IN spite of Moses' thorough training in Egypt, and his apparent acceptance at the Egyptian court, he remained a Hebrew at heart and could not fail to observe the increasing oppression visited upon the Israelites. Eventually, finding "an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren" (Ex. 2:11)—whether a relative or simply a brother Israelite we have no means of knowing—"he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand." Soon news of this rash act reached Pharaoh's ears, and Moses became a hunted man. He had now irrevocably cast in his lot with his own people, "choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season" (Hebr. 11:25). Fleeing from Egypt, he reached the land of Midian to the east of the Sinai Peninsula and beyond the Gulf of Aqabah. At a well he encountered the seven daughters of a wealthy shepherd-priest named Reuel, or alternatively Jethro, and befriended them when hostile shepherds sought to attack them and their flocks. Later Moses married Zipporah, one of the daughters.
For some forty years Moses remained with Jethro, tending his sheep (see Acts 7:30), while the lot of the Israelites became increasingly unbearable.
Seeking new pastures for Jethro's flocks, Moses came to Horeb, described as "the mountain of God" (Ex. 3:1), where he underwent that deeply spiritual experience associated with the burning bush. The physical nature of the bush is unimportant, but by attracting the patriarch's attention, the burning bush led to his reception of a divine message, for God there revealed Himself as the Deity who had guided and protected Moses' ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Moses was also informed that the Lord was fully aware of the problems of his people and would end their Egyptian bondage, establishing them in "a good land and a large" (verse 8). Moreover, the agent of this deliverance was to be Moses himself. Overwhelmed by the responsibility involved, Moses was loath to accept the task assigned to him, even when assured of the perpetual presence and guidance of the Lord and of the fact that the Israelites would come to worship God on this very mountain.
