7Then the Chief Priest said, "What do you have to say for yourself?"G1161G2036G749G1487G686G2192G5023G3779 2Stephen replied, "Friends, fathers, and brothers, the God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was still in Mesopotamia, before the move to Haran,G1161G5346G435G80G2532G3962G191G2316G1391G3700G2257G3962G11G5607G1722G3318G4250G2228G846G2730G1722G5488 3and told him, 'Leave your country and family and go to the land I'll show you.'G2532G2036G4314G846G1831G1537G4675G1093G2532G1537G4675G4772G2532G1204G1519G1093G3739G302G1166G4671 4"So he left the country of the Chaldees and moved to Haran. After the death of his father, he immigrated to this country where you now live,G5119G1831G1537G1093G5466G2730G1722G5488G2547G3326G846G3962G599G3351G846G1519G5026G1093G1519G3739G5210G3568G2730 5but God gave him nothing, not so much as a foothold. He did promise to give the country to him and his son later on, even though Abraham had no son at the time.G2532G1325G846G3756G2817G1722G846G3761G968G4228G968G2532G1861G1325G846G846G1519G2697G2532G846G4690G3326G846G846G5607G3756G5043 6God let him know that his offspring would move to an alien country where they would be enslaved and brutalized for four hundred years.G1161G2316G2980G3779G3754G846G4690G2071G3941G1722G245G1093G2532G1402G846G1402G2532G2559G5071G2094 7'But,' God said, 'I will step in and take care of those slaveholders and bring my people out so they can worship me in this place.'G2532G1484G3739G1437G1398G2919G1473G2919G2036G2316G2532G3326G5023G1831G2532G3000G3427G1722G5129G5117 8"Then he made a covenant with him and signed it in Abraham's flesh by circumcision. When Abraham had his son Isaac, within eight days he reproduced the sign of circumcision in him. Isaac became father of Jacob, and Jacob father of twelve 'fathers,' each faithfully passing on the covenant sign.G2532G1325G846G1242G4061G2532G3779G1080G2464G2532G4059G846G3590G2250G2532G2464G2384G2532G2384G1427G3966 9"But then those 'fathers,' burning up with jealousy, sent Joseph off to Egypt as a slave. God was right there with him, though—G2532G3966G2206G591G2501G1519G125G2532G2316G2258G3326G846 10he not only rescued him from all his troubles but brought him to the attention of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. He was so impressed with Joseph that he put him in charge of the whole country, including his own personal affairs.G2532G1807G846G1537G3956G846G2347G2532G1325G846G5485G2532G4678G1726G5328G935G125G2532G2525G846G2233G1909G125G2532G3650G846G3624 11"Later a famine descended on that entire region, stretching from Egypt to Canaan, bringing terrific hardship. Our hungry fathers looked high and low for food, but the cupboard was bare.G1161G2064G3042G1909G3650G1093G125G2532G5477G2532G3173G2347G2532G2257G3962G2147G3756G5527 12Jacob heard there was food in Egypt and sent our fathers to scout it out.G1161G2384G191G5607G4621G1722G125G1821G2257G3962G4412 13Having confirmed the report, they went back to Egypt a second time to get food. On that visit, Joseph revealed his true identity to his brothers and introduced the Jacob family to Pharaoh.G2532G1722G1208G2501G319G846G80G2532G2501G1085G1096G5318G5328 14Then Joseph sent for his father, Jacob, and everyone else in the family, seventy-five in all.G1161G649G2501G3333G846G3962G2384G2532G3956G846G4772G1722G1440G4002G5590 15That's how the Jacob family got to Egypt. "Jacob died, and our fathers after him.G1161G2384G2597G1519G125G2532G5053G846G2532G2257G3962 16They were taken to Shechem and buried in the tomb for which Abraham paid a good price to the sons of Hamor.G2532G3346G1519G4966G2532G5087G1722G3418G3739G11G5608G5092G694G3844G5207G1697G3588G4966 17"When the four hundred years were nearly up, the time God promised Abraham for deliverance, the population of our people in Egypt had become very large.G1161G2531G5550G1860G1448G3739G2316G3660G11G2992G837G2532G4129G1722G125 18And there was now a king over Egypt who had never heard of Joseph.G891G3739G2087G935G450G3739G1492G3756G2501 19He exploited our race mercilessly. He went so far as forcing us to abandon our newborn infants, exposing them to the elements to die a cruel death.G3778G2686G2257G1085G2559G2257G3962G4160G1570G846G1025G1519G2225G3361G2225 