Acts 7:1-8 CSB
"Are these things true?" the high priest asked. [2] "Brothers and fathers," he replied, "listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he settled in Haran, [3] and said to him: Leave your country and relatives, and come to the land that I will show you. [4] "Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. From there, after his father died, God had him move to this land in which you are now living. [5] He didn't give him an inheritance in it-not even a foot of ground-but he promised to give it to him as a possession, and to his descendants after him, even though he was childless. [6] God spoke in this way: His descendants would be strangers in a foreign country, and they would enslave and oppress them for four hundred years. [7] I will judge the nation that they will serve as slaves, God said. After this, they will come out and worship me in this place. [8] And so he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. After this, he fathered Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day. Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.
Daniel 4:34-37 CSB
But at the end of those days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven, and my sanity returned to me. Then I praised the Most High and honored and glorified him who lives forever: For his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation. [35] All the inhabitants of the earth are counted as nothing, and he does what he wants with the army of heaven and the inhabitants of the earth. There is no one who can block his hand or say to him, "What have you done?" [36] At that time my sanity returned to me, and my majesty and splendor returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and my nobles sought me out, I was reestablished over my kingdom, and even more greatness came to me. [37] Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt, and glorify the King of the heavens, because all his works are true and his ways are just. He is able to humble those who walk in pride.
Inhertiance
A wise man told me that God is the center of the Universe. He is the King of all. When we try to put ourselves on God’s throne and try to direct life for our own selfish needs, there is personal disappointment and broken relationships. When we submit ourselves to our Father in Heaven and follow His will, we will know a peace that filters through us. A peace seen by others. The hole in our being, that longing for something in our lives that we are not sure what it is, is filled.
Stephen is being falsely accused in the Sanhedrin—a court that is biased against Jesus and His followers. The crime stated against him is, “For we heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us.” Stephen’s crime was telling others about Jesus. He did not steal anything, did not do anything to be judged; only his words were in question.
The High Priest was probably expecting a short answer, but what he and the others assembled received was not only that we as Christians believe in the Law and the Prophets, but that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament.
When God told Abraham to leave his homeland, there is no recorded miracle that God did to motivate him. Abraham followed the will of our Father in Heaven because it is proper. This is true faith: believing without signs and miracles. Jesus said, “A wicked and adulterous generation seeks signs and wonders.” Abraham followed the will of God without question. He knew what Nebuchadnezzar eventually learned: “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt, and glorify the King of the heavens, because all his works are true and his ways are just. He is able to humble those who walk in pride.”
God initially spoke to Abraham in the heart of Southern Mesopotamia—the land of Ur of the Chaldeans. It was a place near the Persian Gulf, located in what we know today as Iraq. But God called him to leave it all behind. Abraham traveled north to Haran, a bustling, strategic city on a major trade route in what is now southeastern Turkey. He made his life there until he was 75 years old, but he was not finished. Only after his father passed away did he complete the journey he had started, moving on to the land of Canaan.
Abraham followed God because He is God. Abraham did not see an inheritance in this new land. He did not have any descendants yet to carry his name, but he believed in God, trusting that God would give him descendants that would inherit the land that God called him to. This is faith. It is a belief without seeing. God opened Abraham’s eyes to what would happen to his descendants: they would be slaves before inheriting the land, but God would free them and judge the nation that enslaved and abused His children’s children.
God gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision to set him and those after him apart from the world. His descendants would return to Canaan, live in the land, and worship God. We have this circumcision today, but not as a physical modification—it is a circumcision of the heart as a Christian. We are also called to be separate from the world. The lesson that Stephen is showing the Sanhedrin is that God blessed Abraham because he believed God’s word and did what He said.
Reflection Questions
- Do you find yourself trying to direct your life according to your own needs, or are you seeking to submit to the Father’s will? How does that change your inner peace?
- Abraham followed God without needing a sign. What does it look like for you to walk in “true faith” when things aren’t going as you expected?
- How are you living out the “circumcision of the heart” today by being separate from the world?
Prayer
Father,
Thank You for the example of Abraham, who trusted in Your promise even when he had nothing to see but Your word. Forgive us for our pride and our tendency to seek signs rather than simply trusting in Your sovereignty. Help us to walk by faith, knowing that You are the King of Heaven, and that Your ways are always true and just. May our hearts be truly set apart for You, and may we find our ultimate inheritance in Your presence. In Jesus’ Name.
Amen.
