Welcome
Prayer
Word set to music
Silence
Acts 7.17-29
April 24th 2016
Milk
Last week we discussed three themes presented to us in Stephan’s retelling of the story of Joseph –
The theme of exiting and entering.
The story of Joseph itself, (both of which we covered last week) and
The picture or type that the life and story of Joseph serves for the life and story of Jesus Christ.
This last point is one of the most telling beautiful elements in scripture as the lives of many Old Testament figures and the acts they do are types fulfilled in the Lord Jesus.
It is one of the things that supports the wonders of Holy Writ and gives those who seek insight to its marvelous inspiration.
We see types or shadows or types in Melchizedek, Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David and Jonah.
We find them in the flood, the plagues of Egypt, the Passover, the Brazen serpent, , crossing the river Jordan and in Cities of Refuge.
And we see them in the ceremonial offerings, cleansings, feasts, and celebrations of the Jews.
Let’s cover the parallels between Joseph and those of Jesus before we get on with our verse by verse covering Stephan’s speech.
JOSEPH AND JESUS HERE
Chapters 37 and 38
1. Joseph was a shepherd (37:2); Jesus, the Great Shepherd (John 10).
2. Joseph was opposed to and exposed evil (37:2); Jesus did the same.
3. Joseph was loved by the his father (37:3-4); Jesus was beloved by the Father.(Mat. 3:17; 17:5; John 10:17; Philippians
2:9)
4. Joseph was hated by his brothers (37:4); Jesus was hated by His brothers (John 1:11; Luke 19:14).
5. Joseph was hated for his words (37:8); Jesus was hated for His words. (John 7:7; 3:32)
6. Joseph was promised a remarkable future (37:7-12); Jesus looked passed the cross to the joy set before Him (Isaiah 9:6,
7; Luke 1:31-33; Hebrews 12:2).
7. Joseph foretold of his future sovereignty (37:7-12); Jesus did the same. (Mat. 26:64)
8. Joseph was envied by his brothers (37:11); Jesus was envied by His. (Mat. 27:17-18)
9. Joseph was sent by his father to his brothers (37:13); Jesus was sent to the ‘lost sheep of Israel,’ by His father (John
4:34; 5:30; 6:38-40; 12:48-50; 17:21)
10. Joseph seeks out his brothers (37:14-17); Jesus sought out His (Luke 19:10)
11. Joseph seeks the welfare of his brothers (37:14); Jesus came not to condemn but that the world might be saved through
Him. (John 3:17)
12. Joseph seeks his brothers until he finds them; Jesus seeks us until He finds us. And this at the initiative of the f(F)ather.
13. Joseph was conspired against (37:18); Jesus was also conspired against. (Mat. 12:14)
14. Joseph’s brothers did not believe his dreams (37:19, 29); Jesus’ brethren did not believe His words. (Mat. 27:39-43;
John 3:18, 36)
15. Joseph was stripped of his coat (37:23); Jesus was stripped of His coat. (Mat. 27:27, 28; John 19:23)
16. Joseph was cast into a pit (37:24); Jesus was thrown into a grave.
17. Joseph was taken out of the pit, alive in his body (37:28); Jesus was bodily-resurrected from the tomb (pit).
18. Joseph’s brothers mingled hypocrisy with their hatred (37:27); the Jews did the same with Jesus (Mat. 27:35, 36; John
18:28, 31)
19. Joseph is sold for the price of a slave(37:38); Jesus was sold for thirty pieces of silver (the price of a slave).
20. Judah suggested the idea of selling his brother (37:26-28); the Greek name for Judah is Judas (Mat. 1:2-3).
21. Joseph’s blood sprinkled coat (goat blood) is presented to his father (37:31); Jesus is our scapegoat and His blood was
presented to the Father as a sin offering. (Leviticus 16:8-10)
Chapter 39
22. Joseph becomes a servant (39:1); Jesus became a servant (Philippians 2:6, 7)
23. Joseph was a prosperous servant (39:2, 3); Jesus was also a prosperous Servant (Isaiah 52:13; 53:10)
24. Joseph’s master was well pleased with him (39:4); the Father was always pleased with what Jesus did (John 8:29).
25. Joseph, the servant, was made a blessing to others (39:5); Jesus was a blessing to the world.
26. Joseph was a goodly person (39:6); Jesus came as a servant into the world and yet lived a goodly (perfect) life.
27. Joseph was sorely tempted and did not sin(39:7-12); Jesus was tempted and did not sin (Mat. 4:1-11; Heb. 2:18; 4:15)
28. Joseph was falsely accused (39:16-18); Jesus was falsely accused (Mat. 16:59, 60).
29. Joseph attempted no defense (39:19); Jesus gave no defense at His trials (Isaiah 53:7).
30. Joseph was cast into prison, though he was innocent(39:20); Jesus is sentenced to death though Pilate found no fault in
Him (John 19:4, 6).
