In Exodus chapter two, verse twelve, Moses’ willingness to identify with God’s people and defend the Hebrews facing oppression demonstrated his faith in God. Moses rejected the passing pleasures of sin for the honor of suffering for God and his people.
The phrase, “He looked this way and that,” is the modern equivalent of the literal wording “he turned thus and thus.” The idea is that Moses looked around to make sure no one would witness what he was about to do. Since no one stopped him or viewed the event, Moses felt he could stop unjust violence against his fellow Hebrew by using violence himself. Moses defends his fellow Jew by killing an Egyptian aggressor. Moses is shocked to find that his attempt to hide the act failed.
The situation with Moses defending his fellow man exists today. We intend to do justice or the right thing when we see something that does not seem right before us. However, we do not know from our perspective how things will pan out if we attempt to do something that may be uncertain. To ensure we are doing the right thing, we should ask God in our life challenges the right approach to whatever we face. Not that every obstacle will be an easy solution to overcome, but God will work the problem out in our favor.
Like Moses with the slaying of the Egyptian that failed, we should avoid attempting to do something that may seem right in our eyes. Moses’ reaction regarding the incident with the Egyptian beating his fellow man was a natural response to helping another. He did not expect to encounter a tense situation like that. However, as harsh as the violent act may seem, how would we handle a horrific activity with a person doing that to another? Would we ask God to help us? Or would we react and help ourselves.