Acts 7:17-29 (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is Acts 7:17-29. As usual, I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help, then read the GAME sharing below. Let’s go!
Acts 7:17-29 (NIV)
17 “As the time drew near for God to fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt greatly increased.
18 Then another king, who knew nothing about Joseph, became ruler of Egypt.
19 He dealt treacherously with our people and oppressed our forefathers by forcing them to throw out their newborn babies so that they would die.
20 “At that time Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child. For three months he was cared for in his father’s house.
21 When he was placed outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son.
22 Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.
23 “When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his fellow Israelites.
24 He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian.
25 Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not.
26 The next day Moses came upon two Israelites who were fighting. He tried to reconcile them by saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why do you want to hurt each other?’
27 “But the man who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us?
28 Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’
29 When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian, where he settled as a foreigner and had two sons.
On verses 17-29: Continuing his dramatic recounting of Israel’s history, Stephen talks about the early life of Moses, essentially summarizing Exodus 1-2.
Why is Stephen doing this? Remember that Stephen’s opponents were formally accusing Stephen of changing the customs handed down to them by Moses (Acts 6:14). But here Stephen shows a thorough and traditional understanding of the Scriptures that talk about Moses. Stephen is showing us a great example of what Paul means in 2 Timothy 2:15 by “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”
Like Stephen, if you want to add credibility, insight and confidence to your witness for Jesus Christ (whether in your home, your workplace, your school, among friends or those you lead), get to know the Word of God well. Be a student of God’s Word. Listen to it, read it, study it, meditate on it, memorize it and apply it to your life. That way you can better answer the questions people ask you.
Knowing God’s Word well doesn’t happen overnight or in a short period of time. Rather, knowing God’s Word is something that happens when you invest time and energy reading and meditating on the Bible over a long period of time. Not only will knowing the word of God help your witness for Jesus, even more it will help you make wiser decisions and help you to have godly insight into your own life as well as the lives of others. As followers of Jesus, let’s get God’s Word – the Bible – into our hearts every day and study it intently.
Father, I pray for me and all my friends reading this GAME sharing, that we would feed on Your Word every day and treasure it more than our daily bread. That way we will be better equipped to help others and to be a better witness for Your Son Jesus. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
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