Stephen - one of the holiest men that ever lives seems to give a very strange 'history lesson' to the Jews that accuse him falsely...
Actually he is giving them an incredible view of Jesus throughout the OT..
I can't quite see all of it since I'm not particularly full of the Holy Spirit,
but here's a go:
Acts 7:2-53 2 And Stephen said: "Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, 3 and said to him, 'Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.' 4 Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran.
- Christ being sent from glory into the world
And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living. 5 Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot's length, but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, though he had no child.
- The Father’s promise to Christ that He would receive His inheritance
6 And God spoke to this effect- that his offspring would be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them four hundred years.
- The promise of the people of God after a time of trial in the world under the oppression of cruel slave-drivers
7 'But I will judge the nation that they serve,' said God, 'and after that they shall come out and worship me in this place.' 8 And he gave him the covenant of circumcision.
- This promise comes from the cutting off of the Seed
And so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.
- It is the day of new creation – the new Sabbath
- The establishment of the church
9 "And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt;
- The incarnation of Christ
- Already the rejection of the Seed being plotted
but God was with him 10 and rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household.
- Jesus grew in favour with God & with men – who established Him as the Messiah – “This is my Son, with whom I am well pleased – listen to Him”
11 Now there came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food.
- The famine instituted in the world such that all men will come to Christ – the incarnate bread of life from heaven
12 But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit.
- The famine causes the church to come to Christ
13 And on the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph's family became known to Pharaoh.
- The revealing of the Messiah only at His 2nd coming – he will be unknown at His first
14 And Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, seventy-five persons in all.
- The goal of His ministry is to bring the entire people of God to be with their Father
15 And Jacob went down into Egypt, and he died, he and our fathers, 16 and they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.
- The purchase the promised land where the Father will dwell with people – bought by the ransom price of His Son
17 "But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt 18 until there arose over Egypt another king who did not know Joseph.
- The time of this age is when the devil rules, and owns this creation
19 He dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, so that they would not be kept alive.
- The attempted destruction of the incarnate Seed by the ruler of this age
20 At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God's sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father's house, 21 and when he was exposed, Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son.
- The raising of the Messiah in the world in Satan’s territory
22 And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds.
- Well established in understanding the world – Jesus in the temple at 12, and knowing the hearts of men
23 "When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel.
- After the time of testing He comes to redeem His people
24 And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. 25 He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand. 26 And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, 'Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?' 27 But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, 'Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? 28 Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?'
- His people do not recognise Him at all, instead they reject Him – accused as a criminal rather than a Saviour
29 At this retort Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons. 30 "Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord: 32 'I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.' And Moses trembled and did not dare to look. 33 Then the Lord said to him, 'Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34 I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.' 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.
- His sending is by His Father – He is given the authority because He is willing to lay down His life (seen in the story of Joseph)
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.'
- The real Ruler of Egypt now made Redeemer - the miracles and finally the cross
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: "' Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices, during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? 43 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.'
- The Rejection of the Messiah to worship the created angels
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.
- The establishment of the church, from Presence in the wilderness – to entering Canaan (Christ conquering all power and authorities in the cross)
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.
- The time of rest – after king David defeats all His enemies
47 But it was Solomon who built a house for him.
- The ascension – permanent dwelling place of the church – the culmination of the promises from the beginning
48 Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says, 49 "'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? 50 Did not my hand make all these things?'
- The filling of all things
- Hardness of heart of the Jews!
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 not your fathers 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."
- No kidding!
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