Acts 7:35-50 Lesson 233

Acts 7:35-50
Lesson 233

Read both the "King James Bible" and the "New Living Translation."

In this lesson:

The history lesson continues.
Stephen lectures the Sanhedrin on Israel's idolatry and shows the connection between Moses and Jesus.

The Adoration of the Golden Calf.
By French Baroque artist Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665).

Who were -

Moloch -
A pagan god, also called Molech (Leviticus 18:21), Milcom (1 Kings 11:5), or Malcham (Zephaniah 1:5). One of the more abhorrent pagan religions, the Ammonites, Edomites and Moabites, considered Moloch a father figure and sacrificed children to him by throwing them alive into a fire. Worshipping Moloch was forbidden by Hebrew law (Leviticus 18:21), and it so angered God that He promised to "put to death" anyone who sacrificed their children to Moloch (Leviticus 20:1-5).

Remphan -
An Egyptian star god that the Israelites worshipped after escaping slavery in Egypt.

Jesus-
He was usually called Joshua. Joshua was the son of Nun (Exodus 33:11; Numbers 14:6; 14:38; 27:18) from the tribe of Ephraim and sometimes called Oshea or Jehoshua (Numbers 13:16). Joshua was born a slave in Egypt but became a great Hebrew general (Exodus 17:9-16) and close adviser to Moses.  He had the honor of being the only person allowed to follow Moses partway up Mount Sinai as he went to receive the Mosaic Law (Ten Commandments) from God (Exodus 24:12-13). Moses sent Joshua to explore the Promised Land, and he returned with an encouraging report (Numbers 14:6-8). Later, God hand-picked him to succeed Moses as Israel's leader (Numbers 27:15-23; Deuteronomy 31:14).  After Moses passed away, Joshua led the Israelites into the promised land (Deuteronomy 1:38; 31:23) and governed Israel for twenty-five years.  He lived to be 110 and was buried in Timnath-serah in Ephraim. After Joshua died, Israel drifted away from God and began to follow the idolatry of their neighbors. You can find Joshua's story in "The Book Of Joshua."

Solomon -
The son of King David and Bath-Sheba (2 Samuel 12:24), and the third king of Israel. Famous for his great wisdom (1 Kings 3:12; 4:34; 5:7; 10:4-8), Solomon (meaning "peaceable") ruled Israel for forty years (I kings 11:42), from 965 to 925 BC. He was the most powerful and famous king of his day. His intellect was renowned. Scholars, kings, and queens traveled long distances to meet him (1 Kings 10:1-2).  He built the Temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 6:1; 9:1; 1 Chronicles 28:6), forged military and commercial pacts (1 Kings 5:12), wrote the Old Testament books of "Ecclesiastes," "Song of Solomon," most of Proverbs and part of Psalms. He penned 1,005 songs and was interested in everything from botany to science, politics, commerce, poetry, and animal husbandry (1 Kings 4:32-33).  However, he lost the loyalty of the Jewish people when he overtaxed them. He praised God (2 Chronicles 6:12-14) but eventually turned his back on Him (1 Kings 11:4-6; 11:9).  Solomon had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines (1 Kings 11:3). Some of these women were pagan idolaters. To satisfy them, Solomon built pagan altars and introduced heathenism into the Kingdom. Fortunately, Solomon eventually repented.  After Solomon died, his Kingdom was split in two. The northern half was called Israel, the southern half, Judah.  You can read more about Solomon in 2 Samuel 12:24-1 Kings 11:43 and 2 Chronicles 1:1-10:19.

Study Tip:

It takes the whole Bible to make a whole Christian, read the Old Testament, too.

The Acts of the Apostles

The King James Bible

Acts 7:35-50
From Egypt to Canaan

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.

36 He brought them out, after that he had shewed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years.

37 This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear.

38 This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:

39 To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt,

40 Saying unto Aaron, Make us gods to go before us: for as for this Moses, which brought us out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.

41 And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.

42 Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness?

43 Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon.

44 Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as he had appointed, speaking unto Moses, that he should make it according to the fashion that he had seen.

