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Moses Transformation
Derek Jiang

Throughout the Bible, Moses experiences and endures many hardships, through which he learns
and adapts. Moses, through the journey of freeing the Israelites from Egypt, is able to find self-confidence
and strength to succeed in the task. With the help of God and his personal growth, Moses is able to
achieve many great tasks, and lead the Hebrews to success and prosperity. At the beginning, Moses starts
off as an ineffective and meek individual, but through the changes to his circumstances and his connection
to God, he is able to change his characteristics into a strong, prudent, and confident leader.
Moses is born to very strange circumstances. He is found by the daughter of the Pharaoh in
papyrus basket in the river, and raised in the royal court, so he is presumably pampered and sheltered
from the struggles of the common man. When he grows up and encounters the Egyptian beating the
Hebrew, and he looked this way and that, and seeing no one he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the
sand(Exodus 2:12). This shows that Moses at a young age was not a very good problem solver, as he
kills the Egyptian without even confronting him about the issue. He instead ends his life without thinking
of an alternative solution to the problem. This shows immaturity and recklessness that exemplifies poor
leadership. Because Moses was brought up in a sheltered lifestyle, he does not know how to solve
conflicts, or effectively make compromises. Later on, he meets two Hebrews arguing. He tries to diffuse
the situation by scolding the offending Hebrew, but instead the argument escalates further, with the
Hebrew exclaiming, Who made you ruler and judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the
Egyptian? (Exodus 2:14). This shows that even the Hebrews do not want Moses as their leader, shunning

and mocking him for his self-righteous behaviour. This is further aggravated by the fact that he knows
that Moses killed the Egyptian. This causes Moses to flee from the Pharaoh, forcing him to run away from
his problems. Moses is unable to even solve simple problems, because of his immature and rash nature.
When God appears before Moses and tells him to send the Hebrews to freedom, he hesitates and
questions his own ability to be a leader. He is constantly asking God questions, afraid to deal with
problems by himself now, as his rash actions has hurt him in the past. Now he has become scared to act
by himself and now cannot complete tasks without the help of others. Still, even after God gives Moses
magic and spends some time convincing Moses to do as asked, Moses remains uncertain, saying O my
lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor even now that you have spoken to your servant;
but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue (Exodus 4:10). God ensures yet again to Moses that God
will give him the ability to speak eloquently and convincingly, but Moses pleads again, O my Lord,
please send someone else (Exodus 4:13), showing that he is both unwilling and unable to lead the
Hebrews. This forces God to send Moses brother Aaron with them on the quest to free the Hebrews.
Moses has now completely lost his self-confidence. He now needs to use Aaron as a mouthpiece to
convey Gods word. However, God still has faith in Moses, as God could have simply told Aaron
everything directly, but he sticks to speaking directly to Moses. This trust in Moses ability to succeed
will pay off later. When Moses performs the tricks for the Pharaoh, he does not believe in Moses, as his
magicians did the same. Then, God told Moses to turn the water to blood. The Pharaoh continued to
remain steadfast, as his magicians could do the same. Finally, God told Moses to bring frogs onto the land
of Egypt, but the magicians were still able to do the same. Then, the Pharaoh realized the problem, as now
his kingdom is covered in frogs and bloody rivers. Moses, through the power of God, was able to deceive
the Pharaoh into plaguing his own land with blood and frogs, and therefore free the Israelite people. God
hardened the Pharaohs heart because freeing the Hebrew people is a challenge that God has placed for
Moses to overcome. If God simply wanted to free the Hebrew people, he would have simply softened the
Pharaohs heart. Instead, he wants to help Moses become a more confident and effective leader, and so he

hardened the Pharaohs heart to test Moses persuasive skills. This also shows the Hebrews that Moses is
an extension of God, and so must be a strong and powerful leader. As Moses is escaping Egypt with the
Israelites, God hardens the Pharaohs heart, so that he sends soldiers after them. This causes the Israelites
to lose morale, begging Moses, Is this not the very thing we told you in Egypt, Let us alone and let us
serve the Egyptians? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the
wilderness (Exodus 14:12). Moses calms them by exclaiming, Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the
deliverance that the Lord will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall
never see again (Exodus 14:13). Moses is now able to bring confidence and morale to his people,
showing an increase in his competency of leadership. When Moses arrives at the Red Sea, he parts it for
the people of Israel, and closes it on top of the Egyptians, ending the battle. The people now have faith in
Moses, and in extension, God now, as they sing songs for all of Genesis 15. This chapter of Moses life
shows a slow but steady transformation from a doubtful individual into a potent leader.
As time goes on, Moses becomes more and more confident and is able to speak to the people
directly. This is apparent in that Aaron does not speak directly to God, and God himself says, You
yourself are to speak to the Israelites: You shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you
throughout your generations, given in order that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you. (Exodus
31:13). In fact, Aaron is hardly mentioned near the end of Exodus, as he no longer plays a key role in the
story of the people of Israel and their journey, as Moses is the one who speaks to God and gives the
Israelites commands. Moses tries to rally the Israelites to follow and worship God as their sole deity.
However, the people are not completely faithful in God. They simply want a god to believe in, not
necessarily the Israelite God. And so when Moses was late to come down the mountain, the people
begged Aaron to create a God for them, as they desperately needed something to believe in, crying,
Come, make Gods for us, who shall go before us; as this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the
land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him (Exodus 32:1). This upset God, and he vowed to
burn and kill all of them. Moses in the past would have done the same, just as he had done with the

Egyptian beating the Hebrew, but Moses has undergone a personal characteristic change, showing more
empathy and thoughtfulness in his actions. Instead of lashing out and agreeing with God and killing the
Israelites, Moses pleaded with God to spare the Israelites, stating,
O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you brought out of
the land of Egypt with great power and with mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, It was
with evil intent that he brought the out to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from
the face of the Earth? Turn from your fierce wrath; change your mind and do not bring disaster
on your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, how you swore to them by
your own self, saying to them, I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all
this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.
(Exodus 32:11-13)
This eloquent speech by Moses shows that he has learned and experienced a great deal in his life,
and that he is now able to successfully convince and persuade others, and in this case, God himself. He
explains that if God kills the Israelite people, Moses would have no one to lead, and therefore there would
be no kingdom to create. He uses evidence from the past as well as clearly thought out logic to persuade
and convince God, much like how a college essay uses evidence from other sources to argue a point. This
shows great maturity and patience, which contrasts greatly with his characteristics in the past. As well,
Moses quotes God himself, where God states that he promises Abraham, Isaac, and Israel that their
descendants will multiply and inherit the land. Moses now exemplifies confidence and prudence and his
decision making skills have improved dramatically.
Through his own personal struggles and the assistance of God, Moses changes from a helpless
and ineffective individual, to a wise and fair leader of the people of Israel. At a young age, Moses tries to
help the Hebrew people, but it was ineffective and backfired on him, causing him to completely lose
confidence in himself. However, God is able to assist him, and through his magic and prophetic wisdom,
Moses is able to regain confidence in himself, and therefore become the leader of the Israelite people.
God also creates challenges for Moses to overpass, such as the hardening of the Pharaohs heart, to teach
Moses leadership and interpersonal skills that are needed to lead the Israelites. Moses journey is not just

a physical journey out of the land of Egypt, but a spiritual and intellectual one, that helped Moses grow as
an individual in his society.