With a Subtitle: This passage reminds us that God’s promises unfold by His wisdom, not our expectations
A brief Excerpt: Acts 7:5 shows that God often works through unlikely paths, delayed promises, and unexpected people. Stephen’s defense reminds us that the Lord governs history with perfect wisdom and can be trusted with our present and future.
Scripture
Our verse for today comes from Acts 7:5, “And God gave him no inheritance in it, not even enough to set his foot on. But even when Abraham had no child, He promised to give it to him for a possession and to his descendants after him.”
Background
Stephen is on trial for blasphemy. Specifically, he has been charged with speaking blasphemy against God’s temple and God’s law. He is accused of claiming that Jesus, who called Himself the Son of God, the Son of David, and the Son of Man, would destroy the temple and abolish the ordinances that Moses had established. But oddly enough, and much like his Savior, Stephen doesn’t spend much time defending or explaining himself. His primary concern is not to prove his innocence or nullify the charges or escape some punishment. But what He is interested in is putting God and His sovereignty on display for those who claim to have the inside track on divine truth. And one of the initial cases Stephen intends to make is that the spiritual elitists sitting on that council have completely missed the point regarding the history of God’s people. In complete contrast to who they may have thought was going to be their deliverer, if they even truly thought their was ever going to be one, Stephen explains to them that God’s way has always been the one least expected and most unheralded.
Application
He made promises that seemed unfulfillable. He almost starved his people to death to get them out of their promised land so they could multiply and become slaves. His chosen patriarchs wanted to murder their own brother, who happened to survive and rise to the ranks where he could rescue his dying people. He allowed his people’s babies to be murdered so His deliverer could be raised by the enemy, whose firstborn babies would suffer the same dreadful fate one night some eighty years later. He made sure His deliverer was a murderer and inept at speaking before he sent him to stand and make demands before the most powerful man in the world. So, is it any wonder that the Messiah would come and be completely rejected by His people and their well-informed leaders? Should it surprise you when God’s way seems circuitous, if not completely backwards, as He takes you from hope or hopelessness to fulfillment and rejoicing? It was the same history Stephen explained to them that they already knew. But when you see God’s hand in it, and in yours, you know that He has it all under control.
Charge
As we seek Him today, trust the perfect God of history to be able to manage your present and your future.
Salvation – Eternal Life in Less Than 150 Words
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