Acts 7:2-8

CRITICAL REMARKS

Acts 7:2. Concerning what Stephen said in reply, Luke’s information may have been derived either from Paul, who probably was present on the occasion (Acts 26:10), and afterwards in his own speeches and writings reproduced the martyr’s language (compare Acts 7:48 with Acts 16:24, and Acts 7:53 with Galatians 3:19), or from records of it preserved by the Church at Jerusalem. The God of glory.—i.e., who manifested His presence by means of the glory (Exodus 16:7; Exodus 16:10; Exodus 24:16; Exodus 17; Exodus 33:18; Exodus 33:22; Exodus 40:34; Exodus 35; Leviticus 9:6; Leviticus 23; Numbers 14:10; Numbers 14:21)—i.e., of the Shechinah or luminous appearance which shone between the Cherubim (Psalms 80:1). Before he dwelt in Charran, or Haran.—Carræ in North-West Mesopotamia, about twenty-five miles from Edessa, one of the supposed sites of Ur of the Chaldees, which, however, is now almost unanimously found in Hur, the most important of the early capitals of Chaldæa, the present-day Mugheir, at no great distance from the mouth and six miles to the west of the Euphrates. That Stephen’s statement does not contradict Genesis. (Acts 12:1), which places the call of Abraham at Haran (Holtzmann) may be inferred from these facts—

(1) that Genesis 15:7 and Nehemiah 9:7 both represent Ur of the Chaldees as the locality in which Abraham received Jehovah’s call, and

(2) that with these both Josephus and Philo agree. There is nothing unreasonable in supposing the call to have been given twice, first in Ur and again in Haran.

Acts 7:4. When his father was dead.—If Abraham was Terah’s firstborn (Genesis 11:26), and seventy-five when he departed from Haran (Genesis 12:4), then Terah could only have been one hundred and forty-five years old at his death, whereas, according to Genesis 11:32, Terah was two hundred and five when he died, and must have survived Abraham’s departure from Haran by sixty years; but if Abraham was Terah’s youngest son, and born in Terah’s one hundred and thirtieth year, which, according to the Hebrew narrative, is not impossible, then as Abraham was seventy-five years old when he migrated from Haran, Terah must have been two hundred and five when he died—which agrees with Stephen’s narrative. For he removed the best texts read (God) removed him.

Acts 7:5. None inheritance in it.—Not contradicted by Abraham’s purchase of the field and cave at Machpelah (Genesis 23:9), which were meant for “a possession” of a burying place but not for an inheritance in the strict sense of the term.

Acts 7:6. Four hundred years.—If Stephen included in these four centuries the whole period of sojourning, bondage, and oppression, exactly as Jehovah did in Genesis (Acts 15:13), this seems to be at variance with Paul’s reckoning of the interval between the Abrahamic promise and the Mosaic law as four hundred and thirty years (Galatians 3:17), which interval again is represented in Exodus (Exodus 12:40) as “the sojourning of Israel who dwelt in Egypt.” Assuming that four hundred may have been a round number for four hundred and thirty, the difficulty remains how to harmonise the statements of Stephen and Paul. If, according to Paul, the interval from Abraham to Moses was four hundred and thirty years, then, inasmuch as Isaac was born twenty-five years after the promise was first given, and was sixty years old at the birth of Jacob, who was one hundred and thirty years of age when he stood before Pharaoh, then 430 − (25 + 60 + 130) = 215, which leaves only two hundred, and fifteen for the years of exile, bondage, and oppression. Either, therefore, Stephen, following the LXX. version of Exodus 12:40, which inserts “in the land of Canaan” after “in the land of Egypt, designed his four hundred years to embrace the same period as Paul’s four hundred and thirty indicate—a view supported by Josephus (Ant., II. xv. 2), or he followed Genesis 15:13, and understood the four hundred to refer to the Egyptian sojourn, bondage, and oppression, in which case he is again supported by Josephus (Ant., II. ix. 1; Wars, V. ix. 4), who gives both views, but not by Paul. It would remove all appearance of contrariety if Genesis 15:13 signified by “a land not theirs,” Canaan as well as Egypt; if this cannot be done, then at the worst Paul and Stephen must be held to have followed different traditions.

