MOSES & IDENTITY

The dating of the Exodus story is debated. Kenneth Kitchen places the Exodus in the nineteenth dynasty of Egypt between 1280 and 1240 BC. Whereas David Rohl suggests that the Exodus was during the thirteenth dynasty toward the end of the 15th century BC. Nevertheless, Moses continues his narrative of the history of the people of Israel. He is explaining to the people in the desert how they came to be where they found themselves and how God worked to bring them there. After a great deal of time studying under the scholars and philosophers of ancient Egypt, Moses grew up. He undoubtedly spent a great deal of time within the palace compound, but as he aged, he was most likely also given responsibility to govern or lead military campaigns. According to the Jewish historian Josephus, Moses led an Egyptian army into battle with Ethiopians to the south. Moses leaves this portion of his life out of his narrative because the only pertinent information is his passion for the liberation of the Israelites from the oppression of Egypt. Through his story, this passion is revealed. Having knowledge of his Hebraic heritage, he is cut to the heart for the enslaved Israelites. Moses identity crisis permeates this narrative. He knows that he is ethnically Hebrew, but he has been raised Egyptian. He knows that he should be working in the fields with the other slaves, but instead he is placed in a position of authority. He realizes that he should be poor, but he has unimaginable wealth as a member of the royal family. As Moses is narrating his story, you can almost envision him wandering around feeling deeply alone as though he has no rightful home. Until one day it seemed to click and he realized that he alone had the ability to alleviate the suffering of his Hebraic brothers. Undoubtedly, Moses came to the conclusion that God had placed him in a unique position to be an advocate for his people. He begins by using his military training to kill an abusive slave manager. The next day, he attempts to use his law school training and political background to mediate between two fighting Israelites. Moses rightly realized that God had adequately equipped him to undertake a specific task. Moses was trained to be a leader, politically and militarily. God was going to use this training to complete a specific task, but Moses did not seek Gods will before undertaking the task. Moses did not have any sort of relationship with God to know what his will was in the first place. Moses had not even been commissioned to undertake this duty. Moses decided on his own that liberating the Israelites was his job and he went about doing it in his own way, without the guidance of the Lord. Ultimately, the mistake that Moses made was that he found his identity in his activity. Modern day examples of this are found in religion. Mans activity, his performance, defines his identity. A common philosophy is that God finds Man pleasing only after he has completed certain activities (giving, serving, prayer, going to Mecca, going through purgatory, reincarnating, suffering, etc.). Other modern day examples exist in the secular world as well. Mans activity of being green, serving at a homeless shelter, dropping money in a bucket at an intersection, or paying taxes defines his identity. Mans performance at work, his paycheck, his possessions, the car he drives all begin to define his identity. However, over and over again, we read in Scripture that it is not our activity that defines our identity, but it is God who defines our identity and our identity defines our activity. It was not until Moses found his identity in God that his activity of liberating the people of Israel was actually defined. God had crafted Moses into someone who was to carry out a specific activity, but he wasnt finished yet. It is not until God molds us into his new creation that we are able to carry out the activity that he has predestined for our lives. We do not carry this activity out so that God will love us, but because he already has.

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DEEPER STUDY SEVEN

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

What activities in your life are defining your identity? How do you gauge your identity based on your performance in these areas? In your own words, describe how you think your identity flows out of your covenant relationship. Next, describe how your God-given responsibility flows out of your new identity in Christ? How does your responsibility look different when it flows out of your identity in Christ? What are some things that you can begin doing in your daily life to begin carrying out your responsibility based on your relationship with God rather than defining your relationship with God based on carrying out your responsibility?

WEEKLY READING GUIDE

Day Day Day Day Day 1 Ex 1 2 2 Ex 3 3 Ex 4 5 4 Ex 6 5 Ex 7

NOTES

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DEEPER STUDY SEVEN