Bible Study on Acts 23, verses 12 to 35, the plot against Paul

 

Acts 23:12 ¶  And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. 13  And they were more than forty which had made this conspiracy. 14  And they came to the chief priests and elders, and said, We have bound ourselves under a great curse, that we will eat nothing until we have slain Paul.

 

Acts 23:15  Now therefore ye with the council signify to the chief captain that he bring him down unto you to morrow, as though ye would enquire something more perfectly concerning him: and we, or ever he come near, are ready to kill him. 16  And when Paul’s sister’s son heard of their lying in wait, he went and entered into the castle, and told Paul. 17  Then Paul called one of the centurions unto him, and said, Bring this young man unto the chief captain: for he hath a certain thing to tell him. 18  So he took him, and brought him to the chief captain, and said, Paul the prisoner called me unto him, and prayed me to bring this young man unto thee, who hath something to say unto thee. 19  Then the chief captain took him by the hand, and went with him aside privately, and asked him, What is that thou hast to tell me? 20  And he said, The Jews have agreed to desire thee that thou wouldest bring down Paul to morrow into the council, as though they would enquire somewhat of him more perfectly. 21  But do not thou yield unto them: for there lie in wait for him of them more than forty men, which have bound themselves with an oath, that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him: and now are they ready, looking for a promise from thee. 22  So the chief captain then let the young man depart, and charged him, See thou tell no man that thou hast shewed these things to me. 23  And he called unto him two centurions, saying, Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Caesarea, and horsemen threescore and ten, and spearmen two hundred, at the third hour of the night; 24  And provide them beasts, that they may set Paul on, and bring him safe unto Felix the governor. 25  And he wrote a letter after this manner: 26  Claudius Lysias unto the most excellent governor Felix sendeth greeting. 27  This man was taken of the Jews, and should have been killed of them: then came I with an army, and rescued him, having understood that he was a Roman. 28  And when I would have known the cause wherefore they accused him, I brought him forth into their council: 29  Whom I perceived to be accused of questions of their law, but to have nothing laid to his charge worthy of death or of bonds. 30  And when it was told me how that the Jews laid wait for the man, I sent straightway to thee, and gave commandment to his accusers also to say before thee what they had against him. Farewell. 31  Then the soldiers, as it was commanded them, took Paul, and brought him by night to Antipatris. 32  On the morrow they left the horsemen to go with him, and returned to the castle: 33  Who, when they came to Caesarea, and delivered the epistle to the governor, presented Paul also before him. 34  And when the governor had read the letter, he asked of what province he was. And when he understood that he was of Cilicia; 35  I will hear thee, said he, when thine accusers are also come. And he commanded him to be kept in Herod’s judgment hall.

 

Here is the plot and in verse 16 Paul’s nephew warns him. Why did the translators not use the word nephew, which they had used in other contexts?

 

1Timothy 5:4  But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God.

 

This is because nephew at one time meant grandson which is the way it is used in 1Timothy 5:4.

 

We know the name of the chief commander, Claudius Lysias. Does this mean that this man will eventually become a Christian and that is why he is named or is this just coincidental as the Holy Spirit tells us through Luke who he was and what he wrote? We will know in heaven. The warning is then related to the commander who sends a detachment of soldiers to take Paul to the governor at the time, named Felix. A letter is sent along explaining the situation.

 

Antipatris was a town built by Herod the Great on the road from Jerusalem to Caesarea. As the distance between the two more important cities was over 60 miles a stop-off would have been necessary with the cavalry making better time after the stop without the infantry who would return.

 

Governor Felix, historians tell us, was the governor of Judea from 52-60AD although I would be careful about accepting historical dates as absolute as there is some guesswork and assumptions involved in ancient dating.

A Psalm for Sunday, Psalm 80, verses 1 to 7, and we shall be saved

 

Psalm 80:1 ¶  «To the chief Musician upon Shoshannimeduth, A Psalm of Asaph.» Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth. 2  Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up thy strength, and come and save us. 3  Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved. 4  O LORD God of hosts, how long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people? 5  Thou feedest them with the bread of tears; and givest them tears to drink in great measure. 6  Thou makest us a strife unto our neighbours: and our enemies laugh among themselves. 7  Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.

