Acts 7:10
And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house. And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.
Acts 7:10 belongs to the testimony of Stephen, the foremost of the seven deacons, a man of deep piety and broad faith who boldly proclaimed Christ and ably defended the truth as a student of the prophecies and the law. It was spoken as part of his defense before the council when questioned on a charge of blasphemy, given as his final testimony amid strong resistance, whose significance is understood in light of its occasion, time, and place. It was spoken under the direction and power of the Holy Spirit in a clear, thrilling voice that held the assembly spellbound, with a wisdom and spirit that learned rabbis and doctors of the law could not resist. In that irresistible wisdom the verse fulfills the promise that Christ would give His followers speech and wisdom that no adversaries could refute or withstand.
As part of that address the verse belongs to a rehearsal of the history of God's chosen people from Abraham onward through generation to generation to Solomon, drawn from the national records of Israel and selecting the most impressive points to vindicate his cause. That historical rehearsal, including its testimony about the patriarchs, shows thorough knowledge of the Jewish system and its spiritual interpretation now made manifest through Christ, following the practice of proving the mission of Christ from the Scriptures beginning with Moses and the prophets. In that preaching the verse gives inspired proof regarding the mission, suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, proving the identity of Jesus as the Messiah through the testimony of Moses and the prophets and showing that it was the voice of Christ speaking through the prophets and patriarchs from the days of Adam onward. It presents Christ as the key that unlocks the Old Testament and gives access to its rich treasures, so that all religious services and ceremonies are valueless if the Saviour revealed and represented in them is rejected; the Passover cannot be explained without Christ, and the bronze serpent lifted up in the wilderness symbolized Jesus lifted up on the cross. It corrects the expectation about the Messiah by showing that prophecy foretold a Saviour coming in humility and poverty to be rejected, despised, and slain, reasoning from the Scriptures concerning the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.