45 Which also our fathers that came after brought in with Jesus into the possession of the Gentiles, whom God drave out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David;

46 Who found favour before God, and desired to find a tabernacle for the God of Jacob.

47 But Solomon built him an house.

48 Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,

49 Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest?

50 Hath not my hand made all these things?

Margin notes:

"This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge?" (7:35) - Moses was rejected by the Israelites (Exodus 2:14).

"The same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel." (7:35) - Despite Moses being rejected by the Israelites, God sent him to rule and deliver them from Egyptian slavery (Numbers 20:16).

"He had shewed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt." (7:36) - Plagues were leveled against Egypt to secure the Israelites freedom.

"The Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years." (7:36) - This refers to the parting of the Red Sea (Exodus 14:1-31) and the many other miracles performed to save the Israelites as they wandered in the wilderness.

"A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear." (7:37) - Stephen is paraphrasing Deuteronomy 18:15. See Today's Question below.

"This is he." (7:38) - Jesus is the prophet, the Messiah that Moses spoke of.

"Received the lively oracles to give unto us." (7:38) - "Received the Ten Commandments (Mosaic Law) to give us."

"Our fathers would not obey." (7:39) - By disobeying, they broke the agreement (covenant) with God.

"In their hearts turned back again into Egypt." (7:39) - Israel rejected Moses, and although they did not return to slavery in Egypt, they thought about it (Numbers 14:3).

"Aaron, Make us gods to go before us." (7:40) - From Exodus 32:1-20.

"We wot not what is become of him." (7:40) - Means, "We don't know what became of him (Moses)." Moses left the camp to meet with God and didn't immediately return. See Exodus 32:1; 23.

"They made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol." (7:41) - Stephen is referring to Exodus 32:2-6.

"Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven." (7:42) - "Then God turned (from the Hebrews) and let them pagan worship the stars of heaven."

"It is written in the book of the prophets."(7:42) - It is written in Amos 5:25-27.

"I will carry you away beyond Babylon." (7:43) - Sure enough, after turning against God, many Israelites were carried into captivity to Babylon.

"Tabernacle." (7:44) - The Tabernacle was a sacred tent and sanctuary (Leviticus 12:4) (fifteen feet wide by forty-five feet long by fifteen feet high). It served as a place of worship and where the Jewish High Priest communed with God (Exodus 25:22). It was sometimes called "The House of the Lord" (Exodus 23:19; 34:26; Joshua 6:24); the "house of my God" (Joshua 9:23; Judges 18:31; 20:18), the "tabernacle of the congregation" (Exodus 29:42; 44; Numbers 17:4), the "tabernacle of testimony" (Exodus 38:21), "the Tabernacle of witness (Numbers 17:7; 18:2), or the "Tent of Meeting." After escaping from Egyptian bondage, the Israelites carried the Tabernacle with them as they wandered in the wilderness. The Tabernacle housed the Ark of the Covenant for four hundred years until King Solomon built the Temple in Jerusalem. The Tabernacle, the altar, utensils, and furnishings were built based on God's instructions in Exodus 25:1-31:18 and were a "shadow of heavenly things" (Hebrews 8:5; 9:11; 9:24). Inside, the tent (and later the Temple) was divided by a curtain into two rooms called "the holy place" and "the most holy place" where only the High Priest could enter. When Christ died on the cross, the curtain was torn in two (Matthew 27:50-51; Mark 15:37-38), symbolizing that the barrier between man and God had been removed. See Exodus chapters 25-28 for more information on the construction of the Tabernacle and its contents.

"Our fathers that came after." (7:45) - "The next generation."

"God drave out." (7:45) - "God drove out." With God's help and led by Joshua, the Israelites drove their stronger enemies out of the promised land (Joshua 18:1; 23:9).

"David." (7:45) - King David.

"Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands." (7:48) - This is a reference to 1 Kings 8:27 (see also Acts 7:48 and 17:24). The Most High (God) can't be contained within a temple; He lives in all who believe.

"Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool..." (7:49) - Stephen is quoting Isaiah 66:1-2.