31. Joseph thus suffered at the hands of the Gentiles (first by his brethren then by the Gentiles; Jesus was sold by His
brethren then suffered at the hands of the Romans (Gentiles.
32. Joseph, the innocent one, suffered severely (Psalm 105:17, 18); Jesus suffered by crucifixion.
33. Joseph won the respect of his jailor (39:21); Jesus won the respect of a Roman centurion standing at the cross (Luke
23:47).
Chapter 40
34. Joseph was numbered with transgressors (40:1-3); as it was prophesied about Jesus (Isaiah 53:12) and as it was (Mark
15:28).
35. Joseph was the means of blessing to one, but the pronouncer of judgment on the other (40:16, 17, 19); as Jesus was a
blessing to one of the thieves He was crucified between (Luke 23:43).
36. Joseph evidenced his knowledge of the future and gave credit to God alone (40:8); as Jesus did the same on earth
(John 12:49).
37. Joseph desired to be remembered by the butler (40:14); as Jesus said, “This do in remembrance of Me.” (Luke 22:19)
Chapter 41
38. Joseph was put in prison (the tomb) but God would not allow him to remain there because God’s purpose for Joseph
was not yet fulfilled. So it was with Jesus Christ, God would not allow Him to remain in the tomb (Acts 2:24). Joseph
changed his prison clothes for clothes of glory as did Jesus Christ (John 20:6, 7).
39. Joseph was delivered from prison by the hand of God (God sending a dream to Pharaoh and Joseph’s testimony in
45:7-9); as God raised Jesus from the tomb (Acts 2:32; 10:40).
40. Joseph is seen now as the Revealer of secrets; compare 41:16 with the words of Jesus in John 17:8; 8:28; and 12:49.
Compare 41:25 with God revealing what He would shortly do through Jesus Christ in Revelation 1:1.
41. Joseph warned of a coming danger, and urged his hearers to make suitable provision to meet it (41:33-36); as did Jesus
Christ warned His hearers that death did not end all but there was a life beyond the grave that one should prepare and
be ready for now.
42. Joseph is portrayed as a Wonderful Counselor in giving wisdom to Pharaoh (41:33-36); as Christ is known as the One
“in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3).
43. Joseph’s counsel commended itself to Pharaoh and his officers (41:37-39); as did Jesus’ teaching while He walked on
earth (Matt. 7:28-29; 13:54; and compare John 7:46 with Genesis 41:38).
44. Joseph is exalted, and set over all Egypt (41:39-40); as God highly exalted Jesus (1 Peter 3:22; Philippians 2:5-11).
45. Joseph was seated on the throne of another; as Jesus shares the Throne with the Father. “Today our Lord Jesus Christ
shares the throne with the Father as Joseph shared the throne of Pharaoh. As Joseph ruled over Pharaoh’s house with
his word, so today our Lord Jesus Christ rules over Father as Joseph shared the throne of Pharaoh. As Joseph ruled
over Pharaoh’s house with his word, so today our Lord Jesus Christ rules over the Father’s household, the household
of faith, the Church, by and through His Word.
46. Joseph was exalted to the throne because of his personal worth; as Jesus was highly exalted for His personal worth
(Philippians 2:6-9).
47. Joseph was invested with such insignia as became his new position (41:42); as was our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 5:31;
Hebrews 2:9; Revelation 1:13).
48. Joseph’s authority and glory were publicly owned (41:43); as Peter publicly declared the Lordship of Jesus Christ on
Pentecost (Acts 2:36; Philippians 2:10)
49. Joseph received from Pharaoh a new name (41:45); as God gave Jesus Christ a new name (Philippians 2:9, 10;
Matthew 1:21; Acts 5:31). True is was the name “Jesus” given to Him at His birth. Jesus means Savior, but Jesus
could not save His people from their sins until after His death, burial, and resurrection. As Joseph did not become his
people’s savior until after his “death,” “burial,” and “resurrection.”
