Day 163

2 Samuel 18:19-19:43, Acts 7:44-8:3, Psalm 73:1-14

I am sure that I am not the only one to find the Old Testament passage today a bit hard going. Joab (who had just killed Absalom) giving David a telling off, a bit of narrative about some random names that all seemed quite bitty, and then a good dose of “he said” and “well she said” to round it off with. Hmmmm!

I wanted to start this paragraph saying “Nestled in there is ….” and come up with a real gem, but I struggled with that too! David does act with mercy though, giving Shimei a second chance, and also acting personally with love when he kissed Barzillai (kings do not kiss that many people). Perhaps that is what we should take from such a random assortment of passages. David was the king over all Israel and yet he tried to keep his feet on the ground. We are heirs to the Kingdom of God, brothers and sisters with Christ, yet we should never forget who we are, human, sinners, humble. Being King doesn’t mean that you should forget mercy and love, being God’s chosen does not mean that we should forget grace and forgiveness.

What we do see though is the end of Stephen’s speech and his death as a martyr. So much to write about. I touched yesterday on the fact that Stephen tells the Sanhedrin how wrong they have got it, and he does it in style. There is also the reference to what we said about buildings a couple of days ago and the fact that we can worship anywhere for God is everywhere – “heaven is [His] throne, the earth [His] footstool”.

Saul makes his first appearance in one of two images from childhood. v57 the Sanhedrin put their fingers in their ears and run around going “la, la, la, la” and then v58, Saul on the side-lines watching the coats like the kid who didn’t get picked for the team. But Saul was no “kid who didn’t get picked”, he was so much more and he became even more!

For me thou, the wow factor comes in the one statement, Stephen “looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God”. Now that is one lucky bloke. Imagine that for a few minutes, seeing the glory of God – picture it – nothing more I can say really!!!