Call to Commitment

      1.      Then the high priest said, "Are these things so?" 

2.      And he said, "Brethren and fathers, listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran, 

3.      and said to him, 'GET OUT OF YOUR COUNTRY AND FROM YOUR RELATIVES, AND COME TO A LAND THAT I WILL SHOW YOU.' 

4.      Then he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran. And from there, when his father was dead, He moved him to this land in which you now dwell. 

5.      And God gave him no inheritance in it, not even enough to set his foot on. But even when Abraham had no child, He promised to give it to him for a possession, and to his descendants after him. 

6.      But God spoke in this way: that his descendants would dwell in a foreign land, and that they would bring them into bondage and oppress them four hundred years. 

7.      'AND THE NATION TO WHOM THEY WILL BE IN BONDAGE I WILL JUDGE,' said God, 'AND AFTER THAT THEY SHALL COME OUT AND SERVE ME IN THIS PLACE.' 

8.      Then He gave him the covenant of circumcision; and so Abraham begot Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot the twelve patriarchs.  

Good preachers often make the point that the Greek word, which is translated witness, is martus, from which we get our word for martyr. I have noticed in traveling to other countries that some of their versions of the New Testament, choose the word martyr in their translation, instead of witness. It is sound principle in gospel teaching that the Christian is to be a witness unto death, therefore a martyr. This chapter 7 in Acts, tells the story of the first Christian martyr, Stephen, who is a wonderful example of this principle.

 I often try to show, as I will again, that the title for Stephan’s message is found in his own words in verse 51, “You Always Resist the Holy Spirit.”

 I will try to show how he does this throughout his presentation to the Sanhedrin and the Synagogue of the Libertines. I do not want to convey the idea that the all of the Old Testament people, of whom he spoke, were generally disobedient or unfaithful. That is not the case, but they were flawed human beings, whom God corrected and gave faith, so to accomplish His purposes through them. The high priest opens the door for Stephan to defend himself (v. 1) and he begins by addressing those present as brothers and fathers, his fellow Jews, and their God as the God of glory. He goes all the way back to their patriarch, Abraham, giving a reminder of their entire national history (v. 2). Genesis 11:10-26 gives us Abraham’s genealogy and you will notice that his father, Terah, moved the entire family from Ur of the Chaldeans and crossed the Euphrates into Haran (Ge. 11:29).

 Joshua took his generation back to the beginnings of their race to an idolatrous people up to the time of Abraham’s father, Terah, named Abraham and his brother, Nahor, and showed that they served other gods. Israel’s roots were idolatrous and they included father and sons (Josh. 24:2). God, gloriously revealed Himself to Abraham, in His mysterious way and called him out of paganism. Jamison-Faucett-Brown comments, “The conversion of Abraham is one of the most remarkable in Bible history.” 

 Notice the time of the verb, had said, in Genesis 12:1, showing that God had already spoken to him in Ur, before the move to Haran. Abraham must be immediately separated from his idolatrous roots and his family. However, Abraham hesitated and left Ur with his parentage and lived with them in Haran. Stephen saw a flaw in Abraham’s obedience and made his first point… a hesitation in fulfilling God’s complete command (v. 3-4), possibly tied to his father, until he died.

 God began His supernatural work in the patriarch, which He will continue throughout biblical history. Revealing to us the ways of God, Paul showed that God begins with nothing, in this case, a pagan who worshiped other gods, “to bring to nothing, the things that are” (1 Co. 1:28). Abraham lived as a stranger in a land that God promised to his descendants, although he had no child. The Lord chose a barren womb, to bring forth an entire nation, once again manifesting His ways. God had in mind from the very beginning, a Descendant among the descendants, who would perfectly fulfill His will, before his son was born (v. 5).

 The way of the world would be to look for a prime candidate, the most qualified person, for whatever project it has in mind. God chose the least qualified, to bring out the quality He most highly treasures… faith, dependence or trust in Him. Everyone in the Sanhedrin knew, how Abraham contrived with Sarah, to produce a child in a natural way through Sarah’s bondwoman or slave… relying on a human possibility… and thereby, Stephen revealed a second flaw in Abraham. Paul taught: “He who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise” (Gal. 4:23).