50. Joseph was thirty years old when he began his ministry (41:46); as Jesus was thirty when He began His public ministry
(Luke 3:23).
51. Joseph’s exaltation was followed by a season of plenty (41:47-49); as their (is) a season of harvest now after Jesus’
exaltation as LORD. This time period is known as “the time of the Gentiles.” (Romans 11:25; John 12:24).
52. Joseph’s exaltation was also followed by a period of famine (41:53-54); as ‘the time of Gentiles’ will come to an end and
‘the time of Jacob’s trouble’ (Jeremiah 30:7) will begin. (See Daniel 12:7; Mark 13:19-20 (it will a very grievous time (as
in Genesis 41:31)). It will be a time when the whole earth (a picture of all of Egypt) will be tried. (Revelation 3:10). See
Amos 8:11-12 for the kind of famine coming (or may already be here) – a famine of the Word of God.
53. Joseph, alone, is now seen as dispersing bread to a perishing world (41:55); as Jesus is the One who alone disperses
the Bread of Life (Acts 4:12; Matthew 17:5 ‘. . . hear Him.’
54. Joseph became a Saviour to all peoples (41:57; 54); as Jesus is the Savior to all peoples (John 3:16; Revelation 5:9).
55. Joseph has unlimited resources to meet the need of all the people (41:49); as we read of the riches of Christ’s grace in
passages such as Eph. 1:7; 2:7; 2:4; 1 Peter 1:3; Eph. 3:8; Col. 2:9; Romans 10:12.
Chapter 42
56. Joseph’s family is driven out of their own land (42:1-3, 5); this is in fulfillment of God’s prophecy in Genesis 15:13. And
so, a few years after Joseph’s brothers rejected him they are forced out of their country as were the Jews after a few
years after rejecting Christ were scattered into the world by the Romans.
57. Joseph was unknown and unrecognized by his brethren (42:6, 8); as Jesus today is not recognized by the Jews. Joseph
was exalted over all the house of Pharaoh, but Jacob knew it not. All these years he thought (assumed) that Joseph
was dead! Today, Jews ‘believe’ Jesus to be dead and do not know that He has been exalted as LORD over all the
world.
58. Joseph, however, saw and knew his brethren (42:7); so too, Jesus’ eye is on the Jews even today (Jeremiah 16:17;
Hosea 5:3).
59. Joseph punished his brethren (42:7, 17); as God (Jesus) is dealing harshly with the Jews today (Hosea 9:17; Matthew
23:35-36, 38-39. “Joseph was the cause of their troubles now. Joseph was punishing them for their past dealing with
himself. The secret of all Judah’s suffering during the past centuries is to be found in the fact that the rejected Messiah
has been dealing ‘roughly’ with them.”
60. Joseph made provision for his brethren while they were in a strange land (42:25); as God (Jesus) promised to provide for the Jews while they are scattered (Jeremiah 30:11; Ezekiel 11:16)
From Gleanings in Genesis by A. W. Pink.
This entire book can be found on line at: http://www.pbministries.org/books/pink/Gleanings_Genesis/genesis.htm
Okay, back to chapter 7.
We left off where Jacob and all of his sons (the Patriarch’s) moved to Egypt and prospered for a time. (Verse 17)
Acts 7:17 But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt,
18 Till another king arose, which knew not Joseph.
19 The same dealt subtilly with our kindred, and evil entreated our fathers, so that they cast out their young children, to the end they might not live.
20 In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father’s house three months:
21 And when he was cast out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son.
22 And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.
Okay, back to verse 17:
17 But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt,
We of course remember that God had made promises to Abraham. Here Stephan speaks of the time when these promises were supposed to come true as
“The time when the promise drew nigh”
Or the time when Abraham’s seed were to come out of bondage and sojourn toward the land promised them hundreds of years earlier through their forefather Abraham.
Now, we have to remember a number of things here as we focus on the actions of the Children of Jacob otherwise known as the Children of Israel – there were a lot of other families and nations out there while they suffered under the hands of the Egyptians.
We first recall that while they came from Noah’s Son Shem (through Abraham and then Isaac) that Noah had two other sons who had sons too.
And then we also have to remember that Abraham had another son through Hagar named Ishmael who had a truckload of offspring, and then after Sarah Abraham took another wife named Keturah and she had a number of sons, and then Abraham also had concubines that had sons (Genesis 25:6). And then most recently Isaac also had Esau who also grew into a great nation.
