Sermon Tone Analysis

Acts 7:20‑38

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Moses, the Wisdom of The Egyptians

and Modern Education

 

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ot all educated people are wise; not all wise people are educated.

The two concepts—education and wisdom—are not synonymous.

Though the Bible never discourages education, it does urge each of us to become ever more wise.

The tragedy is that for too many of our contemporaries, education has obscured the pursuit of knowledge.

One example of such confusing of the two terms is provided through a review of the life of Moses.

Stephen, a deacon of the First Baptist Church of Jerusalem, was the one presenting the account on that fateful day he stood before the Sanhedrin presenting a defence of his ministry and life.

Before that august tribunal the first martyr of the church spoke these words.

/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,// //and when he was exposed, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son.//

//And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds/.

When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel.

And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian.

He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand.

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?”

But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, “Who made you a ruler and a judge over us?

Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?”

At this retort Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.

Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush.

When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord: “I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.”

And Moses trembled and did not dare to look.

Then the Lord said to him, “Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.

I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them.

And now come, I will send you to Egypt.”

This Moses, whom they rejected, saying, “Who made you a ruler and a judge?”—this

man God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush.

This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years.

This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, “God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.”

This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers.

He received living oracles to give to us.[1]

Stephen recognised, that Moses was well educated; but Moses’ education did not mean that he was prepared to serve God.

He lacked wisdom and he would sorely need that precious commodity before he would be able to serve God acceptably.

Join me in a study of Stephen’s words so that together we may learn to distinguish wisdom and education.

Moses Was Instructed in All the Wisdom of The Egyptians — The divine text simply states that Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians.

Perhaps we aren’t inclined to give much weight to that statement—it does appear rather pedestrian—but the statement does serve to inform us that Moses had significant advantages.

He had received the finest education available.

Although we now know that much of what Moses learned was wrong, the education he received nevertheless provided him with great advantage … and also with great hindrance.

As is frequently true of citizens of powerful nations, the Egyptians were a proud people.

They possessed the finest educational system of the time.

They were the most technologically advanced nation in the world.

They were the sole super-power at that time.

They were conquerors of and rulers over many other nations.

The decisions made by Egyptian rulers had incredible impact on all surrounding nations.

Egyptian markets held sway over all commerce.

Egyptian armies caused other nations to tremble.

Egyptian textiles were the standard by which all fabrics were judged.

Egyptian technology was avidly sought after everywhere.

Egyptians could afford to be proud!

They were the ruling class!

Moses, despite every obstacle, received a world-class education.

You recall the story of how this came about.

Moses was born into a family of slaves … slaves who were horribly, brutally oppressed.

In fact the Egyptians had grown so virulent in their hatred of the Hebrews that an imperial edict had been issued that every male child was to be killed at birth.

Moses’ parents had concealed him for three months after his birth.

We can only imagine what great tension that must have created in the home.

Every time the baby hiccoughed the entire family must have jumped with fear.

Fearful that the crying of the child would disclose his existence and knowing that eventually the presence of a toddler would reveal their disobedience, they cast themselves upon God’s mercies and placed the child in a small basket that they had waterproofed with pitch and they set the basket adrift upon the waters of the Nile.

In a modern accounting we would likely say that it was most fortunate that Pharaoh’s daughter happened upon the basket and that it was fortuitous that Moses’ sister happened to be watching over the basket.

However, the text says, Moses was beautiful in God’s sight [*Acts **7:20*].

God was watching over the child for good.

Pharaoh’s daughter sent a servant to fetch the basket and when the cover was drawn back her heart was smitten by the beautiful child lying there.

She determined to raise the child in her own palace as her own son.

Miriam, no doubt anxious and concerned, leaped from her hiding place and offered to find a nurse for the infant.

Then, with the blessings of the princess, she hurried to bring Moses’ own mother of to serve as his nurse throughout his formative years.

Thus, Moses grew to manhood in the Pharaoh’s palace and was accorded the finest education imaginable.

The modern mind is inclined to say that it was all so accidental, so fraught with chance, but God was in every move, directing and controlling.

Dear people, your past may appear to be of no great consequence.

Perhaps it seems inconsequential or even inferior.

However, if you are a child of God you may be assured that God knows the paths you have taken.

He knows where you have been and He is well able to employ you in His great work.

It remains to be seen what God can do with that individual who is committed to His service and submitted to His rule.

My encouragement to you is to bring your past training to Him, offering yourself to Him, and see how He will use you.

Moses knew Egyptian thought processes.

He was conversant with all the contemporary concepts of science, of social intercourse, of jurisprudence.

Surely such knowledge would be a great advantage.

Moses *knew* that life arose spontaneously from the slime and the mud of the Nile.

Moses *knew* that once the petty jealousies of the gods were known, they were easily manipulated into doing the will of man.

Moses *knew* that the entire world was divided into inviolate classes and that rulers were obligated to carry the burden of their class as they oppressed the lesser peoples.

Moses’ education had taught him all this.

Despite all the blessings of his education, Moses was at the same time cursed with that same knowledge.

Moses Assumed His Own People Would Recognise His Prowess — Contemporary accounts indicate that Moses was about forty years of age when he first acted in behalf of the enslaved Hebrew people.

In the preceding years he is reputed to have attained the rank of a general of the Egyptian army and was recognised as a military leader who had led the armies in victory against forces hostile to Egypt.

He was a de facto member of the royal family, accorded the privilege of a prince.

Thus, when Stephen stated, Moses … was mighty in his words and deeds [*Acts **7:22*], he referred to the benefits of his education and to the position that Moses enjoyed.

Moses was endued with a sense of special call.

Therefore, he determined that he would organise the enslaved people and lead them to freedom.

Stephen stated the matter in this fashion.

It came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel [*Acts **7:23*].

Moses wanted to do right!

A stirring statement occurs in *Hebrews **11:24-26*.

Consider the statement given us in those words.

By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.

He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.

This is phenomenal.

Moses was willing to forsake privilege to share disgrace with a nation of slaves.

This is exceptional at the very least.