What is the meaning of Acts 7:25? He assumed - Moses had a settled conviction, not a hunch. Raised in Pharaoh’s court yet taught Israel’s heritage (Exodus 2:10; Hebrews 11:24-26), he “thought” (Acts 7:25) that the moment to act had arrived. - Scripture often shows servants who move in faith on what they “suppose” God is doing—Jonathan attacking the Philistine garrison (1 Samuel 14:6) or the four lepers entering Syria’s camp (2 Kings 7:4-5). Moses stands in that line, trusting the God of Abraham to honor bold obedience. his brothers - The focus is on family, not strangers. Moses identifies with the oppressed Hebrews rather than Egyptian privilege (Exodus 2:11). - “Brothers” echoes Genesis 37:4, where Joseph’s siblings likewise rejected a God-given deliverer. Stephen later ties both rejections together (Acts 7:9, 27). - God consistently raises deliverance from within the covenant community—Samson (Judges 15:11), Gideon (Judges 6:15), ultimately Christ “born of a woman, born under the Law” (Galatians 4:4). would understand - Moses expected spiritual perception: that the signs of providence were obvious—his royal education, physical strength, and zeal. - Yet fallen hearts often miss what God is doing (Isaiah 6:9-10; Luke 19:44). Even Jesus’ disciples failed to grasp His mission until after the resurrection (Luke 24:25-27). that God was using him - The initiative is God’s. Moses does not appoint himself; he recognizes divine commissioning, much like Jeremiah, who was “appointed…before you were born” (Jeremiah 1:5). - Throughout Scripture, God chooses unlikely instruments: David the shepherd (1 Samuel 16:11-13); Esther the orphan (Esther 4:14). Moses fits the pattern. - Acts 7:35 later stresses, “This Moses, whom they rejected… God sent as ruler and redeemer.” to deliver them - The verb “deliver” carries covenant weight—God’s promise in Genesis 15:14 and later in Exodus 3:8. - Deliverance is physical (from bondage) and spiritual (toward worship, Exodus 5:1). Moses foreshadows the greater Deliverer, Jesus, who saves from sin (Matthew 1:21) and the “domain of darkness” (Colossians 1:13). but they did not - Israel’s rejection is immediate: “Who made you ruler and judge over us?” (Exodus 2:14). - This pattern recurs: rejecting Joseph, rejecting prophets (2 Chronicles 36:16), rejecting Christ (John 1:11). Stephen emphasizes national hardness to convict his hearers (Acts 7:51-52). - God allows rejection to advance His timeline: Moses spends forty years in Midian, gaining humility and dependence (Exodus 3:1). What seems a setback becomes preparation. summary Acts 7:25 shows Moses acting in faith, recognizing God’s call to rescue Israel. He assumes shared insight, yet his brothers fail to see it, repeating a tragic pattern of rejecting God-sent deliverers. The verse highlights divine initiative, human blindness, and the sovereign plan that turns rejection into refinement, pointing ultimately to Christ, the perfect Deliverer whom many would likewise misunderstand. |
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