[Linux4christians] Tuesday - Acts 7:17-50

Mon Oct 17 11:12:36 EDT 2011

    Tuesday

      Acts 7:17-50

7:17 "But as the time drew near for God to fulfill the promise he had 
declared to Abraham, the people increased greatly in number in Egypt, 
7:18 until 
/*another*//**//*king*//**//*who*//**//*did*//**//*not*//**//*know*//**//*about*/ 
/*Joseph*//**//*ruled*/ /*over*//**//*Egypt*/. 7:19 This was the one who 
exploited our people and was cruel to our ancestors, forcing them to 
abandon their infants so they would die. 7:20 At that time Moses was 
born, and he was beautiful to God. For three months he was brought up in 
his father's house, 7:21 and when he had been abandoned, Pharaoh's 
daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. 7:22 So Moses 
was trained in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in his 
words and deeds. 7:23 But when he was about forty years old, it entered 
his mind to visit his fellow countrymen the Israelites. 7:24 When he saw 
one of them being hurt unfairly, Moses came to his defense and avenged 
the person who was mistreated by striking down the Egyptian. 7:25 He 
thought his own people would understand that God was delivering them 
through him, but they did not understand. 7:26 The next day Moses saw 
two men fighting, and tried to make peace between them, saying, 'Men, 
you are brothers; why are you hurting one another?' 7:27 But the man who 
was unfairly hurting his neighbor pushed Moses aside, saying, 
'/*Who*//**//*made*/ 
/*you*//**//*a*//**//*ruler*//**//*and*//**//*judge*//**//*over*//**//*us?*/ 
7:28 
/*You*//**//*don*//*'*//*t*//**//*want*//**//*to*//**//*kill*//**//*me*//**//*the*//**//*way*//**//*you*//**//*killed*//**//*the*//**//*Egyptian*//**//*yesterday,*//**//*do*//**//*you?*/' 
7:29 When the man said this, Moses fled and became a foreigner in the 
land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.

7:30 "After forty years had passed, 
/an////angel////appeared////to////him////in////the////desert/ 
/of////Mount////Sinai,////in////the////flame////of////a////burning////bush/. 
7:31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and when he 
approached to investigate, there came the voice of the Lord, 7:32 
'/*I*//**//*am*//**//*the*//**//*God*//**//*of*//**//*your*//**//*forefathers,*/ 
/*the*//**//*God*//**//*of*//**//*Abraham,*//**//*Isaac,*/ 
/*and*//**//*Jacob*/.' Moses began to tremble and did not dare to look 
more closely. 7:33 
/*But*//**//*the*//**//*Lord*//**//*said*//**//*to*//**//*him,*/ 
'/*Take*//**//*the*//**//*sandals*//**//*off*//**//*your*//**//*feet,*//**//*for*//**//*the*//**//*place*//**//*where*//**//*you*//**//*are*//**//*standing*//**//*is*//**//*holy*//**//*ground*//./ 
7:34 
/*I*//**//*have*//**//*certainly*//**//*seen*//**//*the*//**//*suffering*/ 
/*of*//**//*my*//**//*people*//**//*who*//**//*are*//**//*in*//**//*Egypt*//**//*and*/ 
/*have*//**//*heard*//**//*their*//**//*groaning,*//**//*and*//**//*I*//**//*have*//**//*come*//**//*down*//**//*to*//**//*rescue*//**//*them*//./ 
/*Now*/ 
/*come,*//**//*I*//**//*will*//**//*send*//**//*you*//**//*to*//**//*Egypt*/.' 
7:35 This same Moses they had rejected, saying, 
'/*Who*//**//*made*//**//*you*//**//*a*//**//*ruler*//**//*and*//**//*judge?*/' 
God sent as both ruler and deliverer through the hand of the angel who 
appeared to him in the bush. 7:36 This man led them out, performing 
wonders and miraculous signs in the land of Egypt, at the Red Sea, and 
in the wilderness for forty years. 7:37 This is the Moses who said to 
the Israelites, 
'/*God*//**//*will*//**//*raise*//**//*up*//**//*for*//**//*you*//**//*a*//**//*prophet*//**//*like*//**//*me*//**//*from*//**//*among*//**//*your*//**//*brothers*/.' 
7:38 This is the man who was in the congregation in the wilderness with 
the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors, and 
he received living oracles to give to you. 7:39 Our ancestors were 
unwilling to obey him, but pushed him aside and turned back to Egypt in 
their hearts, 7:40 saying to Aaron, 
'/*Make*//**//*us*//**//*gods*//**//*who*//**//*will*//**//*go*//**//*in*//**//*front*//**//*of*//**//*us,*//**//*for*//**//*this*//**//*Moses,*//**//*who*//**//*led*//**//*us*//**//*out*//**//*of*//**//*the*//**//*land*//**//*of*//**//*Egypt*/ 
-- 
/*we*//**//*do*//**//*not*//**//*know*//**//*what*//**//*has*//**//*happened*//**//*to*//**//*him!*/' 
7:41 At that time they made an idol in the form of a calf, brought a 
sacrifice to the idol, and began rejoicing in the works of their hands. 
7:42 But God turned away from them and gave them over to worship the 
host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: 
'/*It*//**//*was*//**//*not*//**//*to*//**//*me*//**//*that*//**//*you*//**//*offered*//**//*slain*//**//*animals*//**//*and*//**//*sacrifices*/ 
/*forty*//**//*years*//**//*in*//**//*the*//**//*wilderness,*//**//*was*//**//*it,*/ 
/*house*//**//*of*//**//*Israel?*/ 7:43 
/But////you////took////along////the////tabernacle/ /*of*//**//*Moloch*/ 
/*and*//**//*the*//**//*star*//**//*of*//**//*the*/ 
/*god*//**//*Rephan,*/ 
/*the*//**//*images*//**//*you*//**//*made*//**//*to*//**//*worship,*//**//*but*//**//*I*//**//*will*//**//*deport*/ 
/*you*//**//*beyond*//**//*Babylon*/.' 7:44 Our ancestors had the 
tabernacle of testimony in the wilderness, just as God who spoke to 
Moses ordered him to make it according to the design he had seen. 7:45 
Our ancestors received possession of it and brought it in with Joshua 
when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our 
ancestors, until the time of David. 7:46 He found favor with God and 
asked that he could find a dwelling place for the house of Jacob. 7:47 
But Solomon built a house for him. 7:48 Yet the Most High does not live 
in houses made by human hands, as the prophet says,

