After the word spread that Moshe had killed an Egyptian, Moshe was forced to flee from Egypt, and he arrived in Midyan. There he witnessed the scene of shepherds harassing Yisro’s seven daughters at a well. Moshe drove the shepherds away and drew water for the young women’s herds.
When Yisro’s daughters returned home, they reported to their father what had happened, telling him “An Egyptian man saved us from the hands of the shepherds" (2:19).
The Midrash (Shemos Rabba 1:32) raises the question of why Yisro’s daughters described Moshe as an איש מצרי – “an Egyptian man.” Was this who Moshe was? Did he really dress as an Egyptian?
The Midrash answers by offering a fascinating explanation of this pasuk. After Moshe rescued the women, they started praising him, calling him a hero. Moshe responded, “That Egyptian whom I killed – he saved you.” Rather than take credit for rescuing them, Moshe directed their attention to the extraordinary sequence of events that led him to be present at the well so that he could help them. It was only because of the מצרי איש the Egyptian man whom Moshe had observed beating a slave, and whom he then proceeded to kill, that Moshe ended up fleeing to Midyan and was thus in a position to rescue Yisro’s daughters from the harassment of the local shepherds. And thus “An Egyptian man saved us from the hands of the shepherds” – the women were saved by the Egyptian man whom Moshe had killed, on account of which he needed to flee to Midyan.
Rav Yisroel Meir Druck derives an important lesson about appreciating Hashem's role in everything we accomplish from the Midrash. So many different things need to fall into place for us to succeed in anything, for us to achieve anything. If we find ourselves in a position to help somebody, or to do something meaningful, we should not take all the credit. We need to open our eyes and appreciate all that Hashem has done to enable us to achieve all that we are able to achieve, all the assistance that He grants, and His having placed us in a position to accomplish the great things that we are privileged to accomplish. We cannot take all the credit for our achievements; we must feel a keen sense of gratitude for all Hashem has done to enable us to do all that we do.
