Act 7 | Family | STEP | So ; as his accusers had said.

Acts 7

So; as his accusers had said. Mesopotamia; this word means between two rivers; it was the country which lay between the Tigris and the Euphrates. In this region was Ur of the Chaldees, where lived Terah, the father of Abraham.

Charran; called in the Old Testament Haran. Ge 11:31. This was also in Mesopotamia. Opposers of religion who make inquiries about it, should be treated with courtesy and kindness. In answering their questions, we should endeavor to enlighten their minds with regard to Jesus Christ, that we may lead them to believe in him. 1Ti 2:25. He; God.

Promised that he would give it to him; Ge 12:7; 13:14-18. Sojourn in a strange land; Egypt. Ge 15:13-16. Threescore and fifteen; seventy-five. The number stated in Genesis as coming with Jacob into Egypt is sixty-six. Jacob, with Joseph and his two sons who were already there, and the five grandsons of Joseph mentioned in 1Ch 7:14-23, are supposed to make the seventy-five. See note to Ge 46:27. Were carried; the fathers were carried: Joseph and others were carried and buried in Sychem, called in the Old Testament Shechem, which was near to Samaria, in a piece of ground bought by Jacob of the sons of Emmor, called in the Old Testament Hamor. Ge 33:18,19; Jos 24:32. Jacob was buried in the field of Machpelah, which was purchased by Abraham of the sons of Heth. Ge 23:4-20; 49:29,30; 50:13. In what way the name of Abraham became connected with the purchase at Sychem is not known. The time of the promise; the time for its fulfilment Ge 12:7; Ge 15:14-16; 22:17.

The people grew; Ex 1:7-9. God's promises and threatenings all have a set time for their accomplishment; and when that time approaches, his providences will be so ordered as to secure their exact and perfect fulfilment. Hab 2:3; Mt 24:35. Persons who are most evidently in the wrong are generally the most forward and earnest in opposing those who would set them right; and the best endeavors to persuade men to live in peace are often met with insolence, reproach, and contempt. An angel of the Lord; who was Jehovah himself. He is spoken of in Ex 23:20,21, as one in whom is God's name, and who has power to pardon sin. He is, therefore, with reason supposed to be the same as "the Word" that "was in the beginning with God," and "was God." In obscurity and retirement God often prepares men for the discharge of great and momentous public duties; and when the proper time arrives, he so orders events that they cannot, without rebelling against him, refuse to leave their retirement and enter upon the responsibilities and toils of public life. He; Moses. Ex 19:3-25. Gave them up; Ps 81:12.

It is written; Am 5:25-27.

Have ye offered to me; that is, to me alone. The answer is, No; ye mingled with my worship that of your idols. See note to Am 5:26. Moloch--Remphan; idol gods. Stephen does not quote the exact words of the prophet, but following the Septuagint, gives the sense, as in verses Ac 7:48,49, and in other places. The tabernacle; a sacred tent, or movable structure, used before the erection of the temple for religious services, at the door of which God made communications to the people. Ex 29:42,43; 25:8,9,40; Heb 8:5. Jesus; Joshua. Jesus in Greek is the same as Joshua in Hebrew. Jos 1:1,2; Heb 4:8; Jos 11:23. Tabernacle; this is a different word from that which is translated tabernacle in verse Ac 7:44, and here means a permanent structure, or fixed habitation. 2Sa 7:2-7; 1Ch 22:7-19. Men may so idolize a time, a place, or an outward form of worship, as entirely to unfit them to worship him who is a Spirit "in spirit and in truth," and lead them violently to oppose and bitterly to persecute those who maintain that none but spiritual worshippers can at any time or in any place or form be accepted of him. Stiff-necked; unwilling to bow to the authority or regard the voice of God.

Resist the Holy Ghost; by refusing to follow his directions.

As your fathers did, so do ye; he comes now to the application of his narrative, in which he has made prominent the disobedience of the people to Moses, and their attachment to idolatry in the wilderness, verses Ac 7:35,39-43; as much as to say, As your fathers treated Moses, so do you treat that Prophet like unto Moses, of whom he prophesied. The manner in which the Holy Ghost and those who have been under his influence have in all ages been treated, shows a deep-rooted enmity in the human heart against God. Hence the necessity taught by Jesus Christ in Joh 3:3, and the duty inculcated in Job 22:21, Eze 18:31; Ac 3:19; 2Co 5:20. The Just One; Jesus Christ. Ac 3:14; 2Ch 36:16; Mt 26:66; 27:20-26; Joh 19:12-18. The disposition; the ministration. De 33:2; Ga 3:19; Heb 2:2. Cut to the heart; exceedingly enraged. Stopped their ears; as if unwilling to hear words which they affected to regard as blasphemous. The witnesses laid down their clothes; the false witnesses mentioned in chap Ac 6:13. They, according to the law, were to cast the first stones; and they laid aside their upper garments, that they might do this with greater effect. Le 24:14-16; De 17:7. Saul; this is the first mention of him who was afterwards the great apostle of the Gentiles. Men may be very scrupulous in some respects in the observance of forms of law, while in others they grossly violate both its letter and its spirit; and forms of law, as well as professions of religion, may be prostituted to the commission of flagrant injustice and atrocious crimes. Calling upon--and saying, Lord Jesus; the word God is not in the original, as its being printed in italics shows. The prayer was offered to Jesus Christ, and it was the custom of the Christians in the days of the apostles to pray to him. Lu 23:42,43; Ac 9:21; 22:16; 1Co 1:2. The Holy Spirit leads those who are under his influence to pray to Jesus Christ, and ask of him the richest blessings, not only for themselves and their friends, but also for their fellow-men. In thus honoring him as they honor the Father, they glorify him on earth, and prepare to dwell with him in heaven. This sin; the sin of murdering him on account of his friendship to Christ. Mt 5:44; Lu 23:34.

Fell asleep; peacefully died, and was received to glory by Jesus Christ, to whom he prayed.