Acts 7:7 - Printer Friendly

ESV: ‘But I will judge the nation that they serve,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come out and worship me in this place.’

NIV: But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,' God said, 'and afterward they will come out of that country and worship me in this place.'

NASB: ‘AND WHATEVER NATION TO WHICH THEY ARE ENSLAVED I MYSELF WILL JUDGE,’ said God, ‘AND AFTER THAT THEY WILL COME OUT AND SERVE ME IN THIS PLACE.’

CSB: I will judge the nation that they will serve as slaves, God said. After this, they will come out and worship me in this place.

NLT: ‘But I will punish the nation that enslaves them,’ God said, ‘and in the end they will come out and worship me here in this place.’

KJV: And the nation to whom they shall be in bondage will I judge, said God: and after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place.

NKJV: ‘And the nation to whom they will be in bondage I will judge,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come out and serve Me in this place.’

Jews from Libya, Egypt, and modern-day Asia Minor have charged Stephen with speaking against the temple and the Mosaic law (Acts 6:13). Here, he continues his defense, reminding them that for centuries the patriarchs of the Jewish people didn't have land, the Mosaic law, or the temple to worship in. In fact, the Egyptians enslaved them for four hundred years. If God still considered them chosen people, then it follows that as important as the Law and the temple are, they are not required to follow God.

Stephen is reciting God's promises to Abraham. God would give Abraham's descendants the land of Canaan but not until after his people had been enslaved for four hundred years (Genesis 15:13–14). At the end of that time, God would judge His people's enslavers (Exodus 7:14—12:32), the Egyptians, and Abraham's descendants would return to Canaan to worship Him.

God did, indeed, judge Egypt. When Pharaoh continually refused to let the Israelites go, God inflicted ten plagues on the Egyptians. Some think each plague specifically attacked the "power" of one or more Egyptian god. After the last affliction, the deaths of the first-borns, the Israelites escaped and eventually made it back to Canaan. There, Joshua led them in battle—they "inherited" the land because God fought for them; they didn't purchase it.

And the Israelites did worship God in "this place" of Canaan, but they did not initially worship God in Jerusalem. For many generations, the Israelites worshiped and sacrificed to God in Shiloh, north of Jerusalem (Joshua 18:1). The Israelites didn't make Jerusalem their capital until seven and a half years into David's reign (2 Samuel 5:5). And even when David built a tent for the ark of the covenant on the temple Mount (2 Samuel 6:17), the priestly sacrifices continued in Shiloh until Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem.

This is consistent with what Jesus explained to the Samaritan woman. She asked where she should worship God, in Jerusalem or on the mountain where Samaritans traditionally worshiped (John 4:20). Jesus responded, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father…God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:21, 24). Stephen is preparing the Jews for a radical departure from their manmade traditions, and it will not end well.

Acts 7:1–8 is the beginning of Stephen's defense before the Sanhedrin. Jews from outside Judea have accused Stephen, a follower of Jesus, of speaking against Moses, the Law, and the temple (Acts 6:8–15). Stephen uses the history of Israel to show how hypocritical the charges are. In Abraham's story, alone, Stephen shows how God is sovereign over His people outside Israel and outside the Mosaic law. God called Abraham hundreds of miles from Jerusalem in Mesopotamia and made a covenant with him hundreds of years before the Israelites received the Law. This story is told in full in Genesis 11:27—30:24.

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.