A Stranger in a Foreign Land

When Anger Takes Over

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Moses saw something wrong, and he got angry. Then “he looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand” (Exodus 2:12). One moment of anger changed his whole life.

Anger can be right. Being upset when someone is hurt is not wrong. God is angry at cruelty too. Moses was right to care that a Hebrew was being beaten.

But anger can take over. The problem is what anger makes us do. “For the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (James 1:20). Moses wanted to make things right, but his anger made things worse.

A warning sign. Moses looked around to make sure nobody was watching. When we feel we need to hide what we are about to do, that is a sign we should stop and think again.

Who gets to pay people back? The Bible says, “do not avenge yourselves… for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Romans 12:19). God sees every wrong, and He is the perfect Judge. We do not have to take His job.

Stronger than a warrior. “He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city” (Proverbs 16:32). It takes more strength to control your anger than to lash out.

A better way. “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). At the well in Midian, Moses still stood up for people who were bullied. But this time he helped without hurting anyone.

What to do when you are angry. Stop before you act. Breathe. Pray, “God, help me.” Walk away if you need to. Tell a trusted adult what is wrong. Then look for a good way to help.

When you already blew it. Moses' anger led to a terrible sin, and God still did not give up on him. If you have hurt someone in anger, tell God and tell the person you are sorry. God forgives those who come to Him.

Jesus and anger. When people hurt Jesus, “He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously” (1 Peter 2:23). He trusted His Father. Because Jesus died for our sins and rose again, His Spirit can help us trust God with our anger too.

Exodus 2:11-12 shows zeal aimed the wrong way. Moses' concern for “his brethren” was good; his method was not. Before he acted, he made sure no one would see: “he looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one.”

Righteous anger and its limits. Scripture recognizes anger at injustice as fitting. Yet James is blunt about its usual results: “the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (James 1:20). Human anger tends to overreach, to act in secret and to answer violence with violence.

Vengeance belongs to God. Paul quotes Deuteronomy 32:35: “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord (Romans 12:19). The command is not indifference to wrong. It is trust that God will judge rightly. Exodus itself will show God judging Egypt on a scale no private act could match.

Self-rule as strength. “He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty” (Proverbs 16:32). The proverb reverses the world's measure of power. Moses had been raised among Egypt's mighty, yet he had not learned to rule his own spirit.

“Do not fret.” Psalm 37:8 says, “Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret—it only causes harm.” Psalm 37 speaks to people who are upset when the wicked seem to succeed. Its counsel is patience: wait for the Lord.

A changed Moses. At the well (2:17) Moses again confronts oppressors, but the verb changes from “struck” to “helped” (yasha', say: yah-SHAH, to save). Zeal remains; violence is gone. Romans 12:21 describes the pattern: “overcome evil with good.”

The pattern of Christ. 1 Peter 2:23 says that Jesus, “when He suffered, … did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously.” Jesus was not weak at the cross. He was actively trusting His Father's justice, and the resurrection proved that His trust was right.

Grace for the angry. Moses later became “very humble” (Numbers 12:3). The change did not happen overnight, and it was God's work. Christians who struggle with anger can bring it honestly to God, confess it, and ask for the Spirit's help.

Anger and justice in Exodus. The rest of the book shows what God's own justice looks like. He warns Pharaoh again and again, gives him time to repent, and acts openly. God's anger is never out of control and never hidden. That is the standard human anger falls short of.

Application. Identify the situations where anger most often rises in you. Decide now on one step to take before acting: a pause, a prayer, a conversation with someone wise.

Strangers Who Belong

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Moses named his son Gershom, “for he said, ‘I have been a stranger in a foreign land’” (Exodus 2:22). He was not an Egyptian anymore, and he was not living with the Hebrews. He felt like he did not belong anywhere.

Feeling like a stranger. Have you ever felt that way? Maybe you moved to a new school, or your family is from another country, or you just feel different from the kids around you. Moses knew that feeling.

God watches over strangers. “The Lord watches over the strangers; He relieves the fatherless and widow” (Psalm 146:9). God never overlooks the person who feels left out.

A welcome at the table. When Reuel heard about Moses, he said, “Call him, that he may eat bread” (2:20). God gave Moses a family who welcomed him. We can do the same for the new kid or the lonely one.

A long wait. Moses stayed in Midian for many years and took care of sheep. It may have felt like nothing was happening. But God was getting him ready. He was learning patience and how to care for a flock.

Waiting on God. “Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart” (Psalm 27:14). Waiting is hard. But “those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength” (Isaiah 40:31).

All God's people are pilgrims. Hebrews says Abraham and his family “confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth” (Hebrews 11:13). A pilgrim is a traveler on the way to a better home.

Our real home. Christians belong to God first. “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20). So it is okay if we do not fit in everywhere here.

Brought into the family. Through Jesus, God brings strangers home. “You are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19). Jesus died and rose to make that true.

Rest for the tired. Jesus says, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Anyone who feels far from home can come to Him.

What to do. This week, notice someone who seems left out. Eat lunch with them, invite them to play, or ask them a question about themselves. That is what Reuel did for Moses. You might be the answer to someone's prayer for a friend.

Gershom's name turns on ger (say: GAIR), a resident foreigner: someone living in a land not his own, without the rights of a citizen. Moses' words in 2:22, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land,” sum up his situation between Egypt, Israel and Midian.

A theme of the Torah. Israel's ancestors were gerim (say: gay-REEM) in Canaan, and Israel will be told again and again to care for the stranger because they had been strangers in Egypt. Moses' personal experience becomes the nation's.

God's care for the outsider. “The Lord watches over the strangers” (Psalm 146:9). The God of Israel describes Himself as the protector of people with no one else to protect them.

Hospitality. Reuel's response, “Call him, that he may eat bread” (2:20), is ancient hospitality at its best. A fugitive becomes a son-in-law. Welcome to the stranger is one of the clearest marks of godliness in Scripture.

The school of Midian. Stephen says forty years passed in Midian (Acts 7:30), “in the process of time” (2:23). Psalm 27:14 commands, “Wait on the Lord.” Waiting is not empty. Moses learned the wilderness and the work of a shepherd, both of which he would need.

Pilgrim identity. Hebrews 11:13 describes the patriarchs as people who “confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth,” and 1 Peter 2:11 addresses Christians as “sojourners and pilgrims.” Not fitting in fully is part of the Christian life, because “our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20).

Belonging in Christ. Ephesians 2:19 completes the picture: believers are “no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.” We are pilgrims in the world because we are at home with God. Christ's death and resurrection are the basis of that belonging.

Rest in Christ. Jesus invites the weary and burdened: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest… for I am gentle and lowly in heart” (Matthew 11:28-29). The One who calls us home is gentle with the outsider.

Hope in the wait. Isaiah 40:31 promises that “those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength.” Waiting in Scripture is not passive. It is active trust that keeps working faithfully, as Moses kept the flock, until God acts.

Application. Ask where you feel most like a stranger, and where you could act like Reuel toward someone else. Both questions are part of living as God's people.

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