Moses was raised as an Egyptian prince in Pharaoh's palace, but he knew he was not an Egyptian. He was a Hebrew, a descendent of Abraham to whom God promised that a huge nation would come from his descendants, and they would live in the land of Canaan, not Egypt. Moses was uneasy about his privileged position while his fellow Hebrews were beaten as slave workers to build Pharaoh's treasure cities. That unease turned to anger and he killed a violent Egyptian slave-driver and buried him in the sand, thinking nobody had seen (Exodus 2:11-12).

He was so upset about this culture of violence that, the next day, he stopped a fight between two Hebrew slaves. Instead of gratitude, they turned on him and asked if he was thinking of killing them also (Exodus 2:13). His crime was obviously not a secret and Moses became fearful of the consequences of his action (Exodus 2:14). Pharaoh got personally involved and tried to kill Moses, but the prince became a fugitive and found his home among Bedouin tribes-people who lived and traded off herds of sheep and goats (Exodus 2:15-22).

But today's verses interpret the narrative in a different way. Despite his uncontrolled anger, his murderous action and fleeing for his life, Moses was motivated more by God's promise of taking His people out of that misery, than the fear of Pharaoh on his life. He wanted to be able to live to liberate his people, for God's sake. That was in his heart. In some way, he perceived that God would send a liberator, and he anticipated complete salvation through Christ. A man of faith, Moses could see the final outcome, but did not know the way. What Moses could not know was that God would choose him to fulfil his God-motivated ambition. But it would have to be done God's way and not his. After 40 years of humbling as a shepherd, he was ready to do the job - although initially he was reluctant, he finally obeyed (Exodus 3:1-4:17).

All the 'heroes of faith' in this chapter are tainted by sin. And yet the Lord used them. That must be a great encouragement to the rest of us. Often, like us they needed times of humbling; and even after their notable acts of faith, they fell. But the Lord continues to use people who look beyond the present circumstances to what He might achieve, whatever their weaknesses. They persevere because the Lord has brought the invisible future into focus for them, and they believe what they see. That motivates them to keep going, trusting the Lord to fulfil His promises. Real faith is not a cold analysis of possibilities; it sees and trusts what the Lord will do, and wants to be involved. As we read the Word and pray, the Lord will show us what He wants to achieve and sets new horizons for our hearts. That is the life of faith.