 

Here is another Psalm that may have been written in the time of David’s Asaph prophesying a future time of torment and judgment. Shoshannimeduth, according to Gill, refers to some musical instrument unknown to us today. We can pray a modified version of this prayer in our times of distress.

 

God is the Shepherd of Israel and He is our Shepherd in the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Matthew 26:31  Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.

 

John 10:11  I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

 

1Peter 2:25  For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

 

1Peter 5:4  And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

 

Notice the reference between the cherubims.

 

Exodus 25:22  And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.

 

1Samuel 4:4  So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth between the cherubims: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

 

Clearly this is a time of great distress for Israel. It is a plea for temporal salvation from a terrible fate on this earth. If God would just turn to them they know they would be saved from it. If He would stir up His strength before the tribes mentioned here representing all Israel they would be saved.

 

Psalm 4:6 ¶  There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? LORD, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.

 

Who among us who has suffered great loss or endured a terrible trial has not eaten the bread of tears or drank tears metaphorically? In another place the Holy Spirit speaks of God feeding someone with judgment.

 

Ezekiel 34:16  I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.

Acts chapter 23, verses 1 to 11, Paul before the council

 

Acts 23:1 ¶  And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. 2  And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth. 3  Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law? 4  And they that stood by said, Revilest thou God’s high priest? 5  Then said Paul, I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest: for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.

 

In Paul’s frustration he does something that in verse 5 he acknowledges that he shouldn’t even though the high priest is undeserving of respect.

Exodus 22:28  Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people.

 

Acts 23:6 ¶  But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question. 7  And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees: and the multitude was divided. 8  For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both. 9  And there arose a great cry: and the scribes that were of the Pharisees’ part arose, and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man: but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God. 10  And when there arose a great dissension, the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take him by force from among them, and to bring him into the castle. 11  And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.

 

Josephus, the Jewish general turncoat who worked for the Romans and wrote histories of the Jews claimed that the Sadducees believed that the soul could die, that there was no afterlife, that there were no rewards or penalties after death, and that only the written law was valid. They were composed of the upper class and educated elite who oversaw the temple operations and shared with the Roman upper class a denial of the reality of the supernatural. They did, apparently, believe in God but were more political and worldly than the more conservative Pharisees, and they were composed of a ruling class that expected God’s benefits and prosperity now, in this life, and denied even His intervention in history, sources say. They would have been terrified of anything that threatened their position under Roman authority.

 

The Pharisees followed the Law given to Moses, believed in tradition, and angels, a resurrection of the just, and also in a Messiah-to-come. They were dogmatic in their tradition and oral law which covered most every subject.

 

Paul understood how to drive a wedge between his accusers. The Roman officer has to save Paul, however, from what is becoming an out-of-control assembly.

 

God speaks to Paul to assure him that Paul will indeed go to Rome, which Paul will make sure happens later by demanding his Roman right to appeal, to be heard by Caesar. As we know that the physical image, the body of God, if you will, is Jesus Christ it is Him who stands by Paul in the night.

Bible Study on Isaiah 7, verses 1 to 9, God promises to defend Judah against Israel and Syria

 

Isaiah 7:1 ¶  And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it. 2  And it was told the house of David, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind. 3  Then said the LORD unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shearjashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller’s field; 4  And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah. 5  Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying, 6  Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal: 7  Thus saith the Lord GOD, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass. 8  For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people. 9  And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.

 

The seventh book of the Bible is Judges. Notice this comparison with chapter 7 here and Judges.

 

4  And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.

 

Judges 15:4  And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails.

 

Now think of Jews fighting against Jerusalem as you read these verses.

 

Isaiah 7:1 ¶  And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it.

 

See here in Judges when it was conquered.

 

Judges 1:8  Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and had taken it, and smitten it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.

 

Now back to chapter 7 and what it says to us.

 

Read about Ahaz in 2Kings, chapter 16. He is Hezekiah’s father. Starting in 2Kings 15;

 

2Kings 15:37  In those days the LORD began to send against Judah Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah.

 

2Kings 16:1 ¶  In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah Ahaz the son of Jotham king of Judah began to reign. 2  Twenty years old was Ahaz when he began to reign, and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem, and did not that which was right in the sight of the LORD his God, like David his father. 3  But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yea, and made his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel. 4  And he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.

