Acts 6
The Word of God Prospered
So, inevitable in any congregation, we get to see some internal conflict here within the first church, If you recall earlier in the book of Acts it was mentioned that they all worked together as one unified unit, sharing all that they had and no one was in need. So here we are seeing one group saying that their widows don't seem to be getting the same level of care as the other. Weather it's true, biast, or exaggerated is not the point. I actually see this reflecting something that happens in Deuteronomy -
Deuteronomy 1:9-13 MSG
9-13 At the time I told you, “I can’t do this, can’t carry you all by myself. God, your God, has multiplied your numbers. Why, look at you—you rival the stars in the sky! And may God, the God-of-Your-Fathers, keep it up and multiply you another thousand times, bless you just as he promised. But how can I carry, all by myself, your troubles and burdens and quarrels? So select some wise, understanding, and seasoned men from your tribes, and I will commission them as your leaders.”
The entire congregation was bringing all of their internal problems to Moses and he became overwhelmed with the workload, so he appointed leadership to help navigate the problems that were arising amongst the community. So perhaps the apostles remembered this and decided to mimic what Moses had done by appointing leaders within the community! This is where we get the title of Deacon in our church.
So we see the apostles call a meeting and request that the group choose 7 men to help out with the leadership and administration roles, The requested me full of the Holy Spirit and with good sense. The apostles approved of the selection and from that were the first deacons of the early church.
“The Word of God prospered. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased dramatically. Not least, a great many priests submitted themselves to the faith. ” Acts 6:7 MSG
We then get to meet Stephen! Brimming with God's grace and energy, He is described as a highly recognizable man in the community who is full of the Holy Spirit. The story explains that a particular group of individuals decided to go and try to argue him down, and it's noted that they were no match for his wisdom and spirit when he spoke. I don't know about you but i would have loved to hear this guy preach!
Bribery and lies then have to come into play. This is no stranger to the Bible, as we read through it you will find many instances where bribery comes into play. Its actually against Jewish Law! It's interesting to watch people trying to shut down Jesus by using the law, break the law in order to try and succeed.
In Leviticus 19:11, it states "You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another." Bribing someone to lie would fall under the category of "dealing falsely" and thus would be prohibited by this law.
Additionally, in Deuteronomy 16:19, it states "You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous." This further emphasizes the prohibition against bribery, which is seen as corrupting the justice system.
The men who were trying to tear Stephen down decided to bribe men to lie about what he had been preaching, ill quote from that article i posted up above
"They accused him of these things because Stephen clearly taught that:
· Jesus was greater than Moses (blasphemous words against Moses).
· Jesus was God (blasphemous words against…God).
· Jesus was greater than the temple (blasphemous words against this holy place).
· Jesus was the fulfillment of the law (blasphemous words against…the law).
· Jesus was greater than their religious customs and traditions (Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs)."
However!!!
“As all those who sat on the High Council looked at Stephen, they found they couldn’t take their eyes off him—his face was like the face of an angel!” Acts 6:15 MSG
This is pretty unique because as far as i can remember the only people in the bible who were described to have a glowing face was Moses after spending 40 days in the the presence of God on top of Mt. Sinai and Jesus during the transfiguration! Stephen clearly had an amazing anointing on him!
-----
The Levitical law regarding widows can be found in Deuteronomy 24:17-18, which states "Do not deprive the foreign or fatherless children of justice, or take the cloak of a widow as a pledge. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there." This law instructed the Israelites to protect and provide for widows, who were considered vulnerable and in need of special care and protection. Other laws regarding widows can be found throughout the Old Testament, such as Exodus 22:22, which commands that widows not be taken advantage of in court.
Genesis 29
Perhaps he was dwelling on this particular story when he wrote that down. . . . anyways let's continue.
The story continues, (yesterday Jacob interacted with God) Jacob sets out heading east to find his mother's family. He comes upon a well that has a huge stone cover on it. Some shepherds arrive on the scene and Jacob discovers that they know Laban! Then enter Rachel - and Jacob is sold. He has this silly conversation with her and asks her why she doesn't go ahead and water her sheep, and she tells him because the stone is so large she has to wait for all the other shepheardes to arrive to move it. Amped up with adrenaline and a huge need to impress this young lady he goes over and shoves the cover off himself. Then breaks down crying and tells Rachel that he is Kin and She runs and tells her father who welcomes into his family. He then asks him what he wants as payment to stay and work for him and he request an exchange, he says he will work for 7 years for his daughter Rachel's hand in marriage - The custom of serving a future father-in-law in exchange for a wife was common in that cultural and historical context.
Laban agrees and 7 years passes by. “So Jacob worked seven years for Rachel. But it only seemed like a few days, he loved her so much.” Genesis 29:20 MSG
We then learn that Laban is not the most trustworthy guy, Jacob comes up to Laban and asks for Rachel as his wife, So Laban throws a huge wedding feast! (we discussed earlier that these could last well over a week) So the night comes for them to consummate the marriage and Laban brings his daughter Leah and sends her into the marriage bed.
Let's pause for some cultural context. So from what I have heard and learned about the marriage customs, Picture this is a small community of a few hundred people, lots of livestock and possibly living in tents, They would have a big party to celebrate the wedding, and then the couple would consummate the marriage there in a private room yet with the whole community still around outside. This is what the law in Deuteronomy 22:13-21 - This passage states that if a man accuses his new wife of not being a virgin and it is proven true, she must be brought before the town elders and stoned to death.
During this time a virgin girl may bleed upon losing her virginity and they can then bring the sheets out to prove that the marriage had been consummated. Kind of like the significance of the blood sacrifices God and Abraham had to enter into a covenant. You can actually do a lot of very interesting research on how this is what makes marriage a covenant. Something worth looking into.
So Jacob wakes up and realizes that he had slept with Leah and not Rachel, must have been some good wine at that wedding feast! So Jacob confronts Leban and asks why he deceived him and Laban has such a casual response. .
““We don’t do it that way in our country,” said Laban. “We don’t marry off the younger daughter before the older. Enjoy your week of honeymoon, and then we’ll give you the other one also. But it will cost you another seven years of work.”” Genesis 29:26-27 MSG
So Jacob agreed to another seven years of work and gets to also marry Rachel, So he now has two wives plus the maid servants that Laban had given to his daughters, (Zilpah to Leah and Bilhah to Rachel)
Jacob favors Rachel over Leah and God takes note and decides to close Rachel's womb and open Leah's giving Jacob Reuben which means (look it's a boy) and Leah sees it as a sign that God has seen her misery (not being loved fairly by Jacob) and hopes that this will change Jacob's feelings towards her.
She becomes pregnant again and has Simeon which means God Heard. She becomes pregnant a third time and has a son named Levi which means Connect. Then she becomes pregnant again and has a 4th son and names him Judah which means praise God! Then she stopped having children.
Remember these names! They become the twelve tribes of Israel.
Comments
Post a Comment