God Delivers Israel by Moses

Acts 7:17–28 (NKJV)

17 “But when the time of the promise drew near which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt 18 till another king arose who did not know Joseph. 19 This man dealt treacherously with our people, and oppressed our forefathers, making them expose their babies, so that they might not live. 20 At this time Moses was born, and was well pleasing to God; and he was brought up in his father’s house for three months. 21 But when he was set out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him away and brought him up as her own son. 22 And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds.

23 “Now when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel. 24 And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended and avenged him who was oppressed, and struck down the Egyptian. 25 For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand. 26 And the next day he appeared to two of them as they were fighting, and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brethren; why do you wrong one another?’ 27 But he who did his neighbor wrong pushed him away, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? 28 Do you want to kill me as you did the Egyptian yesterday?’

We concluded in our last study that, in the providence of God, Joseph’s sufferings were to lead to the salvation of Egypt and the Hebrew patriarchs which foreshadowed the sufferings and death of Christ; for both Jew and Gentile. Stephen was making a defense of the gospel using the history of the fathers that spoke of the promise of Christ. In this study, Lord willing, we will see that Moses also foreshadowed the coming of Christ to deliver Israel from the slavery of the Egyptians which illustrates the children of the devil being held captive to sin and being set free from sin to become the children of God.

But when the time of the promise drew near which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt till another king arose who did not know Joseph.

Let’s begin with the phrase “when the time of promise drew near”. God’s promises are always in regards to His time and providence. We often believe God’s promises, but give up on Him, waiting for His providential timing. God moves, but rarely in keeping with our desired schedule and plan. God has said that Abraham’s offspring would become a nation of priests (Ex.19:6). Only seventy-five people came down to Egypt to escape the famine (v.14) and it was God’s desire to multiply the number of Hebrews before He made a nation out of them. The Hebrew slaves were a fruitful number of people that benefited the Egyptians. However, once a king arose who did not regard the memory of Joseph, he maliciously turned the fear of the Egyptians against the Hebrews, to make them their slaves (Ex.1:8-12).

This man dealt treacherously with our people, and oppressed our forefathers, making them expose their babies, so that they might not live.

The Pharaohs were kings who ruled by dictatorship and were often seen as ‘gods’ who have been risen to an infallible deity. But Stephen testifies that he was just a man who dealt treacherously with the children of Israel. Stephen aims to expose the evil and vile nature of this man’s reign over the Hebrews. In Pharaoh oppressing them, God "caused" them to multiply even more in number over the Egyptians (Ex.1:12). This caused Pharaoh to begin to limit the male children being born and have them put to death. The Holy Spirit, who is breathing out these words through Luke’s account of Stephen’s rebuke, confirms that the Spirit of the new covenant condemns the immorality of murdering children who have not yet acted out of sin worthy of death.

At this time Moses was born, and was well pleasing to God, and he was brought up in his father's house for three months.

During the same time that Pharaoh was murdering the first-born males, Moses was born and brought up for three months in his father’s house. For Moses to go unnoticed for three months is miraculous. This testifies to the Lord’s favor. It pleased God to preserve him alive. The surrounding neighbors, no doubt, lost some of their own children to Pharaoh’s decree. Jealousy would have soon exposed the child – Moses, to the authorities. Therefore it was well pleasing to God to sustain Moses for three full months.

But when he was set out, Pharaoh's daughter took him away and brought him up as her own son.

Moses’ father knew he would not be able to keep the child a secret for much longer. Therefore, they set him out in a basket on the Nile River. The providence of God led him into the safety of Pharaoh’s daughter and she receives him as her own to be raised as an Egyptian. This has a secondary shadow of the life of Christ. Christ was also sent out of His Father’s presence to be raised by sinners and eventually be raised up to bear the identity (sin) of those who raised Him. Having never sinned in thought, word, or deed; Christ became sin to set sinners free from their slavery and rewarded them with His righteousness. In other words, Christ became one of us to reconcile us as one with the Father. Moses shadows this in that he became an Egyptian to reveal that the God of the Hebrews is higher than Pharaoh. This had an appearance of foolishness to the Egyptians, but God will testify to the falleness of Pharaoh as the miraculous plagues are sent upon all of Egypt for refusing to let His people go to worship Him in the dessert.

