Call to Commitment

  

Chapter 7:36-45 

Resistance to God in the wilderness and the Promised Land 

      36.  He brought them out, after he had shown 
     wonders and signs in the land of Egypt,            and in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness           forty years.

37. "This is that Moses who said to the children of Israel, 'THE LORD YOUR GOD WILL RAISE UP FOR YOU A PROPHET LIKE ME FROM YOUR BRETHREN. HIM YOU SHALL HEAR.'
38. "This is he who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the Angel who spoke to
him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, the one who received the living oracles to give
to us,
39. whom our fathers would not obey, but rejected. And in their hearts they turned back
to Egypt,
40. saying to Aaron, 'MAKE US GODS TO GO BEFORE US; AS FOR THIS MOSES
WHO BROUGHT US OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT, WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT
HAS BECOME OF HIM.'
41. And they made a calf in those days, offered sacrifices to the idol, and rejoiced in the
works of their own hands.
42. Then God turned and gave them up to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in
the book of the Prophets: 'DID YOU OFFER ME SLAUGHTERED ANIMALS AND SACRIFICES DURING FORTY YEARS IN THE WILDERNESS, O HOUSE OF ISRAEL?
43. YOU ALSO TOOK UP THE TABERNACLE OF MOLOCH, AND THE STAR OF
YOUR GOD REMPHAN, IMAGES WHICH YOU MADE TO WORSHIP; AND I WILL CARRY YOU AWAY BEYOND BABYLON.'
44. "Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as He appointed,
instructing Moses to make it according to the pattern that he had seen,
45. which our fathers, having received it in turn, also brought with Joshua into the land possessed by the Gentiles, whom God drove out before the face of our fathers until the days of David

Then, a multitude, numbering millions, lived miraculously for forty years in the wilderness (v. 36). The Spirit of Christ lived in Moses and befriended him. See how Moses communed with him, placing a tent outside the camp, where he could be alone. “So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend” (Ex. 33:11). Out of that fellowship came a prophesy, as Jesus told the Jews: “If you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me” (Jn. 5:46). Stephen quoted his prophesy in verse 37.

Moses influenced the nation and culture of Israel more than any other of the forefathers, giving them the Law of God from Mt. Sinai (v. 38). The one who, more than any other, became Israel’s hero, in his own day was rejected. How many cases do we know out of history, especially men of God, who were opposed in their lifetime, only to be honored after they died? Through the forty years in the wilderness, Israel launched constant warfare against the Lord, referring time and again to the ‘wonderful life’ that they had in Egypt (v. 39). They forgot the slavery and were deceived by the security and the guaranteed supply, which that lifestyle gave them. 

 Stephen referred to one of the lowest points during their journey through the wilderness, when Moses tarried on Sinai. The people asked Aaron to make them an idol that they could worship, now that Moses was absent (v. 40). What followed that request, was Aaron’s cooperation in forming a golden calf and the people sacrificed to it, celebrating it as their new god (v. 41). It was carved by human hands, showing the essence behind idolatry: It is mankind worshipping its own creation, rather than that, which comes from God. That continues in people’s hearts to this day.

 Throughout the Old Testament we read that God gave His people that, which their heart longed for; that is, the things that they craved. Paul establishes the doctrine in Romans 1, saying that “God gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts” (Ro. 1:24). Two verses later (Ro. 1:26) he adds, “God gave them up to vile passions,” then two verses further on (Ro. 1:28), “God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting.” The problems that exist in the world today, are not the Lord’s doing, but it is the will of men, who love sin and insist on sinful living. He leaves them to do what their heart desires, and man experiences the sure consequences that follow. He removes His hand of restraint and frees them to practice their own ways. Stephen said “God gave them up to the host of heaven” and this curse ended in the barbaric practice of child sacrifice.

