A Fine Sight to SeeSample

Do Not Despise Your Midian

In Exodus 2, Moses murdered a man, and when he realized that someone saw him murder the man—not to mention that Pharaoh was beyond ticked about Moses killing an Egyptian—Moses “fled . . . and settled in the land of Midian” (Exodus 2:15 NRSV). If you’ve read the book of Exodus, you probably remember that Moses stayed in Midian, in his self-imposed exile, for forty years.

This past spring a friend of mine was dealing with some stuff that was making her feel overwhelmed, so I invited her over for supper. We had just finished our meal when our conversation turned to a ministry project my friend had mentioned a few months before. After several minutes, she launched into what was essentially a dissertation about why she wasn’t qualified to tackle it. At one point she said something like, “Oh, you don’t understand what happened back in 1998,” and I grinned as she finished prosecuting the case against herself.

We may have been in Birmingham, but my friend was also smack-dab in the middle of Midian.

Since I too have lived that Midian life, I had so much compassion for how my friend was seeing herself, and for all the ways she had put herself in exile, so to speak. I don’t think this is an unusual reaction to shame, especially when our mistakes have lived in the dark. When something has been largely unseen, it’s easy to believe that it will be the end of us when it comes to light. And listen, there absolutely can be consequences, and I don’t want to make light of how we may have hurt other people with our actions.

What a reminder that we shouldn’t walk through Midian alone. In Moses’ case, a man named Reuel invited him to break bread. Moses eventually married Reuel’s daughter Zipporah. Moses learned what it was like to be “an alien residing in a foreign land” (Exodus 2:22), a puzzle piece of empathy that was going to be much needed for reasons that Moses could never have anticipated. For forty-some-odd years, Moses tended his father-in-law’s sheep. He kept the flock (Exodus 3:1). He learned to lead.

Journeying together brings perspective, it brings wisdom, and it brings clarity.

Do not despise your Midian, my friends.

The Lord will use that time to teach you and prepare you for what’s next.

Trust him. You’ll see.