“The promise God made to Abraham was soon to come true, and the number of people in Egypt grew large. Then a new king, who did not know who Joseph was, began to rule Egypt. This king tricked our people and was cruel to our ancestors, forcing them to leave their babies outside to die. At this time Moses was born, and he was very beautiful. For three months Moses was cared for in his father’s house. When they put Moses outside, the king’s daughter adopted him and raised him as if he were her own son. The Egyptians taught Moses everything they knew, and he was a powerful man in what he said and did.
“When Moses was about forty years old, he thought it would be good to visit his own people, the people of Israel. Moses saw an Egyptian mistreating one of his people, so he defended the Israelite and punished the Egyptian by killing him. Moses thought his own people would understand that God was using him to save them, but they did not. The next day when Moses saw two men of Israel fighting, he tried to make peace between them. He said, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why are you hurting each other?’ The man who was hurting the other pushed Moses away and said, ‘Who made you our ruler and judge? Are you going to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ When Moses heard him say this, he left Egypt and went to live in the land of Midian where he was a stranger. While Moses lived in Midian, he had two sons.
“Forty years later an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush as he was in the desert near Mount Sinai. When Moses saw this, he was amazed and went near to look closer. Moses heard the Lord’s voice say, ‘I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ Moses began to shake with fear and was afraid to look. The Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, because you are standing on holy ground. I have seen the troubles my people have suffered in Egypt. I have heard their cries and have come down to save them. And now, Moses, I am sending you back to Egypt.’
“This Moses was the same man the two men of Israel rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge?’ Moses is the same man God sent to be a ruler and savior, with the help of the angel that Moses saw in the burning bush. So Moses led the people out of Egypt. He worked miracles and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and then in the desert for forty years. This is the same Moses that said to the people of Israel, ‘God will give you a prophet like me, who is one of your own people.’ This is the Moses who was with the gathering of the Israelites in the desert. He was with the angel that spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and he was with our ancestors. He received commands from God that give life, and he gave those commands to us.
“But our ancestors did not want to obey Moses. They rejected him and wanted to go back to Egypt. They said to Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will lead us. Moses led us out of Egypt, but we don’t know what has happened to him.’ So the people made an idol that looked like a calf. Then they brought sacrifices to it and were proud of what they had made with their own hands. But God turned against them and did not try to stop them from worshiping the sun, moon, and stars. This is what is written in the book of the prophets: God says,
‘People of Israel, you did not bring me sacrifices and offerings
while you traveled in the desert for forty years.
You have carried with you
the tent to worship Molech
and the idols of the star god Rephan that you made to worship.
So I will send you away beyond Babylon.’
“The Holy Tent where God spoke to our ancestors was with them in the desert. God told Moses how to make this Tent, and he made it like the plan God showed him. Later, Joshua led our ancestors to capture the lands of the other nations. Our people went in, and God forced the other people out. When our people went into this new land, they took with them this same Tent they had received from their ancestors. They kept it until the time of David, who pleased God and asked God to let him build a house for him, the God of Jacob. But Solomon was the one who built the Temple.
“But the Most High does not live in houses that people build with their hands. As the prophet says:
‘Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
So do you think you can build a house for me? says the Lord.
Do I need a place to rest?
Remember, my hand made all these things!’ ”
Stephen continued speaking: “You stubborn people! You have not given your hearts to God, nor will you listen to him! You are always against what the Holy Spirit is trying to tell you, just as your ancestors were. Your ancestors tried to hurt every prophet who ever lived. Those prophets said long ago that the One who is good would come, but your ancestors killed them. And now you have turned against and killed the One who is good. You received the law of Moses, which God gave you through his angels, but you haven’t obeyed it.”
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