Acts 7 (New American Standard Bible)
Stephen's
Defense
by Lane Rogers
F.F. Bruce says that there are two major themes in this speech. (1) Throughout history God has raised up men to act a deliverers of his people, but the Jews repeatedly rejected those men and disobeyed the laws of God. After dealing with the establishment of the nation by God through Abraham and His promises to him (7:2-8) the speech deals with Joseph, who was rejected by his brothers but rescued by God (7: 9-16), and then at greater length with Moses who came to deliver the people but was rejected by them (7:25, 39-43)
(2) The Jews had the tabernacle in the wilderness and later the temple built by Solomon, but they fell into idolatry (7:39-43) and made the mistake thinking that God dwelt in a temple made with hands (7:44-50).
It seems that Stephen had a purpose for this general outline. If we remember he was charged speaking against the law or saying that Jesus was to change the law. Stephen now replies that in the past it was the "Jews" who had rejected Moses and thereby changed the law.....
(2) Stephen argues that the Jews had in succession the tabernacle, which moved from place to place, and the temple as places to worship God, but God Himself has declared that He was not tied to these places of worship (44-50). If, therefore Stephen spoke of a "new place to worship" a temple not made with hands, (Peter said the same thing in 1st Peter 2:4ff), they should accept this teaching because the OT said the same thing.
It follows then that this speech accomplishes 3 things (at least in my view)
(1) It is a defense of the charges brought against Stephen. He denies that he spoke against the law of Moses and makes himself out to be a defender of the law. He justifies his attitude of criticism of the temple and its worship.
(2) This is an attack on the Jews for their failure to heed the revelation given to them in the OT and for their rejection of the Messiah and the new way of worship (the church) that He brought.
(3) Consequently, the speech has its part of the total story of Acts in showing that the Jews, to whom the gospel was first preached, rejected it and this cleared the way for the church to turn away from Jerusalem and the temple and to spread the news to the Gentile world.
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1The high priest said, "Are these things so?" 2And he said, "Hear me, brethren and fathers! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, 3and said to him, 'LEAVE YOUR COUNTRY AND YOUR RELATIVES, AND COME INTO THE LAND THAT I WILL SHOW YOU.' |
Verses 1-3___RWP
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Are these things so? (ε ταυτα ουτως εχε). On this use of ε in a direct question see on 1:6. Literally "Do these things hold thus?" A formal question by the high priest like our "Do you plead guilty, or not guilty?" (Furneaux). The abrupt question of the high priest would serve to break the evident spell of the angelic look on Stephen's face. Two charges had been made against Stephen (1) speaking against the holy temple, (2) changing the customs which Moses had delivered. Stephen could not give a yes or no answer to these two charges. There was an element of truth in each of them and a large amount of error all mixed together. So he undertakes to explain his real position by the historical method, that is to say, by a rapid survey of God's dealing with the people of Israel and the Gentiles |
1.
Abraham a Type Christ___(the
Father of a Nation)
Stephen gets right to the point as to how God
called Abraham to be the father of the nation. God is the God
of glory. This
makes the point again that God does not dwell in temples made with
hands. There is a slight deviation here from the account of the call
as given in Genesis. Stephen says that God appeared to Abraham in
Mesopotamia.
Mesopotamia was a name applied to the lands between the rivers, the
Tigris and the Euphrates. Hence, the reference is to the territory
where Ur was situated. Haran
was
situated to the north-west of Mesopotamia and lay on the "fertile
crescent" route to Palestine. The command to Abraham produced
here comes from Genesis 12:1 where it is in fact spoken in Haran.
Since however it is clear from Genesis 15:7 and Nehemiah 9:7 that God
called Abraham out or Ur, it can reasonably be assumed that the
divine call came to him before he lived in Haran. It is natural to
assume that the substance of the message given in Ur was the same as
that given in Haran. The deviation from the account given in Genesis
11:31-12:5 is then deliberate.
