Acts 7:30 (NKJV) 30 “And when forty years had passed, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai. 2. THE ADDRESS OF STEPHEN (7:2–53). 7:2–53. This is the longest recorded message in Acts, which shows the importance Luke attached to it. Stephen, a Grecian Jew, by his life and words prepared the way for the gospel to reach outside the pale of Judaism. But what did Stephen say in this powerful discourse that resulted in his death? Though he touched on the accusations made against him, Stephen did not give a legal defense of himself. Rather, he set forth Israel’s past history and God’s past workings in order to vindicate Christianity. In this discourse three ideas run like cords through its fabric: 1. There is progress and change in God’s program. God was creative and innovative in His dealings with humans and particularly with Israel. Stephen developed this thought in five points: (a) The promise to Abraham (vv. 2–8). From working with the entire human race, the Lord sovereignly called Abraham, father of the Jews, from Mesopotamia to the land of promise, and gave him 12 great-grandsons who became the progenitors of Israel’s 12 tribes. (b) The sojourn of Joseph (vv. 9–16). This move to Egypt was the fulfillment of God’s prediction recorded in verses 6–7. It too was a radical change for Jacob’s descendants. (c) The deliverance under Moses (vv. 17–43). A major portion of Stephen’s discourse pertained to Moses and the Exodus, another important aspect of Israel’s history. (d) The building of the tabernacle (vv. 44–46). Constructing the tabernacle so that it was portable implied it was temporary. (It was called the tabernacle of Testimony because it testified to God’s presence among them.) (e) The construction of the temple (vv. 47–50). Even the temple was to be a symbol of God’s presence and not the very home of God. In God’s workings with the nation from Abraham to Solomon there was innovation and change. The point is clear: If God changed so many things in Israel’s history, who is to say that the Law and the temple were permanent? 2. The blessings of God are not limited to the land of Israel and the temple area. Some of Israel’s greatest favors were bestowed apart from the temple and the land. Stephen gave four examples: (a) Israel’s patriarchs and leaders were blessed outside the land. Abraham was called in Mesopotamia and given promises before he lived in Haran (vv. 2–5). In Egypt … Joseph found favor with Pharaoh because God was with him (vv. 9–10). Moses was commissioned by God in Midian (vv. 29–34). To substantiate the fact that God blessed Moses while he was in Midian, Stephen carefully recounted that two sons were born to Moses there. (b) The Law itself was given outside the land: Moses was in the congregation in the desert (v. 38). (c) The tabernacle was built in the desert. The tabernacle was with them in the desert (v. 44). In fact the Jews brought it with them when they took the land (v. 45). (d) Even the temple, though in the land, was not to be limited in its theology. How could the temple be God’s dwelling place when the Scripture declares, Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool? (v. 49; Isa. 66:1) 3. Israel in its past always evidenced a pattern of opposition to God’s plans and His men. This is the main point of Stephen’s discourse, as its climax affirms (Acts 7:51–53). You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! This theme is seen throughout the message, but there are some definite specifics. (a) Instead of going directly from Mesopotamia to the Promised Land, Abraham tarried in Haran (vv. 2–4). (b) Joseph was sold by his brothers into slavery in Egypt (v. 9). (c) Moses was rejected by the Israelites (vv. 23–29). It is highly significant that both Joseph and Moses were not accepted until their second appearances (vv. 13, 35–36). The parallel with Christ could not have escaped Stephen’s hearers. (d) Israel rejected true worship by turning to idols (vv. 39–43). Her blatant unbelief was seen in idolatry, a sin which the Jews of the Apostolic Age particularly abhorred. As a result God judged the nation by sending her into Exile in Babylon (v. 43). (e) The people of Israel missed the point of the temple (vv. 48–50). The strong and clear assertion of Stephen (v. 48) implies that the Jews believed the temple was God’s dwelling place on earth, the Jewish counterpart to Mount Olympia. Indeed the temple was to be a place of worship and prayer; but it was not God’s home (cf. 1 Kings 8:23–53). Stephen’s three main