SATURDAY February 25, 2023
Future Suffering
“But God spoke in this way: that his descendants would dwell in a foreign land, and that they would bring them into bondage and oppress them four hundred years. ‘And the nation to whom they will be in bondage I will judge,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come out and serve Me in this place.’”
Acts 7:6-7
What was Stephen continuing to say to the Jewish council? He reminded them of what God had told Abraham. God revealed to him that one day, within future generations, His people would remain in bondage for 400 years. In a time of famine, 70 persons belonging to Jacob’s family would journey into the land of Egypt (Genesis 46:27).
At first, Joseph’s family were welcomed into the land of Egypt, but when Joseph died, and a new Pharaoh arose, he made them slaves. God Almighty would miraculously deliver the Hebrews from Egypt and lead them into the Promised Land. There they would serve Him. The Hebrew people would come to know their great God–– the I Am (Exodus 3:14). By the time the people left Egypt, the Hebrews would multiply in their numbers; the count was about 3.2 million people in the great Exodus.
Why was Stephen reciting Israel’s history to the Sanhedrin? God’s people in the past had hardened hearts, and those on the council were resisting the work of God, too. Perhaps your heart has become hardened against God. Maybe you need clarification of the Scriptures because you lack understanding.
Sometimes people suffer a hardened heart because of suffering. I am sure the intense suffering in Egypt would have caused many Hebrews to question God. Why did they have to suffer? Yet it was through suffering, they would come to know their Deliverer. They would see His mighty power and know Him by name––the great I Am. Yet many still resist Him, and, in stubbornness and rebellion, they would die in the wilderness.
God knows your future. He knows what is ahead of you, and He has gone before you. Despite your suffering, learn to trust God. This is God’s universal purpose for all Christian suffering: more contentment in God and less satisfaction in the world.
~John Piper~
For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!
