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Jenny Little

Miss Akers

Honors English 9

10/20/17

The Struggle of Moses

Moses was a leader of the Israelites and appears in the book of Exodus in The Bible as/in

Literature. Moses freed the Jews from captivity in Egypt where they slaved for the Egyptians

and later safely lead them across the Red Sea. He and the Israelites formed a covenant, an

unrelenting promise, with God, meaning that wherever they walked, God would bless the land.

Moses writing of the ten commandments was also a large factor in the way that God trusted him

and his people. However, taking on the role of a great prophet did come with massive amounts of

suffering, as shown by Moses.

One day, Moses goes out to look at the burdens of his people when he sees an

Egyptian beating a Hebrew, so he kills the Egyptian as punishment. Pharaoh heard of the murder

and plotted to kill him, causing Moses to flee from his homeland. ...and he said to the man that

did the wrong, Why do you strike your fellow? He answered, Who made you a prince and a

judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian? Then Moses was afraid, and

thought, Surely the thing is known. When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses(110-

111). With his people, the Israelites, enslaved to the Egyptians, Moses is forced to watch his

people suffer day after day, which deeply hurts him. On this particular day, Moses is so furious

with the Egyptians that he decides to kill an Egyptian man who is harming an Iseraelite.

Consequently, Pharaoh finds out about his wrongdoing so Moses is forced to evacuate his
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homeland. Now, the former prince is on the run from the all-powerful Pharaoh, and he has no

helpful companions to flee alongside.

Joshua tells Moses of the sounds he hears in the camp that he predicts to be noise from

battle. However, when Moses arrives at the camp, he sees his people worshipping the Golden

Calf, a figurine they created and violating the 2nd commandment in the process. Moses is

ashamed and livid. And as soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing,

Moses anger burned hot, and he threw the tables out of his hands and broke them at the foot of

the mountain. And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it with fire, and ground it to

powder, and scattered it upon the water, and made the people of Israel drink of it (136). Moses

is destroyed by the Israelites worshipping the golden calf because he freed them from the

Egyptians with the help of God, and in return for being liberated, God gave them commandments

to follow. Instead of taking those commandments to heart, the people disregard their importance

and worship an idol. Moses is burdened so greatly because God has trusted Moses to lead his

people, but the Israelites fail to remain loyal.

In the attempt to atone for the Israelites sinful worship of the golden calf, Moses listens

to Gods orders when he tells him to scribe the Ten Commandments. And the Lord said to

Moses, Write these words; in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and

with Israel. And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor

drank water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments

(137). With no food or water, Moses writes diligently on Mount Sinai the ten commandments,

the rules that God gives his worshipers. Though he will not be rewarded for this task, he

sacrifices his well being and scribes for God.

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Moses place in society, leader of the Israelites, caused him to have to watch his people

suffer, breakdown at his people for disrespecting God and fast for forty days and forty nights.

Through watching Moses struggle, its clear that in order to have a high place in the world,

sacrifices and burdens are bound to come.