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| The South Toe River near Mt. Celo Church |
Today's Readings
1 Chronicles 15 and 16 - Yesterday's readings told of David's 1st attempt to return the ark to Jerusalem that ended in disaster and failure. Uzza was struck dead by God for touching the ark, David was angry with God, then was afraid of God, then refused to move the ark further and left it in the house of Obed-Edom for 3 months, whom God blessed. David has now defeated the Philistines through His request of, answers from, and exact obedience to the LORD. The king builds houses for himself and prepares a place for the ark. David has now gone back to the law to study and follow it carefully (Deut. 10:8). Instead of 2 men to bring the ark on a cart, it will now be "the Levites, whom God has chosen to carry the ark of God and to minister before Him forever." The Levites are told to..."sanctify yourselves...to bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel...for because you did not do it the first time, the LORD our God broke out against us...because we did not...consult Him about...the proper order. So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel. And the children of the Levites...bore the ark of God on their shoulders,...by its poles,...as Moses had commanded...according the word of the LORD." (Ellipses are mine and are used as pauses for consideration.) The singing, music, and dancing before the LORD with great joy continue as with the first attempt to move the ark. Sacrifices for the LORD's help, burnt offerings, peace offerings, a blessing of the people by the king, and David's beautiful Psalm of Thanksgiving follow this. It is not an event without opposition, though. Michal, David's wife and Saul's daughter, despised her husband for his lack of kingly dignity in dancing before the people.
My Lessons and Applications - The ark represents the presence of God with His people. Our hearts and motives - not just our actions - are revealed when we are in His presence. Michal, David's wife, was more concerned with the world and its traditions than with God and the heartfelt praise and joy of His people in worshipping Him. Am I guilty of this? What does this say about our attitudes of the heart during worship on Sunday? Our critical natures of how others express their love and joy in the LORD?
Am I guilty of the sin of the priests and Levites during the first move of the ark? Do I sanctify myself before the LORD - consecrate, purify, cleanse myself (confession, repentance) - become more Christ-like? Do I attempt to do the LORD's work in my own power, or through the power of the Holy Spirit? Am I making the mistake David and the Levites did? Am I using worldly, expedient means to accomplish a spiritual task, or am I following the commands of God and resting and trusting in His power, following His commands? Am I respecting and honoring the holiness of Almighty God out of godly fear and love?
The First Martyr Gives Rise to the Great Apostle - Acts 7:44-60 - Stephen, the disciple whose face shown like an angel, has reached a state of sanctification and holiness - Christ-likeness - that makes his final hours on earth resonate with even the words of Christ. In boldness - like Christ - he accuses the religious council of being "stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? You do as they did. And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it. When they heard these things...they were cut to the heart,...and they gnashed at him with their teeth. But he...being full of the Holy Spirit...gazed into heaven...saw the glory of God, and...Jesus standing...at the right hand of God, and said, 'Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man...standing...at the right hand of God." As they stone Stephen to death, like Christ had called to God, he says, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice (as Christ did), "Lord, do not charge them with this sin. And when he said this, he fell asleep."
My Lessons, Applications, Contemplations - One thing of note and caution here: when hard truth was presented to these people, they knew it - they were cut to the heart - and their way of dealing with that was murderous/destructive rage. I think a "Selah" might be appropriate here in considering this aspect of human nature. On a more encouraging note, Charles Stanley reminds us that several Bible passages speak of Jesus sitting at the right hand of God after His ascension (Mark 16:19, Col. 3:1, Heb. 1,3, 10:12, 12:2) "Yet to greet this first Christian martyr, the Lord stood!" I recall the deaths of so many of the saints and Biblical characters - and especially Jesus' death on the cross - that we have studied as I read this account of Stephen's death. God's ways are not man's ways; nor are His ways our ways. (Is. 55:8) One of the more salient truths I have learned in my study of the Bible is that God does not view death as we do. Psalm 116:15: "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints." Yet, even more amazing, the murder of this saint is used by God to bring Saul to himself...to God. I recall the Parable of the Prodigal Son when "he came to himself" and returned home to his father. Saul, the great religious Pharisee, who for zeal of God persecuted the early Christian church, is watching and even has the clothes of the murderers laid at his feet. God will use this martyrdom to begin the transformation of Saul to Paul through the power of Holy Spirit - the great apostle to the Gentiles, the author of the majority of the Christian New Testament. Who is watching me? Do they see Christ in me? Am I allowing God's Holy Spirit to transform me into the person He wants for His kingdom work? Will He stand as I come home to Him or suffer greatly for Him?
Very
beautiful is the picture of death which is given here: "He fell
asleep." Sleep is death's new, sweet name! What a picture of peace
the word suggests, right here in the heart and fury of the mob! In the midst of
all the wild scene--Stephen fell asleep!
“Stephen the First Martyr" – J.R. Miller 1909
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