“Then Moses was afraid and thought, 

‘Surely the thing is known.’’

–Exodus 2:14b

The verse above comes from a day when a secret about Moses ends. Exodus 2 tells us of that moment and several other unknown events in that man’s life that preceded and followed it. Some of those secrets come to light and some are not.  

As an infant Moses had been raised by Pharaoh’s daughter. That choice occurred despite her father’s call for the death of Hebrew male infants. Somehow, the daughter’s act of defiance is kept in confidence by her servants for Moses grows-up safely in the palace. On the day he makes the comment above, a different secret is spilled.   

Moses had gone out to see for the labor placed on the Hebrew people by Pharaoh. The ruler took that step because he was afraid of the Israelites and thought hard work would reduce their numbers. Moses witnesses an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, “one of his kinsfolk,” the text says. Looking in both directions to make sure no one is watching, Moses kills the overseer and hides his body in the sand. The next day, Moses is out again and this time sees two Hebrews fighting.  He breaks things up and one of the men says “Who made you a ruler and judge over us?  Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?”  Whether someone had witnessed his crime or the one he defended the previous day is speaking, the secret is out. 

Moses goes to Midian, just to the east of Egypt, While resting next to a well, daughters of the local priest arrive with their sheep. The women draw water and fill the trough, but shepherds appear and harass them. Moses steps in and gets the water they need. When the daughters return home their father asks why they are back so soon and they tell of one they believe to be an Egyptian–for Moses wore the garb of his adoptive family–coming to their aid. The priest invites Moses into his home and gives one of the daughters, Zipporah, to him in marriage. Eventually, the couple has a son who is named Gershom because in Moses’ words “I have been an alien residing in a foreign land.”  Such a comment suggests to me Moses has not told his wife or father-in-law about what happened in Egypt and that he intends to keep that secret under wraps longer. Perhaps forever.

Moses fled from Egypt and his life in the palace because the murder had become known. Had the Hebrew he defended kept the news quiet, who knows how much longer the Israelites would have remained in slavery? The daughters of that priest shared the account of one who had rescued them from shepherds. It was not a secret nearly on the same scale as Moses’ killing the Egyptian, but had they kept quiet, he likely would have kept moving. The implication that Moses kept his identity secret from his wife and father-in-law served God’s purpose, too, for it was in Midian that the LORD would speak to him from a burning bush. Those outcomes occurred amidst secrets kept and secrets broken as God used both outcomes for a larger purpose.  That happens still.

Twelve years ago, I visited the classroom of my future daughter-in-law. She taught eighth grade writing at a charter school in South Philadelphia and had given them the assignment of writing and delivering a 3-5 minute speech. The week prior to the deadline, she brought me as a guest to offer some tips. Her students knew she was engaged, but we had decided she would not introduce me as her future father-in-law, but simply as her pastor (which I was). We also agreed that I would share my insights about speeches with the class, ask for their questions, and only if time allowed at the end let the students in on our secret. 

There were five classes with the first one beginning at 8:15. By the start of the final one at 2:30 I was tired, giving me new appreciation for those who do that sort of thing five days a week. It was a great day and after the questions ended I concluded each class by saying, “There’s one other reason your teacher invited me to be with you today. In seven weeks she will be marrying my son.”  

Given their reaction one might suspect I sent a surge of electricity through their desks at the same time. One exclaimed “What the what!” My daughter-in-law-to-be asked if they wanted to know more. The questions poured out. “What do you like most about her?” one asked me. Others wanted to know our son’s age and what he did for a living. One said “Are you glad he’s marrying a church girl and not a hoodlum?” I assured him I was. Another said “This question is serious–do you want grandchildren?” Their teacher seemed especially interested in my answer to that one! My favorite question was from the young man sitting directly in front of me who began “You said that you’ve been at this church for ten years,” and then turning to his teacher asked “How long has this been going on?”  

Certainly not all secrets evoke laughter when they are shared, but they can bring about a release of energy when the truth comes to light. Some secrets need to be kept, especially if they prevent another person from being harmed.  My hunch, though, is that the ones that need to be maintained are fewer than the ones that need to be told. What does your experience tell you?

All Knowing One, on this day there are some secrets I am keeping that need to be shared and some that need to continue.  Help me to discern which is which. Amen.