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Themes in Acts 7
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Themes in Acts 7

Acts 7:1

Then the head priest asked [Stephen], "Are these charges true?"

Acts 7:2

And he answered, "Brothers and fathers, listen to me: Our glorious God appeared to our forefather Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, [even] before he lived in Haran

Acts 7:3

and told him, 'Leave your country and relatives and go to the country where I will lead you.'

Acts 7:4

"So, he left Chaldea [Note: This was another name for Mesopotamia], and lived in Haran, and after his father died he was sent [by God] to this country where you people now live.

Acts 7:5

But God gave him no inheritance [here at that time], no, not even a place [of his own] to stand on. Yet God promised that He would [someday] give it to him and to his descendants after him [i.e., the Israelites], as a [permanent] possession, even though [at that time] he had no child yet.

Acts 7:6

And God had spoken about this [beforehand] by saying that Abraham's descendants would live in a foreign country and that they would [eventually] be ill-treated as slaves for four hundred years.

Acts 7:7

And God said, 'I will judge the nation [i.e., Egypt] that enslaves them and [then] after my people are liberated, they will serve me in this place [i.e., Palestine].'

Acts 7:8

And God gave Abraham the Agreement which required circumcision [as an identifying mark] so when Abraham fathered Isaac he circumcised him when he was eight days old. Then Isaac had a son, Jacob; and Jacob had [as sons] the twelve patriarchs [i.e., ruling fathers of families].

Acts 7:9

"[And when] these patriarchs, [still living in Canaan as young men], became jealous of [their brother] Joseph, they sold him [as a slave to traveling merchants who took him] to Egypt. But God was with him [during all that time],

Acts 7:10

and rescued him from all his troubles and granted him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him a governor over Egypt and his [i.e., the king's] household.

Acts 7:11

"Now a great famine occurred all over Egypt and Canaan, causing extreme hardships, and our forefathers did not have enough to live on.

Acts 7:12

But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent his sons [down there] on their first trip.

Acts 7:13

On their second trip Joseph identified himself to his brothers, and Pharaoh was made aware of his origins.

Acts 7:14

Joseph then sent [to Canaan] for his father Jacob and all seventy-five of his relatives.

Acts 7:15

So, Jacob went down to Egypt and died there, along with our forefathers.

Acts 7:16

Their bodies were carried back [from Egypt] to Shechem and buried in the tomb that Abraham had purchased in Shechem from the sons of Hamor for a sum of silver. [Note: "Shechem" was a town in Israel, the country which in New Testament times was known as Samaria].

Acts 7:17

"But as the time when [the fulfillment of] the promise [God had made] to Abraham approached, the number of people [i.e., Hebrews] in Egypt grew

Acts 7:18

until a new king, who had not known Joseph, began to rule.

Acts 7:19

This king exploited the Hebrews and mistreated our forefathers, even requiring that they abandon their [small] babies, leaving them to die [See Exodus 1:22].

Acts 7:20

"It was at that time that Moses was born, and he was a very handsome child. He was cared for in his father's home for three months

Acts 7:21

and then, when he was abandoned [as the Egyptians required], the daughter of Pharaoh took him in and cared for him as her own son.

Acts 7:22

Now Moses was educated according to all the wisdom of the Egyptians and became an accomplished speaker and an effective leader.

Acts 7:23

But when he was about forty years old he felt led to visit his relatives, the Israelites [i.e., called Hebrews at that time].

Acts 7:24

And when Moses observed one [of his relatives] being mistreated, he came to his defense by hitting the Egyptian,

Acts 7:25

assuming his relatives would understand that God was using him to rescue them [from such abuse], but they did not [seem to] understand.

Acts 7:26

The next day Moses came across a couple of his relatives who were fighting and tried to settle their dispute by saying, 'Brothers, since you are fellow-countrymen, why are you hurting each other?'

Acts 7:27

But the one who was trying to harm his neighbor pushed Moses away saying, 'Who gave you the right to act as a ruler and judge over us?

Acts 7:28

Are you going to kill me like you did that Egyptian yesterday?'

Acts 7:29

When Moses heard this, he ran away and traveled to the country of Midian where he settled down and had two sons.

Acts 7:30

"Then after [another] forty years passed, an angel appeared to him [one day] out of a flaming bush in the wilderness near Mt. Sinai.

