WOW this was a long passage! Stephen basically tells the story of God's chosen people and shows God's continual grace toward his people and how generation after generation they continue to disobey. This is all in response to his charges of blasphemy against Moses and God. He ends with directly accusing his accusers of being just like their forefathers and having hardened hearts. He goes on to say how they have murdered God's chosen one.
Essentially accusing them of what they were charging him for. This passage has so much going on...but I was reminded of God's mercy and grace toward his people and how easy it is to still disobey and turn our backs even though we are constantly forgiven.
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thanks for your reflection, christine. stephen uses the story of the exodus as a metaphor for people who have rejected God, even as they continue to outwardly be "His people". any time God sent a prophet to exhort the israelites to turn from their sins, they not only rejected the "message" but killed the messenger outright, even God's own Son. stephen is one among a long line of prophets who speak the truth. he will be killed by stubborn, sinful, "stiff-necked" people who cannot stand to have the truth told to them. in our own way, by closing our ears and our hearts and our minds to God's warnings, we figuratively "kill" off those who speak truths we don't want to hear--we do so by ignoring them or avoiding them etc. if and when God's judgment falls on us, we will never be able to say that He didn't warn us beforehand.
Thanks Christine!
Wow...throughout history, a lot people rejected God's message. I mean we ignore God's Word, warnings, teaching, basically everything that He tries to tell us through Pastor James, each other, the Bible, and through the Holy Spirit. We're no different than them unless we try to open our hearts and listen. If you think about it, God's message is incredibly simple, but there's so much that is behind it. When one chooses to refuse to listen, it's either he or she not ready or they just don't want to. Either way, that person's dooming themselves to His wrath and judgment, which is a very scary thing.
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