THE DELIVERER THEY DIDN’T UNDERSTAND

17“But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt

18until there arose over Egypt another king who did not know Joseph.

19He dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, so that they would not be kept alive.

20At 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,

21and when he was exposed, Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son.

22And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds.

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

24And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian.

25He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand.

26And 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?’

27But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us?

28Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’

29At this retort Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.

1. 1.How did God protect and prepare Moses even in a dangerous time? How has God been preparing you through your past experiences?
2. 2.What did Moses expect his people to understand? Why do you think they missed it?
3. 3."Who made you a ruler and a judge over us?" Have you ever said something like this, out loud or in your heart, to someone God sent to help you, or even to God himself?
4. 4.Moses fled and spent forty years in Midian. Read Exodus 3:1. What was he doing when God met him, and what does that tell you about the seasons that feel "wasted"?

Have you ever tried to stop an argument and ended up being the one everyone was upset with? Two cousins are fighting at a family gathering. You step in to calm things down, and suddenly both of them turn on you: "Who asked you?" You walk away wondering why you even bothered.

Moses had a moment like that, and it changed the next forty years of his life. Stephen tells us Moses was born in a dark time, but was rescued and raised in the palace; he became "mighty in his words and deeds" (verse 22).

At forty, he went to visit his own people. He saw an Israelite being mistreated, defended him, and struck down the Egyptian. Then Stephen adds this heartbreaking line: "He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand" (verse 25).

The next day, Moses tried to make peace between two Israelites. One of them shoved him away: "Who made you a ruler and a judge over us?" (verse 27). So Moses ran. He fled to Midian and spent forty years as a shepherd in the wilderness.

It looked like failure. A prince turned shepherd. A deliverer rejected by the very people he came to help. But God wasn't finished. Those quiet years in Midian were not wasted. They were preparation. And the man Israel pushed away was the very man God would send back.

Stephen is showing us a pattern in his speech: God's people often reject the deliverer he sends. It happened with Joseph. It happened with Moses. And it happened with Jesus. But rejection never cancels God's rescue.

Is there someone God has placed in your life, a parent, a pastor, or a friend, whose words you have been pushing away? Ask God today for a teachable heart.

Lord, forgive me for the times I have pushed away the people you sent to help me. Give me ears that listen and a heart that welcomes correction. And when I feel like I've failed or been rejected, remind me that you are still at work in the wilderness. In Jesus' name, Amen.