 Another principle that Stephen raises is that God will never accept the worship that comes from a divided heart. Is it true godly worship that sacrifices to the Lord, while at the same time, honoring pagan gods (v. 42)? Stephen authorized his words with Old Testament Scripture, Amos 5:26, in which the word tabernacle is represented by a totally different Hebrew word, meaning an idolatrous booth. Already in the wilderness, the Israelites carried with them a shrine which carried the image of Moloch or Molech. This was the Ammonite god, which was worshiped by sacrificing children. Spirits do not die and this god lives on into the 21^st Century, to whom parents sacrifice their unborn babies. Abortion clinics today are the tabernacle of Moloch.

 Most theologians think that Remphan was a name given to the planet Saturn, therefore called a “star”, people not distinguishing between stars and planets in ancient times. Amos brought these idols, already existent in the wilderness, into his time, prophesying that the judgment for centuries of idolatry, was much closer for his people. The time was coming for judgment through the expatriation of the Jews in Assyria and Babylon (v. 43). 

 Moses gazed into heaven on Mt. Sinai and saw the reality behind the tabernacle in Christ. The Son of God came to tabernacle on earth, manifesting the glory of the Father, “full of grace and truth.” As Moses, but here on earth, “of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace… grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (Jn. 1:14, 16, 17). He is the fulfillment of all that the tabernacle represented, in the middle of the tribes of Israel. It was placed, where everyone in the camp, stepping out of his tent, could look upon it, regardless of the tribe, to which he belonged. He is the bread of life (the table of shewbread), He is the light of the world (the seven-fold lampstand), He is the altar of incense, that is, the house of prayer, He is the propitiation cover for the Law of God, the ark of the covenant. He is worshipped by angels and cherubim, who attend Him in the throne room of God, the Holy of Holies.

 The testimony or witness was the Ten Commandments inside the tabernacle, which existed to house the ark of witness, and therefore was named The Tabernacle of Witness (v. 44). Under the leadership of Joshua, the Israelites carried the ark of witness into the Promised Land, conquering seven heathen nations, who occupied it. Here is an Old Testament type of the church going among the heathen, conquering them by the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Joshua met the Captain of the Lord of hosts with His sword drawn, when he entered the land, and He took command of the army, driving out the enemy. The people who fall before His sword, die to the old life, and rise to a new one (v. 45). The following is attributed to Charles Wesley: 

Come, Thou Incarnate Word,

Gird on Thy mighty sword;

Our prayer attend,

Come and Thy people bless;

And give Thy Word success,

Spirit of holiness on us descend. 

With these last words, Stephen covered the time of Israel’s Judges and entered the Kingdom, led by David. Saul was the answer to the people’s cry for a king and therefore, much like Ismael, born in carnality, was rejected by God. Saul likewise was a perfect sample of man’s carnality, head and shoulders above all his brethren. Typifying the best of human attributes, he failed before God, and God raised up a man after His own heart in his place. David, from boyhood, relied on supernatural power, killing a lion and a bear. With a sling and a stone, he defeated Israel’s chief enemy. Throughout his life, this was his battle cry to victory: “Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered; let those also who hate Him flee before Him” (Ps. 68:1). The spirits of Saul and David live on today in the church, representing the works of the flesh and the works of the Spirit. 

 

Chapter 7:46-50 

Resistance to God by building Him a material temple

46.who found favor before God and asked to find a dwelling for the God of Jacob.
47.But Solomon built Him a house.
48."However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet
says:
49. 'HEAVEN IS MY THRONE, AND EARTH IS MY FOOTSTOOL. WHAT HOUSE
WILL YOU BUILD FOR ME? SAYS THE LORD, OR WHAT IS THE PLACE OF MY REST?
50. HAS MY HAND NOT MADE ALL THESE THINGS?'

David´s life was marred by imperfection, the most well-known being adultery with Bathsheba and the assassination of her husband. Any Christian should find these atrocities to be the most dastardly acts, and it would be hard to think of anything worse that a person could do against his fellow man. But there is more to consider. King Saul pursued David and David despaired of his life. He deceived Israel’s enemy, one of the Philistine’ kings, joined him, and relied on his protection. Outside the borders of Israel, he lived a lie, which led to serious complications, to the point of a danger of warring against his own people. Had it not been for God´s intervention, which came through the opposition by the other four Philistine kings, who protested David entering battle with them, he indeed would have battled against Israel.

