In our study of Acts chapter seven, we see the cost of sharing the truth in the midst of jealousy and persecution. We see here the struggle between religion and the Holy Spirit. It is because of this struggle that Stephen is killed. This same struggle goes on to this day and this study can help us to understand it and stand strong in the face of persecution.
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The cohen hagadol asked, "Are these accusations true?" and Stephen said: "Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to Avraham avinu in Mesopotamia before he lived in Haran and said to him, 'Leave your land and your family, and go into the land that I will show you.'
Stephen is being interrogated by the high priest because he was speaking about Yeshua. When asked if the charges are true, Stephen does not defend his actions. He begins to talk about the Jewish heritage and God's faithfulness throughout their history. This may not make sense to us as our natural inclination is to defend ourselves but, when led by the Holy Spirit, it is possible to remain fixed on God and his work. We have the same power as Stephen displays in this passage. The question is do we rely on God and use it?
So he left the land of the Kasdim and lived in Haran. After his father died, God made him move to this land where you are living now. He gave him no inheritance in it, not even space for one foot; yet he promised to give it to him as a possession and to his descendants after him, even though at the time he was childless.
Stephen is continuing his speech to the Sanhedrin by reminding them of their heritage. He reminded them of Abraham's obedience even when he did not understand what God was doing. Stephen's speech is a good reminder for us today as well in that we can stand on the word of God even when we do not understand what he is doing.
What God said to him was, 'Your descendants will be aliens in a foreign land, where they will be in slavery and oppressed for four hundred years. But I will judge the nation that enslaves them,' God said, 'and afterwards they will leave and worship me in this place.' And he gave him b'rit-milah. So he became the father of Yitz'chak and did his b'rit-milah on the eighth day, and Yitz'chak became the father of Ya'akov, and Ya'akov became the father of the Twelve Patriarchs.
Stephen is still giving the Sanhedrin a history lesson. Think of the faith that it took for Abraham to obey when God told him that his descendants will be enslaved for four hundred years.
"Now the Patriarchs grew jealous of Yosef and sold him into slavery in Egypt. But ADONAI was with him; he rescued him from all his troubles and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who appointed him chief administrator over Egypt and over all his household.
As Stephen continues to recount the history of the Jewish people, we see the faithfulness of God. Imagine being Joseph and sold as a slave but then God blesses you and in effect makes you ruler of the land. Now that's got to be a serious "God moment". Today, we can take comfort in the fact that God takes care of his people no matter what others may do. God is in control.
Now there came a famine that caused much suffering throughout Egypt and Kena'anu But when Ya'akov heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers there the first time. The second time, Yosef revealed his identity to his brothers, and Yosef's family became known to Pharaoh. Yosef then sent for his father Ya'akov and all his relatives, seventy-five people. And Ya'akov went down to Egypt; there he died, as did our other ancestors.
Stephen is still recalling Jewish history as he speaks to the Sanhedrin. Here, he is reminding them about how God used one of his people to save them all from starving. In spite of his brothers selling him into slavery, Joseph was where God wanted him to be at just the right time to be used to save his people. The same is true of us and Yeshua Messiah. Both Jesus and Joseph were obedient even when it was difficult and because of that God was able to use them to save his chosen people.
Their bodies were removed to Sh'khem and buried in the tomb Avraham had bought from the family of Hamor in Sh'khem for a certain sum of money. "As the time drew near for the fulfillment of the promise God had made to Avraham, the number of our people in Egypt increased greatly, until there arose another king over Egypt who had no knowledge of Yosef. With cruel cunning this man forced our fathers to put their newborn babies outside their homes, so that they would not survive.
Stephen is reminding the members of the Sanhedrin about the history of Israel. He is reminding them what reliance on their ancestor had brought the people. You see, in Egypt at the time that Stephen is describing, the Israelite people had become used to the favor granted them by the ruler because of Joseph. But, when the ruler was replaced, their favor was removed and they were enslaved. In a way, that is happening in the church today. People are attending services because their ancestors did and hoping for favor with God because of that. We know that, in the end, the relationship with God through Yeshua Messiah is what saves us and not whether our ancestors had a right relationship with God.
"It was then that Moshe was born, and he was beautiful in God's sight. For three months he was reared in his father's house; and when he was put out of his home, Pharaoh's daughter took him and brought him up as her own son. So Moshe was trained in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and became both a powerful speaker and a man of action.
