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Acts chapter 7, Stephen's defense 
before the Sanhedrin. Remember that according to chapter 
6, he was brought up on two specific charges, that he spoke blasphemous 
words against the law of Moses, and that he spoke blasphemous 
words concerning the temple of God. And so he traces redemptive 
history through Israel, specifically focusing on major characters 
in Israel's history to defend himself and to point his audience 
to the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. So I'll 
begin reading in chapter 7 at verse 1. Then the high priest 
said, Are these things so? And he said, Brethren and fathers, 
listen. The God of glory appeared to 
our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt 
in Haran, and said to him, Get out of your country and from 
your relatives and come to a land that I will show you. Then he 
came out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran. And from 
there, when his father was dead, he moved him to this land in 
which you now dwell. And God gave him no inheritance 
in it, not even enough to set his foot on. But even when Abraham 
had no child, he promised to give it to him for possession 
and to his descendants after him. But God spoke in this way, 
that His descendants would dwell in a foreign land, and that they 
would bring them into bondage and oppress them four hundred 
years. 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. 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. And the patriarchs, becoming 
envious, sold Joseph into Egypt. But God was with him 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. Now a famine and great trouble 
came over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers found 
no sustenance. But when Jacob heard that there 
was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. And the second 
time, Joseph was made known to his brothers, and Joseph's family 
became known to the Pharaoh. Then Joseph sent and called his 
father Jacob and all his relatives to him, seventy-five people. 
So Jacob went down to Egypt, and he died, he and our fathers. 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." Amen. 
Well, let us pray. Our God in heaven, we thank you 
for the written word. We thank you for this defense 
of Stephen and for the way that he continually points out the 
law and the temple all pointed to the Lord Jesus Christ. We 
thank you that Christ is that one who came in the fullness 
of the times, born of a woman and born under the law to redeem 
those under the law. We thank you that he is altogether 
lovely and chief among 10,000 and that you have shown us our 
sin. You've shown us his sufficiency. 
You have shown us grace and mercy and kindness. And God, we pray 
that wherever the gospel is preached today, more sinners would be 
called out of darkness into marvelous light to confess Jesus Christ 
as Lord and Savior. To that end, we pray for the 
ministry of the Holy Spirit upon us now, that you would sanctify, 
strengthen, and edify your people, and God, that you would be pleased 
to save sinners, and that we would see in this passage the 
glory of Jesus Christ. And it's in His blessed name 
that we pray. Amen. Well, as I said, it's important 
for us to remember the specific charges laid against Stephen, 
because Stephen is defending himself before the Sanhedrin, 
or before the religious council here. He traces Israel's history, 
he focused already, or we saw last week in verses 1 to 8, he 
focuses on Abraham. And this morning we're going 
to take up verses 9 to 16, and this emphasis upon Joseph. Again, 
I'll try to connect the dots as to how he's making his defense, 
before the council in terms of the charges that he spoke blasphemous 
words against the law of Moses and against the temple of God. 
And I want to look at two things this morning in this particular 
section. First, the patriarchs in Egypt according to verses 
9 and 10. And then secondly, the plan of 
God in verses 11 to 16. And I want us to notice in the 
first place the patriarchs in Egypt. The patriarchs are mentioned, 
that simply means the fathers, and those are the ones that Jacob 
begot. Look back in verse 8, we see 
that God gave Abraham this 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. These 
are the sons of Jacob, and Joseph was one of them. And we see in 
this particular account, referring to Joseph, that the brothers 
hated him. They despised him. Now, Stephen 
assumes a great deal of knowledge from his hearers. Stephen assumes 
that the council of the Sanhedrin understands the book of Genesis. 
I'd like to assume the same thing, but I'm not going to completely. 
I'm going to try to sketch for you, at least briefly, the history 
of Joseph as he's presented to us in the book of Genesis. We 
notice in the first place this reference. Verse 9 says, "...and 
the patriarchs, becoming envious, sold Joseph into Egypt." Now, 
this is recorded for us in the book of Genesis, in Genesis chapter 
37. And they hated him for three particular reasons. In the first 
place, Joseph basically ratted out his brothers to Jacob. It 
doesn't tell us specifically what these four brothers were 
doing, but it does tell us that Joseph went to Jacob and essentially 
said that they perhaps weren't doing their job, or he had made 
some comment about them. That did not endear Joseph to 
them. Secondly, they saw that Jacob 
favored Joseph. Joseph was the favored among 
the twelve. Jacob loved him. Jacob esteemed 
him even higher. And as you might imagine, the 
brothers didn't like that. Parents, be very cautious. I 
don't want to moralize the text, but there's simply a lesson there 
for us. If you favor one of your children 
over and against the others, do not think that's going to 
facilitate good relationships between the siblings. They are 
going to despise and loathe and abhor the one that is favored 
by the parents. But in the third instance, in 
Genesis 37, Joseph had dreams. And in these particular dreams, 
his brothers would be subject to him. And then in the second 
dream, it was not only his brothers that would be subject to him, 
but it was also his father and his mother. This troubled Jacob 
at least to a degree, but nevertheless, he kept this in his heart. And 
so these brothers despised, and as we read in the narrative in 
verse 9, according to Stephen, they became envious and they 
sold him into Egypt. Now that's indicated in the latter 
part of Genesis chapter 37. And I think that what Stephen 
is doing... Remember that he's on trial for 
having spoken blasphemous words against Moses. He is showing 
that in their history, there were men chosen by God, sent 
to the nation, that were rejected by the nation. I think that Stephen's 
tactic and plan, ultimately, heading toward the end of this 
sermon, is to show that he's not anti-Moses, but rather the 
council is anti-Moses. He has not misread Moses, but 
rather the Sanhedrin has misread Moses because Moses testified 
concerning Jesus Christ. Later on, the narrative will 
move to Moses and Stephen will show effectively how Moses was 
opposed by the people of Israel as well. And so that's the emphasis 
in Stephen in terms of Joseph here. Joseph was a man chosen 
by God. Joseph was a man sent by God. 
