Acts 7:17-36 CSB
"As the time was approaching to fulfill the promise that God had made to Abraham, the people flourished and multiplied in Egypt [18] until a different king who did not know Joseph ruled over Egypt. [19] He dealt deceitfully with our race and oppressed our ancestors by making them abandon their infants outside so that they wouldn't survive. [20] At this time Moses was born, and he was beautiful in God's sight. He was cared for in his father's home for three months. [21] When he was put outside, Pharaoh's daughter adopted and raised him as her own son. [22] So Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in his speech and actions. [23] "When he was forty years old, he decided to visit his own people, the Israelites. [24] When he saw one of them being mistreated, he came to his rescue and avenged the oppressed man by striking down the Egyptian. [25] He assumed his people would understand that God would give them deliverance through him, but they did not understand. [26] The next day he showed up while they were fighting and tried to reconcile them peacefully, saying, 'Men, you are brothers. Why are you mistreating each other?' [27] "But the one who was mistreating his neighbor pushed Moses aside, saying: Who appointed you a ruler and a judge over us? [28] Do you want to kill me, the same way you killed the Egyptian yesterday? [29] "When he heard this, Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons. [30] After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning bush. [31] When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight. As he was approaching to look at it, the voice of the Lord came: [32] I am the God of your ancestors-the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob. Moses began to tremble and did not dare to look. [33] "The Lord said to him: Take off the sandals from your feet, because the place where you are standing is holy ground. [34] I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt; I have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free. And now, come, I will send you to Egypt. [35] "This Moses, whom they rejected when they said, Who appointed you a ruler and a judge?-this one God sent as a ruler and a deliverer through the angel who appeared to him in the bush. [36] This man led them out and performed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for forty years.
Galatians 4:4-7 CSB
When the time came to completion, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, [5] to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. [6] And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba, Father!" [7] So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then God has made you an heir.
Moses
The one thing about life is that it changes. The words in the Bible are true. There is a time to laugh and a time to cry. Life is like a roller coaster ride with its highs and lows. There is one anchoring norm for us as Christians, however, and that is that we are sons and daughters of God. God is not sleeping. He sees us and will bring us through life. The things of this world, its small problems, are just an annoyance if we keep our eyes on the Father in Heaven. As the song goes, the things of this world grow strangely dim. In Psalm 121 it reads, “He will not allow your foot to slip; your Protector will not slumber. Indeed, the Protector of Israel does not slumber or sleep.” Our loving Father is always watching us.
God was watching the Jewish nation. He was watching when a Pharaoh came to power who no longer had the Jewish people at heart. As Jesus was rejected, so was Moses. Moses was saved at birth and, through God’s hands, was raised in the courts of the Pharaoh, trained with nobility. He was being made into a leader, but when Moses tried to help the Jewish nation, he was rejected and fled. When I look at my past, I can identify the times that God sent me help, but I did not recognize it, and went a different direction. Opportunities passed, but the love of God did not waver. God would send Moses again.
Moses fled. Maybe being humbled, forced to flee to Midian, made Moses even a better leader. In Numbers chapter 12 it says that Moses was the humblest man upon the earth. We need this as servants of Christ: not to think of ourselves as more than we are, but to be grateful and true servant leaders if we are called into a position of leadership.
The Lord came to Moses again, manifesting as a burning bush that was not consumed. Moses tried to avoid his calling, but to no avail. He would go to his people again. Moses returned to Egypt as a deliverer. God confirmed Moses as a prophet with many miraculous signs, but the people of God often rebelled after Moses led them through the hand of God out of Egypt towards the Promised Land. For forty years the congregation of the Israelite nation wandered in the desert due to their rebellion.
Stephen is showing the rebellion of the people as he continues to answer the Sanhedrin’s question. There is a clear parallel here: not only did the people reject Moses, their divinely appointed leader, but they rejected one greater than Moses—the Son of God Himself. By recounting how the ancestors of the Sanhedrin turned against the very one sent to save them, Stephen is effectively turning the tables on his accusers, showing that their rejection of Jesus is not an isolated incident, but a continuation of a pattern of rebellion that has hindered their people for generations.
Reflection Questions
- How does knowing that God is your “Protector who does not slumber” change your perspective when you are going through a “low” point in your life?
- Moses had to be humbled before he was ready to lead. In what ways might God be using your current circumstances to prepare you for what He has planned?
- Stephen points out that Israel often rejected those God sent to deliver them. How can we ensure we are not rejecting the ways God is currently working in our own lives?
Prayer
Father,
Thank You for the example of Moses, and for the reminder that You are always watching over Your children, even when we feel alone or rejected. Forgive us for the times we have failed to recognize the help You sent or the doors You opened because we were looking in the wrong direction. Grant us the humility of Moses, that we might be true servants, ever-ready to follow Your call. Help us to keep our eyes fixed on You, so that the things of this world grow strangely dim. In Jesus’ Name.
Amen.
