Promise Kept

 

 Corrie ten Boom, in her book “The Hiding Place”, tells a story about her childhood in Haarlem, Netherlands. One day, a customer dropped off a watch for some repair. Because the customer did not have the full amount to pay, Corrie's father, Casper, wrote out a handwritten guarantee and made a promise to the customer: "The price is \(x\) and I will hold this watch safely for you until you can pay."

Months passed and the price of gold and antique watches surged. A wealthy man walked into the shop, saw the watch on the shelf, and offered Casper ten times the original price to buy it immediately. Casper refused, explaining, "That watch is already spoken for. I promised the original owner I would hold it for him and my word is more important than profit."

In Acts 13 we read about Paul’s first missionary journey. They sailed to Cyprus and travelled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. Then  “from Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem. From Perga they went on to Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath they entered the synagogue and sat down.”(Acts 13:13-15).

The journey to Perga marks the beginning of Paul's first missionary journey into Asia Minor. From Paphos Paul takes the leadership role in the missionary team. Perga is in modern day Turkey.  In this segment of the trip the team will visit the cities of Antioch, Iconium, Lystra and Derbe. These cities were all in the Roman province of Galatia. These are the churches to whom Paul will later write the letter of Galatians; the only letter he wrote to a number of churches.

In Perga John left them to go back to Jerusalem. Luke gives no explicit reason why John left. Perhaps he was homesick. Maybe he did not like the fact that Paul was emerging as the new leader instead of his cousin Barnabas. Perhaps it was just a difficult trip and he’d had enough. We learn later that Paul viewed this as John Mark deserting them (Acts 15:36-38). After about 20 years John Mark joined Paul's ministry again (2Ti. 4:11).

Luke gives no record of Paul and Barnabas preaching in Perga. Instead he says “ from Perga they went on to Pisidian Antioch”. This is not the same Antioch as the one they just left in Syria. There were 16 cities named Antioch at this time. They were all named after Antiochus, who was the king of Syria after the death of Alexander the Great. Each city took a different surname in order to distinguish one from the other.

The distance from Perga to Pisidian Antioch was about 160 km. Paul and his team would travel from sea level to 3,600 feet above sea level, on foot over rough mountainous terrain and swollen streams. This was a dangerous area, well-known for bandits who would assault travellers along the road. They endured extreme challenges in order to take the Gospel there. They probably encountered part of what Paul later wrote in 2Corinthians. 11:26, 27- threats from rivers, bandits, sleeplessness, hunger, thirst, and cold.

When they got to Antioch, “on the Sabbath they entered the synagogue and sat down”. This became Paul’s normal pattern for introducing the gospel. Whenever they arrived at a new city, if there was a synagogue in the city, they would go there on the Sabbath. Here, one would find Jews and God-fearing Gentiles. Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom (Matt 4:23; 9:35; 13:54).

A typical synagogue service would include prayers, Scripture readings and a sermon. Emphasis was placed on public reading of the Scriptures. We need to know and understand the Word of God. God’s word must always have a prominent place in our worship, as well as our witness.  Our witness will be void of substance and power if the Word of God does not have a prominent place!  Paul and the apostles turned their world upside down by sharing the Word of God.

After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent word to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have a word of exhortation for the people, please speak”’(Acts 13:14-15). According to Jewish custom, if there was a distinguished guest present in the congregation, a visiting rabbi or other Jewish authority, he could be invited to present a word of exhortation as an expression of hospitality.

That day, Paul and Barnabas received one such invitation. Paul was given the "pulpit" to present his word of exhortation. He seized the opportunity to expound the Word, pointing people to Christ. Little did the Jewish audience realize that his sermon would be recorded as the inspired Word of God.  Paul changed the course of world history by the power of his ministry. He did so by the preaching of the word of God, and here we have a good example of how he did it.

The book of Acts is full of sermons and speeches. It’s fascinating seeing the various ways the apostles share the good news of Jesus with others. There was always a core message, but they vary their approach and emphasis depending on the audience and context. You don’t share the gospel with a child in the same way as you do with an adult. You don’t share the gospel with a friend in the same way as you do with a stranger. The message is the same, but you vary the approach.

Paul had preached many messages before but in Acts 13:13-41 we have his first recorded sermon. It was very powerful and it shook a whole city; so much so that in Acts 13:44 we read, "the next sabbath almost the whole city gathered together to hear the word of God."  That must have been a powerful message. What made it of such impact then, and what elements make it so radical and revolutionary.

Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said: “Fellow Israelites and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me!(Acts 13:16). Paul is addressing a mixed audience of Jews and Gentiles, he acknowledges the different backgrounds of his audience. He begins his sermon by giving a survey of the history of Israel. Because of his knowledge of Israel's history, Paul was able to gain the respect of his audience; so they listened to what he was saying.