And Joseph was a man rejected by the patriarchs. Sounds exactly 
like what is happening at the time of Stephen. Jesus was a 
man chosen by God. Jesus was a man set by God. And the council, the Sanhedrin, 
is functioning like the patriarchs. They were envious of him. They 
despised him. They sold him for 30 pieces of 
silver. Joseph was sold for 20 shekels 
of silver. The similarities there are obvious 
to anyone who has ears to hear and eyes to see. Unfortunately, 
they didn't hear it. Unfortunately, they didn't see 
it. And ultimately, they drive him out of the city and they 
stone him to death. But that's Stephen's tactic. 
He is not anti-Moses. He was not anti-Joseph, he is 
not anti any of these men in history that God sent, but rather 
it was the nation choosing rather to serve idols and reject the 
chosen men of God. That's his point. Matthew Poole 
says the holy martyr, that's Stephen, accommodates his apology 
so. I should define for you apology. 
The word that we often use today, apology or apologize, means when 
we say we're sorry for something. In Greek, apology means defense. Stephen is giving a defense before 
the Sanhedrin. That's what Matthew Poole is 
referring to. The holy martyr accommodates 
his apology so, as that they may yet have occasion to reflect 
on themselves. For as they had sold our Savior 
unto strangers, so had their fathers sold Joseph. Turn to 
Acts 7 at verse 52. This is going to be Stephen's 
point when he brings this to bear upon his hearers. Again, 
I want to keep this before us. As we move slower through the 
narrative, we nevertheless need to remember how it functions 
in terms of Stephen's defense. Notice in verse 51, you stiff-necked 
and uncircumcised in heart and ears. You always resist the Holy 
Spirit as your fathers did. So do you. There's the link, 
there's the comparison, there's the connection that he is making 
and asserting throughout his defense. Verse 52, which of the 
prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those 
who foretold the coming of the just one, of whom you now have 
become betrayers and murderers who have received the law by 
the direction of angels and have not kept it. So we see back in 
chapter 7 at verse 9, Stephen successfully summarizes in brief 
compass all that Genesis tells us concerning their envy and 
concerning their selling him in to slavery. Now that wasn't 
the initial plan. And I think at times we have, 
as Bible readers, this idea that, you know, the Bible is simply 
a book of principles on how we ought to live our lives. Well, 
that's true to some degree, but that's not the main point of 
the Bible. The main point of the Bible is to highlight God's 
getting glory for Himself through the redeeming work of Jesus Christ. 
That's the main point of the Bible. And especially if we come 
to the Bible and say, I want principles for healthy interpersonal 
relationship with my siblings, certainly do not go to the patriarchs. They wanted to kill him. They 
wanted to destroy him. And they wanted to concoct a 
story that he had been ravaged by wild beasts. Reuben, the oldest, 
intervenes and says, no, let's not kill him. Let's rather throw 
him into a pit. And while they're eating, some 
Ishmaelite traders are coming by. And so they reckon, why kill 
him? Why bury his body? Why hide him? There'll be no profit in that. 
So they sell him to these Ishmaelites for 20 shekels of silver. They 
do take that multicolored tunic that Joseph possessed or owned. 
They put blood on it from a kid. and they bring it back to Jacob, 
and Jacob concludes that animals ravaged his son. These are terrible 
human beings. Again, we ought not to look at 
Scripture as simply a marching order on how we ought to or ought 
not to behave. It is that, but that's not the 
primary emphasis. The primary emphasis is upon 
the hero, the champion, the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. is the 
emphasis in scripture. So anyways, they sell him into 
Joseph, or sell Joseph rather into Egypt, but note the marked 
contrast. You see the patriarchs and Joseph, 
and now you see the Lord and Joseph in 9b and 10. It says, but God was with him. 