 

    5 ¶  Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to war: and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him. 6  At that time Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and drave the Jews from Elath: and the Syrians came to Elath, and dwelt there unto this day. 7  So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant and thy son: come up, and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, which rise up against me. 8  And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king’s house, and sent it for a present to the king of Assyria. 9  And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him: for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried the people of it captive to Kir,

and slew Rezin.

 

    10 ¶  And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus: and king Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the workmanship thereof. 11  And Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that king Ahaz had sent from Damascus: so Urijah the priest made it against king Ahaz came from Damascus. 12  And when the king was come from Damascus, the king saw the altar: and the king approached to the altar, and offered thereon. 13  And he burnt his burnt offering and his meat offering, and poured his drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings, upon the altar. 14  And he brought also the brasen altar, which was before the LORD, from the forefront of the house, from between the altar and the house of the LORD, and put it on the north side of the altar. 15  And king Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, Upon the great altar burn the morning burnt offering, and the evening meat offering, and

the king’s burnt sacrifice, and his meat offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their meat offering, and their drink offerings; and sprinkle upon it all the blood of the burnt offering, and all the blood of the sacrifice: and the brasen altar shall be for me to enquire by. 16  Thus did Urijah the priest, according to all that king Ahaz commanded.

 

    17 ¶  And king Ahaz cut off the borders of the bases, and removed the laver from off them; and took down the sea from off the brasen oxen that were under it, and put it upon a pavement of stones. 18  And the covert for the sabbath that they had built in the house, and the king’s entry without, turned he from the house of the LORD for the king of Assyria. 19  Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 20  And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead.

 

And another account of his reign can be found in 2Chronicles 28 showing that while both Israel and Syria did defeat Ahaz they did not overcome him. When all was said and done he still survived.

 

2Chronicles 28:1 ¶  Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: but he did not that which was right in the sight of the LORD, like David his father: 2  For he walked  in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also molten images for Baalim. 3  Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, after the abominations of  the heathen whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel. 4  He sacrificed also and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree. 5  Wherefore the LORD his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria; and they smote him, and carried away a great multitude of them captives, and brought them to Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter.

 

    6 ¶  For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah an hundred and twenty thousand in one day, which were all valiant men; because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers. 7  And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew Maaseiah the king’s son, and Azrikam the governor of the house, and Elkanah that was next to the king. 8  And the children of Israel carried away captive of their brethren two hundred thousand, women, sons, and daughters, and took also away much spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria. 9  But a prophet of the LORD was there, whose name was Oded: and he went out before the host that came to Samaria, and said unto them, Behold, because the LORD God of your fathers was wroth with Judah, he hath delivered them into your hand, and ye have slain them in a rage that reacheth up unto heaven. 10  And now ye purpose to keep under the children of Judah and Jerusalem for bondmen and bondwomen unto you: but are there not with you, even with you, sins against the LORD your God? 11  Now hear me therefore, and deliver the captives again, which ye have taken captive of your brethren: for the fierce wrath of the LORD is upon you. 12  Then certain of the heads of the children of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, and Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against them that came from the war, 13  And said unto them, Ye shall not bring in the captives hither: for whereas we have offended against the LORD already, ye intend to add more to our sins and to our trespass:

for our trespass is great, and there is fierce wrath against Israel. 14  So the armed men left the captives and the spoil before the princes and all the congregation. 15  And the men which were expressed by name rose up, and took the captives, and with the spoil clothed all that were naked among them, and arrayed them, and shod them, and gave them to eat and to drink, and anointed them, and carried all the feeble of them upon asses, and brought them to Jericho, the city of palm trees, to their brethren: then they returned to Samaria.

