Q&A Home > M > Moses

Seat of Moses (1)

• In Exodus 2 after Moses kills the Egyptian, the Bible says, "Moses feared and fled from the face of Pharaoh" (Exodus 2:14-15). However, the Orthodox Study Bible says about Exodus 2:12 that "Moses was forty years old at this time, and knew he was Israel's deliverer. Thus, he defended an Israelite and killed the Egyptian. He supposed the Israelites would understand his calling from God, but they did not" (Acts 7:23-28). I do not understand this interpretation. If this interpretation is correct, why would he be afraid and flee from Pharaoh? How would this action show that he is of God? Also, if Moses knew that God would use him as the deliverer of Egypt, why would he hesitate and make excuses when God spoke to him through the burning bush? I do not understand the passage from the book of Acts (Acts 7:23-28), which indicates that Moses had knowledge that God would use him as the deliverer of His people. How did Moses know? Also, how would his killing the Egyptian help the Israelites understand that God will deliver them through Moses? The explanation in the Orthodox Study Bible simply cites this passage, but does not explain it. How does a servant, who has foreknowledge of the deliverance of the Israelites, flee to Midian? Was this his way of hiding until God calls him, or can this be explained by human weakness?
• "I speak with him face to face,even plainly,and not in dark sayings; and he sees the form of the Lord" (Numbers 12:8). Did Moses really see God and speak to Him face to face?