2 MIGHTY

Joephus, was born in a priestly family and lived from AD 37 until just after AD 100. The first part of his life he was known as Joseph Ben Mattias, a Jewish priest, general and prisoner and the second half of his life he was Flavius Josephus a Roman citizen and author. We will see that one of his writings, “The Antiquities of the Jews,” provides an extra-biblical source of information about Jewish history from creation to, and including, the wars the Jews fought against the Romans. For our purposes in this lesson, Josephus helps us understand how Moses was, in the words of Stephen, “Mighty in words and deeds.” and his times. 

The phrase, “Powerful in speech and action” is found in Acts 7:23. Evidently, Thermuthis, (or Bithiah) Pharoah’s childless daughter adopted and raised Moses. As a child it was discovered that Moses had an acute aptitude for learning. When the child was yet small she placed it in her father’s arms and he hugged him to his chest. A sacred scribe predicted that this child would be a destroyer of Egypt and should be killed, but Pharaoh did not want to see the only one in the family who might become a king subjected to death. Moses was therefore instead given a very abundant Egyptian education. The Jews of that time hoped Moses would do great things for them, but the Egyptians were suspicious of him. 

Josephus continues saying that later Moses showed his leadership abilities when the Ethiopians, neighbors to the south, invaded Egypt and carried off treasures. The Egyptians were no match for the Ethiopians on the battlefield. Encouraged by their successes, the Ethiopians continued their campaign reaching as far north as Memphis and the Mediterranean sea itself with not one city being able to resist them. At this the Egyptians searched their oracles and prophecies and then asked that they use Moses the Hebrew. The king required his daughter to produce him and he was made the general of the Egyptian army.

Before the Ethiopians knew of this development, Moses led his troops southward, not as was usually done by river, but by land. He was able to do this by using a special strategy to overcome the many snakes that inhabited that area. Others had failed to pass that way, but Moses used “ibes,” birds that were an enemy to snakes, to clear the ground before the army marching south passed that way. In this way Moses and his troops were able to surprise the Ethiopians with their attack, overpowering them, overthrowing many cities and slaughtering many. The Ethiopians therefore, seeking to avoid the destruction the Egyptians under Moses was making as he was wrecking the land, retreated to the royal city of Saba located in a remote area. Saba was surrounded by a natural defense of the river Nile along with other rivers which made an approach to it difficult. This natural defense was further augmented by a great wall so that even if the rivers were to be crossed, the wall would keep the enemy out and the occupants safe inside.

As Moses busied himself approaching the walls, wisely overcoming these hardships, he appeared to be fighting successfully, Tharbis, the daughter of the king of the Ethiopians happened to observe Moses’ movements. She thought correctly that he was the author of the successes of the Egyptians, and admiring the subtlety of his undertakings, realized that the Ethiopians were in great danger. She fell in love with him and, motivated by that emotion, sent the most faithful of all her servants to Moses to discuss the possibility of marriage. He accepted her offer on the condition that she would guarantee the city would yield to him, assuring her that for his part when he possessed the city he would, without fail, receive her as his wife. Josephus writes, “No sooner was the agreement made, but it took effect immediately; and when Moses had cut off the Ethiopians, he gave thanks to God, and consummated his marriage, and led the Egyptians back to their own land.” (Antiquities of the Jews, Chapter Nine) This sufficiently demonstrates for us Bible believers that Moses was, as natural skills influence behavior, truly mighty in word and deed. Stephen was right.

