Seven Deacons Chosen For Service

Spring, c. 33 AD

Seven Deacons Chosen For Service

The proposal of the apostles has found approval with the entire congregation. The church has selected seven men, including Stephen—a man notably full of faith and the Holy Spirit—and Philip. These men were brought before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them, officially ordaining them to manage the daily distribution of food.

This brilliant delegation of authority has yielded immediate, staggering results. With the apostles freed to focus entirely on prayer and the ministry of the Word, the message of God is spreading even further. The number of disciples in Jerusalem is multiplying greatly, and in a shocking turn of events, a great many of the Jewish priests are now becoming obedient to the faith.

"And the word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to multiply greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith."
— Acts 6:7

Timeline Box: The appointment of the seven deacons led directly to a massive surge in conversions, penetrating even the priesthood.

Exilic Era, 587 BC

Ezekiel Prophesies Against Pharaoh

The prophet Ezekiel, living among the exiles in Babylon, has received a devastating word from Yahweh regarding Pharaoh king of Egypt. On the first day of the third month, God compared Egypt to a massive, towering cedar of Lebanon that is about to be violently cut down by the foreign tyrants of Babylon. The greatest empire in the south is doomed.

"Now it happened in the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first of the month, that the word of Yahweh came to me saying..."
— Ezekiel 31:1

Timeline Box: Ezekiel 31 explicitly dates this prophecy of judgment to the 1st day of Sivan.

Mosaic Era, 1446 BC

Israel Arrives At Mount Sinai

Exactly two months after leaving the land of Egypt, on the very first day of the third month, the sons of Israel have entered the wilderness of Sinai. They have set up their massive camp directly in front of the mountain. This location will serve as the crucible where a group of former slaves will be forged into a covenant nation under the Law of Yahweh.

"In the third month after the sons of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that very day they came into the wilderness of Sinai."
— Exodus 19:1

Timeline Box: Exodus 19:1 explicitly dates the arrival at Mount Sinai to the 1st of Sivan.

Editorial: Arriving At The Mountain

The 1st of Sivan is a day of monumental arrivals. It is the exact day Israel arrived at the base of Mount Sinai to receive the Law that would govern them.

In the book of Acts, the Church has arrived at its own "mountain." By organizing the seven deacons, the early Christians established the practical infrastructure of the New Covenant community. Because the widows were fed and the Word was preached, even the very priests who operated the old Levitical system began to surrender to the Gospel. When the body of Christ operates in unified service, the witness is so powerful that it can conquer even the most hardened religious hearts.

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