And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds.

Moses was well educated in the cultures of the day. He understood mathematics and architecture; for the Egyptians were very intelligent and masters in the art of building. Moses also would have understood astrology, as it was the religion of the Egyptians.

No person has been given the attention in Jewish tradition that Moses has. It is said that Pharaoh initially had no son; therefore, Moses was being prepared by Pharaoh’s daughter to succeed to the throne. For this reason, Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. Later, Pharaoh had a son of his own to succeed him instead of Moses. Jewish tradition also states that Moses became a great captain among the Egyptians, leading them to victory against the Ethiopians. Thus he was mighty in words and deeds. [Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1999). Nelson’s new illustrated Bible commentary (Ac 7:22). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.]

If tradition was correct then Moses was also trained in the languages of Hebrew, Greek, Assyrian, and Chaldean according to “A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Acts:”

Philo’s statement (De vita Mos.) is of quite a different character; he relates that Moses was educated not only by Egyptian, but also by Greek, Assyrian, and Chaldean teachers. [Lange, J. P., Schaff, P., Gotthard, V. L., Gerok, C., & Schaeffer, C. F. (2008). A commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Acts (p. 119). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.]

All of his training was sent by the providential hand of God. This education set the ground work that prepared him to be the first Judge of Israel before they entered the Promised Land. This would also have prepared him to teach Israel how to defend herself in the case of war. If tradition holds true, then Moses was most certainly mighty in deeds; but how was he mighty in words? As noted previously he was trained in various languages but some traditions have taught that he had a stammering speech disability. Some scholars would argue differently:

The expression δυνατὸς ἐν λόγοις, by no means contradicts, on the other hand, the language which Moses employs, in Exod. 4:10, in reference to himself, as some writers have supposed. He there remarks that he was not אִישׁ דְּבָרִים, but rather בְבַד־ פֶּה וּכְבַד לָשׁוֹן. These words do not mean, as the Septuagint and the Targum of Jonathan interpret them, that Moses was a stammerer, but only that he was not skillful and fluent in discourse. And, indeed, it often occurs that men who possess great strength of character and much intellectual vigor, are deficient in facility of expression, and, nevertheless, exercise vast influence (δυνατὸς ἐν λόγοις). [Lange, J. P., Schaff, P., Gotthard, V. L., Gerok, C., & Schaeffer, C. F. (2008). A commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Acts (pp. 119–120). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.]

Moses was mighty in word, not through his oratory skills and motivational speeches, but much like the apostle who cut it (the word) straight and simplified it for the uneducated. These characteristics most likely gained him favor with the lower class Egyptians.

Now when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel.

As Moses matured in this favor and education, he remembered his history and his people. God was working in his heart to search out his roots and discover his true purpose. He knew that he was chosen for some sort of greatness, but did not know how it would play out. So he seeks to find the favor of his brethren.

And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended and avenged him who was oppressed, and struck down the Egyptian.

Moses most likely thought that having influence in the Egyptian courts would help ease the oppression of his people. He no doubt watched the Hebrew slaves carry the heavy and brutal burdens that Pharaoh laid upon them. The desire to avenge his brethren in some way, must have built up in him over a period of time, like a damn holding up tons of water. One day he saw enough, and stepped in to defend one who was heavily and unnecessarily oppressed, and struck down the authority of the Egyptian oppressor and accidentally killed him.

For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand.

Moses’ initial thought was that the Hebrew slaves would expect him to deliver them and welcome him into their fellowship, but the reality was contrary to that. They did not understand why Moses was defending them. They may have thought that he was sent in to spy on them and questioned his real motives. Moses will have lost all credibility with the Egyptians at this point when they find out about the murder of the Egyptian taskmaster; and now, his own would not receive him back because they did not understand his true intentions. The Hebrew slaves hated the Egyptians for treating them like animals and working them like dogs; and in identifying Moses with the Egyptians it most likely increased their hostility towards him.

And the next day he appeared to two of them as they were fighting, and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brethren; why do you wrong one another?’

