Stephen’s sermon (1) Ancestral legend
Acts 7:1-19; 5/28/2023; BCBC/IOUC; Rev. Paul Wang
Introduction
What human beings are most or least afraid of is looking back at history, because history is a mirror, a mirror that reveals the deceit in people’s hearts and the true face of the truth. Imprisoned and interrogated by the high priest, Stephen’s first sermon begins. Let’s look at the first point:
Abraham’s calling
When talking about the history of the Israelites, we must start with Abraham. This is also the line of thought of Stephen and his inspiration in prayer. He wants to speak his heart to his compatriots and talk about the relationship between Abraham and Jesus Christ. First, start with the calling. The thoughts of the high priest still remain in the background of the previous scriptures: “They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. (Acts 6:13)” Stephen had no interest in these people’s out-of-the-box slanders, he was not afraid of doing the right thing, and focused on the testimony of the patriarch’s legend. He grasped the point, starting with Haran, the place where Abraham was called. The Bible here gives us a spiritual principle, that is, everyone should face God directly, and not live in the bondage and control of the original family. It started from Haran after the death of Abraham’s father Terah. The appearance of God also began at this time. Stephen said that it was the God of glory who appeared to him.
Second, hear and act upon. This is the law of faith, hear it and do it, right? However, we may all ignore the reasons behind it, as if faith does not need a reason. In fact, before “hearing and acting”, is “the glory of God or the God of glory appeared to him”. Stephen’s intention was to remind the high priest, do you see the glory of Christ Jesus on the cross? Or, when you hear the voice of Christ interceding on the cross for those who crucified Him, should you put down the glory and wealth of the high priest and follow in the footsteps of the Lord? The same is true for us, when we hear the Lord say: Come, follow me, what are you waiting for? Are you still seeking a perishable deal with this world? This world is not my home, whose voice should I listen to? There is no other voice than His that we must hear and act upon.
Finally, let the promise connect. God’s calling must come with a promise. When Abraham received God’s call, he didn’t see the Promised Land, so he went out on the road and set off. In 1995, God led our family to leave Norway for Hong Kong, and we went. Who will provide the food, clothing, housing, and daily necessities for a family of four? Before leaving, my wife’s relatives came to dissuade us. Our prayer is, follow the Lord’s footsteps, even if we starve to death and go home to heaven, we will be happy! God’s promise to Abraham was “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. (Genesis 12:2)” Abraham went out, and did not get any land for an inheritance that day. Apart from a cemetery cave, there is not even a place to live in. However, Abraham had a promise, and God promised to give him and his descendants the land of Canaan as an inheritance. Of course, when God made the promise to him, he had no son yet. It was at this time that he showed his distinctive faith before God. Let’s look at the second point:
Selection of Isaac and Jacob
Isaac and Jacob were chosen by God to become the ancestors of the Israelites together with Abraham, with their historical origin and spiritual context. First, the foretelling of tribulation. It is not easy to be a child of God, and it is even more difficult to be the ancestor of the Israelites. Abraham did not receive any of the promised benefits until his death, so to speak, except that the promise was still a promise. Before Isaac and Jacob were born, God foretold: “For four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated. (Acts 7:6)” Kind of funny, isn’t it? Abraham was seventy-five years old when God called him to leave Harran. He, his wife Sarai, and their nephew Lot came to the land of Canaan. God said, I will bless you, I will also bless Canaan, and even all the families on the earth will be blessed because of you. That’s how Abraham walked the path of faith that was followed by the promise. He actually got nothing, because what God promised was given to his descendants. But descendants will suffer.
Second, the continuation of life. Of course, Abraham had a son at the age of one hundred, and Sarah gave birth to Isaac, which was a miracle. The Bible devotes a great deal of time to the struggles before Isaac’s birth. Hearing the prophecy of a centenarian child, Abraham and Sarah laughed. They wondered, is this possible? Abraham thought it meant Ishmael, but Sarah thought it was impossible for a woman to give birth after menopause? When the time was full, Sarah bore Abraham a son, Isaac. Jacob’s birth was quite lively. He was pulled out of his mother’s womb by holding his brother’s heel. The continuation of life is to confirm God’s selection among the sons. Isaac and Jacob are God’s selections to become the ancestors of the Israelites. God did not choose Ishmael, nor did he choose the child born to Abraham and his wife Kishra who later married. Because only the descendants of Isaac can inherit the inheritance. God did not choose Esau, but Jacob.
