Acts 7:17-29
Acts 7:17-29
July 5, 2020
Acts 7:17-29
17 “But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had
granted to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt 18 until there arose over Egypt another king who did not know Joseph. 19 He dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, so that they would not be kept alive. 20 At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God’s sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father’s house, 21 and when he was exposed, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. 22 And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds.
23 “When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. 24 And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. 25
26 And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?’ 27 But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? 28 Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ 29 At this retort Moses fled and became an exile
in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons. 1
Moses is one of the biblical characters who is known by many in the world who do not claim to be Jewish or Christian. The story of the boy born in Egypt under great duress, as the Egyptian pharaoh decreed that all boys should be killed at birth. His parents are slaves in the land. They
1 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Ac 7:17–29). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles. 1
He supposed that his brothers would
understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they
did not understand.
are Israelites. The land they live in was given to them by a Pharaoh of old who was rescued by God through the patriarch Joseph. But...times are different now.
The family who were once were part of an esteemed group now find themselves oppressed.
Stephen the disciple of Christ and deacon in the church has been arrested falsely and is standing before the religious council in the city of Jerusalem. His life is soon to be taken, though he may not be certain of that quite yet. Still, he knows that as he stands before the ones who have the power to take his life, he must speak truthfully and clearly. So he speaks. He begins by reminding the highly religiously legalistic men on the council of Bible stories that they know and have heard their entire life.
As I said last week, the schooled are being schooled by Stephen.
The Holy Spirit is giving the words to Stephen. He is also shutting the mouths of the council. Thus, we have the longest sermon in the book of Acts being preached, not in the temple, not in a synagogue, not in a church, but in a courtroom to an audience of authority figures.
After taking these on the council back to the understanding of
- The promise to Abraham
- The deliverance through Joseph
- The deliverance through Moses
And when it comes to Moses, we have a man of God that was used in such amazing ways that even now we speak of story. Moses was the lawgiver. He was one of the two prophets to meet with Jesus on the top of the Mount of Transfiguration.
Moses was used by God to deliver his people.
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God used Joseph was used to deliver his people from certain death and famine by bringing them INTO Egypt. Decades later the Lord raised up Moses to deliver them FROM Egypt.
Egypt was never supposed to be the final destination for God’s people. It was not the land of promise. It never could be, despite how much at home the people felt. Sometimes we need reminding of where our home really is as well.
Stephen’s message to the Sanhedrin was one of remembrance and refocus. He is leading them to remember that God has always been delivering his people. He is the God of glory and the journey of his people throughout the Old Testament set the stage for the ultimate rescue, the ultimate story of redemption and deliverance, one that would echo that of Joseph and Moses. One that would fulfill the covenants of old in the person of Jesus Christ the Messiah. A story that would confirm that God is not constrained to a temple, but that he now resides within his people who have surrendered to Christ as Lord.
It’s a powerful message. It’s a needed message.
The portion of Moses is divided into three sections and we just read the first two today. Moses’s life is divided into three forty-year periods. In each period of life, significant and amazing things occurred that would be needful for the redemption of God’s people. Moses was not perfect. He was not sinless. He was not the Christ. But, he was a redeemer and a precursor to the coming Messiah.
If you can imagine what it was like as an Israelite in Egypt during this time. For generations, your family has lived in Egypt. Things are good. Life is somewhat easy. You have food. You have a home. You have crops and livestock. It’s...comfortable. Until it wasn’t. You see, for these people, not unlike others throughout history, comfort and complacency became the norm. This is human nature and when things are going okay, stress is down and often focus on the eternal wanes.
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The Israelites had not, for the most part, abandoned their worship of God. They had passed down the stories of Joseph and the brothers and the patriarch Jacob. They knew that generations prior God had protected and provided for their ancestors and that’s why they have the blessings they did. At least, I’m sure most or maybe some of them remembered this. People being people, it is not out of the question that some had just begun to take God for granted in their comfort.
Then, the “normal” life changed. But God never did.
1. GOD IS ALWAYS PREPARED
17 “But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt 18 until there arose over Egypt another king who did not know Joseph.
