Today's Word Radio

Brett Meador: We can think we're right, but we're just so wrong. We see that here with these Jews; they were convinced that they were right, but Stephen's going to point out how horribly wrong they really were.

Guest (Male): Pastor Brett Meador and the consequences of God's truth rejected.

Brett Meador: So God turned and gave them up. Does that language ring a bell? God gave them up. Where God will give people up to their own sinful desires. Stephen is jumping on that by telling them the narrative of the Old Testament of them rejecting the Law and the prophets.

Guest (Male): By tracing Israel's history from Joseph to Moses, Stephen revealed a pattern of resisting God's messengers. Yet, in light of God's continued grace, Pastor Brett Meador discovers how Stephen's powerful sermon of Acts 7 exposes the danger of hardened hearts, ultimately rejecting Jesus' Lordship. From today's word, a call to humbly receive and faithfully follow God's truth.

Brett Meador: Well, Stephen's sermon. We pick it up in verse nine. Now again, technically Stephen's making a case, not a defense as much as a case against these religious guys. And now Stephen's going to turn up the heat by mentioning Joseph. This is something that you and I as Gentile people might miss if we're not careful, but Joseph is one of the most incredible pictures or types of Jesus in the Old Testament. There's a lot of those, but Joseph just might be one of the most amazing if you ask me. If you read the whole story of Joseph, which we don't have time to do, but I'm hoping that some of you at least know the story to a degree.

What did God the Father do when he sent his son? He sent his son. Jesus said, "I have come to seek and save the lost." Just like Joseph started out sent by the Father, favored of the Father. Joseph was Jacob's favorite. When Jesus came, how many times did God say, "This is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased"? Jesus was highly favored, just like Joseph. His brothers despised him and rejected him. I'm using that language on purpose. Just like Jesus' brothers, the Jews, despised him and rejected him. Joseph in the story was thrown into a pit. Jesus was thrown into a grave, a tomb.

But Joseph emerged out of the tomb and went to prison. Just like Jesus came out of the grave and went to the prison of the earth, if you would, and preached to the demons, if you remember Ephesians 4:9. And then Jesus emerged from the prison, just like Joseph emerged. And guess what? Joseph was the second most powerful guy in the world. Because of his power, he was able to save his brothers. So the Jews put Jesus in the tomb. He came out, and his power was that which would save the very same Jews that would crucify him. Now it's possible for them to be saved because Jesus died on the cross for their sins.

There are hundreds of things about Joseph and Jesus that are an amazing picture. So all that to say, you've got this amazing thing here that Stephen brings up in Acts chapter seven, verse ten. That he delivered him out of all their afflictions, gave him favor with Pharaoh. Then verse eleven, "Now there came a dearth over all the land of Egypt and Canaan and great affliction and our fathers found no sustenance." But when Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. At the second time, Joseph was made known to his brethren and Joseph's kindred was made known to Pharaoh.

This is another example. When will the Jews understand that Jesus really is the Messiah? His second coming. Kind of interesting. The first time, what did the Jews think of Jesus when he came? They thought he was a bad-acting Jew, or they even called him a Gentile because he would break their dumb traditions. Remember he picked corn on the Sabbath? To those religious guys, Jesus sort of looked like a Gentile to them. He was not doing all their Jewish things that they wanted him to do.

Just like when the first time Joseph's brothers saw Joseph. He shaved his head, the Bible says. He was bald, he spoke the Egyptian language, and he stood before his brothers and his brothers didn't recognize him. That's what happened to the Jews. They say, "This guy's like a Gentile," and they rejected Jesus because of it. But it'll be in the second coming when Jesus will be revealed. That's what we're seeing here. Now you say, "Brett, why are you going into all this?" I think this is all part of Stephen's indictment against these guys. All of this, if you think about how this story shakes out, all of this marks against these guys that are speaking against Stephen.

So Joseph was made known to his brothers, verse 14. "Then sent Joseph and called his father Jacob to him and all his kindred, three score and fifteen souls." So that three score and fifteen is the King James way of saying seventy-five. Well, verse 15, "So Jacob went down to Egypt and died, and he and our fathers and were carried over into Sychem," another name. That's the Greek word for the word Shechem if you're familiar with the Old Testament. "And laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor, the father of Sychem."

So Abraham purchased land while in Sychem, possibly where the twelve brothers are buried, by the way. You might say, "Brett, what about the cave Machpelah?" I've been to these places. I've been to the place where they believe Isaac and Rachel were buried. They're in the West Bank, so you need an armored vehicle if you go to these places today. But some scholars believe there's actually two places where Abraham bought property, and they think that this idea of Shechem is one and Machpelah is another. Others say it's the same place. You can do your own homework on that.

