71 Then the high priest said, Are these things true? 2 And he said, My brothers and fathers, give hearing. The God of glory came to our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he was living in Haran, 3 And said to him, Go out of your land, and away from your family, and come into the land to which I will be your guide. 4 Then he came out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and went into Haran; and from there, when his father was dead, he was guided by God into this land, where you are living now: 5 And God gave him no heritage in it, not even enough to put his foot on: but he gave him an undertaking that he would give it to him and to his children after him, though he had no child at that time. 6 And God said that his seed would be living in a strange land, and that they would make them servants, and be cruel to them for four hundred years. 7 And I will be the judge, said God, of that nation which made them servants: and after that, they will come out and give me worship in this place. 8 And he made with him the agreement of which circumcision was the sign. And so Abraham had a son, Isaac, and gave him circumcision on the eighth day; and Isaac had a son, Jacob, and Jacob was the father of the twelve heads of the families of Israel. 9 And the brothers, moved with envy against Joseph, gave him to the Egyptians for money: but God was with him, 10 And made him free from all his troubles, and gave him wisdom and the approval of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and all his house. 11 Now there was no food to be had in all Egypt and Canaan, and there was great trouble: and our fathers were not able to get food. 12 But Jacob, hearing that there was grain in Egypt, sent out our fathers the first time. 13 And the second time his brothers had a meeting with Joseph, and Pharaoh had knowledge of Joseph's family. 14 Then Joseph sent for Jacob his father and all his family, seventy-five persons. 15 And Jacob went down to Egypt, and came to his end there, and so did our fathers;
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Acts 7:1-15
Commentary on Acts 7:1-16
(Read Acts 7:1-16)
Stephen was charged as a blasphemer of God, and an apostate from the church; therefore he shows that he is a son of Abraham, and values himself on it. The slow steps by which the promise made to Abraham advanced toward performance, plainly show that it had a spiritual meaning, and that the land intended was the heavenly. God owned Joseph in his troubles, and was with him by the power of his Spirit, both on his own mind by giving him comfort, and on those he was concerned with, by giving him favour in their eyes. Stephen reminds the Jews of their mean beginning as a check to priding themselves in the glories of that nation. Likewise of the wickedness of the patriarchs of their tribes, in envying their brother Joseph; and the same spirit was still working in them toward Christ and his ministers. The faith of the patriarchs, in desiring to be buried in the land of Canaan, plainly showed they had regard to the heavenly country. It is well to recur to the first rise of usages, or sentiments, which have been perverted. Would we know the nature and effects of justifying faith, we should study the character of the father of the faithful. His calling shows the power and freeness of Divine grace, and the nature of conversion. Here also we see that outward forms and distinctions are as nothing, compared with separation from the world, and devotedness to God.