7 Now the high priest said, “Are these things so?”

2 And [a]Stephen said, “Listen to me, [b]brothers and fathers! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in [c]Haran, 3 and He said to him, ‘Go from your country and your relatives, and come to the land which I will show you.’ 4 Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in [d]Haran. And from there, after his father died, God had him move to this country in which you are now living. 

5 But He gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot of ground, and yet, He promised that He would give it to him as a possession, and to his descendants after him, even though he had no child. 6 But God spoke to this effect, that his descendants would be strangers in a land that was not theirs, and [e]they would enslave and mistreat them for four hundred years. 7 ‘And whatever nation to which they are enslaved I Myself will judge,’ said God, ‘and after that they will come out and [f]serve Me in this place.’ 

8 And He gave him [g]the covenant of circumcision; and so Abraham fathered Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac fathered Jacob, and Jacob, the twelve patriarchs.

Acts 7:1-8 (NASB) 中文

Stephen arrested

The new church is growing and impacting Jewish society. They have set up decons and Stephen is one of them. He’s been performing great wonders and signs along with his church responsibilities. That gets him arrested on false charges. Now he’s on trial.

Stephen’s Spirit-empowered defense

Stephen begins his defense. It’s a wonderful abbreviated history of the nation of Israel from Abraham to the present. Remember from the last passage that his opponents, “were unable to cope with the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen was speaking”. (Acts 6:10) This same Spirit is working in him in this speech.

Abraham’s call

Genesis 11:27-32 gives us the original account of Abraham and his family leaving their homeland of Ur and heading toward Cannan. Chapter 12 continues the account and includes God’s call to Abraham to “Go from your country”, to which Abraham, in faith, obeys. Stephen clarifies the timing of God’s initial call: it was while they were in Ur (Mesopotamia), before going to Haran, before his father died.

God’s promise / Abraham’s faith

Along with the call, God promised to give Abraham and his descendants an inheritance. Abraham, though childless at the time, believed God. “In Genesis 15:6 we are told that Abraham ‘believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.’ The apostle James cites this verse and claims that because of his faith Abraham became the ‘friend of God’ (James 2:23).” (legionier.org)

RЯeflection

• Stephen doesn’t know it but his time on earth is short at this point. How would you respond if you were arrested for being a follower of Jesus and brought to trial. Would there be enough evidence to convict you? Would you fear? Jesus told His disciples this would happen and that they would be given words to speak (Matthew 10:18). Here we see it fulfilled.
• Do we have the faith of Abraham? Do we desire it? It’s great to ask for that. You will know you have it by testing (1 Peter 1:6-9). “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for the one who comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He proves to be One who rewards those who seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)