Acts 7:35

35 "It was this Moses whom they rejected when they said, "Who made you a ruler and a judge?' and whom God now sent as both ruler and liberator through the angel who appeared to him in the bush.

Acts 7:35 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 7:35

This Moses, whom they refused
That is, the Israelites; the Ethiopic version reads, "his kinsmen denied"; those of his own nation, and even of his family: "saying, who made thee a ruler and a judge?" as Dathan, or whoever said the words in ( Acts 7:27 ) .

the same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer;
or "a redeemer"; so the Jews often call Moses, saying F26

``as was the first redeemer, so shall be the last Redeemer.''

He was an eminent type of the Messiah; and the redemption of the people of Israel out of the Egyptian bondage, by him, was emblematical of redemption from the bondage of sin, Satan, and the law by Jesus Christ; and as Moses had his mission and commission from God, so had Jesus Christ, as Mediator; and as Moses was despised by his brethren, and yet made the ruler and deliverer of them, so, though Jesus was set at nought by the Jews, yet he was made both Lord and Christ, and exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour. Moses was sent "by the hands of the angel, which appeared to him in the bush"; and who was the second person in the Godhead; the Father sent him by the Son, not as an instrument, but as having the power and authority over him, to govern, direct, and assist him. The Alexandrian copy, and the Vulgate Latin version read, "with the hand of the angel"; he sent Moses along with him to be used by him as an instrument in his hand, to deliver the people of Israel; nor does this at all contradict what the Jews say F1 at the time of the passover:

``and the Lord hath brought us out of Egypt, (Kalm ydy le al) , "not by the hands of an angel", nor by the hands of a seraph, nor by the hands of a messenger, but the holy blessed God, by his own glory, by himself;''

for he did not deliver them by a created angel, but by an uncreated one.


FOOTNOTES:

F26 Bemidbar Rabba, sect. 11. fol. 202. 2. Midrash Ruth, fol. 33. 2. & Midrash Kohelet, fol. 63. 2.
F1 Haggada Shel Pesach. p. 13. Ed. Rittangel.

Acts 7:35 In-Context

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 mistreatment of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to rescue them. Come now, I will send you to Egypt.'
35 "It was this Moses whom they rejected when they said, "Who made you a ruler and a judge?' and whom God now sent as both ruler and liberator through the angel who appeared to him in the bush.
36 He led them out, having performed wonders and signs in Egypt, 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 a prophet for you from your own people as he raised me up.'
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.