Ep 394 – Acts 7:2-16

Stephen is on trial. He has been accused of blasphemy against God and Moses. On top of that, he has been charged with what is no less than insurrection, declaring that Jesus had promised to destroy the Temple, the very house of God. And yet, as Stephen begins his defense, he will use the very history of the Israelites to prove to them that the God they revered sometimes works in ways that are difficult to understand. Throughout their history, God had made a habit of accomplishing His will for them and fulfilling His promises to them in very bizarre and sometimes, nonsensical ways. Acts 7:2-16 contains Stephen's recounting of all God's interactions with men like Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David and Solomon. Throughout Israelite history, there were countless examples of God speaking and acting in ways that would have appeared to be illogical. Why did He choose a man to begin a nation who was already old and who had a wife who was barren? What could have been the reason for God allowing Joseph, a descendant of Abraham, to be sold into slavery in Egypt? And why in world would God allow a famine to devastate the land of promise, forcing more of Abraham's descendants to end up as slaves in the land of Egypt as well. The Jews were having a hard time seeing God's hand in all that had taken place since the day of Pentecost. It made no sense to them. It appeared illogical and unacceptable to them. But Stephen was out to prove that Yahweh, their God, had always worked in wondrous ways.