Amid Stephen’s speech in Acts 7 is the story of Moses, which presents a stark contrast of Moses’ plan and God’s plan for his life:

“When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand. And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?’ But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ At this retort Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons. (Acts 7:23-29)

At age 40, Moses had a plan, fully aware of the cruel oppression of his people; he believed that, given his lineage, access, training and knowledge, he was prepared to deliver his people at that moment.

God’s plan was different and included an additional 40 years of preparation in the wilderness for Moses working as a shepherd in obscurity, and continued enslavement and work on the lives of the Hebrews to prepare them for their emancipation and exodus.

There is a great phrase in verse 25: “He supposed that…but…”

Even his rejection (perceived failure) was part of God’s plan, as many commentators believe the incident to only further position Moses as a type of the ultimate deliverer, Jesus Christ:

• Moses – “He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand.” (Acts 7:25)
• Christ – “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not” (John 1:11).
• Moses – “…who made thee a ruler and a judge over us?”
• Christ – “We will not have this Man to reign over us” (Luke 19:14).