Episode #96. Today we’ll read Acts chapter 7 together. Stephen recounts Jewish history and accuses the religious leaders, Stephen is stoned, and we meet Saul, whom we now know as Paul.
Transcript
Joy: You’re listening to the Lifting Her Voice podcast, Episode #96. Today we’ll read Acts chapter 7 together: Stephen recounts Jewish history and accuses the religious leaders; Stephen is stoned; and we meet Saul, whom we now know as Paul.
Welcome to the Lifting Her Voice podcast. I’m your host, Joy Miller, and I invite you to grab your Bible and join me as we simply read God’s word together. Some things require discipline and sometimes that’s just not easy to muster by yourself, no matter how badly you want to do it or how much you know you should. It’s just easier to do it with a friend. So refill your coffee or tea, get comfortable in your favorite chair and follow along as I read aloud. I’m so glad you’re here!
I just finished watching several YouTube videos on the Gorilla Test. I kind of cheated because I knew about the gorilla. But even though I knew about the gorilla, the testers did their own cheating with several variations that I did not expect. Consequently, I did not see them. Now, before you accuse me of having way too much time on my hands, there really was a purpose in watching the videos. Our book club is now reading Love Like That by Les Parrott. Over the next several months, we will learn five habits required to have that kind of love for people. But the first chapter resonated with me so strongly, I felt compelled to share it with you. We will never love like Jesus without improving our mindfulness. Jesus never hesitated to interrupt His own agenda to give His full attention to someone who needed Him. He actually looked at a person and saw him or her. I on the other hand, am frequently told by friends that they were sitting across the intersection, waving at me like a mad person from their car, and I never saw them. How can I love someone like Jesus when I never even see her? Does that hit a chord with you too? I’ll put a link to the book in the Show Notes below and on the Marketplace page at Lifting Her Voice.
Acts Chapter 7
1“Are these things true?” the high priest asked. 2“Brothers and fathers,” he replied, “listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he settled in Haran, 3and said to him: Leave your country and relatives, and come to the land that I will show you. 4“Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. From there, after his father died, God had him move to this land in which you are now living. 5He didn’t give him an inheritance in it — not even a foot of ground — but he promised to give it to him as a possession, and to his descendants after him, even though he was childless. 6God spoke in this way: His descendants would be strangers in a foreign country, and they would enslave and oppress them for four hundred years. 7I will judge the nation that they will serve as slaves, God said. After this, they will come out and worship me in this place. 8And so he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. After this, he fathered Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day. Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs. 9“The patriarchs became jealous of Joseph and sold him into Egypt, but God was with him 10and rescued him out of all his troubles. He gave him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and over his whole household. 11Now a famine and great suffering came over all of Egypt and Canaan, and our ancestors could find no food. 12When Jacob heard there was grain in Egypt, he sent our ancestors there the first time. 13The second time, Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to Pharaoh. 14Joseph invited his father Jacob and all his relatives, seventy-five people in all, 15and Jacob went down to Egypt. He and our ancestors died there, 16were carried back to Shechem, and were placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem. 17“As the time was approaching to fulfill the promise that God had made to Abraham, the people flourished and multiplied in Egypt 18until a different king who did not know Joseph ruled over Egypt. 19He dealt deceitfully with our race and oppressed our ancestors by making them abandon their infants outside so that they wouldn’t survive. 20At this time Moses was born, and he was beautiful in God’s sight. He was cared for in his father’s home for three months. 21When he was put outside, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted and raised him as her own son. 22So Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in his speech and actions. 23“When he was forty years old, he decided to visit his own people, the Israelites. 24When he saw one of them being mistreated, he came to his rescue and avenged the oppressed man by striking down the Egyptian. 25He assumed his people would understand that God would give them deliverance through him, but they did not understand. 26The next day he showed up while they were fighting and tried to reconcile them peacefully, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why are you mistreating each other? ’ 27“But the one who was mistreating his neighbor pushed Moses aside, saying: Who appointed you a ruler and a judge over us? 28Do you want to kill me, the same way you killed the Egyptian yesterday? 29“When he heard this, Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons. 30After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning bush. 31When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight. As he was approaching to look at it, the voice of the Lord came: 32I am the God of your ancestors — the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob. Moses began to tremble and did not dare to look. 33“The Lord said to him: Take off the sandals from your feet, because the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt; I have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free. And now, come, I will send you to Egypt. 