Acts 7
7
1“Are these allegations true?” the high priest asked.
2“Brothers and fathers, listen to me!” Stephen replied. “God in his glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was living in Mesopotamia, before he moved to Haran.
3God told him, ‘Leave your country and your relatives, and go to the country that I'm going to show you.’#7:3. Quoting Genesis 12:1. 4So he left the country of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. After his father's death, God sent him here to this country where you now live. 5God didn't give Abraham an inheritance here, not even one square foot. But God did promise Abraham that he would give him and his descendants possession of the land, even though he had no children. 6God also told him that his descendants would live in a foreign country, and that they would be enslaved there, and would be mistreated for four hundred years. 7God said, ‘I will punish the nation that enslaves them. Eventually they will leave and come here to worship me.’#7:7. Quoting Genesis 15:13-14; Exodus 3:12. 8God also gave Abraham the agreement regarding circumcision,#7:8. Or “circumcision covenant.” and so when Isaac was born, Abraham circumcised him on the eighth day. Isaac was the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of the twelve patriarchs.
9The patriarchs, who were jealous of Joseph, sold him into slavery in Egypt. But God was with him, 10and rescued him from all his troubles. He gave him wisdom and helped him gain the favor of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him governor over Egypt and the royal household.
11Now a famine occurred throughout Egypt and Canaan. It caused terrible misery, and our forefathers had no food. 12When Jacob heard there was grain in Egypt he sent our forefathers down on their first visit. 13During their second visit, Joseph revealed to his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh discovered Joseph's family background. 14Joseph sent for his father and all his relatives—seventy-five in total. 15Jacob traveled to Egypt, and died there—as did our forefathers. 16Their bodies were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought with silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.
17As the time approached regarding the promise that God had made to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt increased. 18A new king came to the throne in Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph. 19He took advantage of our people and treated our ancestors badly, forcing them to abandon their babies so they would die. 20It was at this time that Moses was born. He was a handsome child, and for three months he was looked after in his father's home. 21When he had to be abandoned, Pharaoh's daughter rescued him and took care of him as her own son.
22Moses received instruction in all areas of Egyptian knowledge, and he became a powerful speaker and leader. 23However, when he was forty years old, he decided to visit his relatives, the Israelites. 24He saw one of them being mistreated, so he intervened to defend him. On behalf of the man he took revenge and killed the Egyptian. 25Moses thought his fellow Israelites would see that God was rescuing them through him, but they didn't. 26The next day when he arrived, two Israelites were fighting one another. He tried to reconcile them and stop the fight. ‘Men! You are brothers!’ he told them. ‘Why are you attacking each other?’
27But the man who had started the fight pushed Moses away. ‘Who put you in charge over us? Are you our judge now?’ he asked. 28‘Are you going to kill me like you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’#7:28. Quoting Exodus 2:13-14. 29When he heard this, Moses ran away. He went and lived in exile in the land of Midian, where two sons were born to him.
30Forty years later, in the desert of Mount Sinai, an angel appeared to him in the flames of a burning bush. 31When Moses saw this, he was amazed at the sight, and went over to take a closer look. The voice of the Lord spoke to him: 32‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.’#7:32. Quoting Exodus 3:6. Moses shook with fear and didn't dare look up. 33The Lord told him, ‘Take off your sandals, because where you are standing is holy ground. 34I have closely observed the suffering of my people in Egypt, and I have heard their groans. I have come down to rescue them. Now come over here, for I'm sending you to Egypt.’#7:34. Quoting Exodus 3:5-10.
35This was the same Moses that the people had rejected when they said, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge over us?’#7:35. Quoting Exodus 2:14. God sent him to be both a ruler and a liberator, by means of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36Moses led them out after performing miraculous signs in Egypt, and in the Red Sea, and continued to do so in the desert for forty years. 37This is the same Moses who promised the Israelites, ‘God will send you a prophet like me from among your people.’#7:37. Quoting Deuteronomy 18:15. 38Moses was with God's assembled people in the desert when the angel spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and there with our forefathers he received God's living word to give to us. 39He was the one our fathers wouldn't listen to. They rejected him and decided to return to Egypt. 40They told Aaron, ‘Make gods for us to lead us, because we don't know what's happened to this Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt.’#7:40. Quoting Exodus 32:1. 41Then they made an idol in the shape of a calf, sacrificed to it, and celebrated what they themselves had made!
