Acts 7:26-30

 

Acts 7:26 (KJB)

And the next day he showed himself unto them as they strove, and would have set them at one again, saying, Sirs, ye are brethren; why do ye wrong one to another?

 

As Stephen continues this tremendous history lesson, he reminds the Sanhedrin that Moses did not flee at this time because he was still under the impression that he was the deliverer. The next day he goes out to the Israelites again and finds two of them fighting each other. He tries to mollify the situation by telling them that they are brethren and they should not be trying to hurt one another. To Moses, it was bad enough when the Egyptian was hurting the Israelite but to see two Israelites fighting, was reprehensible to him.

 

Acts 7:27 (KJB)

But he that did his neighbour wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us?

 

Thrust - Push aside

 

The one who wronged his neighbor had rejected the words of Moses and thrust him away. Moses had probably tried physically to break up the fight. Even though Moses was one of them, they obviously did not consider him one of them since they were slaves and he was living in the palace in great comfort. They then posed the question to Moses that who made him their ruler and judge? They unfortunately did not see that Moses was trying to bring unity and a peaceful settlement to them but instead they rejected him. Stephen’s point was that they did not see God’s purpose in all this and instead rejected Moses.

 

Acts 7:28 (KJB)

Wilt thou kill me, as thou diddest the Egyptian yesterday?

 

Here the Israelite who obviously won the strife turns to Moses and asks him if he is going to kill him as he did the Egyptian? Instead of this man taking responsibility for his striving with a fellow Israelite, he tries to turn the guilt on Moses and accuses him of a crime. He figured that just as he is guilty in fighting with a fellow Israelite, it is not as bad as Moses in killing an Egyptian. This man would be known as a guilt manipulator. He wanted to get the eyes of guilt off him and place it on Moses.

 

Acts 7:29 (KJB)

Then fled Moses at this saying, and was a stranger in the land of Madian, where he begat two sons.

 

(Exo 2:14-15 KJV) And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known. {15} Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well. Moses then had much fear as he realized that if these two slaves had known what he did, surely it was known throughout all of Israel and into the palace. Moses had only one thing to do and that was to get away from Egypt because Pharaoh had found out that Moses killed the Egyptian and this meant that Pharaoh was now out to get revenge for the killing. So Moses had crossed the Sinai peninsula and hid in the land of Midian. Moses had married Zipporah the daughter of Jethro and he had two sons, Gershom and Eliezer. (Exo 18:3-4 KJV) And her two sons; of which the name of the one was Gershom; for he said, I have been an alien in a strange land: {4} And the name of the other was Eliezer; for the God of my father, said he, was mine help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh:

 

Acts 7:30 (KJB)

And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush.

 

After Moses had spent forty years on the backside of the desert, he was ready for God to use him in leading the Israelites out of Egypt. Since Moses was a prince of Egypt, God had to reshape him and redirect his focus from all the fineries of Egypt and also the fact that he gave an order and it was to be obeyed. Until all that worldliness was out of him, Moses could not be used of God but once it was, then God used him mightily. This is also a great spiritual lesson for the believer. Sometimes God places us on the backside of the desert until He completely gets all the worldliness out of us and then reshapes and remolds us for some specific ministry He has for us. So if you seem to be on the backside of the desert, it means God is working in your life and soon He will be doing a work in your life. Look at Joseph who was sold as a slave and then thrown into prison as an innocent man. Since he trusted God and knew that God would not forsake him, he went from prisoner to Governor of Egypt in one day. Moses was ready as the fullness of time came for him to be in Midian. Now he will enter the third and final phase of his life but it will be the most challenging. (Exo 3:2-3 KJV) And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. {3} And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. God came to Moses in a burning bush and gave him the assignment that he was going to lead the children of Israel out of bondage, not as a Pharaoh in his own strength and political power, but by the hand of a humble shepherd empowered by God for the task. (Num 12:3 KJV) (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)

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