35“This Moses, whom they rejected when they said, Who appointed you a ruler and a judge? — this one God sent as a ruler and a deliverer through the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36This man led them out and performed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for forty years. 37“This is the Moses who said to the Israelites: God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. 38He is the one who was in the assembly in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors. He received living oracles to give to us. 39Our ancestors were unwilling to obey him. Instead, they pushed him aside, and in their hearts turned back to Egypt. 40They told Aaron: Make us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we don’t know what’s happened to him. 41They even made a calf in those days, offered sacrifice to the idol, and were celebrating what their hands had made. 42God turned away and gave them up to worship the stars of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: House of Israel, did you bring me offerings and sacrifices for forty years in the wilderness? 43 You took up the tent of Moloch and the star of your god Rephan, the images that you made to worship. So I will send you into exile beyond Babylon. 44“Our ancestors had the tabernacle of the testimony in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses commanded him to make it according to the pattern he had seen. 45Our ancestors in turn received it and with Joshua brought it in when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before them, until the days of David. 46He found favor in God’s sight and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. 47It was Solomon, rather, who built him a house, 48but the Most High does not dwell in sanctuaries made with hands, as the prophet says: 49 Heaven is my throne, and the earth my footstool. What sort of house will you build for me? says the Lord, or what will be my resting place? 50 Did not my hand make all these things? 51“You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are always resisting the Holy Spirit. As your ancestors did, you do also. 52Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become. 53You received the law under the direction of angels and yet have not kept it.” 54When they heard these things, they were enraged and gnashed their teeth at him. 55Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven. He saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56He said, “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” 57They yelled at the top of their voices, covered their ears, and together rushed against him. 58They dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. And the witnesses laid their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59While they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” 60He knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” And after saying this, he fell asleep.
If you have not read the Old Testament, Stephen’s sermon is the Reader’s Digest Condensed Version of Jewish history. It specifically contains examples of how every prophet of God pointed to the coming of Jesus. I’ve often imagined that this is pretty much the same rundown that Jesus must have given to the two disciples on the Road to Emmaus. Notice at the end of his speech what caused the Jews to lose their minds. Both as an encouragement to Stephen and as a witness to the crowd, God opened the heavens and allowed Stephen to see his risen Savior at the right hand of God. And in the ensuing madness, Christ’s Church experienced her first martyrdom. There are two important things to notice here. First, the seemingly sidelined, inconsequential young man named Saul. I assure you that he is more than just a coat boy. Jesus has great plans for this unlikely apostle-to-be, despite the fact that at this moment, he is causing great damage to the church. Finally, we cannot miss that Stephen used nearly the same words as Christ in asking God to forgive those who were taking his life. That is not mere zealousness for his calling. That is love. Let’s pray. Father, I can’t help but get caught up in the energy and emotion of this scene. It is another example of how suffering can be expected if we are to truly to expect the furtherance of Your Kingdom. But it’s not just suffering, is it? It’s loving like Jesus. Would You fill us with that kind of love, Lord? Would You equip us as You did Stephen? It’s a serious commitment so I pray also that You would fill us anew with the power of Your Holy Spirit. Amen.
Thank you for joining me here today. I pray God will grow in you what has been planted and watered here. In this time of unprecedented struggle worldwide, we can look to God for guidance and comfort. Be sensitive to those in your circle of influence who need a word of encouragement and invite them to join us. If you like this show, it would be great if you give it a five-star review. Don’t forget to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. See you right here tomorrow. Be well!
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian Standard Bible(r), Copyright (c) 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible(r) and CSB(r) are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.
Show Notes
- Awesome Video of Solomon’s Temple
- These will help! Overview videos of all books of the Bible
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