03/19/10

Deuteronomy 5-7

Deuteronomy five continues the summary and review of the law that Moses is giving the Israelites who will take the promised land. It starts with the ten commandments, as previously set forth in Exodus 20, which were then written on stone tablets and given to Moses. He tells them that they "heard the voice out of the darkness" and responded that they would "listen and obey." So they must "walk in all the way that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess." These reminders are followed, in chapter six, with repeated exhortations to "love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." And they were to teach their children about God bringing them out of Egypt, and if they were "careful to obey all this law before the LORD our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness."

In chapter seven, Moses tells them that when they take the promised land, and drive out (with God's help) the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, they must utterly destroy those nations, their altars and idols and every remnant of their civilization. "Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, for they will turn your sons away from following me to serve other gods, and the LORD's anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you." He emphasizes the importance of the "commands, decrees and laws I give you today," and stresses that God will bless them if they do that, and punish them if they do not.

Thoughts, questions, issues

• One of things that's interesting in the first seven chapters of Deuteronomy is that the voice being heard is Moses'. We're not getting "the Lord said to Moses" at all, just "Moses said to the Israelites." Now, much of what he's saying is, "remember that the Lord said..." but it's specifically Moses attributing it, and the author attributes to Moses rather than the Lord directly.
• This is, again, a repetition of earlier material. We don't learn, generally, on being told something once, so here God's word is repeated for the Israelites. Moses is not going to cross the Jordan with them, and everyone knows it, and he's the one who has been in direct communication with the Lord. It is important for everyone that he highlight and emphasize the important parts of the message, and repeats it in such a way that they will be able to remember it when he's gone.
• Thus far, there's been no "action," if you will, and no new law or even commentary. This is the summary of the lessons of the forty years in the wilderness.

Psalms 39

Many of the psalms read like proverbs. This reads like a passage from Ecclesiastes. The teacher says many things like "you have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man's life is but a breath." And here, the psalmist is aging and, in the words of Dylan Thomas, "rag[ing] against the dying of the light." It's interesting in that this one ends with a plea for God to turn away. There's a strong sense of alienation, and it isn't the joyful or penitent prayer that so many of the psalms are.

Psalm 39
For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of David.
1 I said, "I will watch my ways
and keep my tongue from sin;
I will put a muzzle on my mouth
as long as the wicked are in my presence."

2 But when I was silent and still,
not even saying anything good,
my anguish increased.

3 My heart grew hot within me,
and as I meditated, the fire burned;
then I spoke with my tongue:

4 "Show me, O LORD, my life's end
and the number of my days;
let me know how fleeting is my life.

5 You have made my days a mere handbreadth;
the span of my years is as nothing before you.
Each man's life is but a breath.
Selah

6 Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro:
He bustles about, but only in vain;
he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it.

7 "But now, Lord, what do I look for?
My hope is in you.

8 Save me from all my transgressions;
do not make me the scorn of fools.

9 I was silent; I would not open my mouth,
for you are the one who has done this.

10 Remove your scourge from me;
I am overcome by the blow of your hand.

11 You rebuke and discipline men for their sin;
you consume their wealth like a moth—
each man is but a breath.
Selah

12 "Hear my prayer, O LORD,
listen to my cry for help;
be not deaf to my weeping.
For I dwell with you as an alien,
a stranger, as all my fathers were.

13 Look away from me, that I may rejoice again
before I depart and am no more."

03/18/10

Deuteronomy 1-4

The book of Deuteronomy follows Numbers, and opens with the Israelites camped on the east side of the Jordan. Moses "spoke to all Israel in the desert" and for the first three chapters, he reviews with them the events which have followed the Exodus, as they have wandered the desert. In chapter one, he talks about the command to leave Horeb (Num 10), the appointment of leaders among the Israelites to help Moses (Num 11), the spying excursion into Canaan (Num 13) and the rebellion when the people would not go into the promised land (Num 14). Chapter two talks of how they wandered in the desert for thirty-eight years while "that entire generation of fighting men [who rebelled and refused to take the promised land] had perished from the camp," and how they defeated Sihon, the King of Heshbon (Num 21). Chapter three covers the defeat of Og, King of Bashan (Num 21), the division of the land on the east side of the Jordan (Num 32), and of Moses being forbidden to cross the Jordan (Num 20, 27).

