Learning from Mistakes
When at the age of 40 Moses went out to see his people, who were slaves, he witnessed an Egyptian beating a Hebrew. Moses took matters into his own hands, killing the slave master and burying him in the sand. Almost as though he had decided right then to deliver his people from bondage, one at a time. But that was not God’s will at the time, and not God’s way at all.
One of the keys to growing up is learning from our mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes, each one of us, and with regularity. But do we learn from them? Not just that we did something wrong. More importantly, are we willing to recognize what we did wrong and then change accordingly? Otherwise we are like people Paul wrote about who were burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, but were always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. Moses had to flee Egypt and the Pharaoh because he committed murder, a crime of passion fueled by his anger and his overblown reaction to injustice. Will he learn from that? Will he change? God gives him an opportunity almost as soon as he arrives in Midian and rests near a well.
While Moses sat there, seven daughters of the priest of Midian came to water their father’s flock, but shepherds also showed up and started to run the women off. Apparently, this was a daily occurrence, but Moses was there this time. We have seen this movie before, haven’t we, where Moses sees oppression taking place and he takes out the oppressor? But this day was different. He stood up when he saw the aggression and took care of the shepherds himself. We don’t know how many men there were, but it didn’t matter. Moses’ skill and training was more than a match for them. How do we know that Moses learned from the last time he responded to oppression? He didn’t kill the shepherds! The story of rescue was told to their father, Reuel, when the seven daughters got home and he asked how they could possibly have gotten the flocks watered so quickly. An Egyptian protected us, ran off the bad guys and then watered out flocks!
They were as amazed that Moses watered their flocks as they were that he protected them from the shepherds. This just was not done. For a man to serve a woman in those times and in such a way, drawing water for her flocks, was unheard of. This is Moses pointing us to a greater prophet, the greatest of all. Jesus taught his disciples, and you and me, that we are not supposed to be like the Gentiles who lord it over the people, “But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.” Then while the disciples were scratching their heads over that one, Jesus added, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Like Jesus, when confronted with evil, Moses stood, saved, and served.
When Reuel heard this from his daughters, he rebuffed them for leaving their rescuer in the wilderness. So they found Moses and fetched him to the house. He stayed for a meal. Then he stayed for a good night’s sleep. Then he stayed for a wife, as Reuel gave him his daughter, Zipporah, to marry. She then gave Moses a son. And Moses, the prince of Egypt and one-day deliverer of God’s people became a shepherd for 40 years. Perfect training for what lay ahead.
What can we learn from this event in Moses’ life? God’s plan and timetable are perfect, but they often do not match ours. We want it now. We want it easy and convenient. We want it our way. But God patiently prepared this man as he cared for sheep and learned how to live in the wilderness and learned how to protect his flock and learned how to lead stubborn sheep even when they didn’t want to follow. Hmmm. Sounds like God was preparing Moses for what would happen in the last 40 years of his life.
Hey, young people, don’t be in a hurry to figure out your whole life. But do not delay in preparing your heart to follow God. Commit to doing hard things. Commit to reading the Bible and listening to God’s voice as he speaks through his word. Commit to serving others. Hey, older people, the same is true for us! It is never time to sit back and say, “My work here is done.” Or to believe that God cannot use you and your time, talents, and gifts in his service.