Finally, the difficulty of the journey. The names of the Israelites for God are closely related to their ancestors. God is called the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. The twelve sons of Jacob formed the ancestors of the twelve tribes of Israel, but no one would say that God is the God of Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, etc. Why? Because God re-selected from the twelve tribes and chose Joseph. The Bible shows us Joseph who suffered and went through trials. He was betrayed by his brothers and sold into Egypt. Seeing that Joseph was handsome, the wife of Potiphar, the head of Pharaoh’s guard, wanted to have a relationship with Joseph who is much younger than her, but when she failed, Joseph was sent to prison for thirteen years. In the fifty chapters of Genesis, thirteen chapters are recorded concerning Joseph. It can be said that Joseph was the fourth person after succeeding the previous three ancestors. Let’s look at the third point:
Descending into Egypt to experience tribulation
When the food shortage came, the famine came, and Jacob took his family down to Egypt. From this point of view, we really have no reason to take suffering lightly. First, suffering is led by grace. Enduring hunger is definitely suffering. When people are hungry, they will commit the evil deed of exchanging children for food. Elimelech led his family to the land of Moab and died in a foreign land along with his two sons. Faced with such suffering, Naomi’s name changed from sweet to bitter. However, through God’s guidance to Ruth, the family’s destiny was changed and they became a testimony of grace. The same is true of Jacob. Ten sons were unfilial and sold Joseph to Egypt. Jacob thought Joseph was dead and suffered the torment of seeing his child die earlier than himself. Shedding tears all day long, in unbearable pain, life would be worse than death. The meeting of the pain of heartbreak and the pain of hunger made Jacob’s suffering go to the extreme, meet hope, and be satisfied.
Second, suffering is a rebuilding of relationships. Joseph was favored by his father, but he didn’t know the ways of the world. At the age of seventeen, he is still showing off his colorful coat in front of his brothers. As a result, he was sold to Egypt and imprisoned for thirteen years. The brothers did not meet again until the famine came. Seeing that his younger brother who was sold to Egypt became the prime minister of Egypt, they felt unwilling, but because of the guilt in their heart, they had no choice but to surrender. Fortunately, their father Jacob was still alive, and they lived in the land of Goshen without incident for thirteen years. Jacob was one hundred and thirty years old when he came to Egypt, and thirteen years later he was one hundred and forty-seven years old when he left the world. Now the ten brothers became nervous, and sent someone to Joseph, saying, Please forgive the evil transgressions of us in the past. Joseph said a classic sentence: “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. (Genesis 50:20)“
In the end, suffering is the recurrence of suffering. Suffering will come again, do you believe it? Our generation, after going through the catastrophe of the Cultural Revolution, no matter how hard we think, we never imagined that the Cultural Revolution would come again. And I believe that the Cultural Revolution may not just happen again, but it will happen again and again. The Israelites thought that when they arrived in Egypt and entered the land of Goshen, the years would be quiet, they would have enough food and clothing, and they would be free from worries. Ukrainians also thought that the Great Famine of 1932-1933 was the last disaster, and that after independence in 1991, there would be a better life. Europeans also thought that there would be no more wars after the Nazis. Putin shattered people’s peaceful dreams and ushered in a new nightmare that is rare in a century. The high probability of nuclear war and World War III is coming towards the world, and no one will be spared.
Conclusion
However, the sweetness of suffering is that God prepared Moses for the Israelites during the wave of infanticide in Egypt. The first part of Stephen’s sermons shows us the legendary life experience of our ancestors. Its purpose is to let people see how God’s hand controls, molds, arranges, and graciously treats God’s people.
Let us pray……
Acts 7:1-19
1 Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these charges true?”
2 To this he replied: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Harran.
3 ‘Leave your country and your people,’ God said, ‘and go to the land I will show you.’
4 “So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Harran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living.
5 He gave him no inheritance here, not even enough ground to set his foot on. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child.
6 God spoke to him in this way: ‘For four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated.
7 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,’ God said, ‘and afterward they will come out of that country and worship me in this place.’
8 Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. And Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him eight days after his birth. Later Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.
9 “Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him
10 and rescued him from all his troubles. He gave Joseph wisdom and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh king of Egypt. So Pharaoh made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace.
11 “Then a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering, and our ancestors could not find food.
12 When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our forefathers on their first visit.
13 On their second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family.
14 After this, Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his whole family, seventy-five in all.
15 Then Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our ancestors died.
16 Their bodies were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a certain sum of money.
17 “As the time drew near for God to fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt had greatly increased.
18 Then ‘a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.’
19 He dealt treacherously with our people and oppressed our ancestors by forcing them to throw out their newborn babies so that they would die.