They were envious and they sold him into Egypt, but God was with 
him. Again, Stephen's defense. He's 
not anti-temple, but he knows that the temple is not the only 
place where God manifests himself to Israel. God is with Joseph 
in Egypt. Not in the temple in Israel, 
but he's with Joseph in Egypt. He's even with Joseph in a prison 
in Egypt, according to the book of Genesis. So you see, Stephen 
is answering the charges. He's not anti-temple. He understands 
that the temple existed to point men to the Lord Jesus Christ. Now that Christ has come, there 
is no reason why we go back to the temple. And the temple, as 
far as it was used properly by Israel, was a good thing. But 
it never was. They approached it as an empty 
ritual. They approached it in a formalistic 
fashion. At the time of Jesus Christ himself, 
they put more stock in the temple than the very one the temple 
pointed to. That's why Jesus pronounces in 
the Olivet Discourse that there's an end coming to their temple. 
They had trusted in it. They had confided in it. They 
had assumed that since there was temple, God must be pleased 
with us. They had misread it by a long 
shot. So Stephen says, God doesn't 
need a temple in Palestine in order to appear to his people. 
He's with Joseph in Egypt. So, when they said the only place 
that God can show himself to us is the temple in Israel, they 
were wrong. They missed the point. Stephen 
rather got the point, and he is educating and schooling them. 
It's unfortunate that they resist this. So, with reference to the 
presence of God with Joseph, you can turn to Genesis 39. Genesis 
chapter 39, just to highlight a few of these incidents. I thought that was going to be 
warm water. We had discussed the possibility of warm water 
to break up the phlegm, but it's cold water. Hopefully, that'll 
do the same thing. Notice in Genesis chapter 39, 
after he gets to Egypt, he goes to Potiphar's house, and the 
narrative is absolutely crystal clear. Verse 2 of Genesis 39, 
the Lord was with Joseph. Why is Joseph able to successfully 
resist the advances of Potiphar's wife, which verse 10 tells us 
was day by day? It's not because he had an intrinsic 
strength. It's not because he pulled himself 
up by the bootstraps. It's not because he had the willpower 
of a rhinoceros. It's because God was with him. 
Brethren, in our fight against sin, that's the component that 
is vital. Yes, discipline. Yes, willpower. Yes, resist. Yes, use the means 
of grace. But ultimately, our success in 
the life of sanctification, our ability to resist these types 
of temptations, it's because Yahweh is with us. And that's 
what's highlighted conspicuously here. And again, Stephen's point 
is clear. God doesn't need the temple in 
Israel in order to be with Joseph. He's there in Egypt. Notice, 
it's not only in Potiphar's house, but then he's thrown into jail 
because Potiphar's wife, woman of the year, basically lies and 
gets him thrown into jail. Now notice in verse 19 of Genesis 
39. So it was when his master heard 
the words which his wife spoke to him saying, your servant did 
to me after this manner that his anger was aroused. Some wonder, 
who was his anger aroused at? I mean, the text assumes, or 
most people assume, that he's aroused in his anger toward Joseph. But maybe he knew Mrs. Potiphar 
a little bit better than the rest of us do. Maybe he understood 
that it wasn't Joseph necessarily, and his anger is aroused at her. 
Again, I simply throw that out there. We ought not to necessarily 
assume he's that man, but as king, as pharaoh, as ruler, he 
has to engage in this particular duty, and he throws Joseph into 
jail. Now, notice verse 20. Then Joseph's 
master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the 
king's prisoners were confined, and he was there in the prison, 
but the Lord was with Joseph. You see that? He doesn't need 
the temple in Israel to be with his people. He doesn't need the 
temple in Israel to dwell with Joseph. He's with Joseph, not 
only in Egypt, but he's with Joseph in a prison in Egypt. So verse 21, the Lord was with 
Joseph and gave him mercy, and he gave him favor in the sight 
of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison 
committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners who were in the 
prison. Whatever they did there, it was his doing. The keeper 
of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph's 
authority, because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, 
the Lord made it prosper. I've got to say, brethren, the 
Sanhedrin and the Council knew this passage. They knew the text. So that when Stephen moves from 
Abraham to Joseph, they understand the implication. Yeah, God appeared 
to him apart from Temple, apart from Israel. Stephen is making 
his defense. And then notice as well, God 
is with him even in the disclosure of dreams in chapters 40 and 
41. He interprets two dreams, the 
Chief Baker and the Chief Butler. The Chief Baker gets hanged according 
to the interpretation of the dream, and then the Chief Butler 
promises to remember him but forgets him. It's not until later 
on, when Pharaoh has a dream, that the chief butler remembers, 
oh yeah, there was this Hebrew that was able to interpret a 
dream for me. Notice in chapter 41, at verse 14. Chapter 41, 
verse 14. Then Pharaoh, well, verse 13. 
