The Mosaic tradition describes him as someone who, from his youth, is already aware of the inhumane and oppressive reality of the system in which he lives—this sensitivity, the first step of his vocation, needed to mature. There is no liberation of the oppressed at the cost of murdering the oppressor. Freedom does not mean violence. The flight of Moses to the desert carries significant symbolic meaning. It is necessary to step back to gain a better understanding of reality, our possibilities, and our limitations. Back in the desert, at a well in Midian, Moses takes the side of the weak by defending women whom shepherds mistreat.
The chapter ends with a kind of prologue to the type of relationship that God will have with his people. So far, God has been “absent,” and it’s important to note that the cries of his oppressed people drive his “arrival” in the story. God isn’t indifferent to his people’s suffering; he cares about them and takes action.