Acts 7:17 - Printer Friendly

ESV: “But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt

NIV: As the time drew near for God to fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt had greatly increased.

NASB: But as the time of the promise which God had assured to Abraham was approaching, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt,

CSB: "As the time was approaching to fulfill the promise that God had made to Abraham, the people flourished and multiplied in Egypt

NLT: As the time drew near when God would fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt greatly increased.

KJV: But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt,

NKJV: “But when the time of the promise drew near which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt

Stephen has already covered "the promise" in his account about Abraham (Acts 7:7). God promised Abraham that his descendants would one day inherit the land of Canaan (Genesis 15:18–21). God specifically told Abraham that he would not inherit the land. And yet still Abraham worshiped God.

It is unclear why God chose Egypt as the incubator for the nation of Israel. For three generations, the Israelites lived as nomads in Canaan, owning very little land of their own. When the Israelites came to Egypt, Joseph, by permission of the pharaoh, set them up in a separated territory, Goshen. The Egyptians hated sheep, so at the beginning, the Israelites were left alone (Genesis 46:28–34). With twelve families finally settled in a single place with sufficient resources, the clan grew quickly. So quickly, the new Egyptian administration got worried.

Stephen is reminding his audience that one of the periods of God's greatest blessing came without the Law, the temple, or even the land He had promised. It came in exile. The practices of Judaism were still important to the Jewish Jesus-followers (Acts 3:1), but neither group—Jesus-follower or traditional Jew—must confuse the worship of God with the worship of His blessings.

Acts 7:17–22 continues Stephen's defense against charges that he speaks against Moses, the Mosaic law, and the temple (Acts 6:11–14). In this part, he subtly shows that God's work is not confined to a building, city, or even nation. God used a hostile foreign government to prepare the greatest prophet of the Old Testament and the bringer of the Law that made the Israelites a nation. Solomon admitted during the dedication of the temple that even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain God, much less a building made by human hands (2 Chronicles 6:18). The truth is, neither can a single nation, or even the world.

Stephen is a Greek-speaking Jewish Christian and one of the first deacons in the church in Jerusalem (Acts 6:1–7). He's also a skilled apologist and has been debating Jews from outside Judea about the proper place of the Mosaic law and the temple (Acts 6:8–15). His opponents cannot counter his arguments so they resort to lies. They tell the Sanhedrin that Stephen wants to destroy the temple and repeal the Mosaic law. Stephen counters that his accusers don't respect Moses or the Law, and the temple isn't necessary to worship God. This enrages the mob, and Stephen is stoned, becoming the first Christian martyr.

Chapter 7 is one of the pivot points of the book of Acts. Until recently, the early church has seen favor from the people and indifference from the Sanhedrin. Now, the Sanhedrin has beaten the apostles and ordered them not to preach about Jesus (Acts 5:40), and the people are starting to realize how different Christianity is. In Jerusalem, a Hellenist Jewish Jesus-follower named Stephen has been in a debate with other foreign Jews who finally accuse him of wishing to destroy the temple, like Jesus (Acts 6:8–15). This is Stephen's defense, which leads to his death and the introduction of Paul.

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.