Acts 7:7. They shall come forth and serve Me in this place.—“They shall come hither again” of Genesis 15:16 is replaced by “and serve Me in this place,” suggested by rather than borrowed from Exodus 3:2, in which the words are “ye shall serve God upon this mountain.” Stephen, unintentionally mixing up the passages in Genesis and Exodus, may not have been hindered by the Spirit, because the sentiment he expressed was correct; or under the Spirit’s guidance he may have selected the new clause suggested by Exodus to explain the import of the one in Genesis.

Acts 7:8. The covenant of circumcision.—I.e., of which circumcision was the sign. See Romans 4:11. The twelve patriarchs.—I.e., the twelve sons of Jacob as the founders of the tribes or heads of the families of Israel. The term also applied to Abraham (Hebrews 7:4) and to David (Acts 2:29).

HOMILETICAL ANALYSIS.—Acts 7:2

The Progenitor of Israel; or, the History of Abraham

I. The honours he received.—

1. An overpowering revelation.

(1) Of what? Of the glory of God. “The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham.” This remarkable expression, “the God of glory,” which occurs only here in the New and but once in the Old Testament (Psalms 29:3), nevertheless has its roots in and receives explanation from the latter. Without question it points back to the transaction at Sinai (Exodus 16:7; Exodus 16:10; Exodus 24:16), and identifies the divine Being whose external and symbolic form, an ethereal luminous essence, appeared in the cloud upon the mountain summit (Exodus 24:17), and afterwards filled the tabernacle (Exodus 40:34), as the same who had revealed Himself to the son of Terah. Whether He appeared in a similar fashion as at Sinai cannot be decided, although Stephen’s language and sundry notices in Genesis (Acts 15:17; Acts 17:22) almost warrant an affirmative answer. In any case, it does not seem possible to reduce this theophany to a mere subjective impression on the patriarch’s mind.

(2) Where? In Mesopotamia, or the region between the two rivers Tigris and Euphrates; not, however, in the northern district, but in the south, “in the land of the Chaldeans”—i.e., in Ur (Genesis 15:7), now identified as Mugheir (see “Critical Remarks”).

(3) When? “Before he dwelt in Haran,” and whilst his father was yet alive. The statement of Stephen does not contradict but supplements that of Genesis (Acts 12:1), which appears to say, but does not necessarily mean, that the order to depart from his father’s house was only given to the patriarch in Haran. Haran was not Abraham’s country or land of his nativity, but the land of the Chaldees was (Genesis 11:28).

2. An imperative command.

(1) To get out from his land and from his kindred, or, in other words, to become a pilgrim. Hard as the summons was, it was obediently complied with. Abraham’s pilgrimage commenced at Ur, and reached its first stage at Haran. Five years later, on his father’s (Terah’s) death, it entered on its second and final stage.

(2) To betake himself to a new country, the land of Canaan, wherein they, his descendants, were then dwelling; a land which God would show him, a mitigation of the preceding hardship, since a pilgrim under God’s leading must always be safe, and can never come to grief. That Abraham yielded obedience to this command was a signal proof of faith (Hebrews 11:8).

3. A gracious promise.—

(1) Of a land for a possession, the land of Canaan above-mentioned. Broad acres have ever been a coveted and cherished inheritance. But God, the supreme owner of the soil, distributes them to whomsoever He will. If this promise was broken to the hand and foot, it was kept to the heart and spirit (see below).

(2) Of a son for an heir. Offspring, especially among the Hebrews, has ever been a much-prized blessing. No one man likes to be succeeded by a stranger, and far less to leave his wealth to a servant. Yet just this was the prospect which Abraham at the moment had before him (Genesis 15:2). Like land, children are the gift of God (Psalms 127:3).

(3) Of a nation for descendants. Most men count themselves happy when they can found a family; but God promised Abraham that his offspring should ultimately develop into a people (Genesis 13:16), which, after sojourning in a strange land (Egypt) in a state of bondage for four hundred years, should be emancipated from their thraldom and conducted to their inheritance.

4. A solemn covenant. One would have thought a promise from God’s lips would have been sufficient guarantee for the bestowment of the above-named blessings: and, so far as God’s creature is concerned, that is all he can at any time expect to receive; but, marvellous condescension! God has frequently been pleased to add to His spoken word a visible pledge or seal—in Noah’s case the rainbow (Genesis 9:12), in Abraham’s circumcision (Genesis 17:10), the import of which was that Israel after the flesh should be a separated, purged, and consecrated people.