 Yet there was something within David that was priceless. He had the ability to see things, as God saw them. Of course, they are written into the Psalms, the Spirit of Christ illuminating the Psalmist and he received this accolade: “The man raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel” (2 S. 23:1).  On the one hand, David was honored for the desire to build a temple for the Lord (v. 46). At the same time there was a flaw, from which we need to learn a lesson.

 We will go to 2 Samuel 7 to hear God’s feelings in this matter, beginning with the error of the prophet, Nathan. When David expressed to him his desire, Nathan’s response was “Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you” (2 S. 7:3). That night, he heard from the Lord that he had made a mistake.  He showed Nathan His heart: “Have I ever spoken a word to anyone… saying, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?’” (2 S. 7:7). Jesus revealed the principle, as He walked on earth; He tabernacled, without settling into an earthly abode and thereby taught us not to put down roots in this world.

 He uncovered an element of pride in David, now that he became king. He thought that a mere human could do something for God, which the Lord corrected by showing that He was the Creator and Helper of man. “Would you build a house for Me to dwell in?… I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel” and the prophet continued the word of the Lord: “The Lord tells you that He will make you a house” (2 S. 7:5, 8, 11). That was God’s rebuke for David, for all comes from God and we receive always, by grace through faith, “lest anyone should boast” (Eph. 2:9). He is to receive all the glory.

 Solomon, the builder himself (v. 47), recognized the truth that God did not live in buildings (1 K.:27), and the prophet Isaiah made it even clearer (Is. 66:1, 2). Stephen cites him in this message, but by going to the text in Isaiah, we learn the position that a person should take: “On this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word” (Is. 66:2). A human can really make nothing for God, because everything comes from Him. The Corinthians needed to know this and Paul asked them, “What do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” (1 Co. 4:7). His argument is that the believer has no good inherent in himself, but he receives all goodness from God. Therefore, there is no cause for boasting.

 Solomon’s temple degenerated into mere religious formality, and eventually was corrupted by idols. The Jews thought that God would protect them from Babylon, because His temple was among them. Jeremiah warned them against their superstitious faith in the temple and told them that they had turned God’s house into a den of thieves (Jer. 7:1-16). Jesus confirmed his statement, showing that Herod’s temple had been desecrated and would be destroyed. Solomon’s elaborate temple, made from materials that David had stored, was totally destroyed by the Chaldeans. The second temple, embellished by Herod, was destroyed by the Romans (vs. 48-50).

 All earthly buildings are flawed by time and the hands of imperfect men. They bear the carnality that gives birth to Ismael through human possibility.  In the New Jerusalem there is no temple, because heavenly reality has replaced all symbols. Let us look up and gaze on eternity: “And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.” Heaven’s reality will blot out all earthly, temporal symbolism: “But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple” (Rev. 21:3, 22). 

 

Chapter 7:51-60

 Stephen’s application and resulting martyrdom

51. "You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy
Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.
52. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who
foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers,
53. who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it."
54. When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth.
55. But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,
56. and said, "Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!"
57. Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord;
58. and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.
59. And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."
60. Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin." And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

The entire state of fallen man is illustrated by the resistance of the Jew. Stephen’s condemnation upon the Sanhedrin and the Synagogue of the Libertines was the condemnation of all mankind. The Gentile nations are no better than the Jews and, had any non-Jewish nation been chosen to be in their place, would have fared no better. We are all stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and always resist the Holy Spirit. Were it not for His initiative and patience in dealing with us, we would have absolutely no hope. Our sinful nature leads us to run in the opposite direction, away from Him always, and the fact that we have come near, is because He drew us. All thanksgiving and glory belong to Him! (v. 51)

 As we see in both of Peter’s two messages, so we see in Stephen’s, a cutting, deep incision by the Sword of the Spirit. The Jews, who resisted Stephen, bore the genes of their forefathers, who resisted the prophets that foretold of the One, whom they crucified. An evangelization that does not include an attempt to make the sinner see his depravity will be less than effective. All are betrayers and murderers (v. 52), and all guise to hide the fact, every religious effort of self-justification, must be uncovered. 

