The Book of Acts (August 11, 2024)

Acts 7:1 ~ “1 And the high priest said, “Are these things so?””

Stephen is on trial for his life. He has been accused of insurrection and preaching that the sacred institutions (the land, the temple, the law, and the customs) of the nation were to be destroyed. Stephen defended himself by preaching a sermon to the high court and reviewing Israel’s history and making a few points:

• The nation and its sacred institutions (the land, the law and the temple) were being destroyed by the very people who were accusing Stephen of doing so; because the people have always misunderstood and rejected God’s plans.
• God loves Israel and His chosen people, and He has worked out a plan of deliverance.
• God’s final plan of deliverance was Jesus Christ, He own Son. But as in the past, the present generation has misunderstood and rejected Him as Savior.

Stephen starts his defense in verses 2-8 of chapter 7 from the beginning of the nation’s history. He shows how God birthed Israel and shows how God worked in Israel’s history. If we would stop and think about our own past for a moment, we would find time and time again that God has stepped in and opened a door, made a way, helped us to see that He is working in our own lives. God has tried to point us toward His Son time and time again, but are we seeing God work?

I would like for us to look at the times of rejection that Stephen brings out in his sermon:

• The first rejection and deliverance was when the forefathers rejected God’s servant Joseph. Joseph had been chosen by God to save His people, Israel. What happened was this: God had given Abraham a son, Isaac; and Abraham had circumcised him, sealing the fact that Isaac was the child of promise, that is, the promised seed through whom God’s people were to be born. Eventually Joseph was born, and as stated, Joseph was to be God’s choice servant to save His people, Israel.
  • The forefathers rejected God’s plan and schemed against God’s choice servant, Joseph. They blinded themselves to God’s purpose and plan.
    • They were sinful men, sometimes willing to stand against God’s will. Stephen was saying that the present generation was just as guilty as their fathers had been.
    • The same spirit of envy (jealousy) was in their hearts against God’s plan, His Messiah and the church.
  • God delivered His servant, Joseph. Joseph had a hard road to travel, being enslaved and imprisoned for years. But “God was with him,” strengthening him to go through all the trials. And God delivered him, even to exalting him as governor over Egypt. God overcame the evil of the fathers.
    • Stephen was saying that God delivered Christ from the evil rejection of the present generation just as He had delivered Joseph.
  • God always works His plan out no matter how much men try to stop it. In the history of the fathers God had used His choice servant, Joseph, to save them, even though they had rejected him. He had used an affliction—hunger and famine—to force the fathers down to Egypt. In Egypt God had reunited Joseph and his brothers. All the fathers were brought together again, and God’s plan was back in line.

• The second rejection and deliverance was when the people misunderstood and rejected God’s chosen servant, Moses. Israel had been in Egypt for about 400 years and had lost sight of God’s call and promise. They had no plan or intention whatsoever of returning to the promised land. They had gotten comfortable in Egypt. Simply put, they had become worldly and perfectly satisfied with what the world had to offer. God and His glorious call to the promised land had been set aside and ignored. They people had become comfortable, complacent, lethargic, worldly, carnal.
  • Stephen declared that the people needed to refocus and to recommit their lives back to God and the promises of God. But they were not going to do it, not by themselves, not by their own works. They were happy where they were. If God wanted them saved, He could do it himself.
  • A time came when a new ruler rose up in Egypt that didn’t know Joseph and didn’t care anything about historical events, nor did he care for the Jews. So, he enslaved them and took their rights away.
  • God prepared a way through the chosen servant, Moses. However, God’s children, misunderstood and rejected Moses. They rejected his leadership. After this is when Moses left for about 40 years, he became a shepherd.

• The third rejection and deliverance was through Moses a second time. God is prepared to save His people once again, through Moses once again.
  • God’s call was an act of grace alone. We need to emphasis the call of God for God’s grace, not the call of Moses.
  • It was holy ground where God called Moses and met Moses. The emphasis is again upon God not Moses. It was the presence of God that made the ground holy, not Moses.
  • Stephen’s emphasis could not be missed by the Jewish people …
    • they were exalting Moses (the law) above God Himself
    • the promise of God was given long before the law
    • the reason God was calling Moses was to save the people for the promised land, not for the law
    • Moses (the law) was only a part of God’s plan. Moses and the law were not the end, not the thing God was after. The promise was the end
    • the temple was not the only holy ground. God’s presence was what made ground holy. Therefore, where God is, there is holy ground
  • God commissioned His servant to save the people (v. 34). Again, it was God who acted, not the people:
    • It was God who said, “I have seen, I have seen the affliction of my people,” not the people who said, “I have seen, I have seen the promised land of God”
    • It was God who heard their groaning, not the people who heard the groaning of God’s heart for His people
    • It was God who came down to deliver the people, not the people who came to God for deliverance
    • It was God who sent His servant into Egypt, not the people who raised up a servant to save them
  • Stephen’s point is well taken; the people failed God at every step; deliverance and salvation are in the hands of God alone.

Stephen doesn’t stop at the times of rejection from their past and compare it with the current time, he also shows the charge God has against the people; the charges are a real eye-opener as to how God saw Israel and thus those there before Stephen. The question is are these charges that are occurring in our own lives today?

• The people didn’t worship God, but false gods. What is in your heart?
• The people didn’t carry the tabernacle of God, but of false gods. What is your public and outward worship?
• The people were in excusable. Why? They were greatly blessed, yet they rejected God. What have blessings of God have you taken for granted?
• The people didn’t understand the temple. God is not limited to only one place. Do you serve God just in the church building around other church folks?
• The people of the present generation were resisting the Holy Spirit. In verse 51 of chapter 7, Stephen identifies them with their forefathers. Does this describe us today?
  • stiff-necked: hard necked, stubborn
  • uncircumcised in the heart: heathen, pagans, lost, idolaters, false worshippers, ungodly
  • resisters: persons who resist God; who deliberately oppose or rush against God; who actively struggle and fight against God.