It came to pass, just as he interpreted for us, so it happened. He restored 
me to my office, and he hanged him. Then Pharaoh sent and called 
Joseph, and they brought him quickly out of the dungeon, and 
he shaved, changed his clothing, and came to Pharaoh. Now again, 
I don't want to moralize, but if I did, I would say this. There's 
instances where we shave and we change our clothing. There's 
instances where we clean up. There's instances where we gussy 
up a bit. That is the world in which we 
live, and in order to properly present before Pharaoh, shave 
your face and put on some decent clothing. Thank you, that was 
very kind. So that's my moralistic rant. Be well-kempt when you're 
before the Pharaoh. Be well-kempt when you come before 
Yahweh. Be well-kempt and present when 
you're in the presence of dignity. That's what Joseph demonstrates 
here. Again, moralism, but it fits. But the point is, is that 
God is with him. John Gill says, God was with 
him and prospered him in Potiphar's house. He was with him and kept 
him from the temptations of his mistress. He was with him in 
prison and supported and comforted him, and at length delivered 
him from it, and promoted him as follows, and caused all the 
evil that befell him to work for good to him and his father's 
family. So going back to Acts chapter 
7, this is Stephen's defense. Not only was God with him, but 
according to verse 10 it says, "...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." It's an amazing story, isn't it? This is why 
you should read your Old Testament. I mean, the Joseph narratives 
are absolutely thrilling. It's great reading. It's stuff 
that makes you just praise God and honor God and glorify God. And as well, it highlights certain 
things and certain truths. Notice verse 10, "...delivered 
him out of all his troubles." You see, it's the health, wealth, 
prosperity fools that testify to believers that there's never 
going to be any trouble in your life. Oh yeah, there is going 
to be trouble in your life. Ask Joseph, when you came to 
Jesus, did all your problems go away? When you came to Jesus, 
was everything hunky-dory? Now, when I came to Jesus, my 
brothers wanted to kill me, and then they threw me into a pit. 
They were going to leave me for dead. But 20 shekels of silver 
allured them, and they sold me into slavery. But the point is, 
is that the Lord delivered him from his troubles. The Bible 
does not promise no trouble. The Bible promises a God who 
sees us through the trouble, a God who sustains us in the 
midst of the trouble, a God who walks with us through the valley 
of the shadow of death. David can say, I will fear no 
evil because you are with me. That's the blessed encouragement 
that these Old Testament narratives hold forth to us. Now, that's 
on the one level. But even more importantly, these 
Old Testament narratives point us to Jesus. This is Jesus point 
in John chapter 5 when he upbraids the Jewish leaders He says you 
search the scriptures for in them you think you have eternal 
life But these are they which testify of me and then he speaks 
to Moses and he says if you would believe Moses you would believe 
me because Moses wrote about me Stephen's doing that Stephen 
is essentially following the master in his use of the Old 
Testament. I have told you many times, with 
reference to the book of Acts, there is a shift happening, a 
transition happening. The council of the Sanhedrin 
is no longer the leadership in Israel, but it's the apostles 
of our Lord Jesus Christ. It's not they who are gifted 
and skilled in the interpretation of the Old Testament, because 
by interpreting it the way they did, they miss Messiah. It's 
the apostles of our Lord. It's the men like Stephen who 
understood the Scripture. They had the proper hermeneutic. 
It was Christ. He is the one by which we interpret 
the Old Testament, and that's what he's evidencing in this 
point. And we need to appreciate that 
as we read the Old Testament, and don't just say, well, I should 
shave today, and I should put on fresh clothes. Again, moralism. A good point to remember. So 
back to our text. He delivered him out of all his 
troubles. He gave him favor and wisdom. 
Genesis 41, 37 and 38. The text says, So the advice 
was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants. And Pharaoh said to his servants, 
Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of 
God? And what a great testimony from 
a pagan concerning Joseph. The presence of God was so conspicuous 
in the life of Joseph that Pharaoh, pagan king of Egypt, was able 
to see this in the life of this man. And then the last bit that 
Stephen tells us in verse 10 is that he made him governor 
over Egypt and all his house. Now, the text is a bit obscure, 
a bit vague or ambiguous in our rendering or in our translation. 