Stephen continues with his review of Jewish history. Here, he recounts the story of Moses and how God was in control even then as Moses should have been killed at birth. It was no accident or coincidence that Moses was taken in by the Pharaoh's daughter. God is in control of all things and that is still true today, tomorrow and for eternity. That same God has a purpose for each of us and has prepared works for us to serve him.
"But when he was forty years old, the thought came to him to visit his brothers, the people of Isra'el. On seeing one of them being mistreated, he went to his defense and took revenge by striking down the Egyptian. He supposed his brothers would understand that God was using him to rescue them, but they didn't understand. When he appeared the next day, as they were fighting, and tried to make peace between them by saying, 'Men, you are brothers! Why do you want to hurt each other?' the one who was mistreating his fellow pushed Moshe away and said, 'Who made you a ruler and judge over us? Do you want to kill me, the way you killed that Egyptian yesterday?' On hearing this, Moshe fled the country and became an exile in the land of Midyan, where he had two sons.
As Stephen continues his discourse on Jewish history, we see Moses emerge as God's tool to save his people. Moses knew that God wanted to use him but he didn't have the direct communication with God yet. He tried to help the people through his own actions and not through God's plans. He killed an Egyptian and his fellow Jew had seen it. When Moses found out that the man knew what he had done, he fled into the desert. As we will see later, Moses was the chosen instrument of God just like he had thought but he hadn't sought the direction of God in the matter. Do we each do the same thing and try to make our plans fit into God's or do we wait on him and seek his instructions?
"After forty more years, an angel appeared to him in the desert near Mount Sinai in the flames of a burning thorn bush. When Moshe saw this, he was amazed at the sight; and as he approached to get a better look, there came the voice of ADONAI, 'I am the God of your fathers, the God of Avraham, Yitz'chak and Ya'akov.' But Moshe trembled with fear and didn't dare to look.
Moses heard the voice of the Lord and trembled with fear. Aren't you thankful for Yeshua? Because of his sacrifice, we can hear the voice of the Lord, through the Holy Spirit, every day and we do not have to be afraid as this passage says Moses was.
ADONAI said to him, 'Take off your sandals, because the place where you are standing is holy ground. I have clearly seen how My people are being oppressed in Egypt, I have heard their cry, and I have come down to rescue them, and now I will send you to Egypt.'
Can you imagine the thoughts going through the head of Moses? God spoke to him and said that eh was going to send him back to Egypt. Remember that Moses left because he was afraid that the authorities would find out about him killing an Egyptian. Just like Moses, God may put us in difficult circumstances to further his plan but we must remember that he is always there with us and in control.
"This Moshe, whom they rejected, saying, 'Who made you a ruler and judge?' is the very one whom God sent as both ruler and ransomer by means of the angel that appeared to him in the thorn bush. This man led them out, performing miracles and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years. This is the Moshe who said to the people of Isra'el, 'God will raise up a prophet like me from among your brothers' This is the man who was in the assembly in the wilderness, accompanied by the angel that had spoken to him at Mount Sinai and by our fathers, the man who was given living words to pass on to us.
Stephen continues his recap of Jewish history in his speech to the Sanhedrin. He reminds them of the rejection of Moses by the Israelite men who were fighting. He also reminds them that, after that time, God sent him to be the deliverer of Israel. It did not matter if people did not like it, God had appointed him. The same is true of when Yeshua came down to the earth. It did not matter what the Jewish rulers said because God had appointed Jesus to be the deliverer of his people. The same thing happens today, in that many of the established "churches", are pushing God out and replacing his word with their rules. Jesus came to set us free and we should not then rush back into the bondage of priests and their rules or traditions.
"But our fathers did not want to obey him. On the contrary, they rejected him and in their hearts turned to Egypt, saying to Aharon, 'Make us some gods to lead us; because this Moshe, who led us out of Egypt - we don't know what has become of him.'a That was when they made an idol in the shape of a calf and offered a sacrifice to it and held a celebration in honor of what they had made with their own hands.
Stephen is now reminding the Sanhedrin of the time in the desert that the people of Israel turned away from God. Instead of waiting on God and his commands (Moses was on the mountain getting the stone tablets from the very hand of God), the people had a golden calf made. Then, as Stephen said, they honored what their hands had made. That is called idolatry and was #1 on God's list of commandments. Even so, many "churches" as well as individual Christians today honor what their hands make.
