30 “And when forty years had passed, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai. 31 When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight; and as he drew near to observe, the voice of the Lord came to him, 32 saying, ‘I am the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and dared not look.
Stephen presented the last 40-year period of Moses’ life in verses 30-34. We find the historical account of God’s choice of Moses as Israel’s leader in Exodus 3:1-10. The quotes from Exodus are primarily from the Septuagint text (LXX).
7:30
“And when forty years had passed,
After another 40 years passed, the Angel of the Lord revealed Himself to Moses.
an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai.
The appearance of the Angel of the Lord was a theophany, a physical manifestation of God on Mount Sinai. This appearance by Jehovah was to appoint or anoint Moses as the leader of Israel, who would deliver them from oppression.
7:31
When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight;
Moses marveled at the presence of the burning bush.
and as he drew near to observe, the voice of the Lord came to him,
As Moses drew near the burning bush, he realized that it was the voice of the Lord who spoke to him.
7:32
saying,
This verse attributes the words spoken to Moses from the bush as from Jehovah.
‘I am the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’
Jehovah identified Himself as the God who made a covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
And Moses trembled and dared not look.
Moses did not dare to look at the bush because fear gripped his soul.
PRINCIPLE:
God gives empowerment for ministry in trial.
APPLICATION:
We cannot undertake ministry in our own strength. There will be times of struggle in ministry. Moses spent 40 years of exile in Midian before God called him to a specific task. He needed those years of training before he could become the leader that he became. God appeared to him in his trial through a theophany. Fear struck Moses as he stood in the presence of God.