42So God gave up on them. He left them to their worship of the stars in the sky. This is what the prophets wrote, ‘Were you giving offerings or making sacrifices to me during the forty years in the desert, you Israelites? 43No, you carried the Tabernacle of the god Moloch and the image of the god Rephan's star, images that you made so you could worship them. So I will banish you in exile beyond Babylon.’#7:43. Quoting Amos 5:25-27.
44Our ancestors had the Tabernacle of Testimony#7:44. Meaning that it gave God's message, and provided evidence of his presence. in the desert. God had told Moses how he should make it following the blueprint he had seen. 45Later on, our forefathers carried it with them when they went in with Joshua to occupy the land taken from the nations the Lord drove out before them. It stayed there until the time of David. 46David found favor with God and asked to make a more permanent home for the God of Jacob. 47But it was Solomon who built a Temple#7:47. Literally, “house.” for him. 48Of course the Almighty doesn't live in temples we make. As the prophet said, 49‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth the place I put my feet. What kind of dwelling could you build for me?’ the Lord asks. ‘What bed could you make for me to rest in? 50Didn't I make everything?’#7:50. Quoting Isaiah 66:1-2.
51You arrogant, hard-hearted people! You never listen!#7:51. Literally, “uncircumcised in heart and ears.” You always fight against the Holy Spirit! You act just like your fathers did! 52Was there ever a prophet your fathers didn't persecute? They killed those who prophesied about the coming of the one who is truly good and right. He is the one you betrayed and murdered— 53you who received the law by means of the angels, but refused to keep it.”
54When they heard this, the council members became mad with rage, and snarled at him, grinding their teeth. 55But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed up into heaven and saw God's glory, with Jesus standing at God's right hand. 56“Look,” he said, “I see heaven open, and the Son of Man standing at God's right hand.”
57But they held their hands over their ears and shouted as loudly as they could. They rushed together at him, 58dragged him out of the city, and began to stone him. His accusers laid their coats down beside a young man called Saul. 59As they went on stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60He kneeled down, calling out, “Lord, please don't hold this sin against them!” And after he said this, he died.#7:60. Literally, “fell asleep.” Death is often spoken of as a sleep in the New Testament.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
Acts 7
7
Stephen’s Speech
1The high priest said to Stephen, “Are these things true?”
2Stephen answered, “Brothers and fathers, listen to me. Our glorious God appeared to Abraham, our ancestor, in Mesopotamia before he lived in Haran. 3God said to Abraham, ‘Leave your country and your relatives, and go to the land I will show you.’ 4So Abraham left the country of Chaldea and went to live in Haran. After Abraham’s father died, God sent him to this place where you now live. 5God did not give Abraham any of this land, not even a foot of it. But God promised that he would give this land to him and his descendants, even before Abraham had a child. 6This is what God said to him: ‘Your descendants will be strangers in a land they don’t own. The people there will make them slaves and will mistreat them for four hundred years. 7But I will punish the nation where they are slaves. Then your descendants will leave that land and will worship me in this place.’ 8God made an agreement with Abraham, the sign of which was circumcision. And so when Abraham had his son Isaac, Abraham circumcised him when he was eight days old. Isaac also circumcised his son Jacob, and Jacob did the same for his sons, the twelve ancestors of our people.
9“Jacob’s sons became jealous of Joseph and sold him to be a slave in Egypt. But God was with him 10and saved him from all his troubles. The king of Egypt liked Joseph and respected him because of the wisdom God gave him. The king made him governor of Egypt and put him in charge of all the people in his palace.
11“Then all the land of Egypt and Canaan became so dry that nothing would grow, and the people suffered very much. Jacob’s sons, our ancestors, could not find anything to eat. 12But when Jacob heard there was grain in Egypt, he sent his sons there. This was their first trip to Egypt. 13When they went there a second time, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and the king learned about Joseph’s family. 14Then Joseph sent messengers to invite Jacob, his father, to come to Egypt along with all his relatives (seventy-five persons altogether). 15So Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and his sons died. 16Later their bodies were moved to Shechem and put in a grave there. (It was the same grave Abraham had bought for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.)
