Lesson 4623

 (Lesson 4623)(09-30-25) Acts 7:42-53 

   “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? 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. 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. 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; Who found favour before God, and desired to find a tabernacle for the God of Jacob. But Solomon built him an house. Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, 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? Hath not my hand made all these things? Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.” 

 

   In today’s quote, Stephen described how, because of their disobedience, God turned away from the Israelites and allowed them to worship the host of heaven, referencing their worshiping of idols during the time of Moses. He recalled their worship of false gods and quotes the prophets who had warned against it. Stephen then spoke about the tabernacle and the temple, pointing out that God does not dwell in buildings made by human hands. He concluded by rebuking the council for resisting the Holy Spirit, betraying, and murdering the Righteous One (Jesus), just as their ancestors had persecuted the prophets who foretold His coming. ~ 

Lesson 4622

 (Lesson 4622)(09-29-25) Acts 7:37-41 

   “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. 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: To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt, 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. And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.” 

 

  In today’s quote, Stephen continued by reminding the council that Moses had prophesied God would raise up a prophet like him for the Israelites. Moses received living oracles to pass on to the people, but they rejected him and turned their hearts back to Egypt. While Moses was on Mount Sinai, the Israelites asked Aaron to make them a golden calf, and they offered sacrifices to it, celebrating the works of their own hands rather than following God’s commands. ~

Lesson 4621

 (Lesson 4621)(09-28-25) Acts 7:30-36 

   “And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush. When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight: and as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the Lord came unto him, Saying, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses trembled, and durst not behold. Then said the Lord to him, Put off thy shoes from thy feet: for the place where thou standest is holy ground. I have seen, I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and am come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send thee into Egypt. 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. 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.” 

 

  In today’s quote, Stephen recounted the story of Moses' encounter with God in the burning bush. After forty years in Midian, an angel appeared to Moses in a flame of fire on Mount Sinai. God spoke to him, commissioning him to deliver the Israelites from Egyptian bondage. Despite initial rejection by the people, God performed wonders and signs through Moses in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and the wilderness for forty years, showing His people that Moses was chosen to lead them out of Egypt. ~ 

Lesson 4620

 (Lesson 4620)(09-27-25) Acts 7:20-29 

   “In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father's house three months: And when he was cast out, Pharaoh's daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son. And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds. And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel. And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian: For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not. And the next day he shewed himself unto them as they strove, and would have set them at one again, saying, Sirs, ye are brethren; why do ye wrong one to another? But he that did his neighbour wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us? Wilt thou kill me, as thou diddest the Egyptian yesterday? Then fled Moses at this saying, and was a stranger in the land of Madian, where he begat two sons.” 

 

  Today’s quote recounts part of Stephen's speech before the Sanhedrin, where he summarized Moses' early life. He described how Moses was born at a time of great oppression. After being hidden by his parents for three months, Moses was placed in a basket, put into a river where he was discovered by Pharaoh's daughter, who raised him as her own child. At age forty, Moses visited his Hebrew brethren who were slaves to Egypt and, seeing one being mistreated, killed an Egyptian to defend him. The next day, when he tried to reconcile two fighting Hebrews, they rejected his leadership, causing Moses to flee to Midian, where he became a resident and had two sons. ~