Acts 7:44-53
Acts 7:44-53
July 26, 2020
Acts 7:35-53
35 “This Moses, whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler
and a judge?’—this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years. 37 This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.’ 38 This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. He received living oracles to give to us. 39 Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt, 40 saying to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 41 And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and were rejoicing in the works of their hands. 42 But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets:
43
“ ‘Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices,
during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
You took up the tent of Moloch
and the star of your god Rephan,
the images that you made to worship;
and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.’ 1
44 “Our fathers had the tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses directed him to make it, according to the pattern that he had seen. 45 Our fathers in turn brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our fathers.
1 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Ac 7:35–43). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles. 1
So it was until the days of David, 46 who found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. 47 But it was Solomon who built a house for him. 48 Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says,
49
50
“ ‘Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest?
Did not my hand make all these things?’
51 “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. 52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, 53 you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.” 2
“As your fathers did, so do you” – a poignant statement by Stephen to the Sandhedrin court accusing him of breaking the law of Moses and the Temple.
Family trees and genealogy searches have long been of interest for people. In America, the tracing back to the Mayflower or perhaps the name of a famous explorer, person of influence, Native American, or even a slave can result in some wonderful and interesting stories.
More recently, with the growth of internet searches, sites like ancestry.com and DNA testing from “23 and Me” people are discovering things about their past, their ancestors, their cultural heritage, and more.
But...not every reveal becomes a fairy tale ending where families are reunited and good answers are discovered.
2 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Ac 7:44–53). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles. 2
When you begin digging into the past, there are times when stories are revealed that are less glamorous than desired.
In this account from the book of Acts, God uses Stephen to address some historic and generational sins among his people that were being replicated in the day, and sadly remain for many today.
With this account, Stephen unveils the sins of his ancestors and the group in the room putting him on trial. It’s an exposé of what they know, but would not like to address. Not so much because it reveals that their great-great-great-great-grandparents really blew it, but the realization that what was done years ago...is still being done today.
Stephen uncovers the truth that their ancestors, the former slaves in the Egypt who were crying out to God for help, after their rescue...
1. REJECTED THE REDEEMER
35 “This Moses, whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’—this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush.
This Moses – the one called by God through the event in Midian at the burning bush was sent back into Egypt to face the enemy head- on, standing before the Pharaoh, calling for the release of his people, only to be rejected by the Egyptians was initially and eventually rejected by the Israelites as well.
The one who came with full intention to help, was rejected. The redeemer was not welcomed. He (Moses) was twice rejected – at the age of 40 when he escaped Egypt and once again here.
2. THEY REFUSED THE RESCUER
39 Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt,
3
“They turned to Egypt” – this is one of the most troubling and yet, repeated realities in humanity. The redeemed, rescued, and now former slaves say... “We’d rather be slaves.”
We’d rather go back to Egypt – where taskmasters beat our men, where our women are abused, where our rights are void, where our God is ignored, and where our value as human beings is belittled.
“We’d rather have the consistency of known enslavement than risk a step into the unknown by faith, trusting the God we say we have worshiped our entire lives.”
So, here Stephen reminds the room that their beloved ancestors looked to the one who had rescued them and refused to move forward with him. They’re desire was to go back to the home they had known - the familiar.
The enemy’s lie was loudly stated, and they listened and believed it. They apparently forgot their decades of crying out to God. They refused to see the rescue they were experiencing because they believed more in their self-sufficiency than in the God who was not only in the process of rescuing them but was literally answering their prayers before them.
3. THEY REVERED THE UNRIGHTEOUS
40 saying to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 41 And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and were rejoicing in the works of their hands.
The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob provided the very rescue and redemption required. The sovereign God, Lord of lords, King of kings, Ruler of all rulers, made a way.
4
Yet, when the people’s rescuer, Moses moved from their presence to go up the mountain to meet with God, the people rebelled. They rebelled and gathered the gold from the people, melted it down, and formed a calf. They began to worship the image of the calf, thanking this god for their rescue and redemption.