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4"Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran From there, after his father died, God had him move to this country in which you are now living.5"But He gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot of ground, and yet, even when he had no child, He promised that HE WOULD GIVE IT TO HIM AS A POSSESSION, AND TO HIS DESCENDANTS AFTER HIM. |
Verses 4-5__ We just read that Abraham was told to leave his home land and now Abraham departs. At first he and his family settled in Haran. Indeed, at this point he was presumably under the control of his father Terah who never left Haran. According to Genesis 11:26, 32 ,Tarah was seventy years old when Abraham was born and died at the age of 205 in Haran. This means that Abraham left Haran when he was 145 years old, sixty years before he died.
Abraham's destination was the land in which you are now dwelling. Implicit is the thought that God's promise to him was not fulfilled in that his descendants are living in the promised land. He himself received not a single foot of land says Stephen (see Deut. 2:5.) Even the promise Abraham received must have seemed empty at the point since he had no child (Rom. 4:16-22). It is true that Abraham did purchase a burial place (Gen. 23) but Stephen ignores this. The cemetery can hardly be called a dwelling place for a future nation.
For more on Abraham and the land please read the following articles. See discussions on Israel and the land. Lesson One Lesson Two Lesson 3
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1) Abraham never owned one square foot of ground. a) And God gave him no inheritance (Acts 5:7) b) He even had to buy a burial place for Sarah (Genesis 23:1-20). He was a stranger in Canaan, and he lived the life of a nomad in tents (Hebrews 11:9). c Abraham didn't want the physical land of Canaan (Hebrews 11:10; 14-16). He wanted heaven. Who would want a piece of inferior ground just to grow old and die? God promised him heaven and eternal life. He desired a city with real foundations - built by God, not some temporal city of Canaan. He desired a far better country than Canaan: he desired a heavenly country and the heavenly Jerusalem - even Mount Zion, where his Friend God dwelt (Hebrews 12:22-23) |
Verses 6-7___
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6"But God spoke to this effect, that his DESCENDANTS WOULD BE ALIENS IN A FOREIGN LAND, AND THAT THEY WOULD BE ENSLAVED AND MISTREATED FOR FOUR HUNDRED YEARS.7" 'AND WHATEVER NATION TO WHICH THEY WILL BE IN BONDAGE I MYSELF WILL JUDGE,' said God, 'AND AFTER THAT THEY WILL COME OUT AND SERVE ME IN THIS PLACE.' |
Verses 6-7___Abraham's descendants were to be Aliens in a foreign land and slaves for 400 years. God was to judge their oppressors and bring them to Canaan to serve Him. This is from Genesis 15:13f. ...and is a reference to the bondage in Egypt. The 400 years is cited in terms of a round figure. What Stephen gives his listeners is a paraphrase. (see Ex. 3:12).
Verse 8___
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8"And He gave him the covenant of circumcision; and so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs. |
Circumcision was a "sign" or token of Abraham's covenant with God (Gen.17:10). The covenant was God's promise that He was to be the God of Abraham and his descendant, making them the objects of special care: on the human side submission to the rite of circumcision was a sign of submission to God.
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In
the New Testament and under the New Covenant, the "sign"
of the covenant is baptism. Read Below__________ |
Verses
9-10__
2. Joseph a Type Christ___Rejected by his own and
rescued By God!
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9"The patriarchs became jealous of Joseph and sold him into Egypt. Yet God was with him, 10and rescued him from all his afflictions, and granted him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he made him governor over Egypt and all his househol |
Now
we
reach the story of Joseph which starts the 2nd main section of this
speech (9-16). The point of this I think is to show how the prophecy
in verse 6 was fulfilled. Joseph's brothers and their plans were in
opposition to God's plans but God rescued Joseph.
Verses 11-13
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11"Now a famine came over all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction with it, and our fathers could find no food. 12"But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers there the first time. 13"On the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph's family was disclosed to Pharaoh. |
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Acts 7:11 Found no sustenance (ουχ ηυρισκον χορτασματα). Imperfect active, kept on not finding. Chortasmata is from chortazo , originally to feed with grass (χορτος) or herbs. Old word, but only here in the N.T. and includes food for both men and animals. In Ge 24:25,32 it is fodder for the cattle, a first necessity for owners of herds of cattle. |
This is "how" the family of Joseph came to Egypt. This story is found in Genesis 41:57; 42:1-5.