20"In just such a time Moses was born, a most beautiful baby. He was hidden at home for three months.G1722G3739G2540G3475G1080G2532G2258G2316G791G3739G397G1722G846G3962G3624G5140G3376 21When he could be hidden no longer, he was put outside—and immediately rescued by Pharaoh's daughter, who mothered him as her own son.G1161G846G1620G5328G2364G337G846G337G2532G397G846G1519G1438G5207 22Moses was educated in the best schools in Egypt. He was equally impressive as a thinker and an athlete.G2532G3475G3811G3956G4678G124G1161G2258G1415G1722G3056G2532G1722G2041 23"When he was forty years old, he wondered how everything was going with his Hebrew kin and went out to look things over.G1161G5613G846G4137G5063G5550G305G1909G846G2588G1980G846G80G5207G2474 24He saw an Egyptian abusing one of them and stepped in, avenging his underdog brother by knocking the Egyptian flat.G2532G1492G5100G91G292G2532G1557G4160G2669G3960G124 25He thought his brothers would be glad that he was on their side, and even see him as an instrument of God to deliver them. But they didn't see it that way.G1161G3543G846G80G4920G3754G2316G1223G846G5495G1325G4991G846G1161G4920G3756 26The next day two of them were fighting and he tried to break it up, told them to shake hands and get along with each other: 'Friends, you are brothers, why are you beating up on each other?'G5037G1966G2250G3700G846G3164G2532G4900G846G1519G1515G2036G435G5210G2075G80G2444G91G240 27"The one who had started the fight said, 'Who put you in charge of us?G1161G91G4139G91G683G846G683G2036G5101G2525G4571G758G2532G1348G1909G2248 28Are you going to kill me like you killed that Egyptian yesterday?'G3361G2309G4771G337G3165G3739G5158G337G124G5504 29When Moses heard that, realizing that the word was out, he ran for his life and lived in exile over in Midian. During the years of exile, two sons were born to him.G1161G5343G3475G1722G5129G3056G2532G1096G3941G1722G1093G3099G3757G1080G1417G5207 30"Forty years later, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, an angel appeared to him in the guise of flames of a burning bush.G2532G5062G2094G4137G3700G846G1722G2048G3735G4614G32G2962G1722G5395G4442G942 31Moses, not believing his eyes, went up to take a closer look. He heard God's voice:G1161G3475G1492G2296G3705G1161G846G4334G2657G5456G2962G1096G4314G846 32'I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.' Frightened nearly out of his skin, Moses shut his eyes and turned away.G1473G2316G4675G3962G2316G11G2532G2316G2464G2532G2316G2384G1161G3475G1096G1790G5111G3756G2657 33"God said, 'Kneel and pray. You are in a holy place, on holy ground.G1161G2036G2962G846G3089G5266G4675G4228G1063G5117G1722G3739G2476G2076G40G1093 34I've seen the agony of my people in Egypt. I've heard their groans. I've come to help them. So get yourself ready; I'm sending you back to Egypt.'G1492G1492G2561G3450G2992G3588G1722G125G2532G191G846G4726G2532G2597G1807G846G2532G3568G1204G649G4571G1519G125 35"This is the same Moses whom they earlier rejected, saying, 'Who put you in charge of us?' This is the Moses that God, using the angel flaming in the burning bush, sent back as ruler and redeemer.G5126G3475G3739G720G2036G5101G2525G4571G758G2532G1348G5126G2316G649G758G2532G3086G1722G5495G32G3588G3700G846G1722G942 36He led them out of their slavery. He did wonderful things, setting up God-signs all through Egypt, down at the Red Sea, and out in the wilderness for forty years.G3778G1806G846G1806G4160G5059G2532G4592G1722G1093G125G2532G1722G2063G2281G2532G1722G2048G5062G2094 37This is the Moses who said to his congregation, 'God will raise up a prophet just like me from your descendants.'G3778G2076G3475G3588G2036G5207G2474G4396G450G2962G5216G2316G450G5213G1537G5216G80G5613G1691G846G191 38This is the Moses who stood between the angel speaking at Sinai and your fathers assembled in the wilderness and took the life-giving words given to him and handed them over to us,G3778G2076G1096G1722G1577G1722G2048G3326G32G3588G2980G846G1722G3735G4614G2532G2257G3962G3739G1209G2198G3051G1325G2254 39words our fathers would have nothing to do with. "They craved the old Egyptian ways,G3739G2257G3962G2309G3756G1096G5255G235G683G2532G846G2588G4762G1519G125 