Moses. Where did he fit? Born: Hebrew. Adopted: Egyptian.
Against the command of Pharaoh, Moses' mother hid Moses. By "accident", Pharaoh's daughter found Moses, was taken by his helpless cries and made him her own son.
This certainly didn't go unnoticed by the Hebrew nation trapped in brutal slavery. Mothers and fathers who had put their own sons to death out of fear of the Egyptian edict looked on this situation with both disgust and jealousy. It wasn't fair, yet how could one let one's own flesh and blood be raised and molded by the oppressor and enemy.
Moses lived the life as the princess' own son. He had the highest socioeconomic opportunities. Educated alongside the future pharaoh and the next military brass. From all appearances, he was Egyptian. At some point, however, Moses became aware that he was not the same and I suspect that those Egyptians, at some point, also became aware that underneath his appearance, Moses was not the same. He was "the same" but was not a true fit. He was an Egyptian misfit.
During these years, in the land of Goshen, I expect that they kept track of Moses. He looked so Egyptian. He was moving on in his schooling...Did you see him the other day with his "mother" when they were out and about? He carries himself so proudly. Doesn't he know where he came from? Doesn't he know what is happening to his real family? How could he live like that knowing what is going on here? It doesn't matter. He is one of them. He will never be one of us. He was a Hebrew misfit.
There comes a point in every ones life when "Who am I?" becomes a question that burns deep within. Moses was no exception. He knew what he had become: educated, strong, proud, privileged. He needed to see where he had come from. He determined to visit "his people." Why did he call them that? Deep inside he felt like a misfit among the Egyptians and he knew that the Hebrew people were his roots. Any adopted person longs to know their roots.
The visit to "his people" did not go so well. He didn't like what he saw. Why had he been privileged to grow up away from such misery? It was wrong. He must do something about it. He did, and he failed. Killing an Egyptian for beating one of "his people" only brought out the disgust that "his people" felt towards him because of his palatial upbringing and precipitated a death threat from Pharaoh because he had turned on his undeserved life of privilege.
Moses. Egyptian but not Egyptian. Hebrew but not Hebrew. Who was he? Where did he belong? Misfit.
Nowhere to go. Nowhere to hide. He fled to the wilderness...That's where God met him.
Sometimes that's what it takes. After the bottom drops out and I'm in the wilderness...that's where God meets me.
