Moses Acts 7:17-36

Introduction

Stephen has been brought into the council to be put on trial for the crime of blasphemy. Last week we looked at the Abrahamic Covenant and how it showed Israel as God’s chosen people even when they rebelled against God. He also gave them a history lesson on Joseph, who was sold by his brothers into slavery ended up in Egypt, became second in command in all of Egypt after many trials, and with the wisdom given by God saved the Israelites from famine. God continued to provide for the Israelites even when everyone was against them and he would continue to do that through Moses.

The Israelites in Egypt vs. 17-19

Verse 17 starts with a reminder of a promise.

Genesis 15:13–14 “And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.”

God’s timing is always perfect.

From Genesis 1:1 until the end of time Gods timing has never been early or late. God is always right on time.

As Stephen introduces Moses, he reminds the religious leaders that they are on God’s timetable and the time had come for the Messiah to come and they had missed it.

Verse 17 ends with the state of Israel

It tells us that they grew and multiplied in Egypt.

What started as one family of around 75 people now has turned in to thousands of Israelites in Egypt.

As they continued to grow in number Joseph died and eventually the Pharaoh who had put Joseph in charge died.

Verse 18 tells us that a king came to power who didn’t know Joseph. The problem with that king not knowing Joseph is that the king also didn’t know Josephs God.

Because of the rapid growth of the Israelites in Egypt, there was some uneasiness around them continuing to be in Egypt.

One commentary said this “The rapid multiplication of the Hebrews in Goshen not unnaturally caused great alarm. They were an indigestible lump in the body of politic of Egypt. They had their own tighly-knit social order, their own religion, however diluted, their own national goals, economy, and aspirations, and their own history and identity. A few of them would have made no difference, but when their numbers began to climb into the millions the Egyptians viewed them with increasing alarm.”

Because they felt threatened by the growth of the Israelites, their king called for desperate measures.

Their was genocide in Egypt. vs. 19

The king that knew not Joseph decided to deal subtilly with the Jews

Subtilly- Treacherously

Evil entreated them

entreated- earnestly supplicated them

They cast their children out so that they wouldn’t live and continue to multiply

Exodus 1:22 “And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.”

Pharoah wanted to stop the Israelites from growing anymore in population, so he would kill the boys and save the girls.

Moses in Egypt vs 20-28

In the middle of the mass killing of Israeli boys, a boy named Moses is born. vs. 20

Despite knowing the command from the new king and the consequences for breaking that command Moses’ parents kept Moses for in their home for three months

Exodus 2:1–2 “And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi. And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months.”

When they could no longer hide baby Moses, Jochebed, Moses’ mother made him an Ark

Jochebed took some bullrushes and made an ark that was covered with pitch and put it in the nile river to be found by Pharaohs daughter

As Pharaohs daughter opened the ark, the Bible says in Exodus 2:6 that she had compassion on him

In an amazing turn of events Jochebed gets to take care of Moses her son until he is old enough to move to Pharaoh’s Palace.

Side note: Moses’ Parents are mention in the hall of faith for their faith that God would take care of Moses and them if they let him live

Hebrews 11:23 “By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment.”

Vs 21-22 tells us of Moses upbringing in Pharaohs house.

Pharaohs daughter, Hatshepsut, took Moses and nourished him as her own child.

He learned all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was mighty in word and deed.

Isn’t it funny some 40 years later Moses said he wasn’t eloquent in speech.

Hatshepsut was grooming Moses to be the next Pharaoh in Egypt.

When Moses is 40 years old, the Lord prompts him to go visit his brethren, which were the children of Israel.

As he was their he sees one of them being treated bad, so he avenges the guy oppressing his brethren and he killed the Egyptian

Moses thought that his brethren would understand that God was going to get them out of Egypt, but he recognizes that they didn’t understand.

God had told Abraham that he would get them out of Egypt and that he would take care of their enemies, but the Israelites had been in Egypt for so long that they had lost sight of that promise.

The same thing happened when Jesus came to Earth.

Jesus by birth and background was set apart to from what Romans 9:3 calls His “kinsman according to the flesh” by virtue of His position as Gods own son. They “understood not”. Blindness as Paul calls it later, had happened to Israel.

Jesus checked every box of prophecy about the Messiah and even the best Bible Scholars missed him because they were so caught up in the gods of this world and their religious identities that they missed the God of the universe, the very son of God robed in flesh that came to save the world.

As Moses comes back the next day he sees some bickering among the children of Israel

He asks them why they are doing wrong to each other

Instead of apologizing and moving on the one who was causing offense thrust Moses away and then asked who made Moses judge over them.

He then takes it a step further and asks Moses if he is going to kill him as he had killed the Egyptian the day before.

As Moses is trying to bring peace to the Israelites he is met with anger and pettiness from his kindred

Moses was misunderstood. His brethren believed he was coming to use his power to Lord over them, but rather he had come to identify with them and to save them, but they did not accept that.

This is how Jesus was treated as well

John 1:11 “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.”

Think about when Jesus was brought before Pilate, even Pilate knew they were acting out of envy towards Christ.

Moses in the Desert vs. 29-35

As Moses reveals himself to his brethren they reject him so he heads to the land of Madian or in the Old testament Midian

When he gets to Midian he marries Zipporah and has two sons with her.

After he had been gone from Egypt for 40 years, the Lord appears unto Moses in a burning bush. The amazing thing about this bush is that it burns, but isn’t consumed by the fire.

As moses comes up to the bush, the Lord speaks to him through the bush.

God tells him that he is the God of thy Fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

As Moses heard this the Bible says that he trembled and durst or did not look at the bush.

Then the Lord speaks again and tells him to remove his shoes because he is on Holy Ground.

As God is meeting with Moses in the wilderness he tells him about the affliction that his people were enduring in Egypt and told moses he was going to deliver him.

Instead of just agreeing, Moses brings up what they told him 40 years ago. vs. 35

God sent him even though Moses had plenty of excuses to not go.

Through the leading of God and the leadership of Moses, the Children of Israel were led out of Egypt.vs. 36

The Lord sent plauges to the Egyptians showing that he was God, after they left Egypt he parted the Red Sea for them and then led them in the wilderness for 40 years teaching them lessons along the way.

Conclusion

We must be careful to not find ourselves blinded by the gods of this world that we miss Jesus. As believers we must help the world take their blinders off, and we do that through the gospel of Jesus Christ. If we truly want to be a church on mission, we must share the Gospel to every person in every nation no matter how uncomfortable it might be.

If you are here today and you have never trusted Christ as your saviour, let me introduce him to you. His name is Jesus and he came some 2000 years ago, to live a sinless life, die on a cross for the sins of the whole world, was buried, and rose from the dead three days later defeating death, hell and the grave. Believing in the Gospel is the only way to heaven and if you never have trusted him come this morning and we can show you from the Bible how you can be saved.