I feel like most people don’t really understand how difficult it must have been for Moses to be the instrument God used to deliver the people of Israel and to also be the harbinger of collateral damage to the people of Egypt- a people he would have once called his own.
The Nile from which Moses was drawn from was both the literal and figurative source of life in ancient Egypt and it was considered to be a direct manifestation of the god “Hapi” who blessed the land with life. Pharaoh’s daughter, in addition to the compassion she felt towards baby Moses, would have probably seen him as a direct blessing from the gods, delivered to the palace, unlike the other Hebrew babies who unfortunately were drowned.
The divine nature of Moses delivery to the palace likely bequeathed to him special treatment fit for a prince. As he grew up, he probably called the Pharaoh “Father”, most likely played and joked with Rameses (who he’d eventually face off with later in life), and he most certainly called the one who drew him out of water “Mother”. He probably came to fall in love with all of the wonder that ancient Egypt represented.
It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin.
(Hebrews 11:24-25, NLT)
See why Moses needed Faith to take this step? When the Bible says “fleeting pleasures of sin”, it did not mean that Moses was busy breaking the Ten Commandments (which by the way, had not been delivered yet) before his call. It simply meant that if Moses had chosen to not go against Egypt, he would have been doing what his flesh wanted, as against what God wanted- which would have been a sin. Moses chose to go with God, but it was a painful decision.
Many times, making a choice to do things God’s way may seem to be the most painful thing ever. But like Moses, we must hold God to His word by Faith and keep our eyes on that reward that comes with obedience. God could be asking you to make certain sacrifices, but you must trust that the pain you would suffer for taking that step would be far greater than the pleasure you seem to be getting from not taking that step now.
P. S.: But why did God choose to use a man that must have harbored a soft spot for Egypt and it’s people? Many answers jump to mind, but there’s one that’s rather interesting to contemplate.
Then the LORD said, “You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there. It came quickly and died quickly. But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?”
(Jonah 4:9-11, NLT)
If the consistency of character of God is anything to go by, then God must have definitely felt sorry for the people of Egypt the way he felt sorry for the people of Nineveh here. It is never God’s delight that people perish in their sins.
And who else could he have sent to Egypt that would carry an urgency that mirrored (even if imperfectly) the urgency that was in His heart to avoid destruction in the land of Egypt?
In Plain Sight 