Acts 7:3

3 and told him, ‘Leave your country and your kindred and go to the land I will show you.’ ^[a]

Acts 7:3 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 7:3

And said unto him
Not the words in ( Genesis 12:1 ) for they were said in Haran, these in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt there, and besides, these are different from them; no mention is here made of getting out from his father's house, as there; because his father's house sent along with him, or rather he with them from Mesopotamia to Haran:

get thee out of thy country;
from Ur of the Chaldees, where he was born:

and from thy kindred;
his relations that lived in the same place, who did not go along with him:

and come into the land which I shall show thee;
not telling him the place whither he was to go; wherefore when he had his first call, and first set out, he knew not whither he went; see ( Hebrews 11:8 ) . This was an emblem of the calling of the saints out of the world, from their former course of life, and from among their old companions and friends, to follow Christ whithersoever he is pleased to lead them; and who at last will bring them safe to the land afar off, the better and heavenly country.

Acts 7:3 In-Context

1 Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these charges true?”

2 And Stephen declared: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,

3 and told him, ‘Leave your country and your kindred and go to the land I will show you.’

4 So Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After his father died, God brought him out of that place and into this land where you are now living.

5 He gave him no inheritance here, not even a foot of ground. But God promised to give possession of the land to Abraham and his descendants, even though he did not yet have a child.

Footnotes

• [a]. Genesis 12:1