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8 Then He gave him the covenant of circumcision; and so Abraham begot Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot the twelve patriarchs. 9 “And the patriarchs, becoming envious, sold Joseph into Egypt. But God was with him 10 and delivered him out of all his troubles, and gave him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house. 11 Now a famine and great trouble came over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers found no sustenance. 12 But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. 13 And the second time Joseph was made known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to the Pharaoh. 14 Then Joseph sent and called his father Jacob and all his relatives to him, seventy-five people. 15 So Jacob went down to Egypt; and he died, he and our fathers. 16 And they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham bought for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. ~ Acts 7:8-16
Today, we return to our study of Acts 7 where one of the early converts to the first century church, a man named Stephen, is in the middle of providing a history lesson for those who falsely accused him of blasphemy against God, Moses, the Law of Moses, and the Temple. This sermon that Stephen delivered that day was yet another opportunity given to the religious leaders of Israel to repent of the self-life and trust in the Lord Jesus as their Savior. It has been said that there is nothing attractive about the gospel to the natural man but to those who have owned up to their unattractiveness the gospel is a thing of beauty. For those who are afflicted by their sin the gospel comforts and for those who are comfortable in their sin the gospel afflicts.
In v.8 of today's passage we read, "Then He gave him the covenant of circumcision; and so Abraham begot Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot the twelve patriarchs."
Stephen had just detailed the history of Abraham, from his call out of Mesopotamia to his arrival in the Promised Land. With that, God made an unconditional promise to him that He would bring his descendants out of bondage in Egypt to serve Him in the Promised Land. It was with this history in mind that Stephen drew the religious leaders' attention to the covenant of circumcision. God instructed Abraham to circumcise on the eighth day because He knew it took eight days for the coagulant potassium to build up in the newborns bloodstream to prevent him from hemorrhaging when circumcised. But, this wasn't the point of the circumcision. The point was the promise. After their circumcision, every time Abraham or Isaac went to the bathroom they were reminded of God's unconditional love for them. Circumcision didn't make the Jews any better than anyone else, it was just a reminder of God's heart toward them. Abraham was obedient to the covenant which positioned Him to see God better with his heart.
One of the charges made against Stephen was that he somehow quoted the Lord Jesus to have said He would "change the customs which Moses delivered." By mentioning the story of the circumcision, Stephen underscored this was not the case. The law of Moses required circumcision on the eighth day in Leviticus 12:3 in order for Abraham to see the Father heart of God. Those who falsely accused Stephen said that he said that circumcision was no longer a requirement for the Jew. By the way, Stephen's speech laid the groundwork for Paul’s argument for justification by faith alone in Galatians 3:17 which reads, "And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect." The Jewish religious leaders did not understand that circumcision was given to remind all those of faith in the God of the Bible that He was first for them.
In v.9-13 of today's passage we read, "9 And the patriarchs, becoming envious, sold Joseph into Egypt. But God was with him 10 and delivered him out of all his troubles, and gave him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house. 11 Now a famine and great trouble came over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers found no sustenance. 12 But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. 13 And the second time Joseph was made known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to the Pharaoh."
Stephen’s speech to the unbelieving religious leaders of Israel quickly moved from Abraham to Isaac, to Jacob, and then to the twelve patriarchs. Of Jacob's twelve sons, Stephen noted that they were "envious." They were envious of Joseph's favored status with their father. Stephen's point became more clear as He spoke of the favor of God and that it is only accessed by faith in Him. The envy of the eleven sons manifested itself against Joseph as they sold him into slavery. The eleven sons represented the people of Israel who descended from them. As the eleven sons undermined God, so the religious leaders of Stephen's day undermined Him as well.
Joseph is an Old Testament type of Christ and even though Stephen did not draw out any actual connection between the sin of Joseph's brothers to the religious leaders rejection of the Lord Jesus, the parallel is unmistakable. Stephen continued to draw forth the idea that everything happened within the permissive will of God. In the end, according to God's mercy and grace, Joseph rose to power which benefitted all of the people of God. As Stephen continued with his history lesson of how God worked on the behalf of the Jewish people, he guided the attention of his hearers to the main topic of the Bible: God's forgiveness of sinful man through the promised Messiah. In the very same way that Joseph forgave his brothers, God through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ forgives us.
In v.14-16 of today's passage we read, "14 Then Joseph sent and called his father Jacob and all his relatives to him, seventy-five people. 15 So Jacob went down to Egypt; and he died, he and our fathers. 16 And they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham bought for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem."
In Stephen's brief presentation of the life of Joseph, he really presented the Lord Jesus as the Messiah or as the Greeks say, "the Christ." As the story of Joseph pictured and reinforced the gospel of the Lord Jesus, the main point to the religious leaders of Israel was to return to the Father. As Joseph called to his people so the Lord Jesus calls out to us to repent and return to Him. The evidence was overwhelming. The religious leaders of Israel could see this but they lacked a heart that was willing to repent from their ways. You see, what saves us is our belief in the faithfulness of God, his belief that God is faithful to His promises. And the greatest promise was brought to fruition through the Lord Jesus Christ.