It might read that it was Pharaoh that stationed him as governor. And it was Pharaoh as a second 
cause. But it was God Most High who 
did this. It was God Most High who exalted 
him. It was God Most High who put 
him into this crucial position. Again, not for the sustenance 
of Egyptians, but for the sustenance of Israelites. The Lord is promoting 
Joseph into a position of authority, so that as this famine wreaks 
havoc upon the world, Joseph is there, loaded with grain, 
to be able to feed his brothers. Which, you know, props to Joseph. Would you give grain to your 
brothers? You guys wanted to kill me, and then you threw me 
into a pit, and then you sold me for 20 shekels of silver. I mean, if ever there's a great 
example of forgiveness, and of kindness, and of compassion, 
and of biblical charity, it is Joseph. that these wretches ate 
from his hand is a testimony to the grace of God, and it's 
a testimony to the kindheartedness of this man, Joseph. Because 
again, Joseph understood things theologically. Joseph understood, 
as we'll see at the end of the message this morning, that you 
meant this for evil, but God overruled it for good. Joseph 
was the biblical theologian, the systematician among them 
that understood the providence of God Most High. But in Genesis 
45.8, Joseph said, so now it was not you who sent me here, 
but God. And he has made me a father to 
Pharaoh and Lord of all his house and a ruler throughout all the 
land of Egypt. So while the text indicates that 
Pharaoh made him governor, we know that Pharaoh was a second 
cause. We know that God is the first 
cause, and Joseph confesses that in Genesis 45, eight, it was 
God's doing, God's purpose, God's sovereignty that put me in this 
place. Now the rest of Stephen's speech 
concerning Joseph and the patriarchs, verses 11 to 16, tell us why 
God did that. tells us why the Lord exalted 
Joseph in the way that he did. So let's look at that plan of 
God in verses 11 to 16. In the first place, notice the 
famine. Verse 11, Now a famine and great trouble came over all 
the land of Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers found no sustenance. This is recorded in Genesis 41, 
Genesis 42. It was a comprehensive problem. 
It wasn't just Canaan where they were living. Remember, that's 
the promised land. That's the land given by oath 
from God to Abraham and to his descendants. So the famine affected 
Canaan to be sure, but it also affected Egypt. But see, God 
had revealed to Joseph that this was going to happen. So when 
Joseph interprets the dream for Pharaoh, Joseph also recommends 
the course of action to be followed. There's going to be this period 
of time of great fruitfulness in the land. There's going to 
be this time of plenty and abundance. And I think, Pharaoh, we ought 
to stockpile that stuff so that when the famine comes, we'll 
have the stuff and be able to dole it out to Egyptians. Now 
perhaps at that time Joseph was unaware of the reality that his 
brothers were going to come, but that's how he had, that's 
the wisdom that God gave him. There's going to be this famine, 
and we ought to prepare for it. So the Lord God is behind the 
scenes orchestrating all of this, again, not for the provision 
and the benefit of the Egyptians. They certainly were provided 
for and benefited, but what's God doing? God, through Abraham, 
is carving out His people. God, through Abraham, is producing 
a people that will ultimately produce Messiah. All of this 
happens so that, in the fullness of the time, God would send forth 
His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those 
under the law. Every step of the way, God is 
orchestrating for the glory of God and for the good of His people. 
And that's what we see in this passage. Notice the provision 
of God in verses 12 to 16. Jacob hears that there's corn 
in Egypt. It's the old King James rendering. It's grain. There's 
grain in Egypt. Jacob hears this. He understands 
this. And he knows that if we send you boys over into Egypt, 
you can gather enough grain and enough food to help us to provide 
or provide sustenance for us so that we can weather this storm 
of famine. And so the boys go. They go on that first visit. 
Joseph doesn't disclose himself to them. He treats them a little 
bit severely at times. And then there's a second visit. 
And at that visit, what does Joseph do? Joseph weeps. He breaks 
down. And he tells them that, I am 
Joseph. I'm your brother. I'm the man 
that you sold into slavery. And God has exalted me to this 
position so that I can look after you. So that dream that he initially 
had, you see how it's fulfilled? You see the connectivity of the 
narrative. It's not just a history lesson. 
It's theological history. God is on every page of the book 
of Genesis. Christ is on every page of the 
book of Genesis. See, when the biblical authors 
present to us history, they do so with an agenda. They want 
us to behold our God. They want us to see and marvel. 
They want us to realize that every single one of these events 
is for his glory and it's for the preservation and the provision 
and the good of those who love him to those who are the called 
according to his purpose." That's what Stephen is saying. But again, 
conspicuously, he highlights the reality God's with Joseph, 
even in Egypt, and God's with the patriarchs, even in Egypt. 
You know, I mentioned Joseph's kindness in doling out food to 
these boys. They weren't boys, they were 
men. God doled it out through Joseph, right? So I think at 
times we miss those sort of indicators that God is full of grace and 
mercy. I mean, we can't miss Ephesians 2 about God who's rich 
in mercy. That just smacks us right in 
the face. But the fact that God is providing food for these men 
is an evidence of God's grace and kindness. The fact that he's 
always been there in our lives in terms of food and provision 
is an act of God's kindness. The psalmist blesses God for 
loading us daily with benefits. Certainly, as New Covenant Christians, 
we rehearse Ephesians 1, blessed be the God and Father of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing 
in the heavenly places in Christ. But do we equally bless Him for 
the physical and the temporal? The psalmists do. The psalmist 
says, blessed be God who loads me daily with benefits. The psalmist 
David in Psalm 103 does. He highlights the forgiveness 
of sins, and then he highlights all the occasions and times that 
God spared him physically. You see, the Lord is comprehensively 
sovereign over every detail of our lives, and this is what Stephen 
is telling these men. And these men understand it. 
