Acts 7 - God Doesn't Make Anyone Worship Him!
Stephen’s Speech to the Sanhedrin
7 Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these charges true?” 2 To this he replied: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Harran. 3 ‘Leave your country and your people,’ God said, ‘and go to the land I will show you.’
When Stephen is questioned, he keeps his composure. He goes back to giving them a history lesson. Importantly he retells the call of Abraham. God called him out of Mesopotamia to a place where he knew no one.
In his response Stephen gave a panorama of Old Testament history. We shouldn’t think Stephen instructed the Sanhedrin on points of Jewish history they were ignorant of. Instead, Stephen emphasized some things in Jewish history they may not have considered: That God never confined Himself to one place (like the temple), and that the Jewish people had a habit of rejecting those God sends to them.
4 “So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Harran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living. 5 He gave him no inheritance here, not even enough ground to set his foot on. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child. 6 God spoke to him in this way: ‘For four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated. 7 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,’ God said, ‘and afterward they will come out of that country and worship me in this place.’[b] 8 Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. And Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him eight days after his birth. Later Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.
Even though there was a brief pause, where Abraham's father died, God was faithful to bring Abraham into the Promised Land. Abraham still did not have a son, so it was probably hard for him to imagine a inheritance. He didn't have the land yet, and he didn't have a son yet. It was at this time that God gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision, the mark that would be on every Jewish boy. It was the mark that would be a sign of the covenant God made with Abraham. A covenant God made with Abraham in Genesis 15, where he told him that he was bless him and make him a blessing to all nations.
With this, Stephen emphasized a relationship with God on the basis of faith and not outward evidences like a temple or the structure of institutional religion and its customs. Even when Abraham was in the land, he was a pilgrim. He didn’t make an idol out of the blessings God had either given or promised. This was a rebuke to the religious leaders Stephen spoke to, because many among them had stopped being pilgrims and they made idols out of the blessings of the temple and the land. - Guzik
9 “Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him 10 and rescued him from all his troubles. He gave Joseph wisdom and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh king of Egypt. So Pharaoh made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace.
Despite all the blessings God has bestowed upon the twelves tribes of Israel, their human nature showed up. The brothers were jealous of Joseph, as he seemed to be the favorite son of his father, Jacob. Of course getting the ornamental robe of many colors didn't help. But God remained faithful to His promises, when he gave Joseph wisdom and favor in the presence of Pharaoh. Joseph became ruler of the most powerful empire in the world.
God is always working behind the scenes in all earthly governments to bring about his Sovereign will. Though some earthly powers may seem to be thwarting God's plan, they never will. God allows earthly governments to rule and even execute power over people, but they will always be accountable to Him.
Again, Stephen emphasized the spiritual presence of God with Joseph all the time. Joseph did not need to go to the temple to be close to God – there was no temple. Instead, God was with him all the time. - Guzik
11 “Then a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering, and our ancestors could not find food. 12 When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our forefathers on their first visit. 13 On their second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family. 14 After this, Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his whole family, seventy-five in all. 15 Then Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our ancestors died. 16 Their bodies were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a certain sum of money. 17 “As the time drew near for God to fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt had greatly increased. 18 Then ‘a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.’[c] 19 He dealt treacherously with our people and oppressed our ancestors by forcing them to throw out their newborn babies so that they would die.
God's promises are fulfilled often in unseen the twists and turns of life. There was a famine in Egypt and Canaan and where was there grain to be found? Egypt! And, who was a ruler in Egypt, Jacob's son Joseph. So the whole family moved to Egypt because of the favor of Joseph had received and they prospered and multiplied. But the salvation drama continued when the new king, who didn't know Joseph, oppressed the Israelites and even killed their newborn babies. Despite their efforts to extinguish the promise through Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, God's plan superceded the plans of men.
20 “At that time Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child.[d] For three months he was cared for by his family. 21 When he was placed outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son. 22 Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action. 23 “When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his own people, the Israelites. 24 He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian. 25 Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not. 26 The next day Moses came upon two Israelites who were fighting. He tried to reconcile them by saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why do you want to hurt each other?’ 27 “But the man who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us? 28 Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ 29 When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian, where he settled as a foreigner and had two sons.
The next man to become a major character in the history of our salvation was Moses. God intervened to save Moses' life through none other than the Pharaoh's daughter. Like Joseph, Moses enjoyed the favor of growing up in Pharaoh's household, as well as all of the luxuries it afforded. Included in all of that was being educated in the wisdom of the Egyptians.
When Moses was 40 years old he developed a desire to visit his own people, the Hebrews. But instead of seeing Moses as someone who might rescue them from bondage, they rejected him much they would reject another king, 1400 years later.
