Acts Chapter Seven

Synopsis: When our Lord Jesus called his apostles out to be employed in services and sufferings for him, he told them that yet the last should be first, and the first last, which was remarkably fulfilled in St. Stephen and St. Paul, who were both of them late converts, in comparison of the apostles, and yet got the start of them both in services and sufferings; for God, in conferring honours and favours, often crosses hands. In this chapter we have the martyrdom of Stephen, the first martyr of the Christian church, who led the van in the noble army. And therefore his sufferings and death are more largely related than those of any other, for direction and encouragement to all those who are called out to resist unto blood, as he did. Here is, I. His defence of himself before the council, in answer to the matters and things he stood charged with, the scope of which is to show that it was no blasphemy against God, nor any injury at all to the glory of his name, to say that the temple should be destroyed and the customs of the ceremonial law changed. And, 1. He shows this by going over the history of the Old Testament, and observing that God never intended to confine his favours to that place, or that ceremonial law; and that they had no reason to expect he should, for the people of the Jews had always been a provoking people, and had forfeited the privileges of their peculiarity: nay, that that holy place and that law were but figures of good things to come, and it was no disparagement at all to them to say that they must give place to better things, Ac 7:1-50. And then, 2. He applies this to those that prosecuted him, and sat in judgment upon him, sharply reproving them for their wickedness, by which they had brought upon themselves the ruin of their place and nation, and then could not bear to hear of it, Ac 7:51-53. II. The putting of him to death by stoning him, and his patient, cheerful, pious submission to it, Ac 7:54-60. Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary

Acts 7:1-6 Then said the high priest, Are these things so? And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee. Then came he out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in

Acts Chapter Seven

Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell. And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child. And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years.

In the previous Chapter, Stephen had been subpoenaed to appear before the Sanhedrin. He was accused of blasphemy in speaking against the institutions of Moses and the Temple, that is, against everything held sacred among the Jews. It is extremely doubtful that Luke was present at this inquisition, and if he was not, someone who was there must have told him what was said and done. Perhaps that someone was Paul, who would later be converted and become an apostle to the Lord Jesus Christ. Luke traveled with Paul on many of his evangelical journeys to bring the Gospel to the Gentiles. However he came to know these things, Luke recounts them, in order, and tells us that when the High Priest asked Stephen, Are these things so? He very respectfully addressed him, and those of the elders there with him, calling them men, brethren, and fathers, before he begins his testimony. The Scripture teaches that we should be respectful of all that are in authority (1 Timothy 2:2), and the young men should show respect to the older men. 1 Peter 5:5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Today there is an extreme lack of parental instruction to young people concerning respect for anything or anybody. Because they obviously have not been taught, many young people of today have a skewed deference toward authority to the point that they hate and defy anything or anyone whom they might perceive to have jurisdiction over them including parents, teachers, law enforcement

Acts Chapter Seven

officers, judges, governments, and God. The Scripture says, Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake (Romans 13:1-5). But this they are willingly ignorant of because they want to retain their self-sovereignty and seem to desire anarchy over the liberty and peace of Christ that comes from obedience to God’s rule and authority. 2 Corinthians 3:17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. Romans 8:21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. When Stephen does begin his defense, he first gives these elders and priests a history lesson of their own people and nation. The suitable place to begin that history is with the patriarch, Abraham. The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, and said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee. Stephen first recalls to them that Abraham left his home and most of his family in Ur of the Chaldees because God appeared to him and told him to leave his home and all his family there, and come into the land which I shall shew thee. Genesis 12:1-3 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and

Acts Chapter Seven

thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. God had chosen Abraham to bring forward the Holy Seed which is Christ, and He didn’t want him to stay in that country and live among those people who had all gone into idolatry. However, Abraham, or Abram as he was then called, did not immediately obey the Lord in full faith. First he took with him his father and his nephew, Lot, and removed to the land of Haran where his father died. Then he removed from there and came into the land of the Canaanites. It was not until God increased his faith and changed his name to Abraham that he gradually began to be a man of strong faith in the Word of God. Then came he out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell. Genesis 11:31-32 And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there. And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran. Abraham is considered the father of the nation of Israel because God had called him into the land, and he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child. That makes the land of Canaan the promise land, and that makes the child that will eventually be born to Abraham and his wife Sarah—Isaac, a child of promise. Isaiah 51:1-2 Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged. Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him. Believing that God would perform to the fullest all His promises is the faith of Abraham.