Chapter four begins a restatement of the law, starting with admonitions to be obedient to the law of the Lord as he has given it to them. "Remember the day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb...He declared to you his covenant, the Ten Commandments, which he commanded you to follow." Idolatry is forbidden, and if the Israelites "become corrupt and make any kind of idol...you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess." The Lord is God - "acknowledge and take to heart this day that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other." After setting aside three sanctuary cities east of the Jordan, Moses reiterated the "stipulations, decrees and laws Moses gave them when they came out of Egypt."

Thoughts, questions, issues

• "These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel in the desert..." If I remember correctly (and I'll know for sure in a week and a half), those opening words are an excellent summary of the book.
• The first few chapters are a summary of the things that have happened to the Israelites since they came out of Egypt. No new law is handed down, no new events take place.
• The ways of the LORD are not our ways, and we cannot see all that he sees. How can God allow bad things to happen to good people? "The LORD took you and brought you out of the iron-smelting furnace, out of Egypt, to be the people of his inheritance...From heaven he made you hear his voice to discipline you..." There are no easy answers, and sometimes even the true answers are not comforting.

Psalms 38

The psalmist prays for comfort and help, struggling under a load of guilt. Many of the psalms are martial in nature, with afflictions caused by worldly enemies. This one is penitent, recognizing the wrath which sin has earned.

Psalm 38
A psalm of David. A petition.
1 O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger
or discipline me in your wrath.

2 For your arrows have pierced me,
and your hand has come down upon me.

3 Because of your wrath there is no health in my body;
my bones have no soundness because of my sin.

4 My guilt has overwhelmed me
like a burden too heavy to bear.

5 My wounds fester and are loathsome
because of my sinful folly.

6 I am bowed down and brought very low;
all day long I go about mourning.

7 My back is filled with searing pain;
there is no health in my body.

8 I am feeble and utterly crushed;
I groan in anguish of heart.

9 All my longings lie open before you, O Lord;
my sighing is not hidden from you.

10 My heart pounds, my strength fails me;
even the light has gone from my eyes.

11 My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds;
my neighbors stay far away.

12 Those who seek my life set their traps,
those who would harm me talk of my ruin;
all day long they plot deception.

13 I am like a deaf man, who cannot hear,
like a mute, who cannot open his mouth;

14 I have become like a man who does not hear,
whose mouth can offer no reply.

15 I wait for you, O LORD;
you will answer, O Lord my God.

16 For I said, "Do not let them gloat
or exalt themselves over me when my foot slips."

17 For I am about to fall,
and my pain is ever with me.

18 I confess my iniquity;
I am troubled by my sin.

19 Many are those who are my vigorous enemies;
those who hate me without reason are numerous.

20 Those who repay my good with evil
slander me when I pursue what is good.

21 O LORD, do not forsake me;
be not far from me, O my God.

22 Come quickly to help me,
O Lord my Savior.

03/17/10

Acts 26-28

In chapter 26, Agrippa tells Paul to speak for himself, and he begins by claiming that "according to the strictest sect of our religion, I lived as a Pharisee," and that he is on trial because of his "hope in what God has promised our fathers." He points out that the Jews are also hoping to see God's promise fulfilled, and working for that, and wonders why anyone should "consider it incredible that God raises the dead." He tells Agrippa of his work persecuting the church, and his conversion on the road to Damascus, and how he has "not [been] disobedient to the vision from heaven." When he told them that he proclaimed nothing beyond what Moses and the prophets would say, that "the Christ would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to his own people and to the Gentiles," Festus interrupted him, telling him that he was insane. Agrippa agreed that he was "not doing anything that deserves death or imprisonment," and tells Festus that he could have been released if he hadn't appealed to Caesar.

In chapter 27, Paul sails for Rome with several traveling companions, including, apparently, Luke, a centurion named Julius and Aristarchus, "a Macedonian from Thessalonica." They stopped in Sidon and then continued their journey, but it was late in the year and "sailing had already become dangerous." Paul warned the men ofthe ship that the voyage would be disastrous "and bring great loss to ship and cargo," but the centurion listened to the ship's pilot and owner rather than Paul and they sailed on, "hoping to reach Phoenix [a harbor in Crete, facing both southwest and northwest] and winter there." A south wind seemed as if it was what they wanted, but blew up into a hurricane force "northeaster" and the ship was driven along, eventually being wreck on a sandbar just off the island of Malta. As Paul had prophesied, all on-board survived.

