33 ‘Then the Lord said to him, “Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. 34 I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt; I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.” ’ 35 “This Moses whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ is the one God sent to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the Angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 He brought them out, after he had shown wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness forty years.
7:33
‘Then the Lord said to him, “Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.
Jehovah informed Moses that the place where he stood was “holy ground.” Moses was to remove his sandals because it was a place of God’s presence.
7:34
I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt;
Jehovah revealed to Moses that He was fully aware of Israel’s suffering in Egypt.
I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them.
Jehovah heard the groaning of Israel, and He promised to deliver them from the persecution in Egypt.
And now come, I will send you to Egypt.” ’
Jehovah would send Moses to Egypt to deliver the nation from its persecution.
7:35
“This Moses whom they [the Jews] rejected, saying,
Stephen was speaking to the Sanhedrin, who rejected the message of Jesus and the apostles. This reference about the Jews who rejected Moses was a subtle indictment of the Sanhedrin’s rejection of God’s messengers. As Israel rejected Moses, the Sanhedrin and the nation of Israel also rejected Christ and the apostles.
‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ is the one God sent to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the Angel who appeared to him in the bush.
The Angel of the Lord made a connection between the Jews who challenged Moses’ authority for killing the Egyptian to his role of delivering the entire nation from Egypt. Moses was a clear type of the coming Redeemer, who was rejected by Israel yet saved them from their sins.
7:36
He brought them out,
Stephen told the Sanhedrin that Moses brought Israel out of Egypt. The point was that God is faithful to His Word and true to His promises and covenants.
after he had shown wonders and signs in the land of Egypt,
Moses performed “wonders and signs” to demonstrate that God’s authority was behind His actions. The apostles performed miracles to validate their message.
and in the Red Sea,
Jehovah was with Moses while they crossed the Red Sea in safety.
and in the wilderness forty years.
Jehovah was with Moses during the 40 years of wandering the wilderness.
PRINCIPLE:
There are those who establish a pattern of opposition to God and His messengers.
APPLICATION:
The conclusion to Stephen’s message to the Sanhedrin pointed to their rejection of God’s messengers (Acts 7:51-53). Neither Joseph nor Moses was accepted by Israel until a later appearance (Acts 7:13, 35-36). The pattern still exists in the 21st century. Moses was a deliverer of Israel, and Christ was the Deliverer (Lu 24:21). The point was to demonstrate that Moses was a type of Christ.
