The physician Luke wrote how, “Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people”, and after being interrogated by the people in the synagogue, “all that sat in the council, looking steadfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel. Then said the high priest, Are these things so?”, and Stephen defended his faith by referring to, “Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph”. He spoke about “Moses” being raised in Egypt and defending his fellow countryman. After “Moses' act” of killing an Egyptian was known, “Then fled Moses at this saying, and was a stranger in the land of Madian, where he begat two sons. And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush. When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight: and as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the Lord came unto him, Saying, I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses trembled, and did not dare to behold it. Then said the Lord to him, Put off your shoes from your feet: for the place where you stand is holy ground”, and in chapter seven and verse thirty-four of the book of Acts Luke shared how God said, “I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt” where we read:
I have seen, I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and am come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you into Egypt.
The verse begins, “I have seen, I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, ...” Luke began with the words, “I have seen” which means “I, God the Heavenly Father, have observed, noticed and beheld”, “I have seen the affliction” or “I, God the Heavenly Father, have observed, noticed and beheld the ill treatment and usage” “of my people” which means “pertaining to God's human beings both male and female” “which is in Egypt” or “who are within the country of Egypt which means double straits”, “and I have heard their groaning” which means “and I, God the Heavenly Father, have been endowed with the faculty for hearing, perceiving and understanding God's people's sighing”. Luke shared how “Stephen” said “God” twice told “Moses” how He observed the “ill treatment” of His people, and He “perceived” their “sighing” grief because of their “affliction”.
The verse continues, “... and am come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you into Egypt.” Luke added the words, “and am come down to deliver them” which means “and have descended to pluck out, rescue and save God's people”. “And now come” or “and at this present time and place”, “I will send you into Egypt” which means “I, God the Heavenly Father, will dispatch and assign you, Moses, into the country of Egypt which means double straits”. Luke shared how “Stephen” referred to how “God” told “Moses” that He would “descend” to rescue His people Israel, and He would do this by sending “Moses” to “Egypt”.
When we consider Luke's words in this verse, we learn through “Stephen's” testimony how “God” observed, truly observed, the “difficulties and troubles” His people were suffering while they were slaves in “Egypt”. “God heard” their “cries of anguish”, and He was purposed to “save” them. “God” told “Moses” that He was “dispatching” him to go to “Egypt” which was exactly the place where “Moses” fled from forty years before. In the same manner God hears the cries of anguish that are expressed by people who suffer from the bondage and affliction of “sin”, and He sent His Son Jesus through the lineage of Israel to be the “Savior and Lord” of the world. “Almighty God” dispatched “Moses” to rescue “Israel”, and He sent His Son Jesus Christ to rescue the world. All who believe in Jesus will be saved from their sins and granted everlasting life, and those who are wise will surrender to the only One who is able to rescue them for all eternity.
Next time Luke shares how Stephen says the people who asked, “who made you a ruler and a judge? The same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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