These men ultimately reject the reality of what Stephen is preaching, 
and they kill him. They murder him. They destroy 
him. So, it's obvious to any reader 
who's got the problem with the Old Testament. It wasn't Stephen. 
It was the Sanhedrin. It was the Council. They were 
corrupt. They were idolatrous. They were wretches. Now, I should 
alert you to two problems in the text. If you ever read commentary 
on Acts 7, you'll read commentary where some suggest that Stephen 
was wrong. Stephen got a couple of things 
wrong. He refers to 75 people. And if you look at Exodus 1 and 
you look at Genesis 48-ish, you will see that it's 70 people. 
Now, the Masoretic text, which is the Hebrew version, the sort 
of Hebrew Old Testament, that contains 70. What's called the 
Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, 
contains 75. So Stephen was not in error. 
He's working from the Septuagint. And there are ways to reconcile 
the numbers. I refer you to John Gill. I'm 
getting convinced that John Gill could have fixed a car. I mean, 
there's not much he couldn't do. He has an extended section 
where he deals with math and numbers, and a guy like me just 
falls asleep. I mean, my son is an accountant. 
I don't know where he got that. He certainly didn't get it from 
me. I can't follow John Gill's paragraph on reconciling the 
numbers. But suffice to say, they can 
be reconciled. Stephen wasn't wrong. Stephen 
wasn't mistaken. Stephen wasn't in error. That 
is simply unacceptable. The Septuagint contains the reading 
75. One scholar well observed, if 
there's a problem at 8 with Stephen, it's a Septuagint issue. You 
need to take it up at that level. But then as well, the reference 
to Abraham purchasing this field. Notice in verse 16, 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. Now, I don't want to confuse 
you needlessly, but again, I want to simply say that Stephen is 
not in error. The reason why some suppose that Stephen is 
in error is because this particular transaction was conducted by 
Jacob. Abraham did not purchase the 
land from these particular people. But I suspect that what Stephen 
is doing is he's doing what's called telescoping the two events. 
And the point is simply this. I think Daryl Bock makes it clear. The point is simply that Joseph 
was buried at Shechem on land purchased by Jacob from the sons 
of Hamor. Stephen's key point is that burial 
took place in the promised land, although in Samaria, and the 
move was an act of faith that God would keep his word. That's 
why Abraham purchases the land in chapter 23 of Genesis. It's 
so that he owns it. He has title to it. Remember, 
God has said, I'm giving you this land. But at that particular 
time, the land was filled with Canaanites. And so when offered 
that piece or parcel, Abraham insists, no, I must pay. There 
must be a piece of the land that I possess, even if it's land 
where I'm going to bury people. And the same holds true with 
reference to Jacob. And I think Bach's point is accurate. 
Stephen's point is that they died in Egypt, but they didn't 
abandon the faith in Yahweh because they took those bodies and they 
buried them. in the land. That was an expression 
of their faith in the living God who had testified and promised 
that that land was going to be theirs. That's Stephen's point. Not that he got it wrong, not 
that he was mistaken, not that he doesn't know what he's talking 
about. I just think there's a basic 
rule of thumb that every Bible reader, especially in the 21st 
century, ought to adopt, is that when it appears that something 
is wrong in the Bible, the wrong is probably between our two ears. It's not a problem in the Bible, 
it's a problem with us. We need to reconcile, we need 
to work, we need to compare Scripture with Scripture, and when we do 
that, we will see and conclude, it's not the Bible, it's me. 
We confess an infallible and inerrant Word of God. And it's 
not only in matters of atonement and substitution, but it's in 
matters of burial and Canaan. It's in matters concerning patriarchs. 
It's in matters concerning 75 or 70. It's in all those matters, 
because if we can't trust the Bible when it comes to a basic 
presentation of historical fact, how can we trust the Bible when 
it comes to blood atonement through the Lamb of God who takes away 
the sin of the world? The problem is with us. It is 
never with God. And I think that's a good hermeneutical 
principle for all of us to adopt. Now, in terms of conclusion, 
some thoughts I want to end with. First, the defense of Stephen. I hope I've shown you that the 
apologist, or rather the evangelist here, Stephen, is not anti-Moses. He shows clearly that in the 
history of Israel, there are men chosen by God, sent by God, 
and ultimately rejected by Israel. I mean, anybody reading the narrative 
of Genesis would think, how dare these brothers do what they've 
done to Joseph? It's a terrible thing. But as 
well, how dare this council or Sanhedrin has done what they've 
done to Jesus? As well, Stephen is not anti-temple. He reiterates that God is not 
confined to temple in the land of Israel. Just like He appeared 
to Abraham outside the land. Just like He appeared to Abraham 
without temple, so does God appear to Joseph outside the land, even 
in Egypt, even in a prison. Stephen is tracing Israel's history, 
and the bulk of his defense is going to focus upon Moses. That 
shouldn't surprise us. He has been accused of speaking 
blasphemous words against Moses and the law. So it is natural 
that he's going to spend the bulk of his time with Moses. 
