MOSES APPOINTS JUDGES
9 Moses continued, “At that time I told you, ‘You are too great a burden for me to carry all by myself.
10 The Lord your God has increased your population, making you as numerous as the stars!
11 And may the Lord, the God of your ancestors, multiply you a thousand times more and bless you as he promised!
12 But you are such a heavy load to carry! How can I deal with all your problems and bickering?
13 Choose some well-respected men from each tribe who are known for their wisdom and understanding, and I will appoint them as your leaders.’
14 “Then you responded, ‘Your plan is a good one.’
15 So I took the wise and respected men you had selected from your tribes and appointed them to serve as judges and officials over you. Some were responsible for a thousand people, some for a hundred, some for fifty, and some for ten.
16 “At that time I instructed the judges, ‘You must hear the cases of your fellow Israelites and the foreigners living among you. Be perfectly fair in your decisions
17 and impartial in your judgments. Hear the cases of those who are poor as well as those who are rich. Don’t be afraid of anyone’s anger, for the decision you make is God’s decision. Bring me any cases that are too difficult for you, and I will handle them.’
18 “At that time I gave you instructions about everything you were to do.
ACTS 7:44-53
STEPHEN'S SPEECH (continued)
44 “Our ancestors carried the Tabernacle with them through the wilderness. It was constructed according to the plan God had shown to Moses.
45 Years later, when Joshua led our ancestors in battle against the nations that God drove out of this land, the Tabernacle was taken with them into their new territory. And it stayed there until the time of King David.
46 “David found favor with God and asked for the privilege of building a permanent Temple for the God of Jacob.
47 But it was Solomon who actually built it.
48 However, the Most High doesn’t live in temples made by human hands. As the prophet says,
49 ‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Could you build me a temple as good as that?’
asks the Lord. Could you build me such a resting place?
50 Didn’t my hands make both heaven and earth?’
51 “You stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? That’s what your ancestors did, and so do you!
52 Name one prophet your ancestors didn’t persecute! They even killed the ones who predicted the coming of the Righteous One—the Messiah whom you betrayed and murdered.
53 You deliberately disobeyed God’s law, even though you received it from the hands of angels.”
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