Who killed an Egyptian in the Bible?

The history gives the facts as they occurred. His brethren under their burdens lay on the heart of Moses; and as he looked, he saw an Egyptian smite one of them. Roused to indignation, "he looked this way and that way," and seeing no witness, he took the law into his hand and slew the offender, hiding the body in the sand. The love to his brethren was a right and holy feeling; but his inflicting death on the Egyptian was unjustifiable, and led to his long exile to escape the king's resentment. He acted on the impulse of his heart, and in no way as consulting God or obeying Him. Had he looked to Him, he would not have "looked this way or that way." He tarnished his testimony for God by his efforts to escape any witness of the deed or of his concealing of the corpse, and the consequences.

The very day after, he had to bear the keen wound indicted not by an Egyptian nor the king but by an unworthy brother. For when he reproved the sad quarrelling of Hebrew with Hebrew, he that did the wrong was the one to raise the insulting cry, "Who made thee a ruler and a judge"? and to clench it with the stab, Intendest thou to kill me as thou killedst the Egyptian yesterday?" The conscience of Moses was bad: "surely the matter is known." The king too was roused by his act; and Moses fled from his vengeance into the land of Midian. Moses was not brought to nothingness in his own eyes. He was playing the hero rather than the saint who waits on God, not only for the revealed end, but for each step of the way. Hence we walk by faith, not by sight. It is a path of constant dependence on God, guided by His word. And Moses had as it were to unlearn for as many years in Midian as he had been learning the wisdom of the Egyptians. What a change from the court of Pharaoh to lead Reuel or Jethro's sheep "in the back end of the desert," not far from "the mount of God." To this discipline the solitude of the wilderness and the lowly life of a shepherd gave the needed sphere, that his impetuous spirit might be broken down, and himself become "very meek, above all men that were upon the face of the earth."

"And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out to his brethren, and looked on their burdens; and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren. And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand." This was zeal for his brethren; but it was "not according to knowledge." God's time was not yet come for judging Egypt and delivering Israel; and the intelligent servant will ever wait for God's time. "Moses was grown;" and "he was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians;" and, moreover, "he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them." All this was true; yet he evidently ran before the time, and when one does this failure must be the issue. (In Stephen's address to the council, at Jerusalem, there is an allusion to Moses' acting, to which it may be well to advert. "And when he was full forty years old it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel. And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian; for he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God, by his hand, would deliver them; but they understood not." (Acts 7:23-25) It is evident that Stephen's object, in his entire address, has to bring the history of the nation to bear upon the consciences of those whom he had before him; and it would have been quite foreign to this object, and at variance with the Spirit's rule in the New Testament, to raise a question as to whether Moses had not acted before the divinely-appointed time.

On this enterprise then we behold him going forth, when he was come to years of discretion. He sees an Egyptian maltreating an Israelite. This kindles all his affections on behalf of his brethren. Undoubtedly the affections were there; but this calls them out, and he acts accordingly, looking, it is said, this way and that way — by no means an evidence of singleness of eye. Yet here was just the situation. It was impossible for the Spirit, on the one hand, to blame the love that prompted the hand of Moses; it was impossible, on the other, to vindicate the act. God has just left it, as He always knows how to do — left what was of Himself to tell its own tale, whilst that which was not of Himself is before the spiritual judgment of those who have confidence in Him. And is there anything that more beautifully shows the character of scripture than this? In any other book there would be a kind of apology, if not an elaborate argument, a discourse on the matter, to vindicate God from all participation in what was far from being according to His own holiness.

Nothing shows the difference between God's word and the way in which even men of God may handle, or feel it necessary to handle it, more strikingly than this. God is content to speak of things as they are without a word on His side to explain or account for it, or in anywise to soften matters for man. "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." Accordingly the tale is told with all simplicity. The self-same principle applies to hundreds of passages in the Scriptures; and therefore it seemed well to make a few remarks in a more general shape. We must distinguish between the statement of a fact in the Bible and any sanction given to it. This may help our appreciation of the word of God in all such cases. We are bound ever to refuse the thought that the record of facts in scripture implies that they are according to the full mind of God. The truth is that He speaks of good men and bad men; that He mentions not only what was excellent in the good, but such distressing and shameful things as draw out His own chastening it may be for a long while to come. God, in short, states things exactly as they are. He counts on faith in His own people; but they will always reckon that whatever there may be of good is from Him — whatever may be wrong is surely not so. It is an easily settled principle after all, and it accounts for much on which men's minds otherwise are apt to stumble.

Moses then flees from Egypt, but not so much in fear of Egyptian enmity; against this he might have looked to God to sustain him, no matter what might be the pressure on his spirit. It was the unworthy dealing of his brethren which broke up all hope for the present. The man who was in the wrong too, as is always the case, had the bitter feeling against him who loved both, and would willingly have set them at one with each other; it was he who taunted Moses with the words, `' Who made thee a ruler and a judge?" The Israelite's own proud spirit was ready to insinuate pride in others. Moses then bends to the blast. The time was not yet come evidently for the deliverance of such a people. He retires from the scene to the land of Midian, and there is put through the necessary discipline for the mighty work he was yet to accomplish. Moses had certainly been hasty; and the Lord judged it. But he was right in the main; and the Lord accordingly left not to another but to him the due accomplishment of Israel's deliverance when the fulness of time was come.

