Act 7:17-29 | KingComments | STEP | Stephen comes to the third and longest part of his speech. Moses as picture of the Lord Jesus is central in this. Stephen was accused of speaking slanderous words against Moses ( ). From what he says of Moses it is clear how false this accusation is. In mentioning the history of God’s people, Stephen is now going to speak about the fulfillment of God’s promises. Based on that history, he presents to his audience that a new change was occurring. The situation in which the people found themselves in Egypt did not remain the same. The time of the promise was approaching, that is, the time to fulfill the promise that God would bring them to Canaan. For this He had to lead His people out of Egypt. The circumstances He used for this are again humbling for his audience. In the early days of their stay in Egypt it seemed that the people were greatly blessed. The people grew and multiplied in Egypt ( ). None of this posed a problem, as long as the country was ruled by kings who had known Joseph. They remembered that they owed the existence of their country to him. As a token of appreciation, the people were allowed to stay in Egypt. Then there was a king who had not known Joseph ( ). This king had no connection whatsoever with Joseph and there was no gratitude whatsoever toward him. This king saw in the ever-growing people a threat to his own position. To prevent expansion of “our race”, he resorted to cunning ( ) and began to mistreat “our fathers” and to afflict them ( ). When this did not help to inhibit the growth of the people, he ordered that every son who is born should not stay with their parents, but that they would expose their infants, i.e. that they would be thrown into the Nile ( ). While the people sighed under the cruel domination, God went to work to fulfill His promise by letting Moses be born. Stephen says of him that he was “lovely “, that is, lovely “in the sight of God” ( ; ). His parents did not take him immediately to the Nile, as Pharaoh had commanded, but nurtured him “in his father’s home” for three months. After that he had to share the fate of every little boy. He was taken to the Nile and put there as a foundling. There he was found by the daughter of Pharaoh who nurtured him as her own son. Later, Moses refused to be called a son of Pharaoh’s daughter ( ). The nurturing by his God-fearing parents did not miss its goal. God used the criminal order of Pharaoh to bring Moses to his court. By doing so through the daughter of Pharaoh, God mocked with all the power of Pharaoh. That is God’s wisdom. God’s plan with His people was not only fulfilled despite Pharaoh, but even with the cooperation of Pharaoh, of course without him wanting or even realizing it. At court Moses was educated in all the learning of the Egyptians. Moses became learned or wise, but he was powerful in his words and deeds. Learning he acquired through education, power he received from God as a special gift. Both qualities he revealed in Egypt. To God he spoke about the opposite ( ) and felt his incompetence.

‏ Acts 7:17-29

Moses’ Birth and Nurturing

Stephen comes to the third and longest part of his speech. Moses as picture of the Lord Jesus is central in this. Stephen was accused of speaking slanderous words against Moses (Acts 6:11). From what he says of Moses it is clear how false this accusation is.

In mentioning the history of God’s people, Stephen is now going to speak about the fulfillment of God’s promises. Based on that history, he presents to his audience that a new change was occurring. The situation in which the people found themselves in Egypt did not remain the same. The time of the promise was approaching, that is, the time to fulfill the promise that God would bring them to Canaan. For this He had to lead His people out of Egypt. The circumstances He used for this are again humbling for his audience.

In the early days of their stay in Egypt it seemed that the people were greatly blessed. The people grew and multiplied in Egypt (Exo 1:7). None of this posed a problem, as long as the country was ruled by kings who had known Joseph. They remembered that they owed the existence of their country to him. As a token of appreciation, the people were allowed to stay in Egypt. Then there was a king who had not known Joseph (Exo 1:8). This king had no connection whatsoever with Joseph and there was no gratitude whatsoever toward him.

This king saw in the ever-growing people a threat to his own position. To prevent expansion of “our race”, he resorted to cunning (Exo 1:16) and began to mistreat “our fathers” and to afflict them (Exo 1:10-11). When this did not help to inhibit the growth of the people, he ordered that every son who is born should not stay with their parents, but that they would expose their infants, i.e. that they would be thrown into the Nile (Exo 1:22).