40whining to Aaron, 'Make us gods we can see and follow. This Moses who got us out here miles from nowhere—who knows what's happened to him!'G2036G2G4160G2254G2316G3739G4313G2257G1063G3778G3475G3739G1806G2248G1537G1093G125G1492G3756G5101G1096G846 41That was the time when they made a calf-idol, brought sacrifices to it, and congratulated each other on the wonderful religious program they had put together.G2532G3447G1722G1565G2250G2532G321G2378G1497G2532G2165G1722G2041G846G5495 42"God wasn't at all pleased; but he let them do it their way, worship every new god that came down the pike—and live with the consequences, consequences described by the prophet Amos: Did you bring me offerings of animals and grains those forty wilderness years, O Israel?G1161G2316G4762G2532G3860G846G3860G3000G4756G3772G2531G1125G1722G976G4396G3624G2474G3361G4374G3427G4968G2532G2378G5062G2094G1722G2048 43Hardly. You were too busy building shrines to war gods, to sex goddesses, Worshiping them with all your might. That's why I put you in exile in Babylon.G2532G353G4633G3434G2532G798G5216G2316G4481G5179G3739G4160G4352G846G2532G3351G5209G3351G1900G897 44"And all this time our ancestors had a tent shrine for true worship, made to the exact specifications God provided Moses.G2257G3962G2258G4633G3142G1722G1722G2048G2531G1299G2980G3475G4160G846G2596G5179G3739G3708 45They had it with them as they followed Joshua, when God cleared the land of pagans, and still had it right down to the time of David.G3739G2532G2257G3962G1237G1521G3326G2424G1722G2697G1484G3739G2316G1856G575G4383G2257G3962G2193G2250G1138 46David asked God for a permanent place for worship.G3739G2147G5485G1799G2316G2532G154G2147G4638G2316G2384 47But Solomon built it.G1161G4672G3618G846G3624 48"Yet that doesn't mean that Most High God lives in a building made by carpenters and masons. The prophet Isaiah put it well when he wrote,G235G5310G2730G3756G1722G3485G5499G2531G3004G4396 49"Heaven is my throne room; I rest my feet on earth. So what kind of house will you build me?" says God. "Where I can get away and relax?G3772G3427G2362G1161G1093G3450G4228G5286G4169G3624G3618G3427G3004G2962G2228G5101G5117G3450G2663 50It's already built, and I built it."G4160G3780G3450G5495G4160G3956G5023 51"And you continue, so bullheaded! Calluses on your hearts, flaps on your ears! Deliberately ignoring the Holy Spirit, you're just like your ancestors.G4644G2532G564G2588G2532G3775G5210G496G104G496G40G4151G5613G5216G3962G2532G5210 52Was there ever a prophet who didn't get the same treatment? Your ancestors killed anyone who dared talk about the coming of the Just One. And you've kept up the family tradition—traitors and murderers, all of you.G5101G4396G1377G3756G5216G3962G1377G2532G615G3588G4293G4012G1660G1342G3739G5210G1096G3568G4273G2532G5406 53You had God's Law handed to you by angels—gift-wrapped!—and you squandered it!"G3748G2983G3551G1519G1296G32G2532G5442G3756G5442 54At that point they went wild, a rioting mob of catcalls and whistles and invective.G1161G191G5023G1282G2588G846G2532G1031G1909G846G3599 55But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, hardly noticed—he only had eyes for God, whom he saw in all his glory with Jesus standing at his side.G1161G5225G4134G40G4151G816G1519G3772G1492G1391G2316G2532G2424G2476G1537G1188G2316 56He said, "Oh! I see heaven wide open and the Son of Man standing at God's side!"G2532G2036G2400G2334G3772G455G2532G5207G444G2476G1537G1188G2316 57Yelling and hissing, the mob drowned him out. Now in full stampede,G1161G2896G3173G5456G4912G846G3775G2532G3729G1909G846G3661 58they dragged him out of town and pelted him with rocks. The ringleaders took off their coats and asked a young man named Saul to watch them.G2532G1544G1854G4172G3036G2532G3144G659G846G2440G3844G3494G4228G2564G4569 59As the rocks rained down, Stephen prayed, "Master Jesus, take my life."G2532G3036G4736G1941G2532G3004G2962G2424G1209G3450G4151 60Then he knelt down, praying loud enough for everyone to hear, "Master, don't blame them for this sin"—his last words. Then he died. Saul was right there, congratulating the killers.G1161G5087G1119G2896G3173G5456G2962G2476G3361G5026G266G846G2532G2036G5124G2837
Dublin, OH