Acts Chapter Seven

James 2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Isaac was born to Abraham, in his old age, by his legitimate wife Sarah. When Isaac grew up, he took a wife from Abraham’s people—his kinsmen in Syria. Isaac then begat twin sons, Esau and Jacob, but Jacob, the younger, was chosen by the Lord to carry forth the seed of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the true child of promise of which Isaac was a symbol and fore-runner. And God spake on this wise, that his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years.

Acts 7:7-16 And the nation to whom they shall be in bondage will I judge, said God: and after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place. And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs. And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him, And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house. Now there came a dearth over all the land of Egypt and Chanaan, and great affliction: and our fathers found no sustenance. But when Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. And at the second time Joseph was made known to his brethren; and Joseph's kindred was made known unto Pharaoh. Then sent Joseph, and called his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls. So Jacob went down into Egypt, and died, he, and our fathers, and were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem.

Jacob, renamed by God, Israel, had begotten twelve sons in the land of Canaan who are the fore-fathers of the nation of Israel, and when he was old, his son Joseph was sold into slavery by his older brothers because they were jealous of him because he was their father’s

Acts Chapter Seven

favorite son. And he was carried away captive into Egypt. There by God’s grace, he became Pharaoh’s vice regent, and during a seven year famine, he called his father, Jacob, and his brothers to come to him in Egypt. There Jacob died and was carried back to the land of Canaan and was buried next to his grandfather, Abraham, and his father, Isaac, in a place that Abraham had bought from Ephron, the Hittite, who lived among the children of Heth, who occupied Hebron and the surrounding area. Genesis 23:17-20 And the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the borders round about, were made sure Unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city. And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre: the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan. And the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a buryingplace by the sons of Heth. Genesis 49:29-32 And Jacob charged his sons, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace. There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah. The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth. There Jacob had buried his first wife, Leah. And he was buried along side her there in Machpelah. But he had buried his beloved second wife, Rachel near Bethlehem, which is located between Hebron to the south and Jerusalem to the north. Rachel was the mother of Joseph and Benjamin. It is quite possible that Joseph outlived all his brothers and carried each back to Canaan for interment. Benjamin might have been buried near Rachel’s burial plot, but, clearly, Joseph was buried

Acts Chapter Seven

in Shechem, which is about 50 miles north of Hebron, in a place that Jacob had bought from the children of Hamor, the Hivite.

Map of Hebron, Bethlehem, and Shechem

Goggle Maps

Genesis 33:18-19 And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padanaram; and pitched his tent before the city. And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for an hundred pieces of money. Jacob later gave this land to Joseph, and there he was buried. John 4:5 Then cometh Jesus to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Genesis 50:25 And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence. Luke has created a bit of controversy by writing this statement: So Jacob went down into Egypt, and died, he, and our fathers, and were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem.

Acts Chapter Seven

Ge 33:19; 50:13; Jos 24:32; Ac 7:15-16. A discrepancy in these statements has been fancied (as to who bought what). It disappears entirely before the natural supposition that in the interval of about eighty years between the purchase by Abraham of the family sepulchre Ge 23:4-20 and Jacob's purchase Ge 33:19, the descendants of Hamor (or "Emmor," Ac 7:15-16 had resumed possession of the field in which the burial cave was situated. Instead of asserting an ancient title by inheritance, Jacob repurchased the field. Heth was the common ancestor. 1917 Scofield Reference Bible Notes The Bible is clear that Abraham bought a cave and a field near Hebron at Machpelah for a burial site, but here it seems as though Luke is quoting Stephen—a man filled with the Holy Ghost, as saying he bought the field in Shechem as well, a field the Scripture says was bought by Jacob, grandson of Abraham. Perhaps Scofield is right, and Abraham bought both, and Jacob re-bought the field in Shechem, but I rather think that since Abraham was given all the land of Canaan by Divine decree, it would follow that any purchase there by his descendants would have been made in the name of Abraham. It is not clear whether or not the other ten patriarchs were buried in Machpelah, or in Shechem, or in some other place in the land, but it is doubtful they were buried in Shechem because this was Joseph’s inheritance. My guess is the six sons of Leah, were buried in or near Machpelah, which is near Hebron, but not in the cave of the patriarchs, but in the field associated with it. Machpelah (Hebron) is located almost directly in the middle of the inheritance of Judah, son of Jacob and antecedent of Jesus Christ. Most likely he at least was buried there. Genesis 35:23 The sons of Leah; Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun: It is not certain where the four sons of Leah’s and Rachel’s maids—Zilpah and Bilhah, concubines of Jacob, were buried. Genesis 35:26 And the sons of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid; Gad, and Asher: Genesis 35:25 And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid; Dan, and Naphtali: However, I do believe they, too, were all buried in the land that God promised to Abraham and not in the Land of Egypt.

