On with our history, then…

 

“This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.’ ”[1]

Some people over there are looking at each other suspiciously, but nobody seems to have got too upset about me mentioning “the prophet”.  I’m sure they’ll get upset soon enough, though.  I’ll just mention again that God chose Moses, but that the nation wouldn’t listen to him.

“This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers.  He received living oracles to give to us.  Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt, saying to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who will go before us.  As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ ”[2]

Of course, if they’d been genuinely worshipping Yahweh, it wouldn’t have mattered whether Moses was there or not!  But instead they chose to worship a calf, and various other gods – and now they want to worship Moses.  They had the tabernacle, but they also had other tents for worshipping other gods, both in the wilderness and later when they came into this land.

“And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and were rejoicing in the works of their hands.  But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets:[3]

and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.’ ”[4]

“Our fathers had the tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses directed him to make it….”[5]

So Moses worshipped God on Mount Sinai in a burning bush.  That was holy ground – quite acceptable for worship.  Then they made a tent and that was good too.  But that wasn’t the end of it.

“So it was until the days of David, who found favour in the sight of God and asked to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.”[6]

Can’t they see that all of these places of worship were acceptable?  What mattered was how people worshipped.  The hearts of the worshippers made the worship good or bad.  Arrogant, stiff-necked worship was never acceptable, whether people worshipped in the tabernacle or in the temple.  And can’t they see that David, the man after God’s own heart, wasn’t allowed to build the temple they are so attached to?  I think I’ll have to get more direct in what I say.

“But it was Solomon who built a house for him.”[7]

Yes, it was Solomon, and yet they don’t seem to notice that Solomon built other temples too: ones for Moloch, and for all the other gods that his wives loved.  I should point that out… but that might be going a bit far for them at the moment.  At the very least, though, I have to make the point that God doesn’t need a temple to live in.  We’ll see how they respond.  If they don’t start responding more than they have been, I think I’ll have to really start spelling it out to them very bluntly.

“Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says,[8]

Did not my hand make all these things?’ ”[9]

Am I getting anywhere?  They don’t seem to be responding at all.  They won’t admit that a temple is not something God needs.  God allowed us to build him a temple.  He was perfectly happy with the tabernacle – a tent – but it wasn’t grand enough for us.  And now they have spent more than 50 years prettying their temple up again!  Can’t they see that God doesn’t care for their beautiful temple?  What he cares for is humble, obedient, personal worship.

They resisted the godliness of Moses, David and all the prophets.  Now they’ve killed Jesus, and they’ll probably kill me when I tell them that they are no different from the ancestors they sneer at.  They claim that they’d never do what their fathers did, but they’ve done even worse!

Well, I suppose this is it.  I’ve got the biggest audience I’ll ever get anywhere – maybe someone will listen and make it all worthwhile.  But even if they don’t listen, they need to be told.  Lord God, help me to speak your word with boldness.[10]

Here goes, then:

“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.  Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute?  And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.”[11]

After that, I’m certain that God is with me.  Those words are so powerful and accurate, and they fit so well both with God’s criticisms of Israel throughout our history and with the things Jesus said.

But the crowd doesn’t like it at all!  Look at the anger in those faces.  Now they’re looking at each other for support.  Whispering, grumbling, growling.  Some of the leaders are talking more loudly, and it’s pretty clear what they want.

I wonder: if there was to be just one of these people who would listen seriously to what I’ve said, who would it be?  There’s no-one looking thoughtful….

Has no-one listened at all?

Was this whole trial just a farce?  Maybe all they wanted was to find some excuse to lock me up… or maybe worse.

The anger is spreading.  The voices are louder and louder.  They’re all snarling at me now.  What’s going to happen?

Our father in heaven, please protect me!

Ah, what’s this?  I feel… sort of… warm… as if God has put his arms around me and filled me with his comfort.  I’m not worried anymore.  He’s with me, and pleased with what I have done.

And now, suddenly it’s as if I can see into heaven.  Glory.  The glory of God.  So bright.  Blinding, but beautiful.  And there, that must be Jesus standing at the right hand of God.  What a marvel!  Yet everyone is still busy shouting and cursing me.  Why don’t they look up and see the glory of the man they killed?  I must tell them what I see, making sure I point upwards to get them to look up.

“Look, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”[12]

They’re looking up alright, but they don’t seem to see him.  Is this a vision just for me?  It must be.  Thank you.  Thank you.

They’re attacking me.  Just like they did the apostles, grabbing me… Ow!… and not gently either!

Where are they dragging me?  We’re getting closer to the city gate and they’re still shouting and screaming at me.  They took Jesus out of the city too.  Does that mean they plan to kill me?  Yet I have so much more work to do for Jesus… more work for my fellow believers.  Surely God will want me to keep going with that work?

If they plan to kill me, then those false witnesses will be the ones who begin it.  And, yes, there they are, over near that young man from Tarsus in Cilicia, the one I argued with a few days ago.  He seemed like an honest man when we talked.[13]  That’s disappointing.  Why is he working with those people?

I suppose that they really do mean to kill me.  They’re all picking up stones now.  Here come the so-called witnesses with their stones, ready to throw them at me.

Am I ready to die?

If I have been shown Jesus standing at the right hand of the glory of God, that must be showing me that I don’t need to be afraid of death.  These events must have God’s approval, so I don’t need to worry.

“Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”[14]

I hope that death comes quickly.

 

 

I, Paul of Tarsus, was a witness to the execution by stoning of Stephen, called a follower of The Way.  He was a blasphemer who threatened to destroy the Law and our nation, and deserved the punishment he suffered.

I have no doubt at all that he genuinely believed what he said, but what a poor misguided wretch he was!

As the stones began to strike him, he fell to his knees and shouted out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”  As if we needed his intercession!

Soon afterwards he died.

We must – and will – win this battle against these blasphemers!