Throughout the bible you get many examples of loyalty towards God and many examples of loyalty towards God, but nobody shows loyalty like Moses. Moses is an extremely loyal man and it is shown throughout Exodus and “The Ten Commandments” shows that he is one. If someone shows loyalty then they will receive good in return. Moses faces many difficult situations and he never once takes the easy way out. He goes through pain and punishment but God is shown to be with him throughout his journey of saving his people and representing God. We also must realize that loyalty can be hidden and isnt always an obvious thing for people to see.
Loyalty is one of the most important things a person can have. People idolize people that have this trait in their personalities. When you have someone’s loyalty you can have a certain type of trust in them that is very hard to get. God and Moses’ relationship is a prime example of this. Moses is a man of his people and it is clearly shown in “The Ten Commandments” movie that our class watched earlier this semester. Moses chose to change his lifestyle and go and work with his people in the working trenches, he did this because he loves and respects them and wants to be with his people. Moses lived a very extravagant and luxurious lifestyle living in the Kingdom with his “family”. In the film from (1:25:00-1:45:00), he was in a situation where he could have been at the very top of egypt if he didn’t decide to admit who he actually was to the kingdom. Although doing this wasn’t in his plans since he got called out by one of the hierarchy members, he was given the chance to lie and stay clean, but instead he told the truth and took the very harsh punishment of being sent out into the desert by himself. This scene in the movie also shows people that second chances are a very valuable thing. The tone of this scene is very serious and is the main reason Moses was able to save his people. If he was not punished and was kept then his people would remain in slavery.
In “The Ten Commandment” Moses was sent into the desert with one day’s worth of food, they did this so that he would die in misery for the crime that he had committed towards them. Days had gone by and Moses was getting to the point where he was barely able to walk. Moses Kept hearing this voice that was saying his name. This was God trying to show Moses that he was with him and was going to keep him alive and safe. Then Moses had finally found civilization and was kept alive by a group of girls and their father.
As time went on Moses settled into his new environment and his life became normal and glorious. But Moses, still being the loyal man he was, still had his people in his mind and still wished there was a way for them to be set free. Then one day Moses climbed the mountain and came across a burning bush and this was God. God told him that he had heard his people’s cries for help and would grant Moses with the power to set them free. Moses was shocked and had no idea how he would accomplish this task. But he listened to God and went off to save his people. When Moses finally achieved the goal of having the Israelites be free he started off on the adventure of guiding them to the promised land. During this trip Moses was shown disrespect from the Isrealistes. They muttered behind his back and were angry that he had taken them out of the slavery environment they were in. It says in Exodus 16:2, “And the whole congression of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness”.
Moses clearly felt disrespected by these actions but still didnt let it affect his goal of saving his people. Moses was treated with even more disrespect when God decided to give the people food and the people decided to stash food when told not to. In Exodus in the King James Bible it is a very detailed story, as a reader you are able to paint a picture perfectly in your head.
Loyalty can come in many different ways. Many people may think that some things are unloyal but the meaning behind the actions that have taken place mean nothing but good. When Moses was born his mother knew that he would be set up for failure since he was hebrew. If Moses would have been known as a Hebrew then his life would be nothing but painful and unfair. As shown in “The Ten Commandments” Moses’s people were forced to be slaves and work in the muddy trenches until death. Moseses mother decided it was best for her to hide Moses from everyone so that nobody would know of him. She hid him for three months but then she realized that she would no longer be able to do this for her son. Moses’ mother showed immediate loyalty for her son, this is an important symbol that readers should immediately pick up as her next actions might seem like a smart thing to do.
Moses mother built a floatable bed for moses and sent him down the river to hopefully be found by people, it says in Exodus 2:3, “And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river’s brink”. As the reader this should be identified as a foreshadowing for when God decides to pick Moses to build the arch for the flood that he plans to send to earth to start a new beginning. You may also be thinking how does the stable that is made for the river not flip over when traveling, God is keeping Moses safe and making sure that his travel is safe. When reading this chapter in Exodus, the tone of it is very positive and loving. Moses’ mother has a deep love for him and wants nothing but the best for him. She is able to put him in a situation where he is now a part of the Pharaohs family and his secret will be kept to keep him safe.
In “The Ten Commandments” this scene is a lot more in depth and also understandable for the viewers. In the film from, (05:10-13:19), is the entire scene of when Moses was sent out onto the river by his mother, until when he was found by the egyptians. The movie starts off with Moses’ mother, Moses and Moses’ sister in the river about to send Moses on his way. Moses’ mother in the films cries out to Abraham for his help and guidance to keep Moses safe on his journey. This scene shows the reader the love that she has for her son, even though in the book of King James you can’t really get a clear understanding of that.
When Moses is found by the Pharaoh daughter the lady she is with makes a fast realization that the cloth that was with Moses is made by Hebrews, but the Pharaoh’s daughter claims Moses as her son. This is a sign of Loyalty that she has towards the human race. Although what her father does and controls may be wrong and cruel towards humans, she herself clearly doesn’t have full agreement with it. One thing to notice when watching this scene is the music that gets played in the background, it is a very high pitch song that gives off glorious feelings. It makes Moses floating down the river not a bad thing but something that we should acknowledge and not be sad about.
Loyalty is a very hard thing to have, not every person in this world is able to have this trait in them. You have to truly want this to have it, you don’t just develop it. Having a Loyal relationship with God, their friends and family is extremely important. Moses’s loyalty is what not only saves him but also his people. God was able to acknowledge this and showed his love and support for Moses. Loyalty is something that you don’t come across in today’s world. You have people turning their backs on people, girlfriends and boyfriends cheating on each other, people lying to one another and so on. God doesn’t support any of this type of actions. This is why the world that we live in is such a horrible place, we are not loyal to one another. People need to be more like Moses. If we the people are able to change and become loyal towards one another and towards God then the world will be such a better and happier place.
WORK CITED
- The Ten Commandments movie
Sections: (05:10-13:19) and (1:25:00-1:45:00)
- King James Bible
Sections: Exodus
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