Study Desk

And ^(F1)Stephen said, "Listen to me, ^(F2)(C1)brothers and fathers! ^(C2)The God of glory ^(C3)appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in ^(F3)Haran,

and He said to him, '^(C1)GO FROM YOUR COUNTRY AND YOUR RELATIVES, AND COME TO THE LAND WHICH I WILL SHOW YOU.'

"^(C1)Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in ^(F1)Haran. And ^(C2)from there, after his father died, God had him move to this country in which you are now living.

"But He gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot of ground, and yet, ^(C1)He promised that He would give it to him as a possession, and to his descendants after him, even though he had no child.

"But ^(C1)God spoke to this effect, that his DESCENDANTS WOULD BE STRANGERS IN A LAND THAT WAS NOT THEIRS, AND ^(F1)THEY WOULD ENSLAVE AND MISTREAT THEM FOR FOUR HUNDRED YEARS.

"'AND WHATEVER NATION TO WHICH THEY ARE ENSLAVED I MYSELF WILL JUDGE,' said God, 'AND ^(C1)AFTER THAT THEY WILL COME OUT AND ^(F1)SERVE ME IN THIS PLACE.'

"And He ^(C1)gave him ^(F1)the covenant of circumcision; and so ^(C2)Abraham fathered Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day; and ^(C3)Isaac fathered Jacob, and ^(C4)Jacob, the twelve ^(C5)patriarchs.

"The patriarchs ^(C1)became jealous of Joseph and sold him into Egypt. Yet God was with him,

and rescued him from all his afflictions, and ^(C1)granted him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he made him governor over Egypt and his entire household.

"Now ^(C1)a famine came over all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction with it, and our fathers ^(F1)could find no food.

"But ^(C1)when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers there the first time.

"And on the second visit, ^(C1)Joseph ^(F1)made himself known to his brothers, and ^(C2)Joseph's family was revealed to Pharaoh.

"Then ^(C1)Joseph sent word and invited his father Jacob and all his relatives to come to him, ^(C2)seventy-five ^(F1)(C3)people in all.

"And ^(C1)Jacob went down to Egypt, and he and our fathers died there.

"And they were brought back from there to ^(F1)(C1)Shechem and laid in the tomb which Abraham had purchased for a sum of money from the sons of ^(F2)Hamor in ^(F1)Shechem.

"But as the ^(C1)time of the promise which God had assured to Abraham was approaching, ^(C2)the people increased and multiplied in Egypt,

until ^(C1)ANOTHER KING AROSE OVER EGYPT WHO DID NOT KNOW JOSEPH.

"It was he who ^(C1)shrewdly took advantage of our nation and mistreated our fathers in order that they would ^(C2)abandon their infants in the Nile, so that they would not survive.

"At this time ^(C1)Moses was born; and he was beautiful to God. He was nurtured for three months in his father's home.

"And after he had been put outside, ^(C1)Pharaoh's daughter ^(F1)took him away and nurtured him as her own son.

"Moses was educated in all ^(C1)the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was proficient in ^(F1)speaking and action.

"But when he was approaching the age of forty, ^(C1)it entered his ^(F1)mind to visit his countrymen, the sons of Israel.

"And when he saw one of them being treated unjustly, he defended and took vengeance for the oppressed man by fatally striking the Egyptian.

"And he thought that his brothers understood that God was granting them ^(F1)deliverance ^(F2)through him; but they did not understand.

"^(C1)And on the following day he appeared to them as they were fighting each other, and he tried to reconcile them to peace, by saying, 'Men, you are brothers, why are you injuring each other?'

"But the one who was injuring his neighbor pushed him away, saying, '^(C1)WHO MADE YOU A RULER AND JUDGE OVER US?

'^(C1)YOU DO NOT INTEND TO KILL ME AS YOU KILLED THE EGYPTIAN YESTERDAY, DO YOU?'

"At this remark, ^(C1)MOSES FLED AND BECAME A STRANGER IN THE LAND OF ^(F1)MIDIAN, where he ^(C2)fathered two sons.

"After forty years had passed, ^(C1)an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning thorn bush.

"When Moses saw it, he was astonished at the sight; and as he approached to look more closely, the voice of the Lord came:

'^(C1)I AM THE GOD OF YOUR FATHERS, THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND ISAAC, AND JACOB.' Moses shook with fear and did not dare to look closely.

"^(C1)But the LORD said to him, '^(F1)(C2)REMOVE YOUR SANDALS FROM YOUR FEET, FOR THE PLACE ON WHICH YOU ARE STANDING IS HOLY GROUND.

'^(C1)I HAVE CERTAINLY SEEN THE OPPRESSION OF MY PEOPLE WHO ARE IN EGYPT, AND HAVE HEARD THEIR GROANING, AND I HAVE COME DOWN TO RESCUE THEM; AND ^(C2)NOW COME, I WILL SEND YOU TO EGYPT.'

"This Moses whom they ^(C1)disowned, saying, 'WHO MADE YOU A RULER AND A JUDGE?' is the one whom God ^(F1)sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer with the ^(F2)help of the angel who appeared to him in the thorn bush.

"^(C1)This man led them out, performing ^(C2)wonders and ^(F1)signs in the land of Egypt and in the Red Sea, and in the ^(C3)wilderness for forty years.