Moses tries to use his education to settle a dispute among the Hebrew slaves; and he doesn’t understand why they would wrong each other, as brethren. But Moses will taste the hatred of the Egyptians in the next verse. Moses will realize that it is useless to try to identify with a people who were brought up under such oppression.

But he who did his neighbor wrong pushed him away, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us?

We are able to get a glimpse into the heart and attitude of this man contending with his neighbor towards Moses’ intercession. Who is this Moses to interfere with the affairs of the children of Israel? Moses no doubt was seeking peace for them, but this man was filled with vengeance. He probably understood enough of the history of his people to know that the Egyptians had no rights over them as slaves. The instigator of the fight thinks to himself, “And now this spoiled brat who was raised in the palaces of Egypt thinks he is going to make peace for us; who is this Egyptian who thinks he is one of us?” Do you find yourself acting like this cry baby who pushes away all good counsel to make peace between brothers? Do you find yourself pushing away God's rights over you as Master and Judge?

Do you want to kill me as you did the Egyptian yesterday?’

The cat is out of the bag now! Moses’ secret life among the Hebrews is most likely going to spread like wildfire. Moses is receiving satanic accusations from his own people, even though his motives and intentions were pure from the outset. Imagine Moses’ struggle: He no longer wants to serve the Egyptian gods, and wants to use his favor for the benefit of his brothers, yet they refuse to accept him. Moses most likely thought he would find his purpose among his fathers, but instead he finds the insanity of the sin of having the best of both worlds.

How am I like Moses? I am an American Christian who has to watch the news about my brothers and sisters “in Christ” being oppressed simply because they will not bow the knee to the god of this world. I find myself in the insanity of living in a place of comfort (heaven so to speak) while my spiritual family is being tortured for their faith in the sovereign Lord of heaven and earth. I find myself powerless to stop it. Sure, I can send them the comfort of some material goods that will most likely be stolen from them at some point in the future; or I could offer up my prayers each and every night asking God for justice upon their oppressors; or I could petition congress to send American troops to annihilate every Muslim and North Korean off the face of the earth; but what would be most beneficial to them in the long term?

The truth is, like in the days of Moses, whether in Egypt or among the Hebrew slaves, we need the gospel of God’s grace. Moses needed to know who his Creator is before he could attempt to lead anyone to the righteousness that is found in Him. There is great wisdom in fleeing the site of destruction (hell) to a place of solitude (heaven). If you struggle with the same insanity as Moses, being caught between two worlds; that is, the world of religion and the world of pleasure and sin, then there is no harm in seeking mercy from God in such a hard place (the earth). God will allow Himself to be found by Moses, who will empower him and send him back to deliver His people as a shadow of who and what was to come. Christ Himself was caught between two worlds; and only He died, for them both. Christ died; first and foremost, for God (heaven or His people); and second, for the world (Egypt). If you want to fellowship with the people of God, you must leave this world which is a spiritual Egypt and embrace the means of grace in Jesus Christ. Christ died for sinners, whether they are Hebrew or Egyptian, they are sinners still, yet Christ died for them both. But don’t follow the example of the Egyptians and ignore the plagues of God’s grace to discipline you. Don’t drown in the pool of your religious pride serving foreign gods who use you for their own vain glory. It is for freedom that Christ has set you free; therefore, be free and live as Moses did, even as Christ did. Just as Moses left Egypt for peace, Christ left this world for the rest of heaven; and as Moses was sent back to deliver Israel from slavery, Christ sent the Holy Spirit to free us from the slavery of sin.

Acts 7:35–36 (NKJV)

35 “This Moses whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ is the one God sent to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the Angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 He brought them out, after he had shown wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness forty years.

Stephen is saying to the Sanhedrin, “Are you acting as the disgruntled Hebrew slave who questions the authority of Jesus Christ to be both Judge and King over your souls? Are you acting like the Egyptians who resist discipline for your salvation and submission to Christ as Lord? Are you hearing what God is saying through Moses?” Not only does the Sanhedrin need to answer these questions, we do as well. Reader, are you hearing what God is saying to the counsel who sits in judgment of the disciples of Christ and over the Name that is being preached throughout the Jerusalem and into your computer screen?