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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
“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.”
“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, who enjoyed God’s favor and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. But it was Solomon who built a house for Him.”
“However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says:”
“‘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? Has not my hand made all these things?’”
“You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 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—you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.”
Acts 7:44-53
This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
The high priest of the Sanhedrin council had asked Stephen a simple question, wanting to know if the charges levied against him were true.
Stephen responded with a series of history lessons, hoping to get the Jewish religious leaders to see they were repeating the mistakes of their ancestors in the way they had first dealt with Jesus and were now dealing with him and the other apostles. He first discussed Abraham, followed by Joseph, and then Moses who we looked at in yesterday’s message.
Today, we finish this series with Stephen reaching his main point. Ultimately, he hoped that the members of the Sanhedrin would open their hearts and minds to realize that God was at the center of all things and had ordained and ordered their history. When the Israelites trusted God and the people He appointed as leaders, then they flourished and were blessed. When they chose to follow their own will and way, they failed and failed miserably under the crush of God’s judgment because if there was one thing He made clear, it was that disobedience was unacceptable and He would deal harshly with anyone who opposed Him.
Back to the scriptures where we find Stephen turn his attention to the tabernacle and the eventual construction of a permanent place of worship for God. He reminds his listeners that Moses had overseen the construction of the tabernacle and made sure it was built just as God directed. The tabernacle made its way into the promised land as the Israelites took custody of the land God provided after driving out its inhabitants. The tabernacle would remain the centerpiece of Israelite worship through David who had desired to build a temple for the Lord but saw that honor go instead to his son Solomon.
But here was the thing. Before the tabernacle was built, God was active in the lives of His people. He didn’t really need any place to live and certainly He could not and would not be contained in any place constructed by human hands. If the Israelites believed that they had the corner on God simply by building a house for Him, they were sadly mistaken. But, that’s what they believed. They felt they had the corner on God and no one else was worthy of Him. If you weren’t a Jew, then you were a Gentile and an outsider not fit to have a relationship with God.
Unfortunately, no one could tell them this because they had their ears closed and their necks stiff. Their hearts and ears were not circumcised which was another way of saying they had no real covenant with God because symbolically, circumcision was always a sign that a man was one with God and obedient to His word, will, and way.
This is where the Sanhedrin was collectively as Stephen rebuked them saying:
“You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 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—you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.”
The truth hurts and Stephen spoke the truth. The actions of the Sanhedrin after he finished shows us that.
Because in a fit of rage, they hauled Stephen off to be executed by stoning, a death sentence overseen by a man named Saul who we’ll be revisiting a little later in Acts. They had done the same thing to Jesus and weren’t able to stop Christianity from coming because it was God’s plan, His new covenant with all people, Jew or otherwise, and no one was going to get in the way of that plan succeeding. That plan would continue after Stephen’s death for the Sanhedrin would not stop the Gospel from spreading but rather triggered a dispersing of Christian believers who fled to Judea and Samaria to escape persecution. The good news of eternal life in Jesus was no longer confined to Jerusalem and soon, it would end up heading to the ends of the earth, just as Jesus said it would.
We see it when we continue to revisit the history found in the scriptures, history that always serves to teach us life and faith lessons.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
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