Once when my friend and Pastor Lester Collins was preaching in Huntsville, the little brother of our mutual friend Joshua Barrett raised up a sign which asked him, “What are you trying to say?” Every pastor needs to see that sign from time to time, because every congregation wonders.
Stephen compared Moses to Jesus. Just as the Israelites rejected Moses and refused his words, so the people of Jesus’ day rejected him. Stephen recalled that the Israelites asked for idols in exchange for the real God.
Our problem with God’s word is not the part we don’t understand, but the part we understand. What does God do when our hearts make endless idols to worship instead of him? Stephen says God turned away from Israel and gave them over to sun, moon and star worship. Later generations of Israelites would go into exile. One way to look at God’s judgment is to see that after giving us every reason to turn to him, he allows us to go where we want to go.
Someone said the eclipse yesterday was a message from God. Some are more excited about the moon eclipsing the sun than they are about the one who made them both. What is God trying to say to us today? “Come and see. Come and drink. Come and dine.” We may worship the creation or the Creator, but not both. Will we go our own way or come home to Jesus today? Blessed are you who hunger and thirst for righteousness. You will be filled!