So while the Nation of Israel was in Egypt a minimum of 250 years we are talking about a truckload of offspring aside from the line through which Abraham, Isaac and Jacob came.
And many of these people had taken up residence in the land that God had promised Abraham.
So there’s a quick backstory to the biblical story that primarily focuses on the line of God’s promised Nation.
17 But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt, till another king arose, which knew not Joseph.
This last line, “till another king arose which knew not Joseph” is quoted from Exodus 1:8.
We are not given the name of this king. All kind of Egypt were given the name of Pharaoh, just like “Caesar” was the common name shared by all of the emperors of Rome after the time of Julius Caesar or as we give all the commanders and chiefs of our country the name President.
Most scholars think the Pharoah “who knew not Joseph” (which of course means he had no interest in honoring Joseph’s relatives any longer) is the celebrated Rameses” the sixth king of the eighteenth dynasty which existed about 1559 years before the Christian era.
But others think his name was a guy named Mandonel, whose reign commenced 1585, and ended 1565 years before.
Whoever it was, verse 19 says:
19 “The same dealt subtilly with our kindred, and evil entreated our fathers, so that they cast out their young children, to the end they might not live.”
We recall that Abraham was told by God in Genesis 15:13 that this would happen. We’ll here Stephan validates the words of God to Abraham.
The Greek term translated in the KJ as “he dealt subtilly” is “kat-as-of-id’-zom-ahee” and it is a compound word taken from Kata (down) and sofidzo (wise through cunning and trickery).
In other words this Pharaoh acted deceitfully and used evil to weaken and to take captive the Nation of Jews.
Now listen very closely of what we read in the first chapter of Exodus –
Exodus 1:11-14 And they (the Egyptians who knew not Joseph) set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. And they built treasure cities for Pharaoh, Pithon and Raamses. But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the sons of Israel. And they made their lives bitter with hard work in mortar and in bricks, and in all kinds of work in the field; all their work in which they made them do was with harshness.
Our ministry has long been antagonistic toward what I labeled “brick and mortar religion.” In my mind Brick and Mortar was a label that described physical institutions that require top heavy servicing, big budgets and are laden with outward programs and demands.
I borrowed it from the tech world that would refer, for instance, to an actual “brick and mortar bookstore” in comparison to one that exists online or “in the cloud.”
Carrying this theme over I’ve applied it (in what I believed was a far MORE applicable way) to Christianity as the faith abides in the heart and mind of individuals (the cloud) and is not the product of a brick and mortar building or institution.
I never ever appealed to the term in a scriptural as I was unaware that it was a concept therein. Until last Saturday when a fan of the show called me and told me that his in-laws put on Jewish Cedars – and last week he and his wife attended.
In the ceremony they read from Exodus (a title which in and of itself is a very telling book title – EXODUS) and they read the following from chapter one:
Exodus 1:11-14 And they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. And they built treasure cities for Pharaoh, Pithon and Raamses. But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the sons of Israel. And they made their lives bitter with hard work in mortar and in bricks, and in all kinds of work in the field; all their work in which they made them do was with harshness. (NEW KING JAMES)
Hearing this it became apparent what we have been resisting.
Putting believers in bondage to build “treasure cities” for Pharaoh, Rithon and Raamses”.
Believers being afflicted in the process.
Allowing slavemasters to make other’s lives bitter with hard work in mortar and bricks, and in all kinds of work in the field
And refusing to get people to labor through harshness
His yoke is easy, His burden is light. When people come unto Him He gives them REST – not more burdens.
Religion that are of brick and mortar place burdens on the back of spiritual people no differently than the Egyptians put the Jews (a people who knew the true and living God) in bondage to their empire building!
This is the difference between the brick and mortar religions and the relationship all people can have directly with Him in the cloud – the brick and mortar are heavy and require strenuous labors in order to make treasure cities. But the Lord has born our burdens, He came and freed the captives and opened the prison doors and broke the chains that held us bound. There is NO THING a religion should put on a congregate but the Word of the Lord by the Spirit and to let Him do the work on the soul.
Another way he did this was he caused the male Jewish babes to be put to death.
We read about how this went down in Exodus 1 beginning at verse 15 where it say
Exodus 1:15 And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah:
16 And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live.
17 But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive.
18 And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men children alive?
19 And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in unto them.
20 Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty.
