Readings today

An interesting pair of chapters tonight. On the surface, they could be seen to be very boring. Nehemiah 2 sees him getting upset and gaining permission to go back to Jerusalem. It just is full of language and nuance though. Little parts show the evident truthfulness of the chapter and the warmth of the King and his wife to Nehemiah is lovely to see.

Another potentially boring passage was the speech given by Stephen to the Sanhedrin. Taken out of context (oh how often does that happen when discussing the Bible with our opponents!) the speech is merely a re-telling of the history of Israel. However, this epic has a sting in the tail. Stephen recounts all the times that the Israelites ignored God and ignored the prophets he sent. Then there is his final point. The Sanhedrin are as guilty as anyone else. They rejected Jesus and that's the most heinous of all rejections.

This is followed by one of the most beautiful scenes in all of Scripture. Stephen is taken out to be stoned and he looks up to heaven and sees Jesus standing there at the right hand of God, waiting for him. Dying and in pain and ready to meet God, what does Stephen do? He prays for his torturers and for their forgiveness. What a hero.

Tomorrow we see the church persecuted and spread about. I am looking forward to reading that chapter ...