 As the writer of Hebrews revealed, the Old Testament was given through angels, “all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation… the word spoken through angels proved steadfast and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward” (Heb. 1:14 and 2:2). The supernatural, heavenly transmission was rejected, the Word made flesh was rejected, the invitation of the Holy Spirit and the bride is continually rejected, the plagues of the Great Tribulation will be rejected, and the righteous reign of Christ will be rejected, ultimately, and mankind will follow their enemy to final and eternal doom. The hardness of the human heart is immense, beyond comprehension! (v. 53).

 Do I hear someone say that Stephen was unkind? That reaction is due to finite understanding, the same that motivated the Jews in Stephen’s day. His declaration is full of compassion, sacrificing his life by uttering it. His heart beats for his accusers, doing all that is possible, prompted by the Holy Spirit, to save them. Again, we see that the sword of the Spirit of truth wounds deeply and the hearers react in fierce, uncontrollable hatred. The sophistication of modern times removes none of the savagery. Warren Wiersbe tells us that insane depravity works today: “taking hostages, bombings that kill or maim innocent people, assassinations, and all in the name of politics or religion. The heart of man has not changed, nor can it be changed apart from the grace of God. The literal Greek for cut to the heart is to be sawn through. There is no lawful trial or attempt at justice, simply a pure, demonic demonstration (v. 54).

 In contrast, the manifestation of Stephen’s composure, before the extreme heat of the enemies’ discomposure, is remarkable. The need of the fulness of the Holy Spirit is clearly seen in this circumstance. The enemy is full of hateful passion; Stephen is full of the Holy Spirit. The enemy feels the worst of evil emotions; Stephen looks into heaven. The enemy seeks to unload his venom; Stephen sees the glory of God. The enemy sees a victim, who must die; Stephen sees Jesus standing at the right hand of God! (v. 55).

 

Stephen cannot be silent at the glory of the vision he gazes on. He shouts final testimony to the reality of Jesus of Nazareth at heaven’s throne (v. 56). The exclamation is the final, unbearable witness of truth to the unregenerate ears of lost souls. They tried to outshout it, closed their ears to the cry of triumph and ran to hurl stones upon his body to silence his voice (v. 57). Young Saul of Tarsus looked onto a scene that he will never forget. The day will come, when he will abandon all sense of worthiness before God, remembering his approval of the martyrdom of His servant, Stephen. He kept the outer cloaks of the assassins, while they executed hell’s fury, and consented to his death (v. 58).

 The glory of the vision of Jesus, as Stephen gazed into heaven, dulled the blows of the stones striking his body in every part. Because He attended their death, martyrs have died singing, since that day. If I remember correctly, it was when Polycarp was burnt at the stake, that a witness testified of the odor of bread from his body, as he offered himself as a sweet aroma unto God. Yes, at martyrdom, the supernatural is evident, not to save from death, but to manifest the presence of Jesus at that hour. The stones gave Stephen passage to an unspeakable eternity. We have read that Jesus sat down at the Father’s right hand, but Stephen saw Him on his feet. Preachers have correctly interpreted the Lord’s stance at this point, standing to receive Stephen’s soul, which soon departed from his body to meet his Lord. He has had the privilege of giving his life for his King.

 Stephen’s life ended, calling upon God, because heaven alone supplies the need for clear witness in times like this. His voice had strength for two more sentences and they came from the indwelling Holy Spirit, giving Stephen the honor of Christlikeness in death. He cried, as Jesus did, “Receive my Spirit” (Lk. 23:46). And then, without a hint of revenge for his enemies, his final words were, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin” (Lk. 23:34). Both those cries from Jesus’ lips are only recorded in Luke’s Gospel, therefore very significant to him, when he heard how Stephen pronounced them at his death.