21 And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses.
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.
This last part is what Stephan is referring to when he says:
“The same dealt subtily with our kindred, and evil entreated our fathers, so that they cast out their young children, to the end they might not live.”
Of course the Pharaoh’s hope was that the couples who had sons would comply as a means to keep their sons from suffering the same fate as their fathers were suffering under the hand of slavery.
Then whole plan of course was to suppress and oppress the growth of the Nation of Israel and to even destroy them.
We are not told in scripture when this order went into effect but in all probability it wasn’t made until after Aaron, Moses older brother was born, and it must have been rescinded soon after Moses was born otherwise it’s doubtful that in the 86 years of Moses life the Nation he lead out of bondage would have amounted to six hundred thousand strong men.
And it was at this point in the Nation’s history, and at this point in Stephen’s recitation of it, that we are introduced to another Old Testament character of great significance – Moses (Moshua in Hebrew – verse 20).
20 In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father’s house three months:
Stephan here is quoting from Exodus chapter 2 where it reads:
Exodus 2:1 And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi.
2 And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months.
3 And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river’s brink.
4 And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him.
5 And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river’s side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it.
6 And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews’ children.
7 Then said his sister to Pharaoh’s daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee?
8 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child’s mother.
9 And Pharaoh’s daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child, and nursed it.
10 And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, “Because I drew him out of the water.”
Back to Acts 7:21-22
And when he was cast out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son. And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.
Moses means drawn but in Egypt Mesu means Son so it is thought that he was named, Royal Son off the Egyptian word that sounds similar.
Again, on the invitation of Pharaoh Jacob and his sons went down into Egypt and this immigration took place probably about 350 years before the birth of Moses.
Some centuries before Joseph was sold into Egypt the land had been conquered by what is called “a pastoral Semitic race from Asia known as the Hyksos” who took the native Egyptians (of the African race) into cruel subjection.
Jacob and his family were accustomed to a shepherd’s life, and on their arrival in Egypt were received with favor by the king, who assigned them the “best of the land”, the land of Goshen, in which to live.
It was a Hyksos king who thus showed favor to Joseph and his family and being favored the Israelites began to “multiply exceedingly” (Ge 47:27) extending out to the west and south.
But in time the supremacy of the Hyksos came to an end. And though Jacob’s descendants were allowed to retain their possession of Goshen undisturbed the Egyptians startedto despise them, and the period of their “affliction” began.
They were sorely oppressed and were made public slaves, were employed in connection with his numerous buildings, especially in the erection of store-cities, temples, and palaces.
By the time Moses arrived on the scene their lives were bitter with hard bondage, and “all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigor.” (Ex 1:13,14).
But this cruel oppression had the opposite effect on them that the Egytians hoped and Exodus 1:12 tells us that “the more the Egyptians afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew.”
So, as stated, the Pharaoh tried to get them to kill their own sons.
One of the Hebrew households effected was that of a man named Amram, who (according to Exodus 6) came from the family of the Kohathites and who with his wife Jochebed and two children, Miriam, a girl of perhaps fifteen years of age, and Aaron, a boy of three years, resided in or near Memphis, the capital city of that time.
Here was the setting of Moses birth in or at 1571 BC.
Moses mother concealed him in the house for three months from the civic authorities and when this became too difficult we read the plan concocted to save the boy.
Her plan was successful. Pharaoh’s daughter” saw the child; and behold the child wept.” Then this princess sent Miriam, who was conveniently standing by, to fetch a nurse.
She went and brought her own mother of Moses, to whom the princess said,
“Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages.”
In this way Jochebed’s child, whom the princess called “Moses” (meaning drawn or saved from the water” was ultimately restored to back to her.
As soon as the time for weaning came Moses was taken from the humble abode of his father to the royal palace, where he was brought up as the adopted son of the princess.
He grew up amid all the grandeur and excitement of the Egyptian court. However, unlike the movie, it is believed that Moses kept contact with his birth mother and family and in this contact learned to know his people and gained insight into the faith of his forefathers.
His formal education was probably carefully attended to and probably enjoyed all of the advantages of royal Egyptian life.
Stephen says in verse 22 that at length he became “learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians” (Ac 7:22).
Egypt in that time had two locations of higher learning (or universities) and when Moses was twenty it is believed he completed the formal side of it.
