7:23-25
When he was forty Moses saw an Israelite being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he intervened and killed the Egyptian. Moses thought the people would be grateful that God was using him to rescue them, but quite the opposite. We can draw a parallel between this incident and the the ministry of Jesus, which is probably what Stephen intended. Moses intervening to help the Israelite being attacked by an Egyptian is parallel to Jesus setting people free from sickness or demon possession. Ie they were being attacked by an outside force.
7:26-29
However, the next day Moses saw two Israelites fighting with each other. Again he intervened, asking why they were fighting each other when they were brothers. But instead of seeing sense, they accused Moses, questioning his right to intervene. They regarded him as an enemy and this led to Moses fleeing to Midian. Jesus, as well as healing the sick, confronted people, especially the religious leaders, with their own sin. Instead of listening and repenting, they regarded Jesus as an enemy and questioned His right to be rebuking them. Israel had never been particularly welcoming of saviours!
We should all ponder the question “Men, you are brothers, why do you want to hurt each other”. We get involved in disputes in the church, and sometimes rightly so, but we should always pay close attention to our own hearts. We are brothers, are we simply hurting each other? Is there a better way forward? We should also note that, like Moses, and indeed Jesus, we will not always be thanked when we try to bring peace.
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