The created created a creation and worshiped it as their creator. They did what they had seen the Egyptians doing.
They justified their worship of an idol by stating, “As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”
Stephen unpacks this bit of history, reminding the Sanhedrin and the ruling council who have put him on trial that their common ancestors were face-to-face with the great Moses, the one God used to rescue his people, and they rebelled, rejected, refused, and provided a model of sin for generations to come that would continue to their present day.
Years later they would have the resources given by God to remind them of his grace and love – the tent of meeting, as directed to Moses, then with Joshua, the Promised Land given to them. The days of David, the king after God’s own heart – their protector and sovereign earthly king. His son Solomon who was given to privilege to construct the temple.
All good...for God’s glory...but stories full of ancestors who failed to get the point. Prophets persecuted by their ancestors, now revered. Leaders ignored, now honored. The Righteous One – Christ himself, now arrived, fulfilling the law, God in the flesh, in their presence – Immanuel himself. Rejected by these men and many others.
51 “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.
5
Not unlike our shared ancestors, God has offered redemption and rescue. He has provided a way. He has spoken truth. He has gifted us with life.
Stephen is revealing that human nature remains as it has been since Eden. The lies of the enemy continue.
“Did God really say?”
“Surely, God is holding out on you.” “There’s a better way.”
While the great Moses was a redeemer, a rescuer, even a ruler as stated, he was an imperfect man, sent by God to God’s people as a very real and immediate answer to prayer, but also as a prophetic reminder that another would come.
37 This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.’
God has done so. God has raised up another – a prophet, a priest, a king. This Jesus whom threatened the status quo of the day has come into this world on an incredible rescue mission.
Redemption and salvation is through Jesus Christ alone.
But...at some point, if Christ is little more than a religious good luck charm, a tool for cultural achievement, a morality badge, a logo used by those running for office, or even worse, simply a teacher, a historic figure, or just someone we talk about and say we believe, but there is no evidence of such, God will turn away and leave us to our own desires.
It is a warning. It is tragic.
6
It is clear.
Galatians 6:7
7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.3
The invitation must be offered. The opportunity must be understood. The Christ we worship is not simply a good guy who did good things and just wants us to love each other. He is all that, but so much more. He is the Son of God, God the Son, the Redeemer and Rescuer of former sinners, now saints, he is the hope of all humanity. He is the sacrifice paid – the Lamb of God. He will not be mocked, and we must not treat him as anything less than he is.
He is to be worshiped. He is to be honored. He is to be revered. He is to be the one whom we seek and share. He is the only way, truth, and life.
And if we leave our gathering this morning with anything less than a life that is totally surrendered to Christ as Lord, we are no better than the Israelites in Moses’s day who made a golden calf and sought to live as they chose, or perhaps the Sanhedrin and religious leaders of Stephen’s day who seen by those in the community as the righteous ones, only to be so far into their own self-worship that they not only rejected Christ, but saw to and celebrated his crucifixion and then worked to eradicate his church and erase all who would claim him as Lord.
To claim Christ as Lord, but to live as though he isn’t is to mock him. To claim Jesus as Savior, but to choose your own way, is to mock him.
To wear the name Christian, but to look, live, and react as others who do not know him, is to mock him.
3 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Ga 6:7). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles. 7
To say you love Jesus, but to have allegiances that take your time, money, and talents while the mission of His church, for which he died, is optional and unimportant, is to mock him.
To be baptized publicly, enter into a covenant relationship with other believers as a member of a gospel-centric church, but to have more in common with unregenerate, is to mock him.
The great commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength AND to love your neighbor as self. But, as a child of God, a true Christian, a redeemed saint, loving one’s neighbor will never be full and true apart from loving God first will all that you have.
For some today, repentance is the required response. What is your response?
Footnotes