Coming amongst his brethren he observed an Egyptian smiting an Israelite and it seems that he came to a decision at once to defend that Israelite. He declared himself by laying hold of that Egyptian and slaying him. No doubt now as to which side he is on, and perhaps a demonstration that he was mighty in deeds (v. 22). So much for his first move as a deliverer.

One day Moses left the surroundings of the palace, and, with his heart filled with plans for the freedom of his own nation, watched his own flesh and blood in their slavery. He knew he was to deliver them — he knew God had so ordered. And, as he watched their afflictions, his heart burned within him, and his strong arm was awake. Presently he came to a lonely spot on the limit of the cultivated area, on the edge of the desert. There he saw two men — an Egyptian taskmaster and a Hebrew slave — and, no uncommon sight, the taskmaster was smiting the slave. In a moment Moses' hand was loose, and the Egyptian lay dead at his feet. But Moses was not easy; he looked this way and that way, and then buried the man in the sand. He had run before he was sent. He had used his right arm to deliver Israel instead of waiting upon God. He had faith in God's word that he should deliver Israel, but he lacked patience to wait until instructed how deliverance should be effected.

The next day Moses went again to see his people, and this time, lo, two Hebrews strove together! Considering that they would recognize in him the deliverer of God's appointment, he remonstrated with the wrongdoer, but only to receive the blunt rejoinder, "Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? Intendest thou to kill me as thou killedst the Egyptian yesterday?" The deliverer was disowned by his own brethren. Pharaoh would soon know of his act and intentions. What could he do? He must flee for his life!

Thus fell the hopes of Moses for delivering his nation. He was indeed the man called of God to deliver, but he did not go to work in God's way, and he had to flee. His own right arm gave him no courage.

The history here passes over many years, but Acts 7:22 tells us, “Moses was learned in all the wisdom of Egypt, and was mighty in words and deeds.” Then it is added that he was forty years old (v. 27) when Exodus 2:11 took place. At this time the Lord was moving him to remember seriously his relationship to the suffering nation Israel. No doubt the training of his early years had eventual effect in awakening a long dormant exercise of heart. His first action was to go out to observe how his people were treated by the Egyptians. This was apparently shocking to him, and when he saw an Egyptian beating an Israelite, this stirred his anger. He looked both ways, however, to see that there were no witnesses before he killed the Egyptian and covered him with sand.

The following day he again went out, and this time saw two Israelites fighting. Seeking to remonstrate with the aggressor, he was repulsed by the man as being a meddler, as though he were a prince or a judge appointed over them (v. 14). Further still, he asked, “Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Thus Moses found that his killing of the Egyptian was not concealed. In championing the cause of Israel he expected some recognition of this on their part (Acts 7:25), but they did not think that he might deliver them from bondage. At this time they were not ready, and in fact Moses himself was not ready to be the deliverer. God had work to do in his heart as well as in theirs.

From the address of Stephen, in Acts 7, we learn that at the time of the event, recorded in verses 11-15 of our chapter, Moses was "full forty years old." He had reached complete maturity as well as conspicuous greatness in the highest court circles of Egypt and, if we only had the record of Exodus we might be inclined to regard his slaughter of the Egyptian as an act prompted simply by a sudden burst of indignation. We have to read Hebrews 11:24-26, and then we discover that it was an outward expression of an inward resolve, which had been reached in the power of faith.

In Exodus we are given a brief recital of the facts on the surface history of the episode. In Acts 7 we are told of what was in his mind, leading him to act as he did. As to the history, he knew that he sprang from Israel and shared Israel's hopes, though he was a great man amongst the Egyptians. The assaulted Hebrew was brother to him. He "looked this way and that way," and as there were no witnesses, he identified himself with the Hebrew and slew the Egyptian. But what was in his heart was the conviction that God by his hand was going to deliver the children of Israel, and "he supposed his brethren would have understood" that such would be the case.

His brethren however did not understand, for they did not share his faith. In result they rejected him as their deliverer, wishing to pursue their own way of wrong-doing, and not to stir up retaliation from the power of Egypt. In Acts 7, Stephen is led to make these points clear, in order to show that in the rejection of the Lord Jesus the Jews had re-enacted, on a scale infinitely more serious, what their fathers had previously done with Moses. In the Lord Jesus there was not the slightest element of imperfection. In Moses there was distinct failure. His desires were right: his action wrong.

When forty years of age he visited his brethren, and seeing one ill-used he defended him, and slew the Egyptian; but the next day, on seeing two of the Israelites contending, he reminded them that they were brethren, and would have judged between them; but the wrong-doer repulsed him, and asked whether he would kill him as he had killed the Egyptian. Moses, finding that his deed was known, feared the wrath of the king, and fled from Egypt. He had acted with zeal, but without divine direction, and had therefore to become a fugitive for forty years (being the second period of forty years of his life, as the forty years in the wilderness was the third). In the land of Midian he married Zipporah, daughter of Jethro, the priest of Midian, by whom he had two sons.

