Acts 7:30, commentary and pictures

After Moses fled Egypt he lived forty years in Midian with Jethro's family tending flocks as a humble shepherd, until the time expired and the Lord appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai in an angel in a flame of fire in a bush. The angel in the bush was Christ, the voice that had spoken through the patriarchs and prophets, there revealing Himself as the I AM and calling Moses to deliver Israel. Those forty years were God's training for leadership, as faithful care of sheep and lambs taught him humility, faith, self-control, obedience and submission to God, while life apart in nature disciplined him to unlearn Egypt, count its wisdom as foolishness and be purified of self-reliance. He was changed from force learned in Egypt to leadership guided by love, fitted under Jesus Christ to master himself, humble himself, and shepherd God's people with patient, tender care for the weak, the wayward and the wandering. In Stephen's review of God's dealings with Israel this appearance shows Christ foretold by Moses and the prophets and unlocks the riches of the Old Testament, and though called blasphemy it was remembered by Saul until Christ revealed it to him as truth.

Moses' Years in Midian

After fleeing Egypt, Moses settled in Midian, married Jethro's daughter, and remained there forty years before the appearing in the wilderness. Those forty years in Midian were spent living with Jethro's family and tending his flocks. He spent that time as a humble shepherd caring for Jethro's flocks, and those years of hardship and adversity prepared him to lead Israel.

At forty years of age Moses had his work all planned out and began it after his own devising, but his rash attempt to deliver the Hebrews drove him from Egypt. God had other plans for him to carry the responsibility of leading God's people on their journey in the wilderness. The forty years that followed were required to fit him for the work waiting for him, spent doing the work of a shepherd, and only after this long period of preparation did God entrust him with leading Israel. In those years Moses had deep and severe lessons to learn, and he was not left alone, for the divine Teacher was with him to help and instruct. Only after Moses had learned the lessons God had for him could God place him where he should be the emancipator of his people, and God still has such an experience and lessons for His people to obtain today.

When the forty years were expired, the Lord appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai through an angel in a flame of fire in a bush. This appearing is an example of the Lord's angels ministering to people, sometimes appearing in human form. The angel who spoke to Moses in the bush was Christ. It was the voice of Christ, who spoke through the patriarchs and prophets from the days of Adam to that time. There God revealed Himself to Moses in the bush as the I AM and called him to deliver Israel.

Wilderness Training for Leadership

The forty years away from Egypt prepared Moses for leadership through quiet communion with God and nature. That interval completed the change from the force-based training he had received in Egypt to leadership guided by love. The wilderness of Midian gave a quiet setting apart from worldly influences, where nature could refine him and he could commune with God before he was called to his work.

God used the refining, subduing influence of nature in the wilds of Midian to train Moses for His work through those forty years, and the same principle is to be regarded in selecting the locality for a school. Moses spent forty years as a faithful shepherd before God sent him to deliver His people, with humble work coming before the appointed task. The years of humble care for sheep and lambs taught him humility, faith, trust, self-control, obedience, submission to God, faithfulness, and care for those entrusted to him. His rash attempt to deliver the Hebrews had driven him from Egypt, and only after this long period of preparation did God entrust him with leading Israel and advance His purpose through him.

Tending sheep trained him in self-mastery and the patient care needed to lead Israel, while the simplicity of the wilderness stripped away the influences of Egypt. Those forty years of keeping sheep prepared him to serve as a tender, patient, loving, and faithful shepherd, softening his heart to shepherd God's people. Shepherding taught him to care for the weak, guide the wayward, seek the wandering, nourish and instruct God's people, and bring the lost back to the fold. That discipline taught him to understand and humble himself and qualified him for leadership of God's people under Jesus Christ.

The years among the mountains required mental and moral discipline to unlearn false and idolatrous ideas acquired in Egypt and to count that education as foolishness. He had to be purified of self-reliance and to learn from God how to represent Him and to lead and teach Israel. Life among the mountains strengthened him as a thinker and a doer of God's word, and Jethro helped guide him toward a truer faith. In those years Moses had deep and severe lessons to learn not to rely on his own plans or assume he could direct God's work, for at forty he had his work all planned out and had begun it after his own devising, while God had other plans to fit him to carry responsibility for Israel's wilderness journey. He was not left alone, for the divine Teacher was with him to help and instruct, and even after God spoke with him face to face he remained humble and teachable. Only after Moses had learned the lessons God had for him could God place him as the emancipator of his people, and God still has such an experience and lessons for His people to obtain today. The care of a shepherd in that discipline is also a model for Christ's followers, who are to watch over souls and help others grow in Christ.

Stephen's Witness to Christ

The verse belongs to Stephen's review of Israel's history and of God's dealings with His people, forming part of his account of Moses. He took up that history beginning with Moses and the prophets to show that Christ had been foretold in prophecy. In doing so he gave inspired proof of the mission, suffering, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus, clearly proving His identity with the Messiah.

The appearance in the bush was the voice of Christ, who spoke through the patriarchs and prophets from the days of Adam to that time. Thus Christ is the key unlocking the Old Testament and giving access to its rich treasures. Stephen's sermon was called blasphemy by the priests, yet Saul remembered it when Christ was revealed to him, and what had been condemned as blasphemy then appeared to him as truth.