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Acts 2
What does this chapter say about the Holy Spirit and you? (Look again at the experience in 1-4, Peter’s explanation of it, and the experience of the early church.) The Bible Project’s video on the first half of the book of Exodus was included with today’s reading. They mentioned in the video how God commissioned Moses through the burning bush. I thought about that in relation to the disciples’ experience of receiving God’s Holy Spirit in this chapter of Acts. These 120 disciples, like Moses, were commissioned by God through fire to lead His people to His promise. The Bible is chock full us such parallels! To me it is solid evidence that God reveals His plan and tells our story – the story of God with us – in so many different but coordinating ways in this amazing book.
Ex. 1-2
I see the effect of neglecting history in these chapters. Sometime after Joseph and those of his generation died, “a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.” (Ex. 1:8). This king did not know that Joseph had saved Egypt and all the surrounding lands. He did not know that so much of the power and wealth that he held was due to Joseph. And he had no fear of Joseph’s God. Thus, he acted wickedly toward God’s people, setting Egypt on a path toward God’s judgment. After Moses fled to Midian, yet another king came to power in Egypt and continued to lead his nation down this deadly path.
This is part of why God instituted feasts of remembrance for His people and continually instructed them to teach their history to their children and their children’s children. And it is part of why He gave us this history in the form of the Bible. It is so that we will know that it is God who saves us and provides all that we have so that we will fear and honor Him and stay on the path of righteousness. It only takes a generation or two of complacency or neglect before people come to power to whom God means nothing.