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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem. From Perga they went on to Pisidian Antioch.
On the Sabbath they entered the synagogue and sat down. After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent word to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have a word of exhortation for the people, please speak.”
Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said:
“Fellow Israelites and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me! The God of the people of Israel chose our ancestors; He made the people prosper during their stay in Egypt; with mighty power He led them out of that country; for about forty years He endured their conduct in the wilderness; and He overthrew seven nations in Canaan, giving their land to His people as their inheritance. All this took about 450 years.”
Acts 13:4-20
This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Words of exhortation.
Everyone needs them and as we see with all other things, the Bible is always capable of meeting our needs, whatever they may be.
Pastors as well as Bible teachers and writers use the scriptures every day to share words of exhortations with their listeners and readers. It’s been that way since the Word of God was provided and therefore made available to share with others. And as we continue our study of Acts 13 today, we see Paul get an opportunity to provide words of exhortation to a synagogue audience gathered on the Sabbath in Pisidian Antioch.
Now we have been introduced already to the ancient Syrian city of Antioch, the first place that believers were called Christians, but don’t get that Antioch confused with where Paul and Barnabas were. For Pisidian Antioch was located about 100 miles to the north of Perga, quite a journey on foot. There was quite a Jewish population in the city and therefore who Paul and Barnabas targeted it.
We read where they were welcomed to speak while in the local synagogue by its leaders. The invitation came after the there was the traditional reading of the Law and the Prophets, and we see where Paul doesn’t pass up the opportunity. The message of exhortation was his first recorded teaching and preaching in the scriptures, and serves as the foundation for this six part series.
Today, we look at part 1. Look at the opening words of Paul’s message here:
“Fellow Israelites and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me! The God of the people of Israel chose our ancestors; He made the people prosper during their stay in Egypt; with mighty power He led them out of that country; for about forty years He endured their conduct in the wilderness; and He overthrew seven nations in Canaan, giving their land to His people as their inheritance. All this took about 450 years.”
Keep in mind that Paul’s audience is predominantly Jewish but there were some Gentiles present who were God believers as well. He commands them to listen to what he has to say and as he builds chronologically to Jesus, we find him beginning with the ancestors of the Israelites and their Egyptian captivity. Paul asserts that the captivity wasn’t all bad, reminding his Jewish listeners that their ancestors had been first chosen by God and then blessed with prosperity during their stay in Egypt.
Note here the overriding theme in this part of the exhortation message, one that we will see repeated in future devotions in this series. The focus is fully on God and God alone as the mighty, divine Orchestrator of all things.
He chose the people of Israel.
He made the Israelites prosper during their time in Egypt and at His appointed time, He led them out of that country.
It was God who then led His chosen people for forty years in the wilderness, putting up with the Israelites’ conduct (or maybe we should call it misconduct).
And it was God who overthrew seven Canaanite nations and giving the land to His chosen people.
All of this happened over a 450 year period, and a busy 450 years it was.
So what was the point? What exhortation is found in the opening of this message?
It’s pretty fundamental really. For Paul is telling his listeners and reminding us that our focus needs to be on God, our Maker and Master, the One who dictates the destiny of all peoples and the nations they abide in. He has been, is, and always will be in complete control, and the One who should be honored and glorified above all.
Take a look at your ancestry and you’ll see God at work there. In tomorrow’s lesson, we’ll continue to see Paul use the heritage of the Israelites to extend his message of exhortation.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
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