Acts 13:16-21 16So, standing up and motioning with his hand, Paul said: “Israelite men and you who fear God, listen. 17The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and raised up the people during the stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he led them out of it. 18And for a period of forty years, he put up with them in the wilderness, 19and after destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance 20after 450 years. And after these things, he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. 21And then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul, the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.
Paul stood up at the invitation to give a word of encouragement. His homily was a focused summary of several key points from Israel’s history as found in different parts of the Hebrew Scriptures. What he said would have been familiar to the Jews and appealed to their devotion to Scripture and tradition. This homily also hints at what Paul’s sermons in other places may have been like, especially as he spoke in various synagogues in his travels.
Paul began by addressing the gathered group as men of Israel, which would have involved the Jews, and any God-fearing Gentiles who may have been present. Most of the sermon would be understood by the Jews, who were taught the stories of Israel from a young age. God-fearing Gentiles would also have recognized the basic historical outline of what Paul said, though they may not have had the full biblical context in their imaginations that the Jews would have had. Paul appealed to their piety and heritage with the mention that they feared God. This group was pious and sincere, which should have meant they were ripe for harvest with the proclamation that the Messiah had come.
Verse 17 condenses centuries of Israel’s history with the mention of the stories of the Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the four hundred years their descendants were in Egypt after Joseph. God is the actor of each of these verbs. Choosing the Patriarchs was the beginning of God’s plan of redemption. God blessed the tribes while they were in Egypt by multiplying them. God raised up Moses as the one to lead them out of slavery. Even more so, God protected the people during the exodus with many miracles. Vers 18 summarizes the forty years of wilderness wandering under Moses’ leadership. God could have rejected the rebellious people many times but was patient and put up with them. God was “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Exodus 34:6).
The next several verses recount Israel’s time in the promised land. Verse 19 references the conquest of the land of Cananna under Joshua. Once again, God is the actor who destroyed the enemies and gave the land to Israel. Without God’s help, the Israelites would never have been able to enter and conquer the land. The time reference of 450 years includes the four hundred years in Egypt, forty years of wilderness wandering, and ten years of the conquest. The next period of the judges is summarized in verse 20. The last judge was Samual, who functioned as a transition person to the monarchy. Each judge was a gift to Israel to keep them from self-destructing and to call them to repent and turn back to God. Verse 21 shifts to the period of the monarchy with the first king, Saul. Once again, the monarchy was a gift from God in response to the people’s complaints and obstinacy.
The key theme of God’s grace and mercy emerges in each of these brief statements. Paul knew his history and also how to help his listeners hear about God’s salvation. God’s grace lies behind every story of the Bible. The Old Testament is full of grace. The apostles, like Paul and Barnabas, could preach from the Old Testament and win people to Christ.
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