DAY #189: Acts 6:8-7:16

Stephen was one of the managers of food distribution in the early church. The most important prerequisite for any kind of Christian service is to be filled with God’s grace and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Besides being a man of high character as well as one who was used of God in doing great works of power, Stephen was also a skilled debater. Notice the combination of Stephen’s wisdom and the empowering work of the Spirit.

Some men lied about Stephen, causing him to be arrested and brought before the high council (before whom the apostles had just recently appeared. The group falsely accused Stephen of blaspheming Moses, partly because they knew that the Sadducees, who controlled the council, believed only in Moses’ laws. In their view, to blaspheme Moses was a crime. The entire council is mentioned here as being roused against Stephen. The crowds were riled up as well.

Similar to the way that Jesus had been handled, Stephen was the victim of a lying conspiracy. When Stephen was brought before the council, the accusation against him was the same that the religious leaders had used against Jesus. As it was with Jesus and here with Stephen, this was not a wholesale fabrication but rather a subtle misrepresentation of Stephen’s actual words.

They twisted his comments into making him say that Jesus of Nazareth will destroy the Temple and change the customs Moses handed down. Jesus did not nullify Moses’ law, but rather he completely fulfilled it. The religious leaders did not see this, however, and only saw someone seeming to make changes to what Moses had spoken. To them, that was blasphemy. The avid followers of Moses among his accusers (especially the Sadducees) would have made the connection.

Stephen launched into a speech about Israel’s relationship with God. From Old Testament history, he showed that the Jews had constantly rejected God’s message and his prophets and that the current Jewish leaders had rejected the Messiah, God’s Son. He made three main points: (1) Israel’s history is the history of God’s acts in the world; (2) people worshiped God long before there was a Temple because God does not live in a Temple; and (3) the Jewish leaders’ rejection of Jesus was just one more example of Israel’s rebellion against and rejection of God.

Stephen recalled; At God’s call, Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans, referring to Mesopotamia, mentioned in the previous verse. The first stop on Abraham’s journey to the land of Canaan was at Haran, a large city in the upper Euphrates valley.

Even after settling in the Promised Land (curiously referred to as the land where you now live), Abraham owned no property. Only very late in his life, when he needed a place to bury Sarah, did he buy any property there. Stephen referred to both the land, of which Abraham owned not even one square foot, and the promised descendants—none of whom had even been born yet, both crucial aspects of the covenant promise God had given Abraham. He had to believe the unfulfilled promises of God. He had to look ahead in faith to what God was doing, not to what seemed best or most logical.

Abraham’s faith was tested further when he was told that his descendants would be mistreated as slaves for four hundred years. The Hebrews did eventually come out of slavery and worship God in Israel. But God had been with them in Egypt—still revealing himself to them, still guiding them, and still blessing them.

Stephen’s speech moved to a brief summary of the life of Joseph. His brothers were very jealous and sold him to be a slave in Egypt. The story is recorded in Genesis 37:12-36. But God was with Joseph. Genesis 39–50 records Joseph’s ups and downs in Egypt—yet he always remained faithful to God. In the end, God gave him favor before Pharaoh himself. As the following verses demonstrate, Joseph become the savior of his people.

When a famine struck, the leaders in Egypt were not caught off guard, for Pharaoh had foreseen it in a dream from God, which God had given Joseph the ability to interpret. As a result Joseph had wisely suggested that during the good years before the famine, extra grain be collected and held so that when the famine years came, there would be food for everyone. Jacob sent his sons to Egypt to get food, and Joseph recognized them immediately. He did not reveal himself, however, for he wanted to find out first if their characters had improved since that day they had sold him as a slave.

It was on the brothers’ second visit that Joseph revealed himself to them, having thoroughly tested them for changes in their attitudes. In what has to be one of the most emotional scenes in all of Scripture (Genesis 45), Joseph revealed himself to his brothers. This opened the door for moving the entire patriarchal band to Egypt. This was all part of God’s sovereign plan to provide for Israel’s needs in the famine and to move them to Egypt, as had been predicted to Abraham.


SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)

Why is that when people are confronted with heir sin, they lash out and destroy the messenger, rather that listening to the message? What is it about us that can't be humble enough to submit to confrontation? Why does pride have such a grip in us? The Pharisees were so hard hearted. So convicted by Stephens words that they could not bear to hear the truth about their sin and wickedness, so they killed him.

Oh Lord, break me of my pride. Break me of my self-centerdness and hard heartedness. Give me a humble heart, which You will not despise or reject. Give the people of COV this same heart. Lord, give us a heart to grow and a heart to be disciplined by Your word. Give us a heart
to respond well to confrontation and rebuke.