January 13, 2012

Acts 7:39-60 (Click to see scripture)

Bible in One Year Passages:
Matthew 5:27-32, Psalm 10:12-18, Genesis 22

Journal Entry

Scripture

Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt (v. 39)
And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and were rejoicing in the works of their hands. (v. 41)
Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says (v. 48)
You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. (v. 51)

Observation

In this passage, Stephen after being captured continues to address the high priest and his court and proclaims a concluding statement that leads him to death. He gives a very brief history of Israel and draws parallelism with what was happening at that time. His verdict: Israel turned back from God repeatedly over the history and they are still doing it. Stephen reminded them what happened at Mt. Sinai when Moses came down from the mountain with the Ten Commandments only to find people worshiping an idol (a golden calf) that they made. Likewise, God sent his Son to save us, yet they killed him and turn to the temple.

There is an interesting duality in this passage: The high priest is the guardian of the holy temple, where God is purported to be residing. Yet, Stephen points out that God does not dwell in any man-made houses (or structures). Stephen, on the other hand, is full of the Holy Spirit, which means God actually resides in him! The high priest and the temple which externally symbolizes the dwelling place of God do not actually have God internally. Yet, this high priest is persecuting the man who houses God internally.

It seems that it was difficult for Israelites to worship God who is not seen, so they resort to creating gods that can see. This difficulty continues on even today.

Application

Are we guilty of committing the same mistakes that our Israel forefathers made? Where do we put our trust, in God who is not seen or in tangible things that we can physically see?

Certainly, the invisible God that we serve manifests physically, through his people, his church, and by Himself. However, many things that God does are not tangible and difficult to detect, and the results of God’s work can take years before we can see them. I am guilty of not being able to see God’s presence in people, only to judge them by their externals. I am also guilty of judging churches by their facilities or programs. I am certainly guilty of not seeing God in my life and resorting to my own abilities and manipulation to make situations better. Today’s passage reminds me that faith is putting trust on God that cannot be seen. If I rely only on what I can see, I’ll repeat the mistakes of our forefathers and turn away from God even when I think I am following God. How scary is that!

Prayer

Lord God, thank you for reminding me that I need to walk in faith, not by sight. I don’t want to make the mistakes that the forefathers made. Forgive me for all the times that I judged others by looking at their externals, not knowing the work that you do within them, not remembering that you reside inside them. You do not dwell in the buildings that we build even at our church, but you choose to dwell in the creation that you built. I am honor to house you and I pray that I will become worthy to be called a dwelling place for the Almighty God. Amen.

--tchang