Knowing your subject builds credibility and allows you to deliver your message with confidence. However, keeping the audience listening requires something more:understanding your audience . When you truly know who you are speaking to, you can connect your knowledge to specific interests and goals. Paul’s audience know the Old Testament very well so his introduction focuses on the Old Testament history. He moves from known to unknown.

The ‘big idea’ of Paul’s sermon is the sovereignty of God  that God has been, and is, in charge of everything. He traces the sovereign actions of God through the history of Israel. He says “the God of the people of Israel chose our ancestors” (Acts 13:17). God chose Israel out of His unconditional love (Deut. 7:7-8).  Israel was set apart as a distinct community with the primary mission of reflecting God's power, holy standards and being a light to all other nations (Gentiles).

God “made the people prosper during their stay in Egypt” (Acts 13:17). Exodus 1:5-7 tell us that Jacob went down into Egypt with his seventy descendants .They were exceedingly fruitful, they increased in numbers and became so numerous that the land was filled with them. They became a great nation, powerful and numerous (Deut 26:5) that Pharaoh felt threatened (Exod.1:8-10). About 600,000 adult men left Egypt with Moses, not including women and children (Exod. 12:37).

God said to the Israelites “I am the Lord and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians... I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment”( Exod. 6:6). So the Lord brought them out of Egypt “with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders "(Deut. 26:8). God brought them “out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm” (Deut.5:15). He “laid bare His holy arm in the sight of all nations” (Isa.52:10)

Deuteronomy was written by Moses at the end of the wilderness journey when Israel was preparing to enter the Promised Land. Moses reminded them that “in the wilderness... your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way by which you traveled until you reached this place”(Deut 1:31). “He has watched over your journey through this vast wilderness...you have lacked nothing”(Deut 2:7).

Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years ...He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you (Deut.8:4, 15,16).

The time of the Exodus was a period of the most concentrated displays of divine power in history. The imagery of God’s arm/hand was a powerful one for the Israelites. They had lived for 400 years under the hand of Pharaoh, but had also witnessed God having the upper hand and defeating this earthly leader and redeeming His people. This imagery conveys God's active role in history; it demonstrates His ability to redeem and  preserve His people until they reach to the promised end.  

Acts 13:17 presents a fourfold portrait of God’s unchanging character: He is a personal, covenant keeping God; He initiates relationship by choosing; He multiplies His people even in adversity; and He powerfully redeems them. Paul ties Israel’s story to the gospel, showing that the God who acted in Exodus now acts in Christ. The same uplifted arm that freed Israel still delivers from sin’s bondage.

“For about forty years he endured their conduct in the wilderness” (Acts 13:18). Nehemiah 9:17 says that the in the wilderness Israelites “refused to listen and failed to remember the wonders you performed among them. They became stiff-necked and in their rebellion appointed a leader in order to return to their slavery. But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore you did not desert them.”

Moses told them “from the day you left the land of Egypt until you reached this place, you have been rebelling against the LORD” (Deut.9:7). And yet He was compassionate; He forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them. He often restrained His anger and did not unleash His full wrath (Ps. 78:38). God is "compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness." Exodus 34:6.

God “overthrew seven nations in Canaan, giving their land to his people as their inheritance” (Acts 13:19). The conquest of the seven nations listed in Deuteronomy 7:1-2 is recorded in the book of Joshua. God’s command was “devote them to complete destruction”; highlighting the totality of God’s triumph over entrenched wickedness. Jesus is able to save completely those who come to God through him (Heb 7:25).

The text shifts from conquest to gift. God did not merely clear ground; He transferred ownership. Numbers 34:2 calls it “the land that will be allotted to you as an inheritance”. Joshua took the entire land...he gave it as an inheritance to Israel ...Then the land had rest from war (Joshua 11:23). Acts 13:19 shows God faithfully conquering evil, fulfilling promise, and gifting His chosen people with a lasting inheritance.

God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky” (Deut.10:22). God’s promise to Abraham “I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky ... Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies,” (Gen. 22:17)was fulfilled in an unlikely place, proving that circumstances cannot thwart His word. The same God still turns adversity into advancement.

Paul weaves this snapshot of Israel’s history to demonstrate that the same faithful Lord has now provided the ultimate inheritance, salvation and eternal life, through Jesus. The earthly allotment foreshadowed the eternal inheritance. Hebrews 4:8-9 points ahead to a fuller rest. 1Peter 1:4 speaks of “an inheritance imperishable…kept in heaven.” Hebrews 11:13-16 speaks of a better country—a heavenly one.