Moses -- a Flawed Character

Moses -- a Flawed Character

Moses, one of the main characters of the Old Testament, is in many ways a flawed character. The Bible portrays him as a leader -- yet often paints him as a contradictory and inscrutable character. Moses is the well-known Jewish prophet who led the Israelites from slavery to freedom. He is also the man who passed the Ten Commandments on to the people. However, he had several flaws: 1. he felt inadequate partially because of a speech impediment; 2. he was compassionate and empathetic to a fault; and 3. he had a flawed relationship with his followers due to his complex and often hot-tempered personality.

It seems that some of Moses' most honorable personality traits were also his most flawed. Moses had such compassion and empathy for his people that he could not stand to see them enslaved and treated badly (Boadt, 1985). However, his compassion led him to commit sins. For example, Moses killed an Egyptian man when he saw the man beating a Hebrew slave (Ex. 2:11-12). Even though the man was doing wrong, Moses did not have the right to kill him. At this point in the story, Bible readers can see that Moses is indeed a flawed character.

Despite Moses' harsh actions, God recognized his leadership capabilities and selected Moses to lead the people out of slavery and to the Promised Land (Ex. Chs. 3-4). At this time, Moses' insecurity and feelings of inadequacy were revealed. Moses felt that he was unable to carry out God's wishes, even though God promised that He would provide everything that was required. Moses gave God many excuses as to why he would be unable to carry out God's wishes and did not agree until God had given him a lot of reassurance.

Moses was reluctant to lead others and preach God's word partially because he suffered from a speech impediment. However, God viewed this flaw as an asset rather than an unacceptable flaw, possibly because He wanted the Jewish People to follow Moses because of the truth of his message, rather than because of his great speaking skills. Eventually, with the help of his brother Aaron, Moses accepted his responsibility and led the slaves to Mount Sinai, where he gave them the Ten Commandments (Ex. Chs. 12-24).

Moses was not perfect, as he was a human being. Like any human, he had flaws and weakness, and the Bible tells of Moses' shortcomings. Perhaps the Bible details these flaws to help readers see that Moses was just like any one of us. In addition, Moses' flaws give the Bible a little more drama and excitement.

For example, readers would expect that Moses -- a great leader -- would have an automatic invitation to the Promised Land (Fox, 1995). However, Moses was barred from entering the Promised Land because he was disobedient and flawed (Deut. 32:48-52). Moses was told to speak to a rock to get water from it, but instead he beat the rock repeatedly, showing his bad temper and a lack of faith (Num. 20:7-13).

Moses was a man who wanted to save others. His compassion made it very difficult for him to watch others suffer. When he followed God's commands to meet with the Pharaoh, he trusted that God would alleviate the suffering of his followers. When the situation worsened, Moses' compassion for the people got in the way of his trust in God. He cried out to God, questioning His actions.

When the people began complaining about their thirst and the situation, Moses' faith faltered because he was angry and disillusioned. The people had no water to drink. Moses was given instruction to get water from a rock. Moses beat it instead. In this case, Moses' flawed character is clear. His inability to tolerate the suffering of others, while not an obvious flaw, leads to impatience, anger and a lack of faith. His desperate need to get water to the people interfered with his ability to follow God's instructions.