But in the heat of passion, when he saw one of his own being mistreated by the Egyptians, he killed the man and hid him. The next day when he saw to Israelites fighting, he asked them why would they try to hurt each other. But instead of listening to Moses they pushed back on him citing his own violence the day before.
When Moses offered deliverance to Israel, he was rejected and rejected with spite. Israel denied that he had any right to be a ruler and a judge over them. Stephen’s message was plain: “You have rejected Jesus, who was like Moses yet greater than him, and you deny that Jesus has any right to be a ruler and a judge over you.”
39 “But our ancestors refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt. 40 They told Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who led us out of Egypt—we don’t know what has happened to him!’[i] 41 That was the time they made an idol in the form of a calf. They brought sacrifices to it and reveled in what their own hands had made. 42 But God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the sun, moon and stars. This agrees with what is written in the book of the prophets: “‘Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the wilderness, people of Israel? 43 You have taken up the tabernacle of Molek and the star of your god Rephan, the idols you made to worship.Therefore I will send you into exile’[j] beyond Babylon.
Despite the miracles God wrought through Moses, the people wanted to have gods like the gods of the nations around them. God doesn't make anyone worship Him. If people want to worship false gods made out of gold and silver. If they want to worship creation (sun, moon, and stars), He will let them and he will let us too. God gave them what they wanted, worthless idols. So when the Babylonians came, without the power of God, they were easy "pickings". Though the promise would continue, it would continue with the Israelites in exile as slaves to the Egyptians.
It's funny that though God delivered the Israelites from the bondage to the Egyptians, they chose to become enslaved to false gods, which eventually put them back in bondage with the Babylonians. Same story different group of people The same sin yields the same results.
And don't we do the same thing. God delivers us from a bad habit, an addiction, or being enslaved a to false god, and we go back to it. Doesn't make sense does it?
44 “Our ancestors had the tabernacle of the covenant law with them in the wilderness. It had been made as God directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen. 45 After receiving the tabernacle, our ancestors under Joshua brought it with them when they took the land from the nations God drove out before them. It remained in the land until the time of David, 46 who enjoyed God’s favor and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.[k] 47 But it was Solomon who built a house for him.
God's covenant continued this time in the form of the Mosaic Law that God gave the Israelities in the wilderness. It not only gave them the moral laws (Ten Commandment), but also the sacrificial laws (The Day of Atonement and the blood of the innocent lamb). The tabernacle was a symbol of God's presence. When the Israelites went with God, He went with them. Joshua led by God's presence and power helped the Israelites to overtake their enemies and conquer the Promised Land.
Once again the Israelites had a place they could claim their own. When David became King, he realized that their was not a house for God to dwell in. Though, he wanted to build it, there was bloodshed on his hands, so David's son, Solomon, built the temple in all of its splendor!
48 “However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says: 49 “‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me? says the Lord. Or where will my resting place be? 50 Has not my hand made all these things?’
The Israelites confused a building with the living God. I think we do this today when we get overly caught up in the size of our churches or how cool our worship space is. There is nothing wrong with that of course but we need to worship the Creator not the Created.
51 “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 52 Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— 53 you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.”
After giving this long history lesson, Peter looks at the leaders and basically says, "And you guys are no different than your ancestors" Importantly their biggest downfall was that they resisted the Holy Spirit, otherwise they might open their eyes and come to know the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. But in their rejection came anger. Anger that killed the prophets, who also came speaking for God. Finally, they killed the Righteous One, the Messiah, God's only Son. They had murdered the one fulfilled all of the promises God had given them through Abraham, Moses, and David.
When you see this history of the Israelites you can only come to the conclusion that God is, "Slow to anger and abounding in steadfast mercy. His mercies are new every morning. New every morning great is His faithfulness."
If God is this merciful to us don't you think we owe it to others to be merciful them them?
The Stoning of Stephen
54 When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.
The leaders of the Sanhedrin had heard enough. Now Stephen was accusing them of killing the Anointed One, the Messiah. Meanwhile as they went to kill him, Stephen looked up into heaven and saw the glory of God. He saw the glory of the place he was about to go to. He saw what we confess in the Apostle's Creed, Jesus is at the right hand of the Father.
In their eyes this was the final straw, a mere human claiming to see God. So the mob rushed at him dragged him out of the city and stoned him for the sin of blasphemy. Meanwhile we learn that one of the leaders of the mob was a young man named Saul, who would later become the apostle Paul.
Stephen cried out, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit". These are the similar words to the ones Jesus uttered before he breathed his last. And similar to Jesus he cried out, "Lord do not hold this sin against them."
Stephen because the first martyr of the church. The bible tells us there is a special place for martyrs in heaven. The term means "witness". Stephen gave witness to Jesus even when it cost him his life.
Lord, we pray for boldness like Stephen we gave witness to you even to his death!
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