Who Was in The Bush?

One supposed contradiction is who was in the bush? In Exodus 3:4 and Mark 12:26, it says it was the Lord. In Exodus 3:2 and Acts 7:35 it says the angel of the Lord was in the fire. So, what is occurring?

Exodus 3:4

"When the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am," (Exodus 3:4 NASB1995).

Mark 12:26

"But regarding the fact that the dead rise again, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?" (Mark 12:26 NASB1995).

Exodus 3:2

"The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed," (Exodus 3:2 NASB1995).

Acts 7:35

“This Moses whom they disowned, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ is the one whom God sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer with the help of the angel who appeared to him in the thorn bush," (Acts 7:35 NASB1995).

To answer this question, we must first read Exodus 3, the source Mark and Luke(the author of Acts) are likely drawing from. "Now Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. So Moses said, “I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up.” When the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said, “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” He said also, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God," (Exodus 3:1-6 NASB1995).

So, what have we read? Moses is walking in the wilderness and finds a bush on fire. Moses becomes confused as to why the bush is not burned up. The angel(or messenger) of the Lord reveals himself. The angel claims to be divine by stating: "I am the God of your father" and is said to be the Lord: "When the Lord". The word "Lord" here is the divine name, that is "יְהוָ֖ה" or "Yahweh". There is no contradiction here. The angel of the Lord is Yahweh. Read more on evidence that Yahweh is the angel of the Lord here!

Works Cited:

Image by Fr. Barry Braum on Unsplash

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