And he breaks up the life of Moses into three 40-year blocks, 
which is most likely how we will proceed in the coming weeks. 
But the patriarchs and this narrative is crucial. How'd they end up 
in Egypt? How do we get to the exodus in 
Egypt? Well, Stephen is sketching a biblical theology to inform 
them of that so that he can deal at length with Moses and ultimately 
their rejection of Moses, not his. Stephen continues to emphasize 
that the law of Moses, specifically the ceremonial aspect and the 
temple, pointed to Christ. Paul tells us that in Romans 
10, the end of the law or the telos, the purpose of the law 
is Christ. The purpose for the temple was 
Christ. This is why Christ said, destroy this temple and in three 
days I will raise it up. And they got so offended and 
they were so upset. But John the apostle tells us 
he was speaking about the temple of his body, this temple made 
without hands. The argument is clear. Now that 
that which the temple signified has come, there's no reason to 
go back to temple. It's the point of the book of 
Hebrews. The people of God are being tempted to go back to Moses, 
back to the Levitical system, back to the temple and the sacrifice. 
And Paul, I would argue, wrote Hebrews. He says, don't do that. All that stuff was types and 
shadows. It promotes us or points us rather 
to the Lord Jesus. And now that Jesus is here, don't 
go back to that sacrificial system. On a few occasions, I pointed 
out the fallacy of dispensationalism, the thought that they want to 
go back to temple, the thought that they want to reintroduce 
animal sacrifice. It is to go backward in redemptive 
history. And it holds more akin with these 
council members' interpretation of the Old Testament than it 
does with Stephen. Now, I'm not suggesting that 
dispensationalists reject Jesus Christ as the Messiah. They most 
certainly do, and for that we praise God. But this emphasis 
on temple, this idea of animal sacrifice in a future millennial 
kingdom, does not owe itself to the apostolic interpretation 
of the Old Testament. It just doesn't. We are not to 
go backwards, we're to go forwards in Jesus Christ. Secondly, we 
ought to appreciate in the passage, and again, these men would have 
got this, the sovereignty of God. The sovereignty of God. We dealt in the last hour, 9.30 
to 10.30 this morning, we dealt with our confession of faith. 
Chapter 5 is of divine providence. Again, That chapter is fleshed 
out for us in the book of Genesis. We saw that on, you know, Wednesday 
night, Genesis chapter 14, that alliance of Eastern kings that 
sort of worked their way through Israel, and then they abduct 
Lot, and then Abram arms his 318 household servants, and he 
goes after them, and he liberates Lot, and he sends those guys 
back to Syria from whence they came. God's all over that. God's 
all over the Joseph narrative, even in the ill treatment of 
Joseph. Even in the ill treatment, brethren, 
Romans 8.28 is not kidding. God causes all things to work 
together for good. Now, I think it's common for 
us to say, yeah, he does. He works the good things for 
the good. I don't think that needs to be specified by the 
apostle. I think we all agree that finding bags of money is 
God working good things in our lives. I think we'd all agree 
that a house by the lake on a beautiful day is given to us by God. Paul's 
point in Romans 8, 28 is that the miserable, horrible, wretched 
afflictions that you and I suffer are worked out by God for His 
glory and our good. Isn't that evident in the Joseph 
narrative? Even his ill treatment. His brothers 
wanted to kill him. His brothers throw him into a 
pit. While they're munching their sandwiches, the Ishmaelites come 
along. They say, well, let's sell him and then we'll make 
20 shekels of silver. You think, how in the world is 
God in that? Well, just read the rest of the narrative. God 
is in that in the exaltation of Joseph. God is in that in 
the provision laid up by Joseph. God is in that in the feeding 
of Jacob and his sons by Joseph. God is all over the book of Genesis, 
and we ought to be all over the book of Genesis as well. And 
then a third observation, and whether, you know, commentators 
sort of Question or wonder, are Stephen or Luke drawing out the 
typology here? In other words, is this typology 
legit? Whenever you deal with typology, 
you've got to be careful. There's got to be controls on 
types. You know, Paul tells us, for instance, that Adam was a 
type of Jesus. In Romans chapter 5, Adam was 
a type of him who was to come. A type is something in the Old 
Testament that points us forward to something in the New Testament. 
The temple is a type. It's the dwelling place of God 
and sinners. That's a type of Jesus Christ. Now, some suggest 
that Stephen is doing this. Others suggest that Stephen isn't 
doing this. I'm convinced that Stephen is doing this, and I'll 
tell you why. In the first place, the patriarchs 
failed to recognize that Joseph was chosen by God, and the council 
failed to recognize that Jesus was chosen by God. I could really 
go type crazy and say, you know, even Joseph's writing out his 
brothers is an illustration of Jesus and his holiness and, you 
know, making the religious leaders of his time uncomfortable. The 
fact that the father loved the son Joseph above the others. 
