Acts 7 is going to be a great lesson from Steven to those that killed Jesus. Always stand boldly. We continue from Ch.6 and verse 1 reads.
Acts 7:1] Then said the high priest, Are these things so?
[2] 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,
The place Abraham came from was todays Iraq. This does not mean he was of middle eastern decent. On the contrary, Adam means to show blood in the face. The ability to blush. When the ten tribes of Israel were released from Assyria over the Caucasus mountains becoming known as Caucasians.
Acts 7:3] And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.
[4] 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.
This would be in Genesis Ch.12 beginning with verse 1.
Acts 7:5] 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.
Here God makes Abraham a promise that would be fulfilled about 430 years later.
Acts 7:6] 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.
[7] 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.
This is interesting because the Pharisees and the scribes said to Jesus we were never in bondage. John 8:33. These are the people that Jesus spoke with, and now Steven is talking with. They crucified Jesus, what do you think they will do with Steven?
Acts 7:8] 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.
Explaining very well how the seed was moving through the world at those times to become Israel, the whole twelve tribes.
Acts 7:9] And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him,
Joseph was a “like” of Moses.
Acts 7:10] 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.
[11] Now there came a dearth over all the land of Egypt and Chanaan, and great affliction: and our fathers found no sustenance.
[12] But when Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first.
[13] And at the second time Joseph was made known to his brethren; and Joseph’s kindred was made known unto Pharaoh.
[14] Then sent Joseph, and called his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls.
75 people went into Egypt, and about 1.2 million came out after 400 years.
Acts 7:15] So Jacob went down into Egypt, and died, he, and our fathers,
[16] 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.
[17] But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt,
[18] Till another king arose, which knew not Joseph.
[19] 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.
[20] In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father’s house three months:
[21] And when he was cast out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son.
[22] And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.
[23] And when he was full 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 him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian:
[25] For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not.
Moses killed an Egyptian for abusing another Israelite, but they could not understand that God had made a covenant with Moses.
Acts 7:26] 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?
[27] But he that did his neighbour wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us?
[28] Wilt thou kill me, as thou diddest the Egyptian yesterday?
[29] Then fled Moses at this saying, and was a stranger in the land of Madian, where he begat two sons.
We are up to Genesis Ch.25 now.
Acts 7:30] 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.
Heb.12:29, for God is a consuming fire.
Acts 7:31] 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,
[32] Saying, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abrham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses trembled, and durst not behold.
[33] Then said the Lord to him, Put off thy shoes from thy feet: for the place where thou standest is holy ground.
[34] 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.
[35] 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.
[36] 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.
Moses parted the Red Sea, gave them Manna from heaven, quail up to their nostrils. And Water out of the rock. That living Water.
Acts 7:37] 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.
[38] 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:
God gave the Law to Moses who in turn gave it to Israel. This is the law that these scribes and pharisees claim to sit in the seat of Moses, should know.
Acts 7:39] To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt,
[40] 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 of him.
How quickly Israel goes astray. Moses was only gone for 40 days.
Acts 7:41] And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto 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, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness?
[43] 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.
They worshipped false gods. This star of Remphan is Saturn, the 6th. planet from the sun.
Acts 7:44] 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.
[45] 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;
This Jesus is Joshua spoken in Greek. Not the Jesus they crucified.
Acts 7:46] Who found favour before God, and desired to find a tabernacle for the God of Jacob.
[47] But Solomon built him an house.
We have moved up to 1Kings at this point.
Acts 7:48] Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,
At this point Jesus has built his Holy Temple, that temple he promised those that would destroy his body. Let’s go to Isaiah Ch.66 and begin reading at verse 1.
Isa.66:1] Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?
[2] For all those things hath mine hand made, and 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.
Everything that you use to build temples I created. There is nothing that you can create. Back to Acts and verse 49 reads.
Acts 7:49] 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?
[50] Hath not my hand made all these things?
This that Steven says next will surely upset them, but always speak Boldly. Remember these are the same people that crucified our Lord.
Acts 7:51] Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.
[52] 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:
Your fathers killed all the prophets and now have killed the Lord also.
Acts 7:53] Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.
[54] When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.
[55] 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,
[56] And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.
This is exactly what God was talking about when he said “I will have them in derision.”
Acts 7:57] Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,
[58] 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 man Saul will become Paul, which means in the Hebrew tongue, “little”. I want you to notice that he didn’t himself throw a stone, but just held their coats.
Acts 7:59] And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
I want you to hear his prayer for his own enemies to the Lord.
Acts 7:60] And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
He died praying for his enemies, remember Jesus said forgive one another or your sins won’t be forgiven. This is very hard to understand, but it needs be. Let’s go to his throne.
Father, we thank you for your word and ask that you bless all that love you in Jesus’s precious name, Amen.
KJV along with The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance Of The Bible