17“The promise God made to Abraham was soon to come true, and the number of people in Egypt grew large. 18Then a new king, who did not know who Joseph was, began to rule Egypt. 19This king tricked our people and was cruel to our ancestors, forcing them to leave their babies outside to die. 20At this time Moses was born, and he was very beautiful. For three months Moses was cared for in his father’s house. 21When they put Moses outside, the king’s daughter adopted him and raised him as if he were her own son. 22The Egyptians taught Moses everything they knew, and he was a powerful man in what he said and did.
23“When Moses was about forty years old, he thought it would be good to visit his own people, the people of Israel. 24Moses saw an Egyptian mistreating one of his people, so he defended the Israelite and punished the Egyptian by killing him. 25Moses thought his own people would understand that God was using him to save them, but they did not. 26The next day when Moses saw two men of Israel fighting, he tried to make peace between them. He said, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why are you hurting each other?’ 27The man who was hurting the other pushed Moses away and said, ‘Who made you our ruler and judge? 28Are you going to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ 29When Moses heard him say this, he left Egypt and went to live in the land of Midian where he was a stranger. While Moses lived in Midian, he had two sons.
30“Forty years later an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush as he was in the desert near Mount Sinai. 31When Moses saw this, he was amazed and went near to look closer. Moses heard the Lord’s voice say, 32‘I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ Moses began to shake with fear and was afraid to look. 33The Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, because you are standing on holy ground. 34I have seen the troubles my people have suffered in Egypt. I have heard their cries and have come down to save them. And now, Moses, I am sending you back to Egypt.’
35“This Moses was the same man the two men of Israel rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge?’ Moses is the same man God sent to be a ruler and savior, with the help of the angel that Moses saw in the burning bush. 36So Moses led the people out of Egypt. He worked miracles and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and then in the desert for forty years. 37This is the same Moses that said to the people of Israel, ‘God will give you a prophet like me, who is one of your own people.’ 38This is the Moses who was with the gathering of the Israelites in the desert. He was with the angel that spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and he was with our ancestors. He received commands from God that give life, and he gave those commands to us.
39“But our ancestors did not want to obey Moses. They rejected him and wanted to go back to Egypt. 40They said to Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will lead us. Moses led us out of Egypt, but we don’t know what has happened to him.’ 41So the people made an idol that looked like a calf. Then they brought sacrifices to it and were proud of what they had made with their own hands. 42But God turned against them and did not try to stop them from worshiping the sun, moon, and stars. This is what is written in the book of the prophets: God says,
‘People of Israel, you did not bring me sacrifices and offerings
while you traveled in the desert for forty years.
43You have carried with you
the tent to worship Molech
and the idols of the star god Rephan that you made to worship.
So I will send you away beyond Babylon.’#Amos 5:25–27
44“The Holy Tent where God spoke to our ancestors was with them in the desert. God told Moses how to make this Tent, and he made it like the plan God showed him. 45Later, Joshua led our ancestors to capture the lands of the other nations. Our people went in, and God forced the other people out. When our people went into this new land, they took with them this same Tent they had received from their ancestors. They kept it until the time of David, 46who pleased God and asked God to let him build a house for him, the God of Jacob. 47But Solomon was the one who built the Temple.
48“But the Most High does not live in houses that people build with their hands. As the prophet says:
49‘Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
So do you think you can build a house for me? says the Lord.
Do I need a place to rest?
50Remember, my hand made all these things!’ ” #Isaiah 66:1–2
51Stephen continued speaking: “You stubborn people! You have not given your hearts to God, nor will you listen to him! You are always against what the Holy Spirit is trying to tell you, just as your ancestors were. 52Your ancestors tried to hurt every prophet who ever lived. Those prophets said long ago that the One who is good would come, but your ancestors killed them. And now you have turned against and killed the One who is good. 53You received the law of Moses, which God gave you through his angels, but you haven’t obeyed it.”
Stephen Is Killed
54When the leaders heard this, they became furious. They were so mad they were grinding their teeth at Stephen. 55But Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit. He looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at God’s right side. 56He said, “Look! I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at God’s right side.”
57Then they shouted loudly and covered their ears and all ran at Stephen. 58They took him out of the city and began to throw stones at him to kill him. And those who told lies against Stephen left their coats with a young man named Saul. 59While they were throwing stones, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60He fell on his knees and cried in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” After Stephen said this, he died.
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.