It may not seem like a big deal that a new king had now come into power, but what’s meant by that term is that by not knowing Joseph, this king was not there when God rescued the Egyptians through Joseph’s dream interpretations. This king was not there when the Israelites arrived. He did not approve of the Jewish immigration. He saw them as a threat as their numbers increased and feared that one day, these Israelites would rise up against him.
So, laws were put in place. Freedoms were removed. Oppression was the new normal and the Israelites living in the land of Goshen became the Israelite slave labor of the Egyptians with no freedoms.
And, the Israelites were now in a place they did not choose to be, yet were still not prepared to leave.
When all that was normal became abnormal. When the rules changed without the Israelites vote. When fear crept in because the future was uncertain, this story of Moses reminds us that God was
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prepared. He is prepared. He is never taken by surprise. Nothing ever just comes to God’s mind as a new idea.
The story of redemption is the story of the gospel and it is shown even here in the life of Moses and the Israelite slaves. They could take comfort in knowing that regardless how uncertain life felt, how unpredictable life was. God was prepared.
He still is.
2. GOD ALWAYS PROVIDES
20 At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God’s sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father’s house, 21 and when he was exposed, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. 22 And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds.
All by God’s sovereign provision.
When the comfortable things in life are disrupted, we must turn to God for peace.
Moses should have been dead. The mandate to kill the baby boys was given. The Pharaoh was afraid. Yet, God provided a way not only for Moses to be born and not be killed, but to eventually be adopted into the very king’s family who mandated the murder. Not unlike Joseph, Moses (a Jew) became part of the Egyptian royal family.
It would be decades until the fruition of God’s rescue of his people would come, but the God who is always prepared was already at work in ways that no one could fathom.
God provided a way for redemption then. He does so now.
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3. GOD ALWAYS PRESENTS A WAY
23 “When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. 24 And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian.
At forty, Moses longed to spend more time with his people. He lived in opulence, but knew his true family members were suffering. He would go to the area where they lived, no doubt standing out a bit and one day he saw an Israelite being treated unfairly by an Egyptian. It was physical and Moses reacted. He killed the Egyptian. He feared for his life in that even though he lived in the palace, he too was still an Israelite by birth and the law was clear – murdering an Egyptian was punishable by death. So he hid the man’s body and went back to the palace.
This is a strange account for Stephen to recount here, but there is a message that the men on the council clearly needed. Even in this strange account, Moses rescued the downtrodden and abused Israelite. It was a preview of the rescue for all his people that would come.
The way of rescue would be through a man. At that time, it was through Moses.
In Stephen’s and our time, it is through the man who is the ultimate man, fully man, but more. Fully God, fully man. Son of God. Son of man. Messiah. King. Lord. Rescuer. Redeemer. Ransomer of hearts. Giver of Life. Jesus Christ.
CONCLUSION
As I read this portion of Stephen’s sermon, I get that there is another forty-year portion of Moses’s life that fulfills the rest of the redemption. Yet, here I see a verse that jumps off the page to me.
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Moses thought that the Israelites would understand that he was one of them, there to help, there to protect, there to rescue.
Yet, they did not.
Therefore, Moses ran. He left Egypt. Stayed away for forty more years. Waited until a callng from God in a bush would push him back to Egypt at age eighty (we’ll talk about that next week.)
But this verse resonates with regret.
“He supposed they would understand that God was offering them salvation, but they did not understand.”
So, too were the Pharisees, Saducees, the High Priest, the religious Jews in Jerusalem, and others throughout the city – they were offered salvation, not through Moses, but the Christ, Jesus. But many did not understand. Many did not want to. Many were content in their comfort and when that was strained due to outside forces, they hid. In their confined religious perspectives, conflict arising, complacency reigning...and missing salvation.
Some have said that these days of the coronavirus may be the beginning of a great revival. I hope. But sadly, we may be more like the ancient Israelites in Egypt. Frustrated. Confined. No longer comfortable. And when the winds of salvation and rescue blow through, many will miss it.
But we don’t have to miss it. Today that wind blows. Today, that salvation is offered. Today is the day to respond.
Footnotes