Acts Chapter Seven

Acts 7:17-22 But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt, Till another king arose, which knew not Joseph. The same dealt subtilly with our kindred, and evil entreated our fathers, so that they cast out their young children, to the end they might not live. In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father's house three months: And when he was cast out, Pharaoh's daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son. And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.

When Joseph died in Egypt, he was embalmed and lay in a tomb in Egypt for about three hundred years. Genesis 50:26 So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt. Then there arose a Pharaoh that did not know Joseph, and he put the children of Israel (Jacob) in bondage at hard labor. After 400 years God raised up a savior and intercedent for them called Moses, and by him, God led the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt and back into the land of promise—the land of Canaan. But when the Lord called Moses to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt, he carried Joseph’s remains away with him, and buried him in Shechem in Canaan. Exodus 13:19 And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him: for he had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you. Joshua 24:32 And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.

Acts 7:23-29 And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel. And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was

Acts Chapter Seven

oppressed, and smote the Egyptian: For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not. And the next day he shewed himself unto them as they strove, and would have set them at one again, saying, Sirs, ye are brethren; why do ye wrong one to another? But he that did his neighbour wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us? Wilt thou kill me, as thou diddest the Egyptian yesterday? Then fled Moses at this saying, and was a stranger in the land of Madian, where he begat two sons.

Moses was the adopted son of Pharaoh’s daughter and would have been next in line to become Pharaoh because His step grandfather had no son. When God began to move on Moses, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel. And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian: For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not. Now, we begin to see the main point of Stephen’s historical oration. There has always been a nature of rebellion against the will of God in this people of Israel, and Moses finds out very quickly that a presumption of them knowing the will of God and then following it was folly indeed. And the next day he shewed himself unto them as they strove, and would have set them at one again, saying, Sirs, ye are brethren; why do ye wrong one to another? But he that did his neighbour wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us? Wilt thou kill me, as thou diddest the Egyptian yesterday? Then fled Moses at this saying, and was a stranger in the land of Madian, where he begat two sons. This incident forces Moses to leave Egypt and flee to the land of Midian. Moses was 40 years old when he left Egypt, and he stayed in Midian 40 years, and married a Midianite woman named, Zipporah, and begat two sons there. Madian is Midian. According to the Book of Genesis, the Midianites were the descendants of Midian, who was a son of Abraham and his

Acts Chapter Seven

wife Keturah: Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah. And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah (Genesis 25:1–2).

Acts 7:30-34 And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush. When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight: and as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the Lord came unto him, Saying, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses trembled, and durst not behold. Then said the Lord to him, Put off thy shoes from thy feet: for the place where thou standest is holy ground. I have seen, I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and am come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send thee into Egypt.

God prepared Moses in the desert. Here, we see, Stephen is showing these men, the rulers of his nation that in spite of their rebellion of unbelief, God still deals with them as His own, and will deliver them just as he did their fore-fathers. The last thing Moses wanted to do was to go back to Egypt, but God had chosen him to bring His people out of that bondage, and he will do what God tells him to do. And now come, I will send thee into Egypt.

Acts 7:35-41 This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge? the same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel which appeared to him in the bush. He brought them out, after that he had shewed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years. This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear. This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us: To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt, Saying unto Aaron, Make

Acts Chapter Seven

us gods to go before us: for as for this Moses, which brought us out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.

The people of Israel did not understand that Moses would be their deliverer and neither did Moses at the first. The truth is there never was a time when the entire nation of Israel worshipped God or believed His prophets that He sent to them. Only a little remnant have ever truly believed. This is a history of Israel and how they have always rebelled against God. It is the Spirit’s interpretation of the Old Testament, and He will speak the truth to the people of Israel whether they want to hear or not. This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge? the same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel which appeared to him in the bush. Again, Stephen points out to the elders of the Jews—the members of the Sanhedrin, the fact that they have always rejected God’s prophets, and they constantly rebelled against the prophet, Moses, whom God had raised up to lead them out of Egyptian bondage. And even when he had brought them out, and had shewed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years, they still went on in rebellion against God and against His prophet. This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear. Stephen continues with his point. They have never believed and followed Moses with their whole heart, not now, and not ever. This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us: To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt, Saying unto Aaron, Make us gods to go before us: for as for this Moses, which brought us out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become

Acts Chapter Seven

of him. And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands. When Stephen uses the word Church here, it simply means a called out body of people. Israel has always been God’s chosen people—His called out ones. They are the children of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, whom God renamed Israel. God’s ministry toward the people of Israel historically has been by the disposition of Angels and by the pre-exposition of prophets, and their reaction to it has always been to reject it. Isaiah 63:9 In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old. Jeremiah 25:4 And the LORD hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear. The emphasis is always placed on the ministry of Angels in God’s dealing with Israel. This is His ministry toward the nation of Israel, including the giving of the Law. Galatians 3:19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. This ministry of Angels has nothing to do with the ministry of the Church of Jesus Christ. That is done by the Holy Spirit. That is the only Angel we need. Stephen, here recounts that the people of Israel were always going back to Egypt in their hearts. They went into idolatry even after seeing all the miracle in the wilderness. They made and worshipped the idols they had seen in Egypt and fully rejected the God who had delivered them from that abomination and bondage. They made themselves gods that better suited them and their life style, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.