 By Abraham and Sarah’s fleshly plan (which successfully produced a child), Abraham again resisted God’s supernatural promise. Abraham, at first, held to his plan and its product, pleading with God, "Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!"  God was patient and kind with Abraham, but in no way would He compromise His purpose: "No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him” (Ge. 17:18-19).

 God showed Abraham that his descendants would become slaves for 400 years in a foreign land (Ge. 15:13), but after that, He would free them, so that they could serve Him. The deliverance would come through great judgment upon their masters and Israel would leave that land, taking with them great treasures. It was due to them, because they had served without pay for centuries (Ge. 15:14).

 Next, God made a covenant of circumcision with Abraham, separating Him and His descendants, from all the nations of the world. Just before that covenant was made, He changed the name, Abram, to Abraham (Ge.17:5), a new name typifying a new birth. The Lord’s covenant of separation remains for the church in the New Testament (Greek ikklesia, meaning those called out), which is to be holy or separated from the world unto service to God. Peter, confirmed that truth in the first apostolic sermon, commanding the new believers, "Be saved from this perverse generation" (Ac. 2:40).

  The day that the Lord commanded Abraham to be circumcised, he obeyed, circumcised himself, his servants and Ishmael. (Ge. 17:26-27). When Isaac was born, Abraham circumcised him, when he was eight days old (Ge.21:4). To Isaac were born twin boys, but the youngest, Jacob, became heir to the promises of God. Another evidence of the Lord’s ways, opposite to man’s, by choosing the youngest on various occasions. Jacob had twelve sons, whom Stephen calls patriarchs, meaning that they were the fathers of twelve tribes in Israel (v. 8). 

Chapter 7:9-18 

The resistance of Joseph’s brothers

        9.   And the patriarchs, becoming envious, sold Joseph into Egypt. But God was                    with him 

10.  and delivered him out of all his troubles, and gave him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house. 

11.  Now a famine and great trouble came over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers found no sustenance. 

12.  But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. 

13.  And the second time Joseph was made known to his brothers, and Joseph's family became known to the Pharaoh. 

14.  Then Joseph sent and called his father Jacob and all his relatives to him, seventy-five people. 

15.  So Jacob went down to Egypt; and he died, he and our fathers. 

16.  And they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham bought for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. 

17.  "But when the time of the promise drew near which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt 

18.  till another king arose who did not know Joseph.  

When Joseph was young, God revealed His plan for his family’s future through two dreams. We do not have to know the content of those dreams at this time, because we want to be fairly consistent with Stephen’s design in this message. He now tells of the envy of the brothers of Joseph, which began when he was very young and the favorite of his father, Jacob. The envy boiled over to hatred and reached its peak, when Joseph recounted his dreams to them. When opportunity came, they aimed to kill him, but under the brother, Judah’s suggestion, they sold him to slave traders that passed their way. They, in turn, took him to Egypt and resold him there, to a man called Potiphar. The last phrase of verse 9 is especially poignant: “But God was with him”, and that truth becomes very evident, as one reads the entire story in Genesis.  

 Joseph, having lived a favored life until he was seventeen, now faces hardships and acute suffering that he never could have imagined. First, there was the agony of being sold and carried to Egypt. Much later, the brothers revealed the extreme pain, as Joseph pled on that horrible day: “Then they said to one another, "We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; therefore this distress has come upon us." 

 This occasion revealed another principle, to which I often refer. It came in Jesus’ prayer to the Father: “I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me” (Jn. 17:23).  Even in the Old Testament, a heathen king was able to recognize the presence of the true God in this young Hebrew (Ge. 41:38). Joseph became the governor over Egypt and Pharaoh’s personal household and beyond that, Pharaoh appointed him to be the second most powerful official in Egypt (Ge. 41:40).

