A Tribute to Moses
I was never much into hero worship, but if I had to choose people in history that I really admired, Moses would be very near the top of the list.
Moses led an extraordinary life. He was, during the first part of his life, one of the most privileged and comfortable people in the world during his time, about 3400 years ago. But he spent the last part of his life wandering in the desert with few, if any, of the comforts that he had known earlier in his life.
Moses, as explained in the Bible's book of Genesis, was a Hebrew (an Israelite) who grew up in the household of the Pharaoh of Egypt. His people were being enslaved by the Egyptians, but Moses enjoyed the finest things that life had to offer during that era. As a member of the Pharaoh's household, Moses probably had every need and whim taken care of, he was probably extremely well-educated, and he was a prince. What more could a person ask for?
Well, more was asked from Moses, as it turns out. God wanted Moses to be a leader of the Israelites, not a prince of Egypt. And so, after Moses had killed an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew slave, he found himself living in the humble surroundings of the desert. How different that must have been compared to what Moses had grown up with in the Pharaoh's household.
Moses traded a life of comfort for a life in the desert. And it was there that he heard the voice of God, and obeyed.
The book of Genesis explains that Moses lived many years in the desert before returning to Egypt, rounding up his people (the Israelites), and leading them out of Egypt, to bring them to the land of their forefathers. That land was, at the time, called Canaan. It later became known as Israel. One of the Israelites that Moses had led was a man named Joshua. Joshua later organized the Israelites and conquered Canaan and established sovereignty for the country of Israel.
It is interesting to note that Moses died at about the time that the Israelites - the people he was leading - were about to enter the land of Israel. Moses left a country (Egypt) that offered him everything a man could possibly have, to help establish a country (Israel) that he never entered.
I'd like to meet Moses someday. I suppose if I did, I would shake his hand, and say "Man, you're my hero."
By George Konig
July 31, 2005
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