Acts 6-7
We are in Fredericksburg, TX. and the humidity is almost non-existent. After steamy, sweaty Houston, this is very nice. Nice breeze.
Acts 6 starts out with the story of the election of 7 (there's that number again) new leaders to keep up with the growing needs of the church. (That's quite a jump in staff from 12 to 19, but you have to remember they added 3000 on the first day of church!). The original disciples realize that to have a good outreach program, they must take care of the needs of the people that are already part of the church. Good inreach = good outreach! Stephen, the first of the 7 mentioned, is described as "full of faith and the Holy Spirit". Later on in verse 8 his accolades continue as he is further described as "full of grace and power". This is someone very special.
There is a group of people that don't like Stephen. They are from the Synagogue of the Freedmen. These are people that have been former slaves, but have now become Roman citizens and settled in Jerusalem. Since they are Roman citizens, they probably have some kind of political power. They tried arguing with Stephen, and when they failed they resort to slander. Stephen tries to help the people understand even the temple, as great as it is, is nothing God needs. This does not make the Freedmen happy.
Stephen accuses his accusers of 4 evils. They are 1) stiffnecked (recalling the Lord's condemning of Israel in Ex. 33:3, 5), 2) "uncircumcised of heart and ears", 3) "forever opposing the Holy Spirit", and 4) behaving just like their ancestors who did not give their heroes proper respect.
When they heard these things they became enraged to the point of grinding their teeth (Chapter 7, verse 54; see Psalm 35:16, 37:12, 112:10). That is angry!
To make sure they "followed the law" the pious, angry mob takes Stephen "out of the city" to stone him to death (see Lev. 24:11-13, Numbers 15:35). I wonder how they interpreted "thou shalt not kill".
This is a bitter parting marked by a violent deed. Any questions?
Tomorrow our reading is about miracles and power. Much happier scenerios.
I'm not sure what law the mob was trying to uphold, but mob rules are never logical/reasonable. Most mobs forget what got them into a frenzy in the first place. After reading these two chapters, I am reminded of the constant attack our country is under wrt separation of church and state. As the song you posted in facebook said, our nation was founded on Christian principles. This attack on values is one of the few political debates which gets me really upset. I think Stephen really said it like it was and called people out on where they were wrong.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you wrote about the "thou shall not kill" command. Didn't think about that until now, but a very good point. I read this chp with fresh eyes and have deep respect for Stephen. His was such a righteous anger. Their anger showed a "cut to the heart" that brought their sin into light. They couldn't deal and rather than deal and repent, they just got rid of him...but again you cant stop God. Wow! God's power amazes me.
ReplyDeleteZeroG, I agree. When people attack the Christian principles that our country was founded on, I just dont believe they understand the magnitude of what they are doing. What other principles would they rather be guided by? I shudder to think.
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