While the people sighed under the cruel domination, God went to work to fulfill His promise by letting Moses be born. Stephen says of him that he was “lovely “, that is, lovely “in the sight of God” (Exo 2:2; Heb 11:23). His parents did not take him immediately to the Nile, as Pharaoh had commanded, but nurtured him “in his father’s home” for three months. After that he had to share the fate of every little boy. He was taken to the Nile and put there as a foundling. There he was found by the daughter of Pharaoh who nurtured him as her own son. Later, Moses refused to be called a son of Pharaoh’s daughter (Heb 11:24).

The nurturing by his God-fearing parents did not miss its goal. God used the criminal order of Pharaoh to bring Moses to his court. By doing so through the daughter of Pharaoh, God mocked with all the power of Pharaoh. That is God’s wisdom. God’s plan with His people was not only fulfilled despite Pharaoh, but even with the cooperation of Pharaoh, of course without him wanting or even realizing it.

At court Moses was educated in all the learning of the Egyptians. Moses became learned or wise, but he was powerful in his words and deeds. Learning he acquired through education, power he received from God as a special gift. Both qualities he revealed in Egypt. To God he spoke about the opposite (Exo 4:10) and felt his incompetence.

Moses Visits His Brethren and Flees

The first period of Moses’ life at the court of Pharaoh lasted for forty years. But all the splendor of the court of Pharaoh could not prevent that his heart was with his brothers in oppression. One day he visited them. His love for his people burned in all its fierceness. He did not come to tell them what they had done wrong, but to see their “hard labors” (Exo 2:11). The Lord Jesus did not come to judge either, but to save (Jn 3:17).

When Moses saw one of his brethren being treated unjustly, he defended him. He took him in protection, also taking vengeance for him who was mistreated by striking down the Egyptian. He was then still at the court of Pharaoh. By standing up so clearly for the people, he thought that his brethren would see in him their deliverer through whose hand God would give them salvation. But that thought did not occur to them. On the contrary. The next day, when he appeared to his brothers again, it appeared that they were not at all interested in his intervention.

Again Moses observed that injustice was being done. However, this time it was not an Egyptian who wronged an Israelite, but two Israelites who wronged each other. When he tried to reconcile them for peace with the question why they wronged each other, he who wronged his neighbor turned against him. Moses was blamed for the fact that he should not claim to be “a ruler and judge”.

Here we see that from his first action in favor of his people, his authority was rejected, as was the case with Joseph. Moses was dealt with in the same way as Joseph was dealt with before, when he investigated the welfare of his brothers: he was rejected by his own (Gen 37:14 ; 18). Like Joseph, Moses is in this respect a type of Christ Who was not accepted by His own either (Jn 1:11). Christ was hated, rejected, denied and even killed by His people. So it was prophetically the reproach of Christ that Moses took upon himself when he looked after his brethren and wanted to share their fate (Heb 11:26).

The rejection of Moses was clearly expressed in the words of the Israelite who wronged his neighbor: “Who made you a ruler and judge over us?” (Acts 7:27; Exo 2:14). The man added that he saw in him not a deliverer, but a threat to his life. This shows how much the people would rather remain in slavery than acknowledge a deliverer. The people did not want to accept a ruler and judge. The accusation that Moses put himself up to this is quoted twice by Stephen (Acts 7:27 ; 35), through which he accentuates its seriousness. When it had become so clear that his people did not want him, Moses fled.

What Stephen, following the history in Exodus, presents as a flee is presented in Hebrews 11 as an act of faith (Heb 11:27). Thus, on the one hand, the Lord Jesus was rejected by His people, while on the other He went away, back to heaven, waiting for the time when His people will accept Him as their Savior.

During the time that Moses was in Midian, he had a heathen wife as his bride and got two sons (Exo 2:21-22 ; Exo 18:3-4). This can be compared to the Lord Jesus Who receives the church as a bride in this time. The names Moses gave his sons show that he had not forgotten his people in the foreign land either, just as the Lord Jesus, now that He is in heaven, does not forget His earthly people.