So God turned away from them and gave them over to worship the starsb - as has been written in the book of the prophets, 'People of Isra'el, it was not to me that you offered slaughtered animals and sacrifices for forty years in the wilderness! No, you carried the tent of Molekh and the star of your god Reifan, the idols you made so that you could worship them. Therefore, I will send you into exile beyond Bavel.'
Stephen continues his talk before the Sanhedrin and explains that God turns away from idolatry. He quotes the prophet Amos in the last part of this passage. Amos was an Old Testament prophet that was from Judah but was sent to the kingdom of Israel to prophesy against them. The nation of Israel had turned from God to worship false gods and Amos warned them of their coming punishment for doing so. Stephen is explaining to the Sanhedrin that, once again, the Jewish people had turned from God. It was true then and it is now that God does not tolerate idolatry. We, as Christians today, must ask ourselves are we truly putting God first in deed as in words. God never changes and he will not share the throne with anything or anyone. He didn't share it during Amos' time or Stephen's time and he will not tolerate it today or tomorrow.
"Our fathers had the Tent of Witness in the wilderness. It had been made just as God, who spoke to Moshe, had ordered it made, according to the pattern Moshe had seen. Later on, our fathers who had received it brought it in with Y'hoshua when they took the Land away from the nations that God drove out before them. "So it was until the days of David. He enjoyed God's favor and asked if he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Ya'akov and Shlomo did build him a house.
Stephen continues his history lecture to the Sanhedrin as he remembers when the people of Israel had the tabernacle with them. He reminds them that the making of the tabernacle was all according to God's plan and his pattern. Stephen recalls how the nations were driven out before the Jewish people and how David was chosen of God. He then reminds them that David wanted to build a temple for God but God chose Solomon to build it instead. As Christians today, we also can forget about what God has done for us in the past. It is good for us to stop and remind ourselves how God has been with us in the past. That is what Stephen is doing with the Sanhedrin here. It is good to also be reminded that it is not our will that matters but God's, just as Stephen reminded them of the example of David's desire to build the temple.
But Ha'Elyon does not live in places made by hand! As the prophet says, 'Heaven is my throne,' says ADONAI, 'and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house could you build for me? What kind of place could you devise for my rest? Didn't I myself make all these things?'
Stephen now explains to the Sanhedrin that God does not live in houses. He quotes Isaiah in trying to get them to see that God does not need us to build him a temple. We too at times can get to thinking that God needs us to accomplish his will. Really, it is not that God needs us to do things it is that he gives us the opportunity to do things out of love for our Savior and our God.
"Stiffnecked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You continually oppose the Ruach HaKodesh! You do the same things your fathers did! Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who told in advance about the coming of the Tzaddik, and now you have become his betrayers and murderers! - you! - who receive the Torah as having been delivered by angels - but do not keep it!"
Now, Stephen turns from his recalling Jewish history to the situation at hand. He recounts the fact that their forefathers had persecuted those who foresaw the coming of Yeshua Messiah. Then, he reminds them that they even had Jesus crucified even though he did nothing wrong. By doing so, they violated the law that they held so dearly.
On hearing these things, they were cut to their hearts and ground their teeth at him. But he, full of the Ruach HaKodesh, looked up to heaven and saw God's Sh'khinah, with Yeshua standing at the right hand of God. "Look!" he exclaimed, "I see heaven opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!" At this, they began yelling at the top of their voices, so that they wouldn't have to hear him; and with one accord, they rushed at him, threw him outside the city and began stoning him. And the witnesses laid down their coats at the feet of a young man named Sha'ul. As they were stoning him, Stephen called out to God, "Lord Yeshua! Receive my spirit!" Then he kneeled down and shouted out, "Lord! Don't hold this sin against them!" With that, he died;
Now, it gets down to the problem and the Sanhedrin is furious at Stephen. Stephen told them of how he saw heaven open up and Yeshua standing at the right hand of God. This infuriated the religious leaders so much that they took him out and stoned him to death. A young man named Saul was there giving approval for the action. This same Saul would soon meet Jesus and be changed but for now he was still one of the biggest persecutors of Christians. Even while he was being stoned, Stephen asked the Lord to forgive the people that were doing it. This passage, though it seems to be full of defeat, contains a lot of inspiration for us, as Christians. First of all, Stephen saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God. He is there in the position of power interceding on behalf of us with God. Secondly, we see forgiveness. Just as Jesus did on the cross, Stephen asks for forgiveness for those that were killing him. We too are called to have that same attitude. From the smallest of offenses even unto death we are called to forgive those who wrong us.
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