May 29th, 2013
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

Unedited Truth

Please see the links to our EXTRA Bible Study notes at the bottom of the page.

Opening Prayer

Lord God, You are my Creator, Redeemer, and King. May my worship today be worthy of You. Thank You, Lord.

Read Acts 7:35-53

[35] “This is the same Moses they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself, through the angel who appeared to him in the bush. [36] He led them out of Egypt and performed wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea and for forty years in the wilderness. [37] “This is the Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your own people.’ [38] He was in the assembly in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors; and he received living words to pass on to us. [39] “But our ancestors refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt. [40] They told Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who led us out of Egypt-we don’t know what has happened to him!’ [41] That was the time they made an idol in the form of a calf. They brought sacrifices to it and reveled in what their own hands had made. [42] But God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the sun, moon and stars. This agrees with what is written in the book of the prophets: “‘Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the wilderness, people of Israel? [43] You have taken up the tabernacle of Molek and the star of your god Rephan, the idols you made to worship. Therefore I will send you into exile’ beyond Babylon. [44] “Our ancestors had the tabernacle of the covenant law with them in the wilderness. It had been made as God directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen. [45] After receiving the tabernacle, our ancestors under Joshua brought it with them when they took the land from the nations God drove out before them. It remained in the land until the time of David, [46] who enjoyed God’s favor and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. [47] But it was Solomon who built a house for him. [48] “However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says: [49] “‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me? says the Lord. Or where will my resting place be? [50] Has not my hand made all these things?’ [51] “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! [52] Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him- [53] you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.”

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.

Meditate

It’s better to declare the truth and be rejected than to withhold it just to be accepted.

Think Further

Stephen’s brilliance is seen in the way he reminds his hearers of aspects of their story they have conveniently ignored. They are God’s people, but often by default and never by merit. One thing never changed: they were experts at grumbling, even after deliverance from Egypt. Such a spirit can easily become endemic in a church, so that any initiative is met with open hostility. It is a tribute to those God raises up that they are not deflected from their task. Moses did set God’s people free, and he led them to the Promised Land via Mount Sinai. 

Here the law was given, the very law that Stephen is accused of speaking against. Stephen’s accusers gave the impression that they were, from day one, guardians of the law, but the facts tripped them up. While Moses was still receiving instruction from God the people were already planning to break the law. In one of the most shameful episodes of their history, they pined for Egypt, rejected Moses, and persuaded Aaron to construct an idol for their worship! Indeed, their subsequent history would demonstrate a continuing addiction to idolatry until, finally, it was purged by their exile. 

Here, too, they were given the blueprint for worship, first in the tabernacle, later the temple. These were to take center stage, both in their journeys and, later, in the Promised Land when finally established by Solomon. Both were simply a visual aid, however. They weren’t intended to be structures in which God could be contained. The people still rebelled. God raised up prophets to call the people to return to him and get ready for the one who was still to come, but they persecuted the prophets and murdered the Righteous One. Their response, now, to Stephen was the same: “pick up a stone!” Nothing changes!

Apply

It’s easy to make “the way we do things” an obstacle to seeing what new things God would teach us. Is this a problem for you? If so, what will you do?

Closing prayer

Lord, forgive me that so often I live looking backward and not forward, not anticipating Your leading into the future.

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