It is also believed that he spent the next twenty years involve in the Egytian military.
Josephus cites a tradition in his history that Moses took a lead role in the war which was then waged between Egypt and Ethiopia, in which he gained renown as a skilful general, and became “mighty in deeds.”
After the war with Ethiopia ended Moses probably returned to the Egyptian court, where we could reasonably believe he was given honors and enriched with wealth.
But according to a writer on the life of Moses,
“beneath the smooth current of his life hitherto, a life of alternate luxury at the court and comparative hardness in the camp and in the discharge of his military duties, there had lurked from childhood to youth, and from youth to manhood, a secret discontent, perhaps a secret ambition. Moses, amid all his Egyptian surroundings, had never forgotten, had never wished to forget, that he was a Hebrew.”
Stephen, in our narrative tells the story this way:
Acts 7:23 And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel.
24 And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian:
25 For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not.
26 And the next day he shewed 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?
27 But he that did his neighbor wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us?
28 Wilt thou kill me, as thou diddest the Egyptian yesterday?
29 Then fled Moses at this saying, and was a stranger in the land of Madian, where he begat two sons.
Moses at 40 years of age, resolved to make himself acquainted with the condition of his countrymen, “went out unto his brethren, and looked upon their burdens” (Ex 2:11).
This revealed to him the cruel oppression and bondage which they were under and the Spirit of God of justice must have pressed upon him greatly.
The time had arrived to fulfill yet another promise God made Abraham, that he would free his offspring from their wicked oppression. Although it would not happen immediately, it was just set in motion.
The writer of Hebrew (in 11:25-27) gives us more insight into Moses and his motivation, saying:
24 Having become great, Moses by faith refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter,
25 choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a time,
26 esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.
27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.
Unable to remain aloof or indifferent to the state of things around him, Moses rashly killed an Egyptian, hid his body in the sand, and became a fugitive as the Pharaoh then sought his life.
So he fled from Egypt, came to the land of Midian, the southern part of the peninsula of Sinai, probably over the same route that, forty years later, he would lead the Israelites to Sinai.
He found a new home with the family of Reuel, where he stayed for forty years (Ac 7:30) where he unconsciously was being trained for his life’s greatest work.
Then at the right time the angel of the Lord appeared to him in the burning bush (Ex 3:1-22), and commissioned him to go down to Egypt and “bring forth the children of Israel” out of bondage.
At first Moses was unwilling to go, but ultimately he was obedient to the heavenly vision and left the land of Midian (according to Exodus 4:18-26).
On the way he was met by Aaron (q.v.) and the elders of Israel (Ex 4:27-31) and after quite the struggle ramsoned the Nation of Israel from Egyptian bondage.
Forty more years journey to and fro in the wilderness and at the end of his life they wind up encamped in the plains of Moab, ready to cross over the Jordan into the Promised Land.
AT this point Moses addressed the assembled elders (De 1:1-4; 5:1-26:19; 27:11-30:20) and gave the people his last counsel, rehearses the great song (De 32:1-52.
Then, after blessing the tribes he ascends to “the mountain of Nebo to the top of Mt. Pisgah, that is over against Jericho” (Ex 34:1), and from there views all the land.
Deuteronomy 34 says:
“Jehovah shewed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan, and all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea, and the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto Zoar.”
And there Moses died, at one hundred and twenty years old, according to the word of the Lord, and was buried by the Lord “in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor” (Ex 34:6).
The people mourned for him for thirty days.
He was distinguished for his meekness and patience and firmness, and “he endured as seeing him who is invisible.”
Deuteronomy 34 10-12 says:
“There arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, in all the signs and the wonders, which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land, and in all that mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses shewed in the sight of all Israel.”
The name of Moses occurs frequently in the Psalms and Prophets as the chief of the prophets.
In the New Testament he is referred to as the representative of the law and as a type of Christ (Joh 1:17; 2Co 3:13-18; Heb 3:5&6).
We remember that in his life Moses said in Deuteronomy 18:15, speaking of the Messiah:
“The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;”
Interestingly enough Moses is the only character in the Old Testament to whom Christ associates himself saying in John 5:45-47:
45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you, Moses, in whom you trust.
46 For if you had believed Moses, you would have believed Me, for he wrote of Me.
47 But if you do not believe his writings, how shall you believe My words?
Question and Comments