Acts 7:31

Moses marveled at the sight [of the burning bush] and, as he went to look at it more closely, the voice of the Lord spoke out,

Acts 7:32

I am the God of your forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.' Moses shook with fear, not [even] wanting to look [at the bush].

Acts 7:33

And the Lord said to him, 'Take off your shoes, [Moses], for the place you are standing on is holy ground.

Acts 7:34

I have surely seen the mistreatment of my people there in Egypt and I have heard their groaning and I have determined to rescue them. Now [get ready], I will send you to Egypt [to lead out in their rescue].'

Acts 7:35

But the Hebrews refused [to acknowledge Moses as their leader], saying, 'Who made you a ruler and judge [over us]?' [Nevertheless], God sent him [to Egypt] to be both a ruler and liberator [of the people] through the direction of [His] angel who appeared [to Moses] from the bush.

Acts 7:36

This man led them out [of Egypt], performing wonders and [miraculous] signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years.

Acts 7:37

"This is the Moses who had said to the Israelites [Deut. 18:15], 'God will raise up a prophet from among your countrymen who will be like me [in some ways].'

Acts 7:38

This is the man who was with our forefathers and with the assembly [of Hebrews] in the wilderness [after] the angel had spoken to him at Mt. Sinai. He [is the one] who received the living messages [from God at Mt. Sinai] and gave them to us.

Acts 7:39

[And yet] our forefathers refused to obey him, but rejected [his leadership] and turned back to Egypt in their hearts.

Acts 7:40

They said to Aaron [i.e., Moses' brother], 'Make gods to lead us, because we do not know what happened to this Moses who led us when we first left the country of Egypt.'

Acts 7:41

And so the people fashioned a calf [out of gold] and offered [an animal] sacrifice to this idol and [then] celebrated joyously over what they had done [See Exodus 32:4-6; 17-19].

Acts 7:42

But God turned [away from them] and allowed them to worship heavenly bodies [i.e., stars], just as it was written in the prophet [Amos 5:25ff], 'Did you offer me slain animals as sacrifices for forty years in the wilderness, you Israelites?

Acts 7:43

[No], you set up a tent for Moloch [i.e., a heathen idol worshiped by the Ammonites] and [another one for] the star [representing the false god] Rephan and images used in worshiping them. I will allow you to be transported beyond [the country of] Babylon.'

Acts 7:44

"Our forefathers had the Tabernacle of the Testimony in the wilderness [i.e., the tent containing the ten commandments], which God instructed Moses to make according to the model he was shown.

Acts 7:45

Our forefathers also brought this Tabernacle with them under Joshua's leadership when they entered [Canaan] to occupy the land of these Gentile nations. God removed these nations as our forefathers advanced through the land, up until the reign of King David,

Acts 7:46

who found favor in God's sight and asked for permission to build a [special] house for the God of Jacob's [descendants] to live in.

Acts 7:47

But [eventually] it was Solomon who [actually] built this house [for God].

Acts 7:48

However, the Highest [i.e., God] does not live in a house made by human beings, as the prophet said [Isaiah 66:1ff],

Acts 7:49

'Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footrest. What kind of a house do you plan to build for me? the Lord asked. Or what sort of a place is suitable for me to rest in?

Acts 7:50

Did I not really make everything [myself]?'

Acts 7:51

You people are unbending and unrepentant in your hearts and [unwilling to listen with] your ears. You are always resisting [the desires of] the Holy Spirit just like your forefathers did.

Acts 7:52

Which one of the prophets did your forefathers not persecute? They [even] killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One [i.e., Jesus], whom you people betrayed and murdered.

Acts 7:53

You received the law that was ordained through [the medium of] angels [See Gal. 3:19] and yet have not obeyed its requirements."

Acts 7:54

Now when the Council members heard these things they were enraged and ground their teeth at him.

Acts 7:55

But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw God's splendor and Jesus standing at His right side.

Acts 7:56

He said, "Look, I see heaven opened up and the Son of man standing at the right side of God."

Acts 7:57

But they shouted loudly and refused to listen, and then all of them rushed at him.

Acts 7:58

They threw him out of the city and stoned him [to death]. Those who witnessed [the incident] placed their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.

Acts 7:59

So, they stoned Stephen [to death] as he called out to the Lord, saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit [as I die]."

Acts 7:60

Then he kneeled down and called out in a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold them responsible for this sin [of killing me]." And when he said this he fell asleep [in death].
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