But Abraham never really possessed all the land of promise. He only bought maximum two properties, and it would be for his seed that would actually inherit that land of promise. Well, verse 17 it says, "But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham," that's the Abrahamic covenant, "the people grew and multiplied in Egypt till another king arose which knew not Joseph."

It's an interesting word Stephen uses in verse 18 when he says, "Till another king arose which knew not Joseph." There's something we miss with this English word, another king. The Greek word you'll recognize, Heteros. Heteros, which means different. But not just a new person or a different person, but one of not the same nature as the previous ones is the idea there. Heteros. One of not the same nature, form, class, or kind. So this Pharaoh was a different kind of person than the other Pharaohs. It's not that he just didn't know Joseph. "Oh, who's this guy?" He's just a different dude who has a different worldview is the idea.

And I believe it's possible that this newest Pharaoh—and this is true of some of the Pharaohs—they were not all Egyptian. Some people came down and they were Pharaohs for the Egyptians, but they weren't Egyptians themselves. One such case is the one that probably turned on Moses and the Jews. Who was that? Well, it's Isaiah chapter 52, verse four. It says, "For thus saith the Lord God, my people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there, and the Assyrian oppressed them without a cause." Some argue because of this that this was one of the Pharaohs that came from Assyria, took over that region.

If you remember the Tolmies and the Seleucid wars and stuff like that, there's people from the Assyrian and down in the Tolmies, the Egyptians, for centuries, even before Antiochus in 170 B.C. There were groups going down for thousands of years in that part of the world. Mesopotamian kings fighting Egyptian kings and what have you. That happened for a long time. So it's possible an Assyrian guy. He's called the Assyrian. And by the way, this is just for you end times Bible prophecy buffs, the Assyrian happens to be one of the names that the Antichrist is given. One of the many names in prophetic things about the Antichrist. He's called the Assyrian.

But I'm getting off course there. So this is kind of an interesting freebie for us. Stephen's giving you something we don't really know from the Old Testament account, and that is there was a new kind of Pharaoh that came in at that time, and he was called the Assyrian. And he turns on the Jews. And what happened? Well, verse 19, it says, "And the same dealt subtly with our kindred and evil entreated our fathers, so that they cast out their young children to the end that they might not live." Remember the demand to kill all the babies in Egypt of the Jews?

Verse 20, "In which time Moses was born and was exceeding fair and nourished up in his father's house three months." And when he was cast out, Pharaoh's daughter took him up and nourished him for her own son. And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was mighty in words and in deeds. And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel. And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him and avenged him that was oppressed and smote the Egyptian.

For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them, but they understood not. And the next day, he showed himself unto them as they strove and would have set them at one again, saying, "Sirs, you are brethren. Why do you wrong one another?" But he that did his neighbor wrong thrust him away saying, "Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us? Wilt thou kill me as thou didst the Egyptian yesterday?" Then fled Moses at this saying and was a stranger in the land of Midian where he begat two sons.

Okay, so this is Stephen giving the account of the story. Moses thought he was ready to lead when he was forty, but the Lord's got another plan for him. So he sees an Egyptian beating a Hebrew and kills him. Bible says he looks this way and he looked that way. If you're doing that, you should probably not do what you're about to do. Moses looks this way and looks that way and he buries the Egyptian. But you know the sand, that's a problem in Egypt. Burying someone in the sand, a little hand pops up and then you're in trouble. Everybody knows. Hard to be sure of this; your sin will find you out. Moses wrote that, actually.

But what did the Jewish people, the Hebrews, say? Verse 27, "Who made you a ruler and a judge over us?" By the way, I think this is where Stephen's going with all this. Remember we're talking about why is Stephen saying all this? This is the same thing that they would say to Jesus. In the parable of the pounds in Luke 19:14, you can jot that down in your notes. It says, "But his citizens hated him and sent a message after him saying, 'We will not have this man to reign over us.'" That ring a bell? The same thing they said to Moses is the same thing they would say to Jesus.

Now, this is one of Stephen's things. He's going to point out, "You guys rejected the prophets, including your man Moses." Now remember, they were saying, "Stephen's speaking against Moses." But Stephen's saying, "No, you guys reject Moses. You guys are the ones rejecting Moses." And Stephen's painting a picture for the Jews here that are listening. When God set up someone to lead, Israel would rebel against them, whether you're talking about Joseph and his brothers despising and rejecting him, or Moses who was ready to lead and the children of Israel said, "Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us?"

This is the indictment that Stephen's starting to sharpen as he's talking to these guys. So they'd be forty more years in bondage while Moses was on the back side of the desert in Midian. That's what we're reading here. Well, verse 30, it says, "And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush." And it says, "When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight, and as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the Lord came unto him saying, 'I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'"

Then Moses trembled and durst not behold. Then said the Lord unto him, "Put off thy shoes from thy feet, for the place where thou standest is holy ground. I have seen, I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and am come down to deliver them. And now I will send thee to Egypt." This is a powerful sermon you can make out of this. The "I haves" that the Lord says. "I have seen your trouble. I have heard your problems. I will come and deliver you. And I will send my servant Moses to deliver you." Like this is all the Lord. It's right there. I love this way Stephen puts this.

