The Story of Hidden Crimes

Exodus 2:11-14

While Beth's father was putting gas in the car, Beth and Bobby ran into the Spend-It-All mini-market to get some sodas. While they were in the store, Beth saw Bobby sneak into one of the back aisles and fill his jacket pockets with Ruth's Baby and Four Horsemen candy bars. She didn't say anything to the nice man behind the counter about the stolen candy when she bought her soda because she was too embarrassed.
That evening, Beth went into the kitchen where her mother was scrubbing the floor and told her all about what she had seen Bobby do.
"Did anybody see him other than you?" Beth's mother asked, wiping the sweat from her brow with the back of one wrist.
"No, I don't think so," said Beth. "But isn't it wrong to steal even if nobody saw him?"
"Let me tell you how Moses felt about that," said her mother as she returned to her work. And this is the story she told:

One day, when Moses was a young man, he saw an Egyptian hitting a Hebrew. Because Moses was a Hebrew, he killed the Egyptian and hid the Egyptian's body in the sand.
The next day, Moses saw two Hebrews fighting. He said, "Why are you fighting?"
One of the men yelled at him, "Who made you king? Are you going to kill me like you killed the Egyptian?"
Then Moses was afraid because people had found out that he killed someone the day before.

Beth thought about this for a moment.
"I see," said Beth. "Moses wasn't afraid because he had killed someone, he was afraid because people had found out about it. He didn't even feel guilty about what he did." Then she smiled and hugged her mother. "I guess he should have killed the Hebrew too because he was a witness."
Beth's mother stood and carried the pail of dirty water over to the sink. "Oh, I don't know about that," she said. "But I do know that Bobby will have to be punished because you caught him stealing."
It pleased Beth that the Lord's justice would be done, and that all her questions had been answered.