 

    16 ¶  At that time did king Ahaz send unto the kings of Assyria to help him. 17  For again the Edomites had come and smitten Judah, and carried away captives. 18  The Philistines also had invaded the cities of the low country, and of the south of Judah, and had taken Bethshemesh, and Ajalon, and Gederoth, and Shocho with the villages thereof, and Timnah with the villages thereof, Gimzo also and the villages thereof: and they dwelt there. 19  For the LORD brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel; for he made Judah naked, and transgressed sore against the LORD. 20  And Tilgathpilneser king of Assyria came unto him, and distressed him, but strengthened him not. 21  For Ahaz took away a portion out of the house of the LORD, and out of the house of the king, and of the princes, and gave it unto the king of Assyria: but he helped him not. 22  And in the time of his distress did he trespass yet more against the LORD: this is that king Ahaz. 23  For he sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus, which smote him: and he said, Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, therefore will I sacrifice to them, that they may help me. But they were the ruin of him, and of all Israel. 24  And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God, and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and shut up the doors of the house of the LORD, and he made him altars in every corner of Jerusalem. 25  And in every several city of Judah he made high places to burn incense unto other gods, and provoked to anger the LORD God of his fathers. 26  Now the rest of his acts and of all his ways, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 27  And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, even in Jerusalem: but they brought

him not into the sepulchres of the kings of Israel: and Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead.

 

Back to the first part of Isaiah, chapter 7. The news of this united action against them was a terror to the regime of King Ahaz. Isaiah is ordered by God to meet Ahaz outside of the city. He tells the king not to worry, that this confederacy’s plans against him will be foiled. The son of Tabeal would be the lineage of the puppet king they intended to impose on Judah and Jerusalem. God admonishes Ahaz through Isaiah to believe what God has promised. Why is God seeming to help this wicked king? Well, His day of reckoning for Judah and Jerusalem is not just yet, as we shall see.

 

As a side note, it is interesting to see all of the opinions about the 65 years prophesied until the destruction of Israel but I am satisfied to consider that this means within a generation of a man so any time in that period would be fine. There are so many commentators trying to explain an exact 65 years that I think they completely miss the point. But, let’s continue.

Bible Study on Acts 22, verses 22 to 30, The Jews riot over Paul

 

Acts 22:22 ¶  And they gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live. 23  And as they cried out, and cast off their clothes, and threw dust into the air, 24  The chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, and bade that he should be examined by scourging; that he might know wherefore they cried so against him. 25  And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said unto the centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned? 26  When the centurion heard that, he went and told the chief captain, saying, Take heed what thou doest: for this man is a Roman. 27  Then the chief captain came, and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? He said, Yea. 28  And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born. 29  Then straightway they departed from him which should have examined him: and the chief captain also was afraid, after he knew that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him. 30  On the morrow, because he would have known the certainty wherefore he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him from his bands, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down, and set him before them.

 

The Jews had listened to Paul but were now moved to anger and riot. They wanted him dead. The things they did in tearing off clothing and throwing dirt in the air were signs of being upset and angry like you throwing a coffee cup across the room or turning over a table while arguing with a family member.

 

Paul is about to be scourged. Scourging was a brutal whipping, a punishment Christ endured. But, Paul objects because he is a Roman citizen and has not been condemned in a legal proceeding. Roman citizens, unlike the conquered nations over which they ruled, had specific rights. The right to a legal trial, to face your accusers, and defend yourself as well as the right to appeal a decision made by a magistrate were among the rights guaranteed to a Roman citizen. Offering limited citizenship was a way Rome exerted control, held out the proverbial carrot and stick to the races they conquered in an attempt to Romanize them. The bottom line is Paul, as a Roman citizen, had a right to some type of judicial proceeding and could not be simply punished at the whim of a Roman soldier, even if it would make the crowd happy.

 

Paul was probably a Roman citizen at birth because his father would have been a Roman citizen, either having been enslaved and freed by a Roman or having performed some service that granted him citizenship. In any event, Paul, while identifying ethnically, religiously, and culturally as a Jew was legally a citizen of Rome.

 

We identify as a national identity; like American or Polish-American or Pennsylvania Dutch or even an ethnic identity like African-American but our legal citizenship is before God in Heaven of which we are ambassadors as Paul will make clear.

 

Bible Study on Exodus 25, verses 1 to 9, a voluntary offering

 

Exodus 25:1 ¶  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2  Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering. 3  And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass, 4  And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, 5  And rams’ skins dyed red, and badgers’ skins, and shittim wood, 6  Oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense, 7  Onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, and in the breastplate. 8  And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. 9  According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.