New Living Translation

Acts 7:35-50

35 "So God sent back the same man his people had previously rejected when they demanded, 'Who made you a ruler and judge over us?' Through the angel who appeared to him in the burning bush, God sent Moses to be their ruler and savior.

36 And by means of many wonders and miraculous signs, he led them out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, and through the wilderness for forty years.

37 "Moses himself told the people of Israel, 'God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your own people.'

38 Moses was with our ancestors, the assembly of God's people in the wilderness, when the angel spoke to him at Mount Sinai. And there Moses received life-giving words to pass on to us.

39 "But our ancestors refused to listen to Moses. They rejected him and wanted to return to Egypt.

40 They told Aaron, 'Make us some gods who can lead us, for we don't know what has become of this Moses, who brought us out of Egypt.'

41 So they made an idol shaped like a calf, and they sacrificed to it and celebrated over this thing they had made.

42 Then God turned away from them and abandoned them to serve the stars of heaven as their gods! In the book of the prophets it is written,

  'Was it to me you were bringing sacrifices and offerings
      during those forty years in the wilderness, Israel?

43 No, you carried your pagan gods-
      the shrine of Molech,
      the star of your god Rephan,
      and the images you made to worship them.
   So I will send you into exile
      as far away as Babylon.'

44 "Our ancestors carried the Tabernacle with them through the wilderness. It was constructed according to the plan God had shown to Moses.

45 Years later, when Joshua led our ancestors in battle against the nations that God drove out of this land, the Tabernacle was taken with them into their new territory. And it stayed there until the time of King David.

46 "David found favor with God and asked for the privilege of building a permanent Temple for the God of Jacob.

47 But it was Solomon who actually built it.

48 However, the Most High doesn't live in temples made by human hands. As the prophet says,

49 'Heaven is my throne,
      and the earth is my footstool.
   Could you build me a temple as good as that?'
      asks the Lord.
   'Could you build me such a resting place?

50 Didn't my hands make both heaven and earth?'

This second Bible text from the "New Living Translation" (Tyndale House, Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois) is a paraphrase and not an accurate word for word translation of the Bible. However, it is a helpful tool when read with the "King James Version."

Today's Question:

1. What prophet was Moses referring to? (7:37)

God's grace is love given to undeserving sinners.

Answer: (Do you agree?)

1. Although the Sanhedrin thought Moses was referring to the prophet Joshua, he was actually prophesying the coming of Jesus Christ (Deuteronomy 18:15).  Peter also used this Deuteronomy verse when he was teaching in the Temple (Acts 3:22).

Application thought for the day:

God freed the Hebrews from Egyptian slavery, yet they rejected Him to worship pagan idols.
Centuries later, they rejected Jesus, who came to free them from spiritual slavery.
Despite this rejection, the Messiah gave mankind the gift of salvation.

Thanks to the writings and commentary of John Wesley and Adam Clarke. Also, "The Layman's Bible Study Notebook" by Irving Jensen published by Harvest House Publishing, Irvine, California; the "Life Change Series" published by NavPress Books, Colorado Springs, Colorado; the "Life Application Study Bible" published by Tyndale House Publishing, Carol Stream, Illinois; the "Quest Study Bible" published by The Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "Robertson's New Testament Word Studies;" "The MacArthur Bible Commentary" by John MacArthur published by Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee; "Wisdom of the Bible" CD by Topics Entertainment, Inc., Renton, Washington for their inspiring pictures; "My utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers published by Barbour Publishing, Inc., Uhrichsville, Ohio; The "Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge" by Reuben Archer Torrey; "Hope For Each Day" by Billy Graham published by J. Countryman, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee; "Easton's Bible Dictionary" by Matthew George Easton; "Unger's Bible Dictionary" by Merrill F. Unger, published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois; "Halley's Bible Handbook" by Henry H. Halley, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "The Everyday Bible" published by World Wide Publications, Minneapolis, Minnesota; "The Living New Testament" published by Tyndale house; "The New Living Translation" published by Tyndale House; "The New Testament" translated from the Latin Vulgate, published by Guild Press, New York, New York; BibleGateway.com for all their wonderful links; and of course the "King James Bible." All were critical in putting these lessons together.
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