In the smiting of the Egyptian by Moses we have an example of the forwardness of nature, just as we have the display of the backwardness of nature on a future occasion. We have here an instance of the fearlessness of Scripture in recounting every detail of the incident. It was impossible for the Spirit, on the one hand, to condemn the love that prompted the hand of Moses to defend one of his brethren who was being ill-treated by an Egyptian task-master; it was equally impossible, on the other hand, for God to condone the act. There is no attempt to gloss over this reprehensible act on the part of Moses, nor is there any argument or discourse to vindicate God from participation in what was far removed from that which was according to His will. How beautiful it is to see how God has left what was of Himself to tell its own tale, while bringing before His people that which they could judge was not of Himself in His servant. Faith and spiritual judgment in the people of God will always discern that anything good comes from Him, and that anything contrary to this is not of Him.

Yet in spite of his intemperate act, Moses appears here in the two-fold character of deliverer and shepherd. The hand that smote the Egyptian was the hand of a deliverer; and the heart of the shepherd is revealed in his concern to conciliate his brethren who were quarrelling. But refused by his brethren, and hated by Pharaoh, he flees to the land of Midian, there to reveal to other needy ones the hand of the deliverer and the heart of the shepherd as he intervened on behalf of Reuel's daughters.

Another epoch of his life is now presented to us. Forty years had passed away before the incident occurred which is described in the eleventh and following verses. "And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren. And he looked this way and that way, and, when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together: and he said to him that did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow? And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known. Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well." (vv. 11-15; see also Acts 7:23.) As we read this narrative, it might be supposed that the act of Moses, in killing the Egyptian, was nothing beyond the impulse of a generous heart, feeling the injustice which was done, and interfering to avenge it. But what is the interpretation of this act by the Spirit of God? "By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing Him who is invisible." (Heb. 11:24-27.)

We must, however, carefully guard ourselves from concluding that the Spirit of God endorses all that the narrative records in Exodus. No doubt Moses acted in the energy of the flesh; but though he had not as yet learned his own nothingness and incompetency, he yet desired to act for God; and it is from the epistle to the Hebrews we learn the true character of his actions before God. That there was failure is clear; but it was the failure of a man of faith, whose actions were precious in the sight of God, because he was enabled, in the exercise of faith, to refuse all that might have tempted the natural man, and to identify himself with the interests of God's people. But this passage in his life demands a more particular notice. First, then, it was by faith that he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. What else, indeed, could have led to the renunciation of such a splendid position? Besides, he might have argued, he had been placed in it by a most singular and striking providence. Might it not be therefore that he should occupy it, and use the influence connected with it, on behalf of his downtrodden brethren? Why, he might succeed in securing the whole influence of the court on behalf of his nation; would it not be, then, to fly in the face of Providence, to forsake such a vantage-ground? But Providence, as has been often remarked, is no guide to faith. Faith deals with things not seen, and hence seldom agrees with the conclusions that are drawn from providential events and circumstances. No; the influence of the god of this world (Pharaoh) can never be employed to deliver the Lord's people; and faith can never be sheltered by or identified with it. Faith has God for its object, and must therefore be identified with what belongs to God, and be in antagonism with all that is opposed to God. As another has said, "How many reasons might have induced Moses to remain in the position where he was, and this even under the pretext of being able to do more for the people; but this would have been leaning on the power of Pharaoh, instead of recognizing the bond between the people and God: it might have resulted in a relief which the world would have granted, but not in a deliverance by God, accomplished in His love and in His power. Moses would have been spared much affliction, but lost his true glory; Pharaoh flattered, and his authority over the people of God recognized; and Israel would have remained in captivity, leaning on Pharaoh, instead of recognizing God in the precious and even glorious relationship of His people with Him. God would not have been glorified; yet all human reasoning, and all reasoning connected with providential ways, would have induced Moses to remain in his position; faith made him give it up." And giving it up, he chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God. Identification with them had more attractions for his faithful heart than the pleasures of sin; for faith views everything in the light of God's presence. Yea, he rose still higher; he esteemed the reproach of Christ — the reproach arising from identification with Israel — greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. Faith thus lives in the future, as well as in the unseen. It is the assurance of things hoped for, and the conviction of things not seen; and hence it governed, controlled, the heart and path of Moses.

It was faith, then, that actuated him when "he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens." (v. 11) And even when, stirred by "seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian," he "supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them." (Acts 7:24-25.) And so it was to be, but the time had not yet arrived, nor could God yet employ Moses — precious as his faith was in His sight. As Peter had to learn that he could not follow Christ in the energy of nature, whatever the affections of his heart (John 13:36), so Moses had to be taught that no weapon could be employed in the deliverance of Israel save the power of God. When, therefore, he went out the second day, and seeing two Hebrews striving together, sought to reconcile them, he is taunted with killing the Egyptian, and is himself rejected. (vv. 13, 14.) Pharaoh too heard of what he had done, and sought to slay him. He is thus rejected by his brethren, and persecuted by the world.