Liberation Theology-Moses

1. Moses was very successful in his secular life. As a young baby, he was spared from being executed as the reigning Pharaoh had decreed. Instead, he was adopted by the Pharaoh’s daughter and raised as her son. Depending on which translation of Exodus that you read, Moses is referred to as a “prince” and was very much favored by his adopted grandfather, and was in the line of succession to become the next Pharaoh.

2. The first injustice that Moses encountered forced him to flee from Egypt. He saw an Egyptian taskmaster beating a Hebrew slave. Moses murdered the Egyptian and his body. Moses’ second injustice affected him personally; two Hebrew men mocked Moses for defending the Hebrew slave, and Moses was forced to flee Egypt.
Moses fled and took shelter by a well in Midian, near Mount Sinai. He saw several women attempt to water their sheep, but they were accosted by other shepherds, who chased them away from the wMoses intervened, attacked and defeated the abusive shepherds, and even watered the young women’s sheep.
The greatest injustice that Moses ever faced was the enslavement of his native people. Moses knew he was a Hebrew, and eventually couldn’t stand to see his people abused. After many years, Moses led his people out of Egypt.
My question is this: why did Moses wait so long to aid the suffering Hebrews? As a prince of Egypt, he certainly could have helped the Hebrews without resorting to violence. This story tells us that God is willing to use a flawed and even cowardly person to do His will.

3. Moses was converted dramatically-he met God. God appeared to Moses as a burning bush and performed miracles before Moses. Moses was very afraid and in awe of God’s power. He submitted, albeit stubbornly, to the power of God.

4. Moses tried to avoid doing God’s will. He desperately tried to explain to God why he couldn’t serve Him. Moses doubted God; he didn’t think the people would believe that he had seen God, Moses tried to use his speech impediment as an excuse, and finally asked God why he had to go. After all, Moses was old and comfortable, prosperous and married. God refuted all of Moses’ excuses, and grew angry before Moses submitted.

5. Moses started out as a man who had it all: fame, wealth, and power. He lost that part of his life when he murdered that Egyptian taskmaster. He fled to Midian, and lived there until he was old. Although prosperous, his present surrounding could have in no way rivaled the splendor of the Pharaoh’s palace.
My question is this: why did Moses wait so long to aid the suffering Hebrews? As a prince of Egypt, he certainly could have helped the Hebrews without resorting to violence. This story tells us that God uses flawed people who have made mistakes in their past to do His will. God seems to have a sense of irony; He uses aan exiled slave to save a nation of exiled slaves. A key to Liberation Theology is not being bound by the slavery of the past, but obeying God to free other spiritual slaves. Moses, empowered by God, virtually destroyed Egypt, and led his people to a new life. God doesn’t look at a person’s past defeats and mistakes, but at man’s future victories. A key to Liberation Theology is not being bound by your past, but obeying God's will to free other slaves. In a spiritual sense, Moses stopped being a slave to the powers of darkness when he fled Egypt. He obeyed God, and freed the other slaves from lifelong slavery to the powers of darkness in this world. Moses laid the foundations for spiritual freedomfor the Hebrews, just as Jesuse didm for us. We have to decide, as the Hebrews did, whether or not to remain complacent slaves, or to take a chance and venture out into freedom.