 As a fulfillment of Pharaoh’s dreams and according to the eternal purposes of God, the world entered a time of extreme failure in harvest. It reached the land of Canaan, where Joseph’s father and brothers lived (v. 11). Please see how God governs circumstances and conversations, so that His will is fulfilled. Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt and sent his sons to do business there (v. 12). They did not recognize Joseph, 20 years older, dressed in Egyptian clothes and speaking the Egyptian language. Guided by divine wisdom, he put in progress a sequence of events to bring these men to repentance.

 Jacob sent them the second time, as the grain from the first trip depleted and this time, having succeeded in softening the brothers’ hard hearts, Joseph revealed his true identity to them. He introduced his family to Pharaoh (v. 13) and the entire family of 75 people moved down to Gothen in Egypt (v. 14). Jacob died there and so did that entire generation (v. 15). Stephen told the whole story rapidly, leaving out many details and the account in verse 16 is incomplete. He did not want their minds distracted by a minute account of less important incidents. He told not only of Jacob’s burial, but of the entire clan, understanding that his listeners were all familiar with the details.

 Stephen continued relating the eternal purposes of God, which now concerned multiplying His people from 75 souls, into national identity, which eventually numbered millions (v. 17). As the people were about to come into the dark time prophesied to Abraham, generations earlier, Stephen showed that, despite 400 years of extreme trial and hardship, God’s plan faithfully marches on. He began with the ominous words in verse 18, of the entrance of another king, “who did not know Joseph.” 

Chapter 7: 19-35

Israel’s resistance to Moses leadership and God’s deliverance       

19. This man dealt treacherously with our people, and oppressed our forefathers, making them expose their babies, so that they might not live.

20. At this time Moses was born, and was well pleasing to God; and he was brought up in his father's house for three months.

21. Act 7:21 But when he was set out, Pharaoh's daughter took him away and brought him up as her own son.

22. And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds.

23. "Now when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel.

24. And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended and avenged him who was oppressed, and struck down the Egyptian.

25. For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand.

26. And the next day he appeared to two of them as they were fighting, and tried to reconcile them, saying, 'Men, you are brethren; why do you wrong one another?'

27. But he who did his neighbor wrong pushed him away, saying, 'WHO MADE YOU A RULER AND A JUDGE OVER US?

28. DO YOU WANT TO KILL ME AS YOU DID THE EGYPTIAN YESTERDAY?'

29. Then, at this saying, Moses fled and became a dweller in the land of Midian, where he had two sons.

30. "And when forty years had passed, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai.

31. When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight; and as he drew near to observe, the voice of the Lord came to him,

32. saying, 'I AM THE GOD OF YOUR FATHERS—THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB.' And Moses trembled and dared not look.

33. 'Then the LORD said to him, "TAKE YOUR SANDALS OFF YOUR FEET, FOR THE PLACE WHERE YOU STAND IS HOLY GROUND.

34. I HAVE SURELY SEEN THE OPPRESSION OF MY PEOPLE WHO ARE IN EGYPT; I HAVE HEARD THEIR GROANING AND HAVE COME DOWN TO DELIVER THEM. AND NOW COME, I WILL SEND YOU TO EGYPT." '

35. "This Moses whom they rejected, saying, 'WHO MADE YOU A RULER AND A JUDGE?' is the one God sent to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the Angel who appeared to him in the bush.

Egypt was a type of sin in Israel’s history and Pharaoh was a type of Satan. So, we are to see it is a picture of a people, enslaved by Satan, in sin. Now, Stephen was about to tell of Israel’s deliverance by God’s mighty hand and the story was told widely throughout the Old Testament. Beside this account by Stephen, Paul also gave a shorter review of Israel history in a synagogue in Antioch, Pisidia. It is in chapter 13:16-22, and also included the deliverance from Egypt. God blessed His people and they numbered more than the native Egyptians. The new Pharaoh was concerned that, in the event of war, they would join with his enemies. 

Trying to diminish their population, Pharaoh first made their work unbearable and, when that did not succeed, he instructed the midwives to kill the male babies at birth. They cunningly disobeyed, and then he imposed a law on his people that they should throw all the male babies into the Nile River (v. 19). God’s hand was upon Moses from birth and his parents successful kept him in their house for three months (v. 20). 

