Acts 7:31Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Do you see how this divine economy is not hindered by time? When he was a fugitive and stranger, after he had spent much time in a foreign land and already had two children, and when he no longer hoped to return from there, then the angel appeared to him. Scripture calls the Son of God an angel, just as it sometimes calls Him a man. And where does He appear? In the wilderness, not in the temple. Do you see what wonders are accomplished, though there was still neither temple nor sacrifice anywhere? And here, in the wilderness, He appears not simply, but in the bush. Behold, Moses is also counted worthy of the voice.

In order afterward to defend himself against the charge of insulting Moses and his law, he dwells at length on this great Old Testament figure (vv. 20-43). He strives to show all his reverence both for Moses and for the law given through him.

In God's special providence over Moses' salvation and destiny, his particular calling is already revealed (vv. 20-22). Stephen indicates that Moses, while still at Pharaoh's court, already foresaw this calling. He did so, of course, by reflecting on the extraordinary circumstances of his life. His calling was to be the deliverer of his people from the Egyptian yoke (v. 25).

Moses marveled at the vision. Here, as later, Stephen does not follow Moses' account literally. He reproduces it in a somewhat distinctive way and, for clarity, adds certain particular details.

Thus he points to Moses' amazement. This is not mentioned directly in the account, yet it is entirely natural in Moses' situation. He marvels at the vision before drawing near to examine its object more closely.

"A voice came to him," and so forth. According to the narrative of Exodus (Ex 3:4-6), the command to remove his sandals precedes God's own revelation to Moses as the God of the fathers. In Stephen's account it follows that revelation. The difference plainly does not touch the substance of the matter. The essence of the revelation is the same in both accounts.

In the unburnt bush, Archdeacon Stephen indicates the manifestation of an Angel. The explanation is as profound as it is readily acceptable.

Yet since this Angel calls Himself God (see Ex 3:6), one rightly sees here an indication of the Angel of Great Counsel (see Is 9:6), that is, the Son of God. He appeared on earth from the Most Holy Virgin. For this reason the name Unburnt Bush is also ascribed to her in a mystical sense.

More immediately, the manifestation of the bush is explained in relation to the Jews. They were as though burning in Egypt from oppression, yet were not consumed.