points in this discourse fit together. Since there is progression in God’s program and since His blessings are not limited to the temple, Israel had better be careful not to “resist” (Acts 7:51) His workings as they had in the past. They would withstand God’s purpose by refusing to see His work in the church and His blessing outside the borders of Israel. This defense related specifically to the accusation made against Stephen in 6:11–14. A chronological problem exists in 7:6, where Stephen said Israel would be enslaved and mistreated 400 years. For in Galatians 3:17 Paul implied that the period of time from the Abrahamic promise in Genesis 15:13–16 to Mount Sinai was 430 years. The difference between the 400 and 430 years can easily be accounted for by understanding that Stephen used round numbers. Another explanation is that the 400 years was the actual time of bondage whereas the 430 years described the time from the confirming of the covenant in Genesis 35:9–15 to the Exodus, which occurred in 1446 B.C. The main problem, however, is the time Israel spent in bondage in Egypt. If Galatians 3:17 means it was 430 years from the promise given to Abraham (Gen. 15) to the Exodus, the time in Egypt would then be 215 years. However, if Acts 7:6 is taken at face value the bondage was 400 years. Perhaps the best solution is to say Paul was looking at periods of time. The promises were given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. These three patriarchs were all recipients of God’s promise. The promise was reconfirmed in Genesis 46:1–4 to Jacob at Beersheba as he was on his way to Egypt. From that point (the end of God’s giving promises to the patriarchs) to the Exodus was 400 years. (Cf. Harold W. Hoehner, “The Duration of the Egyptian Bondage,” Bibliotheca Sacra 126. October=December 1969:306–16.) Another apparent discrepancy in Stephen’s discourse is in Acts 7:14. Stephen stated that 75 persons were in Jacob’s family, but the Hebrew text has “70” in both Genesis 46:27 and Exodus 1:5. In both places the Septuagint has 75. It is commonly said that Stephen, a Greek-speaking Jew, would have used the Septuagint and therefore was making only an “honest” mistake. This difficulty, however, can be resolved in other ways. One of the most widely accepted solutions is to recognize that the Hebrew text includes Jacob, Joseph, and Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh (a total of 70), but that the Septuagint omits Jacob and Joseph but includes Joseph’s seven grandchildren (mentioned in 1 Chron. 7:14–15, 20–25). This is supported by the Hebrew in Genesis 46:8–26 which enumerates 66 names, omitting Jacob, Joseph, and Joseph’s two sons. Another solution is that the Septuagint’s 75 includes the 66 plus the 9 wives of Jacob’s 12 sons (Judah’s and Simeon’s wives had died and Joseph’s wife was in Egypt). Acts 7:16 contains another apparent discrepancy. Stephen’s words imply that Jacob was buried at Shechem whereas the Old Testament clearly affirms that he and his wife Leah (and his parents Isaac and Rebekah and his grandparents Abraham and Sarah) were interred in the Cave of Machpelah at Hebron (Gen. 49:29–50:13). However, the bodies buried at Shechem did not include Jacob but did include those of Joseph and his brothers. Joseph was buried first in Egypt but was reburied in Shechem (Gen. 50:26; Ex. 13:19; Josh. 24:32). True, Joshua 24:32 refers only to Joseph’s bones, but evidently his brothers were also buried at Shechem (though Josephus states otherwise). The pronoun their (Acts 7:16), then, does not include Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but looks back to the words our fathers in verse 15 and refers to Joseph and his brothers. Stephen’s phrase, the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem (v. 16), presents another problem. Actually Jacob, not Abraham, bought the plot of ground (Gen. 33:19). This may be explained by saying that Abraham in a sense did purchase the property in the person of his grandson. Abraham would be given title to Shechem through Jacob. This favorable allusion to Shechem, the “capital” of the Samaritans, would not please Stephen’s audience. But his reference to Samaria prepares readers for the next step in the outreach of the gospel (Acts 8). Toussaint, S. D. (1985). Acts. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck, Ed.) (Ac 7:2–53). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
Posted on: Sun, 04 Jan 2015 05:14:30 +0000
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