Well, verse 35, "This Moses whom they refused saying, 'Who made thee a ruler and a judge?' The same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel which appeared to him in the bush." Again, Stephen's sharpening up his indictment against these guys. They rejected Moses as their leader. Now, question, do you think these guys knew the story of Moses? I wonder if they're like, "Not the story of Moses. We're Sanhedrin. We're accusing you of speaking against Moses. We know Moses better than you do," they might have thought.

But Stephen's pointing out things that they maybe never thought about. Because they weren't talking about how Israel refused Moses as their leader. Have you ever noticed how we like to conveniently forget things in our history that weren't really good for us? Now, I think we've gone the other way and we're canceling people from history because they did bad things. I don't think we should do that either, erasing them from history. But I think we can be honest that there's some good and there's some bad and there's some ugly in our history.

And that's what Stephen's doing. He's probably bringing up stuff that these guys had never thought about. Oh yeah, we did kind of reject Moses, our main man. And we did as the patriarchs reject Joseph, the faithful son of the Father. It says there in verse 35, "Moses whom they refused saying, 'Who made thee ruler and judge over us?'" Yeah, verse 36, "He brought them out after that he had showed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt and in the Red Sea and in the wilderness forty years. This is that Moses which said to the children of Israel, 'A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren like unto me, him shall you hear.'"

Now this is where Stephen's way past these guys. Moses did talk about a prophet who would come. Moses makes a prophetic statement: "A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up of you brethren like unto me." How is Jesus like unto Moses? Moses was ready to lead, but the people wouldn't have it. That's the same thing. The Jews are still in that season of oppression and rejecting Jesus even to this day. If you go to Israel, they don't want to talk about Jesus right now because they reject Jesus. When will the Jews finally see Jesus is the Messiah? When the fullness of the Gentiles come in, Romans 11:25 and 26.

Well, verse 38, "This is he that was in the church"—don't be stumbled by that word church because we're telling an Old Testament story. The word there is Ecclesia, but it can just mean an assembly of people. That's the idea here in this context. Not the church, capital C, but assembly of people. "This is he that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the Mount Sinai and with our fathers who received the lively oracles to give us," the living Law is what he's saying there. "To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them and in their hearts turned back again to Egypt."

Saying unto Aaron, "Make us gods to go before us, for as this Moses which brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him." So they made a calf in those days and offered sacrifice unto the idol and rejoiced in the work of their own hands. Now remember when Moses goes up on the Mount Sinai, he's there for forty days and the Jews are like, "We think he's dead." So they get the second in command, got Aaron, who was Moses' older brother. And said, "Aaron, Moses is dead. You lead us and make for us the gods that brought us up out of the land of Egypt."

And they just were borrowing ideas from Egypt, the golden calf idea. And so they make Aaron do this. And Aaron reluctantly, it seems if you read the Old Testament narrative, he collects all the gold from the people of Israel and he forms it. The gold from fire, melts down the gold and shapes it into this golden calf. It's kind of funny if you read the account. Moses comes down and he sees. The Lord first tells Moses on the mount, "The people are partying down. They're worshipping other gods. You've got to get off the mount."

So Moses comes down with his Ten Commandments and there they are. They're all dancing nakedly around the golden calf. And Moses is like, "Where'd this calf come from, Aaron?" And you remember Aaron's reply? It's like very sheepish. He says, "Well, the people made me do it and I threw the gold in the fire and like poof, out came this calf." I added the word poof. But it's like, "I threw the gold in the fire and out came this calf." That's what he said. And that's where the term—don't have a calf. No, I'm just kidding. Sorry.

But Aaron was making excuses. But what a horrifying sin of the people. God delivered them from Egypt, but they rejected God there of Mount Sinai and they rejected his Law. This is part of Stephen's building the case. And he's basically saying because of their idol worship and their rebellion, what happened? Well, check it out, verse 42. "Then God turned and gave them up to worship the host of heaven." That's astrology. "As it is written in the book of the prophets, 'O ye house of Israel, you have offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness? Yea, he took up the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of your god Remphan, figures which you made to worship them. I will carry you away beyond Babylon.'"

Okay, the Babylon there's interesting because Stephen sort of changes a few things in this. One of the things, he uses the Hebrew word Chiun from Amos, the prophet Amos. He's actually quoting from Amos 7:43. But he's basically saying, "The Jews, you guys were given the Law, Moses gave you what you needed, but you ended up worshipping Moloch and even this god Chiun," which we don't know much about, but it's the same word as Remphan, figures which you made to worship them, idols. "And because of that, I will carry you away beyond Babylon."

