness. The ultimate model of a great patriarch is Moses. The book of Exodus, begins with the Egyptian's decision to oppress the Hebrews who lived in the land of Egypt for 400 years. (The descendants of Joseph and his brothers) Although Moses was born a Hebrew, Moses grew up in the Pharaoh's court and the Hebrews were jealous of him. The Egyptians didn't trust him as well. This is one of the main reasons why Moses was such a great leader. He didn't really have any strong ties to either the Hebrews of the Egyptians. This is why he can be harsh and use force to make the people understand what God wants. He has the guts to order his own people to their death for freedom. Moses was willing to risk his life for his people and on...

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... Faith and trust in God helped him to be a leader for the people.

However, Moses was not the perfect, sin-free prophet, in the sense he murdered a man directly and was the cause of the death of thousands of Egyptians. To top it off, he ordered all the people who built the golden calf to worship on the bottom of Mount Sinai to be killed.

What God wanted done was done through Moses. I believe that Moses was justified in what he did at Mount Sinai, but I'm sure that, if I were one of the Hebrews, I wouldn't be able to believe what was going through Moses' head. I respect the character of Moses and I feel that his shrewdness was one of the key elements in the success of Exodus. In the end, with God on his side, Moses and God's following servants, led the Lord's people with great strength and courage, and delivered them safely into the awaited Holy Land.