Stephen is still speaking in court before the Sanhedrin. He continues speaking of Moses whom God chose to deliver the people from Egypt, "When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his own people, the Israelites. He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian. Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not. The next day Moses came upon two Israelites who were fighting. He tried to reconcile them by saying, 'Men, you are brothers; why do you want to hurt each other?' But the man who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside and said, 'Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?' When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian, where he settled as a foreigner and had two sons." (Acts 7:23-29)
Moses knew God was calling him to rescue the Israelites, but the Israelites didn't rally behind him when he defended one of them against an Egyptian. The Israelites considered Moses an Egyptian, no matter who he was by blood, and he thought they would understand that in killing the wicked Egyptian he was choosing to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. (Hebrews 11:25) But Moses' people did not recognize him as God's chosen man for that particular time in history. Stephen is making a comparison between Moses and Jesus, another man who wasn't recognized as a deliverer by His own people in His own time in history. Just as the people asked Moses, "Who made you ruler and judge over us?", the religious leaders asked Jesus, "By what authority are You doing this? Who gave You authority to do this?" (Mark 11:28) Jesus knew what was in their hearts and told a parable in which He was represented as the king the people rejected, "We don't want this man to be our king." (Luke 19:14)
Moses fled Egypt in fear for his life because no one among the Egyptians or among the Israelites was going to stand up for him. The killing of the Egyptian was likely necessary in order to keep the Egyptian from killing the Israelite; I don't think Moses committed such an act simply to make a statement but because a person's life was in serious danger. But his actions wouldn't be looked upon favorably by the Egyptians, plus the people Moses sought to deliver didn't want him to deliver them. So he made a new life for himself in the wilderness, marrying and having two sons, expecting to spend the remainder of his days shepherding the sheep of his father-in-law. But God still intended him to shepherd His people Israel. God is sovereign and He will always choose the person He wants for the job. Such things are not up to man. The religious leaders of Israel may have rejected Jesus, and they may have exclaimed, 'We don't want this man to be king over us!', but God has made Jesus the King of kings. Jesus will rule over the world, over all nations and tongues, because He is God's choice.
In the same way, though Moses' people had already rejected him, he was God's chosen man for the job. As preparation for the monumental task ahead, God trained Moses by allowing him to shepherd sheep in the wilderness for forty years. You may recall that David, after he was anointed as the future king by the prophet Samuel, spent about the next fifteen years first shepherding his father's sheep, then leading King Saul's soldiers, then leading his own band of soldiers while on the run from the murderous Saul. A fair amount of time passed by between realizing his calling in life and actually being crowned king. Sometimes God reveals our calling in life long before it's time to take action, so it's always best to wait for His timing. Moses got ahead of God and he needed to spend the next forty years in the wilderness. He needed that humbling experience. He needed the many hours alone in the wilderness with just the animals and God. He needed to learn how to lead a large herd of sheep before he could understand how to lead a large group of people.
"After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. When he saw this, he was amazed at the sight. As he went over to get a closer look, he heard the Lord say: 'I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.' Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look." (Acts 7:30-32) In Moses' mind he had been cast aside as the deliverer of Israel. He may have come to believe he had misunderstood God's calling on his life or he may have just thought he'd blown his only chance. But the time had come to fulfill his destiny and God reminded him who he was. He wasn't an Egyptian destined to live as a prince in a pagan land. He wasn't a shepherd destined to live out his days in the backside of the desert. He was a descendant of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God had made a promise to Abraham about delivering the people from a foreign land. God intended to use Moses to bring them out.
"Then the Lord said to him, 'Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. I have indeed seen the oppression of My people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.'" (Acts 7:33-34) God says, "I'm not finished with you, Moses. You didn't misunderstand My intentions to use you to deliver My people Israel. You just misunderstood My timing. Now remember who you are! You are not the son of Pharaoh's daughter but the son of an Israelite and a descendant of Abraham. You are not meant to spend your life hiding out in the wilderness. You are going back to Egypt and I'm going with you. Now is the time to deliver Israel from her oppressors. Never mind the fact that the Israelites have already rejected you. It doesn't matter who has said of you, 'We don't want this man to be a leader over us!' I have chosen you to lead My people out of bondage. You are My choice and I will enable you to do what I've called you to do."
In relating this account of Moses' life Stephen is telling the Sanhedrin that Jesus is God's chosen king. Jesus is the man God has appointed to be the heir of all things. It doesn't matter that Jesus was rejected by the people; what matters is that He is God's choice. The people can cry out, "We won't have this man to be king over us!", or, "We have no king but Caesar!", but nothing is going to change the fact that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God, the Messiah, the King of kings, the Lord, and the Savior of the world.
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