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John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Acts 7:24

Verse 24 24.When he saw a certain man. Moses came not to this spectacle by chance, but forasmuch as God had appointed him to be the deliverer of his people, he would have him show forth this token, and, as it were, make this beginning. For Stephen doth plainly express that he did attempt nothing unadvisedly, but did that which became him that was appointed to be a deliverer of the people, knowing that he was thereunto called. For unless God had armed him, (and made him puissant,) it had been a... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 7:1-53

The recital of a nation's spiritual pedigree—its leading suggestions. Technically the description of a defense may very justly be applied to the long stretch of these verses. They no doubt do stand for Stephen's formal defense. He has been very mildly challenged by the high priest to say whether the "things" laid to his charge "are so." And he loses not a minute in replying. He replies, however, in his own way. That way is somewhat indirect. His tone betrays some sense of his being in... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 7:1-60

The first martyrdom. When we look at the Lord Jesus as our Exemplar, though we are conscious that all his excellences of life and character were strictly human, and within the range of those human faculties which we possess in common with our Lord, yet are we also conscious that the transcendent perfection of his human life is what we can never reach. Our Lord's goodness was the goodness of man, and yet it is a goodness that we never can attain to. Where his feet stood firm, our feet will... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 7:2-53

Stephen's defense. It was usual in the court of the Sanhedrim to allow an accused person to plead guilty or not guilty, and to speak in his own defense. As this address of Stephen's is his defense, we must know of what he was accused. Generally it may be said that he was a blasphemer of God and the Law; but, to understand how such a charge could possibly be made, we must appreciate the intense and superstitious feeling concerning Mosaism which characterized the rulers of that day. The more... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 7:17-29

Israel in Egypt: the rise of Moses. We may view these events as typical of the Christian time or as expressive of an inner meaning, a Divine logic of history. We may learn, then, from this passage— I. THAT DIVINE BEGINNINGS IN HISTORY ARE NEVER WITHOUT STRUGGLES , The people grew and increased, but a sudden check was given to their prosperity by the accession of a new king. Israel might have settled in Egypt and have achieved no great thing for the world, had not... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 7:20-39

The Divine and the human. I. DIVINE INTERVENTION . The hand of God is sometimes visible though it is usually unseen. We see the Divine working in II. HUMAN NOBLENESS . ( Acts 7:23-28 ; see Hebrews 11:24-26 .) It was" in Moses' heart to visit his brethren," and he took their cause in hand in a very practical and decisive way ( Acts 7:24 ). He may have been mistaken in the method which he adopted, but that is of very small moment. The great thing is that it was in his heart... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 7:22

Instructed for learned, A.V.; he was mighty for was mighty, A.V.; in his words and works for in words and in deeds, A.V. and T.R. The statement of Moses being instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians , though not found in Exodus, was doubtless true. Josephus makes Thermeutis speak of him as "of a noble understanding;" and says that he was "brought up with much care and diligence." And Philo, in his life of Moses(quoted by Whitby), says he was smiled in music, geometry,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 7:23

Well-nigh for full , A.V. When he was precisely forty years old (Meyer) The exact meaning seems to be "when he was in the act of completing forty years." The account in Exodus 2:11 only says, "When Moses was grown" ( μέγας γενόμενος , LXX .); the age of forty years, and the number of years, forty, that he sojourned in Midian, as given below, verse 30, are traditional. "There are that say that Moses was forty years in Pharaoh's palace, forty years in Midian, and forty years in the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 7:23-29

Marks of the born reformer. Conversion does not by any means purport to create new powers of mind or to substitute new qualities of heart, but to direct aright the powers which are already the gifts of nature or creation—to direct them to right and worthy objects, and to fill them with right and worthy energy. So also inspiration does not purport to override natural sources of knowledge and natural gifts, so as to obliterate the prevailing marks of individual character and even individual... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Acts 7:22

Moses was learned - Or, was “instructed.” It does not mean that he had that learning, but that he was carefully “trained” or educated in that wisdom. The passage does not express the fact that Moses was distinguished for “learning,” but that he was carefully “educated,” or that pains were taken to make him learned.In all the wisdom ... - The learning of the Egyptians was confined chiefly to astrology, to the interpretation of dreams, to medicine, to mathematics, and to their sacred science or... read more

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