Verses 14-16___
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14"Then Joseph sent word and invited Jacob his father and all his relatives to come to him, seventy-five persons in all. 15"And Jacob went down to Egypt and there he and our fathers died. 16"From there they were removed to Shechem and laid in the tomb which Abraham had purchased for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor in Shechem. |
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The 75 persons is from the LXX. The Hebrew Translation has 70 Three-score and fifteen souls (εν ψυχαις εβδομηκοντα πεντε). Stephen follows the LXX which counts some grandchildren of Joseph and so makes it 75 whereas Ge 46:26 has 66 and then the next verse makes it 70 including Jacob and Joseph with his two sons. The use of εν means "consisting in. |
As a result of Pharaoh's knowing Joseph's family, they were invited to settle in Egypt. The figure of 75 persons is based on the LXX of Genesis 46:27 and Ex. 1:5. The Hebrew text has 70 as a number.
According to Acts, they were all buried at Shechem in the tomb that Abraham bought from the sons of Hamor.
1. According to Genesis 49:29-32; 50:13, Jacob was buried in the cave at Machpelah near Hebron which Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittle (Gen. 23).
2. Joseph was buried at Shechem (Josh. 24:32) in land which Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor (Gen.33:18-20).
3. Josephus says that Jacob's other sons were buried at Hebron.
4. There was a local tradition at Shechem that the twelve sons of Jacob were buried there.
It thus appears that Stephen differs from the OT account in that he locates the tomb which Abraham bought at Shechem, not Hebron and he adds the detail about Joseph's brothers.
Bruce suggest that this is a "form" which Stephen chose to use because of the conditions in which he found himself (making a public speech and not writing a letter). Stephen telescopes the two calls of Abraham (Ur and Haran ) in v.2 and now he follows the same format here. Stephen probably is quoting local Jewish tradition here in an impromptu speech.
Another View
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Which Abraham bought (ω ωνησατο Αβρααμ). Hackett is sure that our present text is wrong. Hort notes some sixty "primitive errors" in the critical text of the N.T. It is possible that this is also one. If "Jacob" is substituted for "Abraham," the matter is cleared up. "It is quite as likely, judging a priori, that the word producing the error escaped from some early copyist as that so glaring an error was committed by Stephen" (Hackett). At any rate Abraham bought a burying-place, the cave of Machpelah, from Ephron the Hittite at Hebron (Ge 23:16), while Jacob bought a field from the sons of Hamor at Shechem (Ge 33:19; Jos 24:32). Abraham had built an altar at Shechem when he entered Canaan (Ge 12:6f.). It is possible, of course, that Abraham also bought the ground on which the altar stood. |
Verses 17-19___
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17"But as the time of the promise was approaching which God had assured to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt,18until THERE AROSE ANOTHER KING OVER EGYPT WHO KNEW NOTHING ABOUT JOSEPH.19"It was he who took shrewd advantage of our race and mistreated our fathers so that they would expose their infants and they would not survive. |
We now enter the long part of the sermon concerned with Moses. While the time of fulfillment of the promise was made by God (verse 7) was approaching, the offspring of Abraham was increasing in numbers (Ex. 1:7). The climax came when there was a new Egyptian king who did not know Joseph (Ex.1:8). He got the better of them by forcing them to expose their infants (Ex. 1:10f.22).
Verses
20-22
3. Moses a Type Christ___He Rescued His People
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20"It was at this time that Moses was born; and he was lovely in the sight of God, and he was nurtured three months in his father's home. 21"And after he had been set outside, Pharaoh's daughter took him away and nurtured him as her own son. 22"Moses was educated in all the learning of the Egyptians, and he was a man of power in words and deeds. |
Moses comes on the scene. His life is treated in three parts.
