Acts 7:34

34 I've seen the agony of my people in Egypt. I've heard their groans. I've come to help them. So get yourself ready; I'm sending you back to Egypt.'

Acts 7:34 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 7:34

I have seen, I have see the affliction of my people,
&c] The repetition of the phrase denotes the certainty of it, the exquisite and exact knowledge the Lord took of the affliction of his people, and how much his heart was affected with it:

which is in Egypt;
from whence Moses had fled and had left them, he being now in the land of Midian, which was the place of his sojourning: and

I have heard their groaning;
under their various oppressions and burdens, and by reason of the cruel usage of their taskmasters:

and am come down to deliver them;
not by local motion, or change of place, God being omnipresent, who fills all places at all times; but by the effects of his grace and power.

And now come, I will send thee into Egypt;
to Pharaoh, the king of it, ( Exodus 3:10 ) to require of him to let the children of Israel go, and to deliver them out of their bondage.

Acts 7:34 In-Context

32 'I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.' Frightened nearly out of his skin, Moses shut his eyes and turned away.
33 "God said, 'Kneel and pray. You are in a holy place, on holy ground.
34 I've seen the agony of my people in Egypt. I've heard their groans. I've come to help them. So get yourself ready; I'm sending you back to Egypt.'
35 "This is the same Moses whom they earlier rejected, saying, 'Who put you in charge of us?' This is the Moses that God, using the angel flaming in the burning bush, sent back as ruler and redeemer.
36 He led them out of their slavery. He did wonderful things, setting up God-signs all through Egypt, down at the Red Sea, and out in the wilderness for forty years.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.