I mean, obviously, this is my beloved son in whom I am well 
pleased, but I don't think we even need to go that far. I think 
the specific things that Joseph or Stephen mentions A lot of 
names going on that Stephen mentions are conspicuously obvious that 
there is a typology going on. Notice, the patriarchs were motivated 
by their envy of Joseph. So was the council with Jesus. 
Remember Pilate, according to Matthew 27, 18, for he, Pilate, 
knew that they had handed him over because of envy. Again, 
one wonders, brethren, if the council followed this a little 
bit closer than we did, or do, because their dealings with Stephen 
indicate a great deal of animosity. They didn't possess lawful authority 
to execute Jesus, so they had to go to Pilate to get the kill 
order. When it comes to Stephen, not many years later, they kill 
him. block their ears, they gnash at him with their teeth, and 
they run him out of the city, and they stone him to death. 
Maybe they are connecting. Maybe they are following. Maybe 
they understand what he is saying. They reject it wholeheartedly, 
they despise it wholeheartedly, but they understand that Stephen's 
not just giving us a lesson or a history of Israel. Stephen's 
indicting us! Stephen's showing us to be the 
ones that reject Moses. Stephen's showing us to be the 
ones that are anti-temple. Stephen is showing us to be the 
guys with the problem. Exactly. That's what Stephen's 
doing. As well, the patriarch sold Joseph 
into Egypt for 20 shekels of silver. Genesis 37, 28. And these 
aren't accidents. You don't want to go too far 
with your typological approach, but you don't want to not go 
far enough. Jesus was sold for 30 pieces 
of silver. The same kind of people. That's 
Stephen's point. You're the same kind of people. 
You have solidarity with our fathers who persecuted the prophets. You have solidarity with our 
fathers who rejected the prophets. You have solidarity with our 
fathers who sold their brother into slavery, into Egypt. Because 
you betrayed and murdered the just and holy one. And as well, 
in both instances, Joseph and Jesus, the Lord had his purposes. 
Genesis 50-20, but as for you, you meant evil against me, but 
God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this 
day to save many people alive. Acts 2.23, Him being delivered 
by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have 
taken by lawless hands, have crucified and put to death. You 
see, there were good ends in the ill-treatment of both Joseph 
and Jesus. There were great ends in the 
ill-treatment of both Joseph and Jesus. In Joseph's case, 
his brothers got to eat. In Joseph's case, the nation 
got to hold together. In Joseph's case, the people 
of God were complete and fed. In Jesus' case, his death on 
the cross, which was wretched and terrible and horrific, had 
as its purpose the salvation of guilty, vile, helpless wretches 
like us. We'd all say yea and amen, that 
that was a great and wonderful purpose. The glory of God in 
the salvation of his people by Jesus Christ the Lord. They echo 
this sentiment in Acts 4, 27 and 28. For truly against your 
holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius 
Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered 
together to do whatever your hand and your purpose determined 
before to be done. There ought never to be a Christian 
who is presented with the truth of divine providence, who stumbles, 
or who has issues, or who has problems with it. In light of 
Genesis 50, verse 20, in light of Acts 2, verse 23, and in light 
of Acts chapter 4, every single one of God's people ought to 
realize God is comprehensively, absolutely, positively sovereign 
over all things, and He has as His purpose his glory, and the 
good of his people. Joseph is living testimony of 
that, and we are living testimony because we are the fruits of 
Christ's redemptive work. If you are not the fruits of 
Christ's redemptive work this morning, Then may I say to you, 
come unto the Lord Jesus Christ. The way of salvation is by grace 
alone, through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. It's not 
going to come through morality. You can shave every day until 
Jesus comes and wear a three-piece suit and go to hell with a clean-shaven 
face and a three-piece suit. That morality does not commend 
you to God. Your reforming your life does 
not commend you to God. The only commendation to God 
is through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the way of 
access is by faith in Him. Well, let us close in a word 
of prayer. Our Father, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You 
for Stephen's defense. And we thank you for its consistency 
and for its treatment in terms of the sovereignty of God, the 
efficacy of Christ's work, and the blessed reality that all 
of this was done for the saving of sinners. I pray that all over 
the earth today, as the gospel is preached, you would be pleased 
to save. As we sang in Psalm 67, we pray that you'd let the 
nations be glad. We pray that you would cause 
your face to shine upon the peoples. And we pray specifically for 
this place, any and all who are here that are unforgiven, those 
who are still dead in their trespasses and sins. May you resurrect them 
by the power of your Holy Spirit. May you grant them the graces 
of faith and repentance, and may they know the blessing of 
being found in Jesus Christ. Not having their own righteousness, 
which is from the law, but that righteousness which is from you. 
through faith in Christ Jesus the Lord. Go with us now. Father, 
help us to sanctify the day. Bring us together again tonight 
that we may worship you. And we pray through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen. Well, why don't you take your 
Trinity hymnal and we'll stand and close by singing the doxology 
in praise to our triune God. It's on page Roman numeral 16 
in the Trinity hymnal.