Scattered

Joseph, who was sold into slavery by his brothers, reassured them years later that he would not seek revenge. God had put Joseph in a position of authority in Egypt that was second only to Pharaoh himself. Joseph’s wisdom and leadership kept many Egyptians—and many people from other nations as well—from starving during a seven-year period of famine. Joseph said to his brothers, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You planned evil against me; God planned it for good to bring about the present result—the survival of many people” (Gen. 50:19-20).

We see God’s sovereignty at work throughout the Bible, most notably in Jesus’ redemptive work on the cross. It looked as if Satan had emerged victorious when Jesus was crucified, but God was actually accomplishing His most important work!

In Acts we see God’s sovereignty yet again. In Acts 8:1-4, Luke wrote,

Saul agreed with putting him [Stephen] to death.

On that day a severe persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the land of Judea and Samaria. Devout men buried Stephen and mourned deeply over him. Saul, however, was ravaging the church. He would enter house after house, drag off men and women, and put them in prison.

So those who were scattered went on their way preaching the message of good news.

The verb form of the Greek word represented by the English term scattered in verses 1 and 4 means “to sow abroad.” Our word dispersion has its roots in this Greek term. In the New Testament, this word appears just one other time—in Acts 11:19: “Those who had been scattered as a result of the persecution that started because of Stephen made their way as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the message to no one except Jews.” Luke continued, “But there were some of them, Cypriot and Cyrenian men, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Hellenists, proclaiming the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s hand was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord” (vv. 20-21).

The persecution of the early church represented Satan’s worst, but God used it to spread the gospel even further—once again proving that He has the upper hand. Most assuredly, He always does.