Here is an important point about an offering. It was to be given willingly. Voluntary giving is the basis for God’s approval of an offering.

2Corinthians 9:7  Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

Giving because you have been guilted into it or because it is your “Christian duty” does not meet with God’s approval although it does satisfy man’s need for a sense of ritual and obligation.

2Corinthians 8:7 ¶  Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also. 8  I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love. 9  For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. 10  And herein I give my advice: for this is expedient for you, who have begun before, not only to do, but also to be forward a year ago. 11  Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have. 12  For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not. 13  For I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened: 14  But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality: 15  As it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack.

Almsgiving, charitable giving, degenerated into a show and a display as it often does today as big companies have pictures taken of their executives giving oversized checks to some charity as an act of “goodwill”. Wealthy individuals do the same.

Matthew 6:1 ¶  Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. 2  Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 3  But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: 4  That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

All giving to the Lord must be of a willing heart and not determined by another person who wants to guilt you into something.

What we are about to witness is remarkable in its detail. As Matthew Henry pointed out we are not given any dimensions for the earth or the universe but this tabernacle is described in much detail using quite a few words and verses. Certainly, this must mean something that we are overlooking.

Bible Study on Acts 22, verses 1 to 21, Paul gives a defense

 

Acts 22:1 ¶  Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defence which I make now unto you. 2  (And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence: and he saith,)

 

 Acts 22:3 ¶  I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day. 4  And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women. 5  As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished. 6  And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me. 7  And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 8  And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. 9  And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me. 10  And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do. 11  And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus. 12  And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there, 13  Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him. 14  And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth. 15  For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. 16  And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord. 17  And it came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance; 18  And saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me. 19  And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee: 20  And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him. 21  And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.

 

Paul addresses the crowd in Hebrew and we have his words from the Greek translated into English for us.

 

Back in Acts 5 Gamaliel gave sage advice to the council. He warned them to be careful in their handling of Christ’s disciples. He mentioned a revolt led by a Theudas, which was a common Hebrew name, and should not be confused with the Theudas referred to by the Jewish general turncoat and historian Josephus who mentioned a much later rebel by that name. Gamaliel places Theudas’ uprising before Judas of Galilee’s which was during the reign of Herod. If Jesus was like one of them then the Apostle’s efforts would come to nothing as their leader was dead. But, if this was of God they cannot fight it because they would be fighting God. It is interesting that this doctor of the Law would even consider the truth of Christ. But this is not salvation, this hedging your bets. It is not salvation to say, well, I’ll believe on Christ just in case He’s real. That is not faith.

 

In verse 4 Paul admits that he persecuted and killed Christians or rather had them killed. Notice  further confessions.

 

1Corinthians 15:9  For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

 

Philippians 3:6  Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

 

1Timothy 1:13  Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

 

Acts 26:9  I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10  Which thing I also did in Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them. 11  And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities.

 

Paul then recounts his road to Damascus experience with Christ that is recorded in Acts 9 and which he retells again in Acts 26. But, note that the Holy Spirit allows him to retell from memory with certain details changed as he stresses this or that. There are a few things this tells us. First the account is from memory so minor variations are to be expected, secondly it’s the overall gist of the event that the Holy Spirit wants us to remember not necessarily exact word-for-word details, third Luke and the translators and copyists throughout the millennia made no effort to make the accounts line up exactly, and four, the Holy Spirit uses all three recountings to give us a full picture of the intentions of God for Paul. These things show the influence of the Holy Spirit upon them and how the Bible is a living book and not a textbook or an instruction manual. It is a fluid conversation between you and your Creator as He takes you through His ministry of reconciling mankind to Himself.

 

Paul admits to being the young man who held the clothing of those who stoned the martyr, Stephen.

 

Acts 7:58  And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul.

 

Paul also admits that God has a special mission for him to the Gentiles.

 

Romans 15:16  That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost.

 

 We have to ask, why then was he so determined to confront the Jews if his mission was to the Gentiles. Well that is clear;

 

Romans 9:1 ¶  I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, 2  That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. 3  For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: 4  Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; 5  Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

 

His love for his people, his ethnicity and heritage, would not let him give up on them and made his journey to Rome that much harder.