30 “Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord: 32 ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and did not dare to look. 33 Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34 I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.’

35 “This Moses, whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’—this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years. 37 This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.’ 38 This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. He received living oracles to give to us.

Acts 7:30-38 (ESV) 中文

Trial history lesson continues

At Stephen’s trial, he continues his abbreviated history of Israel with an emphasis on God’s promises to be faithful to Israel. So far, it’s from God’s call to Abraham and his response of faith to God saving Abraham’s descendants in Egypt from a famine. But now they’re slaves in Egypt and after 400 years as God prophesied, He sends Moses to deliver them. But not first after being rejected and living in the wilderness. Today’s passage reviews that account of Moses delivering them.

Moses’ clear call

Ya can’t get a more obvious call than God speaking to you through a bush burning in the wilderness that did not burn up. As we saw in the last passage, Moses tried to deliver Israel on his own. Now God met with Moses in the wilderness and called him to deliver His people. God saw the affliction of His people and “came down” to rescue them through a deliverer, Moses. We know from Philippians 2:6-8 that Jesus also came down from Heaven to deliver His people. 

Moses delivers

We saw yesterday that the Jews (represented by the man in the fight) rejected Moses – as they rejected Jesus. And this Moses was God’s chosen deliverer – like Jesus. Through the plague miracles in Egypt, the Red Sea crossing, and many signs in the wilderness, Moses delivered the people back to the Promised Land. Stephen reminds his accusers that Moses prophesied that God would send another deliverer, Jesus. And that Moses is the one who gave Israel the commandments of God. In response to the false accusations, “Stephen is building his case that he cannot be against Moses since Moses anticipated Jesus.” (TGC.com)

RЯeflection

• Have you had a clear call on your life for a specific ministry or service? Are you doing it? How is God being glorified through it? Can you share in the comments? If you’re not doing it, why not? Fear? Selfishness? Too busy?
• You don’t need a special call from God to do the work He has prepared in advance for us to do (Eph 2:10). We’re called to, “let our light shine before men in such a way that they may see our good works and glorify the Father in Heaven. (Matthew 5:16)