II. The virtues he displayed.—

1. Faith. He believed in God, credited the revelation which had been given him, accepted the invitation proffered him, relied on the promise made to him, and assented to the covenant which had been struck with him. Had faith been awanting—such faith as is the substance of things hoped for (Hebrews 11:1) and reposes on God’s word (John 3:33)—nothing of a spiritual sort could have followed.

2. Obedience. He promptly, cheerfully, and faithfully performed that which God had commanded. First, he went out from Ur along with Terah his father, Sarah his sister-wife, and Lot his nephew (Genesis 11:31); and afterwards, when Terah was dead, removing from Haran, he migrated southwards to Canaan.

3. Patience. Though on arriving in Canaan it looked as if the promise were about to fail, as if he were to obtain neither the inheritance nor the heir, yet he quietly adhered to the word which had been spoken (Romans 4:20; Hebrews 6:15). Nor did he abandon hope when God talked about four hundred years of servitude for his posterity, but calmly rested in God and waited for the fulfilment of what had been promised.

4. Insight. He could see that Jehovah’s promise was larger than any immediate or earthly fulfilment could realise—that the seed was One higher than a child of his loins, even One in whom all the families of the earth should be blessed (John 8:56), and that the land was something more desirable than an earthly inheritance like Canaan, was a better country, even an heavenly (Hebrews 11:10).

III. The rewards he obtained.—

1. God’s promise was fulfilled. He got his son and heir—“Abraham begat Isaac.” His son’s descendants grew into a family—“Isaac begat Jacob, and Jacob the twelve patriarchs.” Their households (threescore and fifteen souls, Acts 7:14) multiplied into a nation. The nation eventually entered on the occupation of the land (Acts 7:45).

2. His own horn was exalted. He became the ancestor of the Jewish people, the progenitor of the Messiah, the father of the faithful, the world-renowned pattern of believers.

Learn.—

1. The sovereignty of God in dispensing His favours.
2. The wisdom of man in walking by faith.
3. The certainty that believers will, ultimately, inherit the promises.

HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS

Acts 7:2. The God of Glory.—The fitness of this designation will appear when it is considered that—

I. God’s dwelling-place is glorious. Heaven (Deuteronomy 26:15); eternity (Isaiah 57:15); both of which are the habitation of His holiness and His glory (Isaiah 63:15); and in both of which are glory and honour (1 Chronicles 16:27.

II. His character is glorious. In holiness (Exodus 15:11); in power (Exodus 15:6; Isaiah 63:12; 2 Thessalonians 1:9); in grace (Ephesians 1:6). Or, summing up all His attributes His Name is glorious (1 Chronicles 29:13; Psalms 72:19).

III. His works are glorious. The creation of the material universe (Psalms 19:1). His providential government of earth (Isaiah 63:14; Psalms 120:3; Psalms 145:11; Matthew 6:13) His redemption of a lost world (Psalms 98:2; Isaiah 52:10; Ephesians 1:3; 2 Timothy 1:9).

IV. His word is glorious. Twice at least is the gospel so designated (2 Corinthians 4:4; 1 Timothy 1:11).

V. His Church is glorious. The company of redeemed ones will yet be presented before Him as a glorious Church without spot or wrinkle (Ephesians 5:27).

VI. His final appearing will be glorious. Christ, the image of God, will one day be manifested in glory (Colossians 3:4; Titus 2:13).

Acts 7:5. God’s Promises to His People.

I. Often broken in the letter but kept in the spirit.—As it was with the promise of Canaan to Abraham.

II. Though long delayed in fulfilment, never cancelled.—As it was with the promise of a son to Abraham.

III. Sometimes denied to the promisees but granted to their children.—As it was with the inheritance which Abraham obtained not, though his seed did.

Acts 7:2. The History of a Called Sinner.

I. The divine.—In Abraham’s case this consists of two parts: first, the vision; and, secondly, the command.

1. The vision. The God of glory appeared. Here was

(1) the divine suddenly appearing in the midst of the human,

(2) the true in the midst of the untrue;

(3) the heavenly in the midst of the earthly;

(4) the real in the midst of the unreal. So is it with every genuine conversion; there may not be the actual vision; there may not be the glory which appeared to Abraham in Ur, and to Saul on his way to Damascus; but in all cases it is God breaking in upon man and man’s idolatry; the light of the knowledge of the glory flashing into a soul; the light dispelling the darkness; the true dispersing the untrue; the heavenly supplanting the earthly. This is conversion. It is God coming near; coming in!

