Popular Title

Often when I take my lunch break at work, I'll read the scriptures to prepare for the upcoming discussion in Sunday School that week (sometimes I'll run an errand on my lunch, which is why it's "often" and not "always").  This week, I read about the testimony and subsequent martyrdom of Stephen.  In his testimony of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, he compares the Savior to Moses, saying that Moses was an example to the Messiah to come and how Christ was that prophesied Anointed One.

This was nothing new to me as I've read Acts several times before.  However, what struck me was that when Stephen recounted the story of Moses, he quoted the LORD when He spoke to Moses in the burning bush: "...I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Issac, and the God of Jacob." (Acts 7:32)  This is a commonly used title that appears throughout the scriptures, so why did it stand out to me this time?

Moses was raised in the Egyptian royal family, adopted by the daughter of the Pharaoh.  Moses was "learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians," which likely meant that he had been educated to believe in Egyptian theology.  While we don't know how strongly, or even if, he believed in the Egyptian pantheon, we can probably assume that he was at least familiar with polytheism.  (He also very likely knew that he was a Hebrew since he was willing to kill an Egyptian taskmaster to protect "his brethren.")  So when the LORD introduced himself to Moses, He wanted to make sure that Moses did not confuse Him with one of the false gods with whom he was likely familiar.  By using not just one but three prominent patriarchs to establish Himself, the LORD ensured that Moses would not mistake Him for anyone else.

And the title stuck.

Not the most earth-shattering piece of insight, but it made think me about a story and a title that I've known for a long time in a brand new way.  Which, by the way, is a great example of why we keep reading the scriptures over and over again.