1. His life at home
2. Under Pharaoh's daughter.
3. He was a man in power and words and deeds.
Verses 23-25____
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23"But when he was approaching the age of forty, it entered his mind to visit his brethren, the sons of Israel.24"And when he saw one of them being treated unjustly, he defended him and took vengeance for the oppressed by striking down the Egyptian.25"And he supposed that his brethren understood that God was granting them deliverance through him, but they did not understand |
Crisis time in the life of Moses. Moses "killed" an Egyptian for mistreating a Jew. But even then the Jews did not accept Moses. Stephens point I think is that the Jews in refusing to recognize Jesus as Saviour was the same as their earlier rejection of Moses (7:52).
Verses 26-29___
The
scene of the killing was followed by another in which Moses found
them fighting (the Jews) he tries to reconcile them and make peace.
But they got smart with him and reminded Moses he had killed an
Egyptian. At this remark, Moses decided it was time to flee to the
land of Midian. He settled down long enough to raise a family
(Exod.2:21f).
Verses 30-34___
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30"After forty years had passed, AN ANGEL APPEARED TO HIM IN THE WILDERNESS OF MOUNT Sinai, IN THE FLAME OF A BURNING THORN BUSH.31"When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight; and as he approached to look more closely, there came the voice of the Lord:32'I AM THE GOD OF YOUR FATHERS, THE GOD OF ABRAHAM AND ISAAC AND JACOB.' Moses shook with fear and would not venture to look.33"BUT THE LORD SAID TO HIM, 'TAKE OFF THE SANDALS FROM YOUR FEET, FOR THE PLACE ON WHICH YOU ARE STANDING IS HOLY GROUND.34'I HAVE CERTAINLY SEEN THE OPPRESSION OF MY PEOPLE IN EGYPT AND HAVE HEARD THEIR GROANS, AND I HAVE COME DOWN TO RESCUE THEM; COME NOW, AND I WILL SEND YOU TO EGYPT.' |
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Sentence begins with genitive absolute again. In a flame of fire in a bush (εν φλογ πυρος βατου). Horeb in Ex 3:1; but Sinai and Horeb were "probably peaks of one mountain range" (Page), Horeb "the mountain of the dried-up ground," Sinai "the mountain of the thorns." Literally, "in the flame of fire of a bush" (two genitives, πυρος and βατου dependent on φλογ, flame). Descriptive genitives as in 9:15; 2Th 1:8. Βατος (bush) is the wild acacia (mimosa nilotica). In Ex 3:20 it is Jehovah who speaks. Hence "angel" here with Stephen is understood to be the Angel of the Presence, the Eternal Logos of the Father, the Angel of YHWY |
From Exodus 7:7 it may be deduced that 40 years had passed since Moses slew the Egyptian. It is now that Moses has the vision of the angel at Mount Sinai in a burning bush. It seems that Moses was awe struck with this sight. When Moses came near the bush he heard the voice of God addressing him. Stephen reverses the order of the statements in Ex. 3:5 so that the stress falls on the fact that it is the God of Moses' ancestors who is revealing himself to him. Stephen retains the command to Moses to treat the place as Holy Ground.
Verses 35-36___
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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. 36"This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in the land of Egypt and in the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years. |
Some statements of fact about Moses.
This man__used 4 times.
It Moses who you disowned.
It was God who sent Moses as Ruler and Judge.
It was Moses who the angel appeared to in the bush.
It was Moses who performed signs and wonders.
It was Moses who crossed the Red Sea and went in the wilderness for 40 years. This was what you disowned!
Verse 37___
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37"This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, 'GOD WILL RAISE UP FOR YOU A PROPHET LIKE ME FROM YOUR BRETHREN.' |
We now have the quote from Deut. 18:15. Moses was typological. Jesus was the prophet who was to be raised up like Moses.
Verse 38___
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38"This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness together with the angel who was speaking to him on Mount Sinai, and who was with our fathers; and he received living oracles to pass on to you. |
For the Jewish hearer, the climax came in the description of Moses gathering the people together at Sinai. Again we have a typological cast. The word ekklesia which later Christians took over to describe their assembly here is cast as the ekklesia gathering around Moses (as the later ekklesia gathers around Christ). This makes Jesus and His people the "new" congregation that was to replace Moses and his congregation.