So what's going on here? Because of their idol worship, they got carried away. Remember the diaspora that I talked about from the Babylonian version? Stephen is saying this passage from Amos and now he's kind of putting it on them. And remember, the Jews that Stephen's talking to right now, they're about to be diaspora-ed again. Just like the ones back in those days, because A.D. 70 where the Jews will be scattered all over the world. Stephen's sort of bringing this to their attention. Amos 5:27 says "beyond Damascus." But Stephen changes it "beyond Babylon."

Boyce, his commentary explains Stephen who quotes the text alters it because he's not talking to the people of the northern kingdom, but to the leaders of Israel in the south. It is their history that he has in mind. He's talking to them because they're the ones who were taken to Babylon, which is kind of interesting. So God turned and gave them up. Does that language ring a bell? God gave them up. Romans chapter one, verses 24 through 32, where God will give people up to their own sinful desires. And that's what he did with the Jews. He gave them over. Paul would build on that thought that Stephen's talking about.

So by the way, if you reject Jesus, Stephen makes you kind of think, well, what will God give you up over to? If you reject Christ as your Savior, as these guys did, Stephen's going to make the case, "You guys are just like your fathers who rejected Moses, you rejected Joseph, and you rejected all the prophets, and you rejected Jesus." Jesus would make that point. Remember his parables that Jesus would tell about? He'd say, a landowner went and far distance and gave the people chance to tend the farm and they'd be paid for it.

But then he sent his messengers, and the messengers came and said the owner's coming, and they killed the messengers. Remember these kind of parables? Jesus said several of these. And then he sent his son, Jesus said, the owner's son, and they despised him and rejected him and killed him too. Jesus was the one who first brought this up. Stephen is sort of jumping on that by telling them the narrative of the Old Testament of them rejecting the Law and the prophets.

So we're kind of leaving hanging right here because Stephen's perfectly set it up. He said, "Okay, you say I'm breaking the Law and dissing Moses and speaking against Moses. You're the ones who have despised his Law. You're the ones who rejected the prophets just like Jesus taught." And then he's going to bring it home, and I'll leave it right there. He's going to bring it home when we get to that.

Guest (Male): Pastor Brett Meador, in our verse-by-verse look at the sermon of Stephen, a good reminder of the faithfulness of God even when his truth is rejected. And you're listening to Today's Word. Before we go, Pastor Brett will be back to lead us in a closing prayer, so I hope you'll stick around for that.

But first, let me tell you a little bit more about Brett Meador. He's the senior pastor of Athey Creek Church just outside of Portland, Oregon. Brett's been the pastor of Athey Creek for 30 years. We invite you to listen each day for more. If you've missed any portion of this study, you'll find all of Pastor Brett's messages online at todayswordradio.com. You can also watch full video messages by him by going to todayswordradio.com.

I also want to mention that in addition to the main Athey Creek campus in West Linn, we also have several locations in the Portland, Oregon area. For more information, go to todayswordradio.com and click on the link "Locations." Again, todayswordradio.com and click the link "Locations." Well, now Pastor Brett Meador is back to conclude our time together with a word of prayer.

Brett Meador: Lord, we pray that you'd help us to just take in these words. We think of the stubbornness of human nature and how Stephen is right here before these hardened, stiff-necked people. And Lord, how you predicted this would happen. I pray that you'd keep us from that behavior where we go against your word and against your ways and push our own agenda. And we can think we're right, but we're just so wrong. We see that, Lord, here where these Jews, they were convinced that they were right, but Stephen's going to point out how horribly wrong they really were.

But it's amazing, Lord, you still have a plan and a purpose, and one day you'll open the eyes of Jews who will see that Jesus really was the Messiah. Your longsuffering, Lord, is amazing. Your patience with humanity is incredible, and how thankful we are that your mercies endure forever. But Lord, I pray that we wouldn't harden our hearts. I pray that we wouldn't be stubborn, even as Abraham was stubborn and stayed near the land and didn't leave his kindred and family, and it just set him back 25 years. I pray that we wouldn't do that.

Help us to be faithful to do what your word tells us to do, to be faithful in sharing the Good News and the Gospel. I pray that we'd be able to let our light so shine before all men. Help us to glow, Lord, like Stephen shined in this story. I thank you for this chance to get into your word. May it bring forth good fruit in our lives, we pray. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Guest (Male): Amen. Pastor Brett Meador closing our time together here on Today's Word. And that's all the time we have. Next time, Pastor Brett will share the truly remarkable last words of the disciple Stephen. Today's Word with Pastor Brett Meador is an outreach of Athey Creek Church in West Linn, Oregon.