Acts 13:17-19

“The God of this people Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they sojourned in the land of Egypt, and with a high arm he led them forth out of it. And for about the time of forty years he suffered their manners (or ‘bore them as a nursing-father') in the wilderness. And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land for an inheritance, for about four hundred and fifty years.”

While citing the same basic history and the same connection with Abraham (for that was their history) as Stephen had, Paul's approach is almost exactly the opposite, although it does lead up to the same final message. This is because he stresses the positive aspects of their history as regards God's blessing towards Israel, while hardly referring at all to their own failure. He stresses:

1) That God is the One God. He is the God of His people Israel. They must therefore look to Him and find out His will.

2) That He had chosen their fathers, His actions towards them having always been the outcome of His goodness, and totally undeserved.

3) That He had made the people great (exalted, prosperous) during their stay in Egypt. Their time there had not been unblessed and wasted, for God had been with them there, and had multiplied them, and given them status and much cattle.

4) That He had led them out of Egypt with a high and powerful arm, so that their deliverance had been solely due to His sovereign actions and power.

5) That He had borne them through the wilderness for ‘forty years', putting up with their poor behaviour (or ‘had borne them like a nursing-father'), in the wilderness, an example of His enduring and longstanding ‘forty year' goodness. He had delivered them there and watched over them, and they had been responsive to His care. Thus His mercy and compassion had continued towards them even when they had failed Him.

6) That He had then destroyed ‘seven nations' in the land of Canaan, (a totality of nations), and had given them their land for an inheritance (see Deuteronomy 7:1). ‘Seven nations' expresses a completeness of nations in terms of divine action. God had acted powerfully on their behalf against a host of nations in order to freely give them their inheritance.

And all this over a period of four hundred and fifty years.

However we relate the ‘four hundred and fifty years' to the above it is to be noted that this too was emphasising His longstanding goodness, and the preciseness and faithfulness of His working over a long and continuing period.

Note the emphasis on His sovereignty, His dependability, His continual lovingkindness, His powerful activity on their behalf, His watch and care over them, His ability to provide what they longed for and what He had promised, and His continuing and unceasing activity over so long a period. The Jews therefore had good reason to be grateful to Him. In view of this they should now recognise that God still desires to work in this way towards His people, if only they will hear and be responsive.

Furthermore for the Gentiles present he is emphasising the ancient and solid foundation on which his message is built. It is the message of the One unique God. It is the message of the ancient Scriptures. It is the message of One Who is compassionate and merciful and consistent, all that their gods were not. He wants them to recognise that what he is talking about has not been done in a corner. Rather it is a final fulfilment of what God has been working towards through the set ages. God has been at work, and he knows that they know it, for that is why they are there in the synagogue. Let them therefore now be awake to the fact that this same God is again once more active and now has something even more wonderful to offer them.

‘He suffered their manners (or ‘bore them as a nursing-father') in the wilderness.' The translation depends on whether we read etropophoresen (‘endured their behaviour' with Aleph, B, D) or etrophophoresen (‘bore them in arms' with A, C*, E, p74). Deuteronomy 1:31 LXX may be seen as supporting the latter, which means ‘bore in His arms as a nursing-father'. Yet in the end both are similar for a nursing father not only feeds his young children but also has to bear their tantrums.

(The description mirrors God's constant graciousness to His own through the ages. He reveals the same graciousness to us. In His covenant love He chooses us, makes us strong in Christ, leads us with a strong arm, feeds us, puts up with our bad behaviour as long as it is repented of, continually delivers us, and guarantees us an inheritance. It is why in all ages men should worship Him).

‘For about four hundred and fifty years.' The question arises as to whether this is a kind of summary note, tacked on at the end of what he has initially said, signifying the time over which all this had happened (the stay in Egypt, the period in the wilderness and the period of initial conquest), or whether it is to be seen as looking forward to a later period in which they were ruled over by judges and others. The text is not fully clear. But whichever way it was ‘four hundred and fifty years' in the end means ‘a good long time', and stresses the length of time over which God had acted. His purpose was in order to bring out for how long God had blessed them and how long He had spent in the carrying out of His purposes without failing, his aim being to bring out God's longstanding faithfulness and continuing reliability and generosity.