Soon in this series we will examine the Exodus account of Moses’ attempt in his own strength to defend an Israelite slave with, evidently, an eye towards delivering all of them. The attempt, however, was spurned as the slave did not want to trust Moses. In that story it is represented as an act of holy self-denial on Moses’ part. Stephen says in Acts 7:23, “When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his own people, the Israelites.” Moses, in the prime of his time of preferment in the court of Egypt, “decided.” I rather suspect that it came into his heart because God put it there. But Moses went about it the wrong way, became afraid that it was known and fled Egypt not to return for forty years. Nevertheless, let us think about the fact that “he decided to visit his own people, the Israelites.” That is to say that he wanted to see which way he might do them any service so he showed himself as a public person, with a public character—as Israel’s savior. This desire he demonstrated by avenging an oppressed Israelite, killing the Egyptian that abused him as recorded in Acts 7:24. “He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian.” He was moved with compassion towards the sufferer, and a just indignation at the wrong-doer, as men in public stations should be, and “so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian.” If he had been only a private person and not publicly minded, he would not have even tried this. He evidently felt his commission from heaven would bear him out, and supposed that his brothers, who could not but have some knowledge of the promise made to Abraham that God would judge the nation that should oppress them, would have understood that God by his hand would deliver them. He could not have had either presence of mind or strength of body to do what he did, if he had not been personally convinced that he had such authority and divine power. Something strong motivated him. If they had but understood the signs of the times, they might have taken this for the dawning of the day of their deliverance but it was not time yet. 

They did not understand Moses’ call or intention. Neither did Moses fully. They did not take this, as it was designed, for the setting up of a standard, and sounding of a trumpet, to proclaim Moses their deliverer and Israel’s judge. He gave a demonstration of his desire the very next day, in offering to arbitrate an argument between two contending Hebrews, wherein Moses plainly assumed a public character as shown in Acts 7:26, “The next day Moses came upon two Israelites who were fighting. He tried to reconcile them by saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why do you want to hurt each other?’” He showed himself to them as they strove, and, perhaps put on too much an air of majesty and authority. He would have straightened out the problem and as their prince would have determined the controversy between them, saying, Sirs, you are brethren, by birth and our Hebrew faith; why do you wrong one to another? For he may have observed that, as in most strifes, there was a fault on both sides; and therefore, in order to make peace and friendship, there must be a mutual remission and condescension. When Moses in his own strength made himself out to be Israel’s deliverer out of Egypt, he slew the Egyptian, and thought he could himself deliver Israel out of Egypt’s hands. He failed.

But 40 years later when he was eventually to be Israel’s judge and lawgiver, after God had helped him mature, he ruled them mostly gently (incidentally, with a few exceptions which they deserved) with the golden sceptre, not the iron rod. He did not kill and slay them when they argued, but gave them excellent laws and statutes, and gave fair decisions when they presented their complaints and appeals as we see eventually happens as recorded in Exodus 18:16, “Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.” But here, now in Egypt the contending Israelite that was possibly most in the wrong thrust him away and would not accept the reproof, though a just and gentle one, but was ready to fly in his face, with, “‘Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’” (27, 28). Part of the problem was the slaves pride, another part was the the time was not right and a third part of the problem was that Moses was not ready. God had to get him ready. And God has to get us ready too. Proud and authoritative spirits are resistant to correction and control.

Yet, see the foolishness of these slaves. Rather would these Israelites have their bodies ruled with rigor by their task-masters than be delivered, and have their minds ruled with reason by their deliverer. The wrong-doer was so enraged at the reproof given him that he criticized Moses with the service he had done to their nation in killing the Egyptian. If they had pleased, this could and would have been just the beginning of further and greater service: “Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?” It was not wise to charge that upon Moses as his crime, and threaten to accuse him for it. On Moses’ part, the act was equal to the hanging out of a flag of defiance to the Egyptians, and the banner of love and deliverance to Israel. Yet here, because of multiple factors, the effort was aborted and Moses fled to the land of Midian, and made no further attempt to deliver Israel until forty years later. Meanwhile, he settled as a stranger in Midian, married, and had two sons, by Jethro’s daughter as verse 29 relates, “When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian, where he settled as a foreigner and had two sons.”

Moses was a mighty man, but human might will not set slaves free. You and I must learn to be mighty in the power of the Holy Spirit and set people free with another kind of weapon in another kind of war. Ephesians 6:12 says, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” And 2 Corinthians 10:4 says, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.”

Whether you have natural talents and educational advantages or not, spiritually become a mighty man or woman of God. Mighty because of the mighty God who works through you.