Then, hiding him in a waterproof basket, they floated it among the reeds along the shore of the Nile. He was discovered and adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter and was raised as a grandson of Pharaoh in the palace until he was forty years old (v. 21). Stephen mentioned his schooling in the most advanced civilization on earth. Some people would think, if found in that situation, that God was blessing them tremendously, but Moses saw it as a trap, from which he had to escape. 

I am fascinated by the account that the writer gives of this period in his life in the book of Hebrews 11:24-27. He added to Stephen’s words and wrote of the treasures in the center of Egyptian royalty and the passing pleasures of sin (v. 22). He reveals that Moses knew the pre-incarnate Christ and we learn that later, he prophesied of Him (Dt. 18:15). He came to a crisis decision, rejecting the riches of Egypt and his royal parentage, for the reproach of Christ and the affliction of His people. 

Next, Stephen said, “it came into his heart,” manifesting the deep dealings of God in the heart of a man, and how His sovereign will turned Moses in the direction of the plan that the Lord had for him (v. 23). Watching an Egyptian mistreat an Israelite, an inner instinct was stirred in his heart, and he killed the Egyptian (v. 24). Steven reveals the interior motivation and an instinctive understanding that God was calling him to be a deliverer: “He supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand” (v. 25). However, they resisted the sign before their eyes, and reviled Moses, when he attempted to make peace between two of them, who were fighting (v. 26).

Notice again, the clear teaching that Stephen was giving to the Sanhedrin… in this situation, as always, they resisted the workings of God. The aggressor gave evidence to his fallen nature, physically pushing Moses away, refusing his leadership. He questioned the Source of Moses’ calling: “Who made you a ruler and a judge?” (v. 27). The hardships of life dulled his senses to any good news. He doubted Moses’ intentions, (“Do you want to kill me?”) and in doing so, he doubted God, who was working through Moses to bring about their salvation (v. 28). Moses fled Egypt and lived for another 40 years in Midian, where he married and had two sons (v. 29).

God is training Moses in this phase of life, and His training takes time, transforming him from a prince in the palace of Egypt, into a humble shepherd taking care of his father-in-law’s sheep. But this long process was still not enough, because God’s dealings with man require a crisis experience, an empowering for service. Stephen, full of faith and power (6:8),  certainly had experienced it, as had the 120 in the Upper Room. Now Moses was exposed to the fire that burns and purifies, but does not consume.

The appearance of the Angel of the Lord is a Christophany throughout the Old Testament and in the burning bush He appears to Moses on Sinai (v. 30). Moses marvels at this supernatural manifestation of fire in a bush and approached to examine it more closely and the Lord, the Word, spoke to him (v. 31). As Jesus revealed that He was before Abraham, the I AM in the Gospel of John 8:58, One with the Father, He shows Himself to Moses in the wilderness (“outside the camp”, alone, away from all humankind). 

He was the fearsome God of the Hebrew patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and Moses’ humanity was overwhelmed (v. 32). He must not come near, as if it were an earthly site; it was the Holy of Holies, come down to earth. I want to illustrate this instance, briefly, by an experience depicted in a Moody scientific film. I watched a man put on special gloves, take off his shoes and stand upon a metal platform. When he was ready, he instructed an accomplice to turn on the current. Thousands of volts of electricity coursed through his body and flashed from his upraised hands as bolts of lightning. Yet he was totally unharmed. But, electrical power is not to be compared to that which Moses knew from that day forward. No one can function or accomplish heaven´s purposes without it (v. 33). 

God had not forsaken His people nor did they escape His vision in the four centuries that they were in Egypt: “I have surely seen,” He said. He heard their groaning, as holy prayer coming before His throne. It is time to answer, as He always does, and He brings a powerful deliverance, full of signs and wonders. Moses, having experienced the power of God, is sent to Egypt (v. 34). God stands in faithful opposition to all the resistance of unbelieving man. Under the authority of the divine Angel of the burning bush, He sent to them the ruler and judge that they denied (v. 35).