Wednesday, October 7, 2020

The Acts of the Apostles, the history of the early church, by Luke the physician - Acts 7:42-50 comments : Stephen's defense, part 3

 


Acts 7:42 ¶  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? 43  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. 44  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. 45  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; 46  Who found favour before God, and desired to find a tabernacle for the God of Jacob. 47  But Solomon built him an house. 48  Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, 49  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? 50  Hath not my hand made all these things?

 

Note that God gave them up to worship the host of heaven. Compare that with Paul’s accounting of mankind’s religious history.

 

Romans 1:22  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,23  And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.24  Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:25  Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.26  For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:27  And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

 

In this we see that our societal ills are a judgment on us from God after we worshipped the creature more than the Creator. He prevents us from doing things and, yet, can withdraw His hand of protection from us and allow those things to be expressed to our ultimate sorrow.

 

In verses 43 Moloch would be Moloch or Molech from the Old Testament and Remphan would be Chiun.

 

Amos 5:25  Have ye offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel? 26  But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves. 27  Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the LORD, whose name is The God of hosts.

 

Verse 45 makes an interesting declaration. The Joshua from Old Testament Hebrew is Jesus of New Testament Greek. At least one commentator believes that this shows that Jesus will return in the same route as Joshua entered the Holy Land. Joshua was a warrior leader as Jesus will be when He returns.

 

For verses 49 and 50 see the following;

 

Isaiah 66:1 ¶  Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? 2a  For all those things hath mine hand made,

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