2. The command. Get thee out,—go to the land I shall point to. It thus consists of two parts: calling out from, and calling in to. It is a Divine command, urgent and explicit.

II. The human.—This consists of four parts.

1. The obedience. “He came out of the land of the Chaldeans.” He hesitated not, but rose up and obeyed.

2. The pilgrimage. He is not led into Canaan at once.

3. The tribulation. In Abraham’s case it was considerable. Lot’s worldliness, that was a trial; the destruction of Lot’s family, and of Sodom, that was a trial; the death of Sarah, that was a trial. He had many a sorrow.

4. The inheritance at last. Not Babylon, nor Egypt, but the land flowing with milk and honey. Thus our whole life here is one of faith, from first to last. Get thee out, is God’s message to each worldling.—H. Bonar, D.D.

Acts 7:6. A great Prophecy and its Fulfilment.

I. The prophecy.—

1. That Abraham should have a seed, when as yet he had no child.
2. That that seed should grow into a people, of which no reasonable prospect existed.
3. That that people should be enslaved for a period of four hundred years.
4. That the nation which enslaved them should be visited with severe punishment.
5. That this punishment should result in their emancipation.
6. That when emancipated they should serve God in the land of Canaan.

II. The fulfilment.—

1. The seed predicted appeared when Isaac was born.
2. The people arose when the patriarchs began to multiply in the days of Jacob.
3. The captivity commenced to realise itself when the seventy souls comprising Jacob’s family went down into Egypt.
4. The punishment threatened against their oppressors took the form of a series of plagues upon the land of Egypt.
5. The emancipation came to pass when Moses led his brethren from the house of bondage.
6. The foretold service of Jehovah was set up when Israel was established in Canaan.

Lessons.—

1. The ability of God to predict and to fulfil.
2. The argument from fulfilled prophecy in support of inspiration.

Acts 7:8. The Twelve Patriarchs.

I. Descendants of distinguished men.

II. Not above cherishing sinful feelings.

III. Perpetrators of a hideous crime.

IV. Subjects of a great mercy (Acts 7:13).

Acts 7:2. The experiences of a soul—illustrated in the case of Abraham.

I. A glorious vision.—God. Not impossible to see God by the eye of faith. God still, by His Spirit and through His gospel, reveals Himself to men’s souls. In this inshining of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ lies the beginning of the soul’s new life.

II. A hard precept.—“Get thee out of thy country,” etc. When God makes Himself known to a human soul in the manner above described, it is for the purpose of detaching that soul from its earthly surroundings, separating it from its mundane attachments, leading it forth from its terrestrial relationships, and causing it to start upon a nobler spiritual career.

III. A magnificent promise. That God would conduct him (Abraham) to another and better land, and bestow it on himself and his posterity. Similarly, God never enjoins a soul to enter on a heavenward career without extending to that soul a like assurance of help and guidance towards that ideal state after which it aspires. To the soul that “comes” God will “shew.”

IV. A splendid faith.—“Then came he out of the land of the Chaldeans.” Without that response to the divine precept and promise Abraham had never set his foot upon the upward way. Spiritual life on the soul’s side begins with personal acts of trust and obedience. The soul that cannot surrender to God in hearty confidence and prompt submission lacks the capability of being redeemed.

V. A sore disappointment.—Though Abraham obeyed, God gave him none inheritance in the land. The reason was, that God had provided for him something better. God never intended to put him off with a few acres of material soil, but had prepared for him a city in a better country, even an heavenly. The disappointment was required to prepare him for this city. Neither does God engage that gracious souls shall not be disappointed if they seek their inheritance on earth; but he does engage that “all things shall work together for their good,” and that they shall have an inheritance among the saints in light (Colossians 1:12).

VI. A sufficient consolation.—The covenant of circumcision which formed Abraham’s descendants into a people was a pledge that the land for the people would not be wanting, but would arrive in due time. So to Christian souls is God’s covenant of grace, signed and sealed by the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, ample guarantee that the heavenly inheritance will not fail.