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- Preaching the Living WORD through
the Written WORD - 2 Tim 4;:2 - |
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STEPHEN’S DEFENSE TO CHARGES OF BLASPHAMY - Pt. 1 (Ac 7:2-6) 10/20/13 Grace Bible Church,
Gillette, Wyoming Pastor Daryl Hilbert I. GOD CHOSE AND MADE A COVENANT WITH ISRAEL
(2-17) A. The Call of the Jewish People (2-4 cf. Ge
11:31-12:4) 1. Abraham’s Call (2) a) The first defense of Stephen against the
charge of blasphemy against God was that God had indeed chosen Israel to be
His people. God also made a covenant with Israel that defined Israel’s
worship, obedience, and proliferation. b) [2] Though God revealed Himself to Man in
Creation and in the Garden, Israel exclusively became His chosen people. This
began when the God of glory (Ps 29:3 cf. Ex 33:18-19) appeared to Abraham in
Mesopotamia before he lived in Haran. c) Some see a historical discrepancy between
Stephen’s account and the account of Genesis. However, though Abraham’s call
in Ge 12:1 seems to come to him after he moved to Haran (Ge 11:31 cf. Ge
12:1), it is quite possible that God first called him in Ur (Ge 15:7; Ne 9:7)
and then spoke again to him in Haran. 2. Abraham’s Sojourn (3-4) a) [3-4] Stephen described Abraham’s sojourn
from Ur to Haran after his instructions to leave his relatives and their
country. Obviously, Abraham stayed in Haran with his relatives until after
his father’s death (Ge 11:32 cf. Ac 7:4). Then God moved Abraham into the
land of Israel where Stephen’s trial was taking place before the Sanhedrin. b) This brings up another apparent historical
discrepancy from Genesis. How could Abraham be only 75 years old when he left
Haran after his father’s death (Ge 12:4)? Ge 11:26 maintains that Terah was 70 years old when he became the father of Abraham, Nahor, and Haran.
Yet when Terah died, he was 205 years old (Ge
11:32), suggesting that Abraham would have been 135 years old (or that Terah was actually 145 when he died). (1) This can possibly be
explained in that the narrative implied that Terah
was 70 years old when he began to have children. Certainly, we are not to
interpret from Ge 11:26 that Abraham, Nahor, and
Haran were triplets, born at the same time. (2) It could also be a false assumption that
Abraham was Terah’s first-born simply because his
name was mentioned first. It is possible that
Abraham’s name appeared first because he was to become a main figure in
Israel’s history. (3) In addition, the narrative of Ge 11:28-29
suggests that Haran was the older son. He died first and he evidently had
children first because Nahor married Haran’s
daughter Milcah (Ge 11:29). Since Abraham and Nahor took wives after Haran had already had a family, it
appears that Abraham and Nahor were younger than
Haran. B. The Promise of Descendants, Land, and
Slavery (5-7) 1. Abraham’s Land and Descendants (5) a) [5] Stephen’s account is accurate and
interpretive in that God did not give the inheritance (land) directly to
Abraham, not even a lit. “step of a foot” (He 11:9
cf. De 2:5). The only land that Abraham possessed was a burial plot that he
purchased himself (Ge 23:17-18). b) But God promised to give the land as a
possession to Abraham’s offspring (Ge
12:7; 13:15; 15:18; 17:8 cf. Ge 48:4). The only
problem was that at that time, Abraham had “no children” through Sarah.
Stephen correctly emphasized the faith of Abraham in regard
to God’s promises (Ro 4:12, 16, 17-22; He 11:8-9). 2. Abraham’s Descendants’ Affliction (6-7) a) [6] Abraham also had to have faith in
God’s sovereign plan, which consisted of Abraham’s descendants (Israel)
living as foreigners who would be subjected to slavery for 400 years. There
is an apparent discrepancy concerning the number 400. According to Ex 12:40 cf. Ga 3:17 the actual time was 430 yrs.
However, rounding the 400 yrs. is an acceptable practice, for God Himself
rounded it to 400 yrs. (Ge 15:13). The extra 30 yrs. do not explain the
difference that Israel lived in Egypt as opposed to being in slavery. Israel
lived in Egypt for more than 71 yrs. before being enslaved
(cf. Ge 47:9; Ge 47:28; Ge 50:26; Ex 1:7-14). II. OBSERVATIONS AND APPLICATIONS A. The Apologetical Value of the Jewish
People 1. Israel is God’s
proof of revealing Himself to man. 2. The Jewish People received the greatest
amount of revelation (He 1:1-3). 3. Why does not God reveal Himself today?
Because God’s revelation to man was already recorded in the Scriptures. B. The Christian Basis from the Jewish People
1. Israel was brought
near to God through the choosing of Abraham. 2. Therefore, the Gentiles were without God
and far from Him (Ep 3:11-12). 3. God brought the Gentiles “near” by the
blood of Christ (Ep 2:11-17). 4. The Gentiles (and the world) were
included in the Abrahamic Covenant (Ge 12:3). C. The Christian Appeal To the Jewish People 1. The hearts of the Jewish people became
far from God. 2. This is a heart-breaking story to all
concerned (i.e. Paul - Ro 9:1-5). 3. Now, the Gentiles are being used to make
Israel jealous (Ro 11:11-14). |
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