Acts 7:42-43 Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness? Yea, ye took up the

Acts Chapter Seven

tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon.

The nation of Israel has always been a rebellious and stiff-necked people though God has been a father to them. Exodus 32:9 And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: Jeremiah 31:9 I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn. Malachi 1:6 A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. Because, as a strong-willed child, they have persisted in their rebellion and idolatry, God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness? Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon. This rebellion eventuated in their being led away captive again, but this time for seventy years in the land of Babylon.

Acts 7:44-46 Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as he had appointed, speaking unto Moses, that he should make it according to the fashion that he had seen. Which also our fathers that came after brought in with Jesus into the possession of the Gentiles, whom God drave out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David; Who found favour before God, and desired to find a tabernacle for the God of Jacob.

The names Jesus and Joshua are synonymous. Jesus is the Greek rendering of the Hebrew name of Joshua.

Acts Chapter Seven

Joshua: (saviour, or whose help is Jehovah). His name appears in the various forms of Hoshea, Oshea, Jehoshua, Jeshua, and Jesus. Smith’s Bible Dictionary Stephen continues his historical perspective of the nation of Israel by telling these men, after Moses, God raised up Joshua to lead the children of Israel into the promise land. In spite of all their travesties of faith, God still delivered them into their own land which God had promised them, and drove out before them the Gentiles that then occupied the land. Then the people desired a king to lead them, and they besought the prophet Samuel to ask God for a king, thus rejecting God as King over them. 1 Samuel 8:7 And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. This king’s name was Saul, and after Saul was set aside, God raised up David to be King. Though Saul and David were both sinners before God, David was not rejected by God because God had this testimony of him: I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him: With whom my hand shall be established: mine arm also shall strengthen him. The enemy shall not exact upon him; nor the son of wickedness afflict him. And I will beat down his foes before his face, and plague them that hate him. But my faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him: and in my name shall his horn be exalted. I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers. He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation. Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth. My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him. His seed also will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven. If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments; If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments; Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail. My covenant will I not break, nor alter the

Acts Chapter Seven

thing that is gone out of my lips. Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me. It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven (Psalms 89:20-37). But of Saul He said, through the prophet Samuel: Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king (1 Samuel 15:23). David’s heart’s desire was to build a Temple for the ark of the covenants, but because he was a man of war, God said he would not allow him to build it. Instead his son, Solomon, who was a man of peace, would build the Temple, at least partially from the things that David gathered and dedicated to its construction. 1 Chronicles 22:1-5 Then David said, This is the house of the LORD God, and this is the altar of the burnt offering for Israel. And David commanded to gather together the strangers that were in the land of Israel; and he set masons to hew wrought stones to build the house of God. And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails for the doors of the gates, and for the joinings; and brass in abundance without weight; Also cedar trees in abundance: for the Zidonians and they of Tyre brought much cedar wood to David. And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be builded for the LORD must be exceeding magnifical, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore now make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death.

Acts 7:47-53 But Solomon built him an house. Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest? Hath not my hand made all these things? Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and

Acts Chapter Seven

murderers: Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.

At the behest of his father David, Solomon built the first Temple as a house for the LORD, and as a place to approach unto God and to worship Him. And by the Holy Spirit, Stephen recounts and interprets these things to the elders of the people. 1 Chronicles 22:6-11 Then David called for Solomon his son, and charged him to build an house for the LORD God of Israel. And David said to Solomon, My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God: But the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build an house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight. Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about: for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days. He shall build an house for my name; and he shall be my son, and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever. Now, my son, the LORD be with thee; and prosper thou, and build the house of the LORD thy God, as he hath said of thee. But Solomon knew that God cannot be contained in a house, nor does He need shelter against the storms of life, and he said, Will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded (1 Kings 8:27)? Yes, Solomon built him an house. Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest? Hath not my hand made all these things? The only thing we can give to God is something He, Himself has made. Isaiah 66:1-2 Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build

