Acts 17:22-31 "Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious (religious). For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions (the things you worship), I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, HIM declare I unto you. GOD that made the world and all things therein, seeing that HE is LORD of Heaven and Earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though HE needed any thing, seeing HE giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; and hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
That they should seek the LORD, if haply they might feel after HIM, and find HIM, though HE be not far from every one of us: For in HIM we live, and move, and have our being as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also HIS offspring. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of GOD, we ought not to think that the GODhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device. And the times of this ignorance GOD winked at; but now commands all men every where to repent: because HE hath appointed a Day, in the which HE will judge the world in righteousness by that MAN WHOM HE hath ordained; whereof HE hath given assurance unto all men, in that HE hath raised HIM from the dead."
From our viewpoint, certain nations seem very imposing and threatening: China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, etc. It is helpful to see the nations from the LORD's perspective: "And [GOD] hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the Earth" (v.26a). All the nations of the world come from one source; they are derived from one man: Adam. All men who dwell on the Earth, regardless of race or background, originated from the same man. The Greeks, whom Paul was addressing in Acts 17, did not believe this. They thought that they were specially created by their own Greek gods and that other people, such as barbarians, were created by some other gods in the lands where they lived. They were ignorant of the one united human race created by the ONE TRUE GOD WHO "hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation" (v.26b).
In this remarkable statement, we learn that GOD has determined every nation's limit, both chronologically and geographically. HE has determined who is going to live where and when, for how long, and under what conditions they will live there. For example, GOD determined how long Israel would dwell in Egypt (Genesis 15:13 see pictured above) and how long the Amorites would survive (Genesis 15:16 pictured above). GOD set limits on the great empires of Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome, and HE is just as involved with the nations of today. GOD gives the people of every nation only a certain amount of time to come to know HIM and respond to HIM, and HIS judgment often follows. This is an amazing declaration about GOD's sovereign rule over the nations. We can rest in the fact that HE IS IN COMPLETE CONTROL ! GWZ
Your servant in CHRIST,
Julie
Copyright, FEATURE: A Daily Bible Study Guide.
Used with permission. www.featoday.org
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