Year 2, Week 40, Day 4 Bible Reading Observations

Year 2, Week 40, Day 4

I have a brief observation for today’s reading of Acts 6-7.

Today’s reading continues with the Book of Acts. The Book of Acts is a selective history of the early church, which demonstrates how Jesus, by the Spirit, empowers His followers to continue His work. The chapters from today’s reading introduce the reality of struggle in the life of the early church. The first segment of Acts 6 reports on an internal struggle: “Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution” (Acts 6:1). The Hellenist widows and the Hebrew widows were both Jewish, but they of a different cultural background and their first language was distinct from each other. Such differences helped fuel a disruption in the fellowship of the church. But the Apostles in cooperation with the membership put a plan in place to insure proper care for Hellenist widows: “Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:3-4). The second segment of Acts 6 reports on a growing external struggle that the early church faced: “And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen…rose up and disputed with Stephen…And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council” (Acts 6:9-10,12). Acts 7 continues the episode concerning Stephen as it records the message he gave before the council: “Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, “Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you” (Acts 7:2-3). Stephen provides an important survey of Israel’s history before the LORD.

One of the things that struck me from today’s reading is Stephen’s analysis of the LORD and the people of Israel: “But it was Solomon who built a house for him. Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by 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 what is the place of my rest? Did not my hand make all these things?” (Acts 6:47-50). Stephen started with the LORD calling Abraham to Himself and from there traces important aspects of Israel’s relationship with the LORD all the way down to Solomon building the Temple. The matter of the Temple is especially pertinent in part because the accusations against Stephen pertained to the Temple: “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God…This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us” (Acts 6:11b,13b-14). Of course the accusations were false, but they were having trouble refuting Stephen’s reasoning. Ironically, by accusing Stephen of speaking words against the law (v. 13), the false accusers themselves break that very law: “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Ex. 20:16).

Stephen’s message is the longest recorded in the Book of Acts. Stephen selects key moments in Israel’s history to demonstrate how they consistently reject the LORD’s man who is sent to redeem them. After establishing their common heritage from Abraham, Stephen refers to Joseph as his first key examples of how Israel rejected the one whom the LORD would provide to rescue them: “And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him and rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt” (Acts 7:9-10a). Next Stephen cites multiple examples of how Israel rejected Moses as the LORD’s man to rescue them: "This Moses, whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’—this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush” (Acts 7:35). But not only did the LORD use Moses to rescue His people, Moses also pointed to another whom the LORD would send to rescue: “This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years. This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers” (Acts 7:36-37, quoting Deuteronomy 18:15).

As Stephen draws his message to a close, he offers an inflammatory, and yet true, conclusion about Israel’s past and present: “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it” (Acts 7:51-54). Stephen declared that not only was there no prophet who had not been opposed by the Israelites, the present Jewish leadership murdered the Lord Jesus. Thus Stephen deemed them to be Law breakers. And with those words, they proved him to be correct: “Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him” (Acts 7:58). But the One who is seated at the right hand of God stood to receive Stephen: "But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:55).

What struck you in today’s reading? What questions were prompted from today’s reading?

Pastor Joe