Verses 39-40__
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39"Our fathers were unwilling to be obedient to him, but repudiated him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt,40SAYING TO AARON, 'MAKE FOR US GODS WHO WILL GO BEFORE US; FOR THIS MOSES WHO LED US OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT--WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM.' |
We now reach a turning point in the sermon. Stephen says that the original recipients of the law failed to keep the law. They rejected Moses in his capacity as law giver and in their hearts they turned back to Egypt (Num. 14:3f). Worse still, they commanded Aaron to make gods to go before them and cast scorn on Moses during his absence to receive the law (Ex. 32:1).
Verses 41-43___
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41"At that time they made a calf and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and were rejoicing in the works of their hands. 42"But God turned away and delivered them up to serve the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, 'IT WAS NOT TO ME THAT YOU OFFERED VICTIMS AND SACRIFICES FORTY YEARS IN THE WILDERNESS, WAS IT, O HOUSE OF ISRAEL? 43'YOU ALSO TOOK ALONG THE TABERNACLE OF MOLOCH AND THE STAR OF THE GOD ROMPHA, THE IMAGES WHICH YOU MADE TO WORSHIP. I ALSO WILL REMOVE YOU BEYOND BABYLON.' |
From here to verse 50 twin themes are developed. (1) Idolatry and (2) Temple worship in Israel.
They made a calf (Ex. 32:4) is the charge. The use of the image of a calf (or rather a bull) was a persistent temptation for Israel (1st Kings 12:28). This was sacrificing to an idol instead of the One true God. Stephen was echoing a powerful OT motif (Pss. 115:54; 135:15; Isa.44:9-20).
The host of heaven__ was in fact what Israel worshiped (2nd Chr. 33:3;,5; Jer. 8:2).
All of this took place as was prophesied in the book of the prophets. This was a Jewish scroll containing the twelve writings of the so-called Minor Prophets. He cites Amos 5:25-27 according to the LXX.
Verse 43 describes how the Israelites took up the "tent" in which Moloch was worshiped and the star or emblem of Rephan. These gods were represented by images. Moloch is the god who required child sacrifice and Rephan appears to be the name of an Egyptian god associated with Saturn.
Verses 44-45___
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44"Our fathers had the tabernacle of testimony in the wilderness, just as He who spoke to Moses directed him to make it according to the pattern which he had seen.45"And having received it in their turn, our fathers brought it in with Joshua upon dispossessing the nations whom God drove out before our fathers, until the time of David. |
We turn from the "tent of Moloch" to the tent of witness which they had in the wilderness, made according to a pattern given to Moses (Ex.25:40). This "tent" they carried with them.
Verse 46___
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46"David found favor in God's sight, and asked that he might find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. 47"But it was Solomon who built a house for Him. |
So, things continued until the time of David. David enjoyed the favor of God. It was David who wanted to build a permanent building (see 2nd Sam. 7:5-16). In the end, it was Solomon who built the Temple.
Verses 48-50___
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48"However, the
Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands; as the
prophet says: 49'HEAVEN
IS MY THRONE, |
Yes, Solomon did build a house but YHWH cannot be limited to a Temple made with human hands. (Isa. 66:2). There is no doubt here that Stephen is thinking of the new Temple___the church.
Verses 51-53__
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51"You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did.52"Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become;53you who received the law as ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it." |
Now Stephen directly attacks his audience. He uses OT language and characterizes them as obstinate people (Ex. 33:3) who fail to show that they really belong to God's covenant.
It was a well established tradition in Israel that the Jewish people were responsible for the deaths of the prophets. (1st Kings 19:10, 14; Neh. 9:26; Jer. 26:20-24; Luke 6:23; 11:49; 13:34). The prophets in question were the ones who had told about the coming of the Righteous One whom you murdered. You Jews are the chief lawbreakers.
Verses 7:54-60__
Hostility was aroused. Stephen's claim to have a vision seeing Jesus standing at the right hand of God made them angry. There is a problem here. Stephen had been tried by the Sanhedrin but they had no authority to put him to death (Jn. 18:31). This can be nothing else but mob violence.
It is here that we are introduced to "Saul" later to be "Paul."
by Lane Rogers