7:49 '/*Heaven*//**//*is*//**//*my*//**//*throne,*/

/*and*//**//*earth*//**//*is*//**//*the*//**//*footstool*//**//*for*//**//*my*//**//*feet*//./

/*What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord,*/

/*or what is my resting place?*/

7:50 /*Did*//**//*my*//**//*hand*/ 
/*not*//**//*make*//**//*all*//**//*these*//**//*things?*/'

      Prayer

Lord, You worked around the choices of humankind but were never 
surprised, and when You dwelt among them You were never controlled or 
"contained" by them. May I be constantly aware of Your presence in me 
through Your Holy Spirit and that You do not indwell to serve my desires 
but to equip me to serve You.

      Summary & Commentary

Stephen continued his review of the Lord God's working in the history of 
Israel.

Over time a new Pharaoh had assumed power and he had no knowledge of the 
honor due Joseph and his descendants but rather viewed them as free 
slave labor.

Moses was born just as the new Pharaoh, fearful of the size of the 
Jewish population, initiated a population control protocol. God arranged 
for the infant Moses to be set adrift and adopted by Pharaoh's daughter. 
He was raised an Egyptian, but was aware of his heritage. As an adult he 
visited the work site of the Jews, where he was confronted with an 
abusive situation, he killed the slave-supervisor. When he later 
confronted two Jews fighting they asked if he intended to kill them as 
he had the slave-supervisor, so fearing retribution from the Egyptians, 
he fled Egypt.

After forty years God called Moses to lead His people out of bondage. 
[Note: This is a "type" or symbolic representation of Jesus.] The people 
resisted the leadership of Moses and even longed to return to slavery in 
Egypt rather than deal with the challenging unknown of the wilderness.

God gave them the "tabernacle of testimony", a traveling altar 
containing His presence, which was central to the leadership of Joshua 
and later David.

Stephen was careful to note that God does not dwell in [is not contained 
by] "houses made by human hands".

      Interaction

        Consider

The Pharaoh forgot the history of Joseph's value to Egypt.

        Discuss

What has been the consequence in modern civilizations or nations that 
forget the value of God's centrality when they were created, in bring 
them prosperity, and in their protection?

        Reflect

Some people who refuse to follow healthy leadership and instead return 
to old things they rightly discarded of fads of the moment.

        Share

When have you observed believers following a leader or participating in 
a ministry because he or it was popular rather than because it honored 
the Lord God?

      Faith in Action

        Prayer:

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a place of bondage from which your 
He rescued you.

        Action:

Today I will celebrate my freedom from bondage with another believer. I 
also commit to prayerfully consider under whose authority I voluntarily 
submit myself and ask if they are God-honoring according to the Biblical 
qualifications for a "Shepherd" or "Deacon" or if I tend to drift back 
into religious and social practices of the past and/or chasing after 
fads of the present, and if so I will repent (turn away) and seek-out 
where God would take me.

        Be Specific ______________________________________________________

    Wednesday's text will be:

      Acts 7:51 -- 8:3

-- 

Draw nearer to the Lord and He will bless you,
Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day!
David M. Colburn, DMin. MaCo
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com
Bible Resources: http://bible.org
Teacher's Verse: John 7:16
Defend free speech or lose your freedom.
I don't google I SEARCH! Yippy.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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