Acts 7:17

Acts 7:17 declares, But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt,  God had reminded them of His promise to Abraham.  They had grown content in Egypt.  We need to be careful that we don't grow content where we are even when we know it isn't where God wants us to be.  One reason God reminded them of His promise to Abraham was that they seemingly had forgotten it themselves.  As the time of the promise to Abraham drew closer, the people of Israel multiplied in Egypt.  We need to multiply the number of Christians in the world today, especially as the time of Christ’s return grows closer each day.  The famine was over, but we see no evidence that they were ready to move on.  When God has brought us through a crisis and blessed us greatly, we need to remember what He was leading us to do before the crisis and get back to doing it.  God's plan for Israel had not changed, but they were no longer following Him.  Today, are we following God's plan for our life, or are we happy in Egypt?  Verse eighteen adds, Till another king arose, which knew not Joseph. A new ruler of Egypt came to power who didn’t know Joseph.   The people of Israel had been treated well because of Jospeh’s relationship with Pharoah, but eventually a new ruler came to power who did not know Joseph.  We may find rulers come to power today who do not know Jesus and have no respect for Christians.  Verse nineteen continues, 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.  Stephen then spoke of the killing of the Hebrew babies and Moses being spared. The people of Israel began to be persecuted, to the point of being ordered to sacrifice their male children at birth.  We may prosper when we are out of God's will, but ultimately, we will pay a price for it.  Verse twenty concludes, In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father's house three months: Verse twenty-one states, And when he was cast out, Pharaoh's daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son.  We are reminded that Moses was not only spared being put to death, but that he grew up in Pharoah’s house.  We, as followers of Christ, are not only spared spiritual death, which is everlasting punishment in hell, but we are going to live forever in God’s house or kingdom.  Verse twenty-two adds, And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was mighty in words and in deeds.  Moses was educated in the wisdom of the Egyptians and was mighty in words and deeds.  Of course, Godly wisdom and Egyptian or worldly wisdom are two different things.  We may be highly educated in worldly wisdom and even be looked up to for this fact, but if we don’t have Godly wisdom, it is of no value.  Verse twenty-three continues, And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel.  At age forty, Moses became concerned with the condition of God's people, his kinfolk.  We likewise should always be concerned for God’s people everywhere.  Verse twenty-four says, And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian:  When Moses decided to see how his people, and we have to believe that his mother had told him who he really was, and he saw a Hebrew being abused by an Egyptian and he killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand.  When we act without thinking about what God would have us do, we destroy our witness to the world.  We must put God first in every action that we take. I don’t believe we should kill those who are mistreating Christians and try to hide the fact, but we do need to come to their aid if we see this happening.  Verse twenty-five adds, For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not.  Moses thought his fellow Hebrews would understand why he did what he did, but they didn’t.  He saw it as being done under God’s direction, but they only saw him killing an Egyptian.  People will see our actions more than they see our motives.  If we are truly doing something for God, we need to make it known.  Verse twenty-six continues, 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?  The next day, when Moses saw two Hebrews fighting, he asked them why they were doing so.  Of course, if we see two Christians fighting each other, we need to attempt to get them to stop and look for the reason why they are fighting.