Acts Chapter Seven

unto me? and where is the place of my rest? For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. At this point in his oration, Stephen suddenly shifts from the historical to the extant, and from defense to offense. This is the Holy Spirit’s account of the history of the Jews, and now He wants them to know how He considers them in their present state. Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost. The purpose of this account of the history of the Jews is two-fold. First it is to gain their attention, for the Jews like nothing better than to hear of their storied past. Secondly, it is to point out to them that they have not changed one wit from the way their ancestors were. They were always a hard-hearted and stiff-necked people, and Stephen says by the Spirit, as your fathers did, so do ye. Stephen continues now in open rebuke of them, you are nothing if not consistent in these things. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it? It has been the custom of this people. And, indeed, the custom of all people, to do worse than their fathers did. Jeremiah 7:25-26 Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them: Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers. Stephen says, your fathers persecuted and killed the prophets that preached to them of the coming of the Just One, and now that He has come, you have had Him killed. This is much more heinous than what your fathers did. James 5:6 Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you. These elders, Priests, Scribes, Pharisees, and Lawyers of the Sanhedrin claimed to abide by the Law of Moses and to be expert in

Acts Chapter Seven

its teachings, yet they had unjustly condemned and murdered the Messiah that was sent to them as a Savior. Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth (1 Peter 2:22). Why, after they had been told by the prophets and received the Law by the disposition of Angels, have they not only not kept it, but destroyed Him, the Lord Jesus Christ, who was the only man to ever keep every jot and tittle of it? Matthew 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. They have faithfully kept the Law of circumcision of the flesh, but they certainly have not received the circumcision of the heart because that circumcision can only come from the Holy Ghost, and they do always resist Him. Jesus said to some of these very men, Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me (John 7:19)? Galatians 3:19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. Moses received the Law by the voice of God. The voice of God is the Angel of His presence (Isaiah 63:9). The Angel of God’s presence is the Holy Spirit. Moses then, being the mediator between God and the people, gave the Law to them as, thus saith the Lord. Jesus is the Word of God made flesh. When He spoke, He spoke with the voice of God, and only a small remnant received His words, and certainly, not any of the hierarchy of the Jews or the Gentiles believed Him. Hebrews 12:25-27 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of

Acts Chapter Seven

things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. And Jesus tells us why they do not hear and believe. John 8:43-47 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God. In his wisdom Solomon said, there is no man that sinneth not. Yet these men, who are leaders and elders of the people of Israel, failed to acknowledge their sins. Just as they have been accessories to the murder of the Lord Jesus Christ, so they continue in that sin in this mock trial to condemn just Stephen to the same fate. The wicked are persistent in their wickedness. Psalms 58:3-5 The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies. Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear; Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely. Their unbelief is the manifestation of their depravity that has separated them from God. And for this they are justly condemned. John 3:18 He that believeth on Jesus is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the failure of the Law. It is weak through the flesh. Romans 8:3-9 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death;

Acts Chapter Seven

but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. The Law is a way of holiness, but it is impossible for the natural man to keep because the things contained in the Law are spiritually discerned. 1 Corinthians 2:14 The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. Jesus said, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. The Law is spiritual (Romans 7:14) and cannot be known, or understood, much less kept by unregenerate man. Spiritual discernment only comes by being born again of the Spirit of God through the quickening of the Word of God which is Jesus Christ. Colossians 2:13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath Jesus Christ quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; This is something which none of the princes of this world knew being still dead in their sins: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory (1 Corinthians 2:8).

Acts 7:54-60 When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled

Acts Chapter Seven

down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Naturally, when these self-righteous, holier than thou rulers of the Jew’s religion (Galatians 1:13) heard this stinging rebuke from Stephen, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God. The Scripture says, Jesus, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high (Hebrews 1:3), but when the unenlightened rulers of this world stoop so low as to destroy the innocent, Jesus will stand in consanguinity to receive them, and to acknowledge their personal sacrifice to His cause. It is one thing to say you have given your life to Jesus, but it is quite another to lay down your life for Him. Stephen is the Lord’s first martyr, and He certainly will honor his sacrifice by standing up for him. When Stephen saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of the Majesty on high, he cried out above the din of vociferous acrimony, and told them all what he saw. Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. When they heard this they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul. This is the first mention of Saul, who was also called, Paul (Acts 13:9). Saul: asked for. Easton’s Bible Dictionary Paul: small; little. Easton’s Bible Dictionary I think it was by him that Luke obtained knowledge of all these things. But at this time, Paul certainly was a zealot in the cause against Christ. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a

Acts Chapter Seven

loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Just as Jesus had cried out from the cross, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34), even so Stephen cries with a loud voice, lay not this sin to their charge.