²³“But when he was approaching the age of forty, it entered his mind to visit his brethren, the sons of Israel. ²⁴And when he saw one of them being treated unjustly, he defended him and took vengeance for the oppressed by striking down the Egyptian. ²⁵And he supposed that his brethren understood that God was granting them deliverance through him, but they did not understand. ²⁶On the following day he appeared to them as they were fighting together, and he tried to reconcile them in peace, saying, ‘Men, you are brethren, why do you injure one another?’ ²⁷But the one who was injuring his neighbor pushed him away, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge over us? ²⁸You do not mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday, do you?’ ²⁹At this remark, Moses fled and became an alien in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.

After forty years of being raised by Pharaoh’s daughter and away from his people, Moses did not forget his heritage. Unfortunately, we have little information on the intervening forty years beginning when he was taken as an infant into Pharaoh’s house. We do know he was educated by the Egyptians and had become powerful not only in how he spoke but also in what he did. In other words, he had a commanding presence (Acts 7:22). But the knowledge of his heritage was kept alive, presumably by his mother, whom the Pharaoh’s daughter hired as a wet nurse for the infant Moses, and who presumably remained in contact with him as he grew.

While Moses may have had some contact with his fellow Israelites during that time, the eventful interaction caused him to fear rejection by his people. The story details are fairly straightforward, and certain details help progress Stephen’s message. Moses, who was one of them, came from the outside to first bring justice to his fellow Israelites and then to bring peace among them. He came to rescue them from oppression from the outside and conflict on the inside. His intentions were misunderstood, and criticism ensued. Apparently his killing of the oppressing Egyptian became common knowledge and was thrown back in his face due to the blindness of sin.

Up to this point, Moses serves as a “type” or fore-picture of Christ. While Jesus did not flee in fear like Moses did, He did leave because of being rejected.  The Lord ascended into heaven, which parallels Moses, who was to be the savior of Israel from Egypt, leaving his people for an extended period of time. Stephen continues to lay the groundwork for his finale, the assertion against the Jewish leaders. They are like the man who accused Moses of arrogating to himself the role of judge; they rejected the Lord who would one day judge them.

Lord, help me see that the people You send to warn me of sinful behavior are for my good, that I might not dismiss them as wrongly judging me.