Acts 28 starts with Paul and his companions shipwrecked on the island of Malta. The islanders welcomed them, building a fire in the rain and cold. Paul was bitten by a viper, and the islanders thought he must be a murderer not escaping justice, but when he didn't die they thought he was a God. They were welcomed into the home of the island's chief official, Publius, and Paul healed his father who was sick with fever and dysentery, and then the rest of the sick on the island were healed . They honored Paul and his companions and provided them with supplies when they were ready to sail three months later.

They sailed for Rome, and spent a week in Puteoli with some Christian brothers. When they reached Rome, "Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him." He called together the leaders of the Jews and explained his situation, and then said that they had received no letters about him from Judea, but wanted to hear what he had to say. They came on a day that they had arranged to meet and "from morning till evening he explained and declared to them the kingdom of God and tried to convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets." Some believed but others did not, and Paul finished by quoting Isaiah and telling them that "I want you to know that God's salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!" The book ends there, telling us that Paul stayed in his own rented house for two years, preaching the Gospel boldly and unhinderedly.

Thoughts, questions, issues

• The first sermon that I ever heard in Park Street Church was given by David Fisher on a Sunday evening at the end of May, 1989, and he spoke about the book of Acts. More specifically, the last word of Acts, which is, in Greek, "unhinderedly." He noted that it sounds ungrammatical in English to end a sentence with an adverb, but that it sounds awkward in Greek, also.
  
  There are speculations, because of this, that the end of the book is missing, or that Luke planned a third volume. But Fisher's position was that it was an appropriate ending, as what the book of Acts shows us is the Gospel moving out into the world, unhindered by any of those who have tried to stop it. From a small group of frightened disciples huddling in Jerusalem, the Gospel has, in the space of just two short generations (or one long one), acquired thousands or tens of thousands of believers and moved to the heart of the greatest empire on the earth. Ending the book would imply an ending, symbolically, to the acts of the apostles and the spread of the Gospel. Theologically, "unhinderedly" is an appropriate close, because the Gospel isn't ending and the acts of the apostles and disciples of Christ aren't ending - they continue to this day, and will continue until there are no more days.
• This has been my most in-depth reading of this book, and I come away with an increased sense of historicity. There's almost nothing in here that doesn't read and ring true. While clearly written as a theological document, it's also clearly a history, with names and places of people and events clearly identified. The presence of the first person voice in places enhances the the believability, as it is clear when the author is speaking from personal knowledge and when he's getting information second hand. And the two voices carry the same message, from start to finish - the Gospel cannot be stopped by men.

Psalms 36:23-40

Everything I wrote yesterday about the first half of this psalm holds true for the second. It really is a collection of proverbs, of wisdom statements, praising the wise man and God, while condemning the wicked, and equating wickedness with failing to follow the Lord's way.

23 If the LORD delights in a man's way,
he makes his steps firm;

24 though he stumble, he will not fall,
for the LORD upholds him with his hand.

25 I was young and now I am old,
yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging bread.

26 They are always generous and lend freely;
their children will be blessed.

27 Turn from evil and do good;
then you will dwell in the land forever.

28 For the LORD loves the just
and will not forsake his faithful ones.
They will be protected forever,
but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off;

29 the righteous will inherit the land
and dwell in it forever.

30 The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom,
and his tongue speaks what is just.

31 The law of his God is in his heart;
his feet do not slip.

32 The wicked lie in wait for the righteous,
seeking their very lives;

33 but the LORD will not leave them in their power
or let them be condemned when brought to trial.

34 Wait for the LORD
and keep his way.
He will exalt you to inherit the land;
when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.

35 I have seen a wicked and ruthless man
flourishing like a green tree in its native soil,

36 but he soon passed away and was no more;
though I looked for him, he could not be found.

37 Consider the blameless, observe the upright;
there is a future for the man of peace.

38 But all sinners will be destroyed;
the future of the wicked will be cut off.

39 The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD;
he is their stronghold in time of trouble.

40 The LORD helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.

03/16/10

Acts 23-25

In Acts 23, Paul faces the Sanhedrin and declares that he has "fulfilled [his] duty to God in all good conscience to this day." "Knowing that some were Sadducees and the others Pharisees," he tells them that he is "a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee." This started an argument between the various members of the Sanhedrin, and some of the Pharisees defended him. The commander took Paul back to the barracks to protect him. "The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, 'Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.'"

The next morning, several of the Jews formed a conspiracy to kill Paul, but Paul's sister's son found about it and went to the centurions. The commander had a detachment of his centurions take Paul to Caesarea, with a letter to the Roman Governor Felix saying that he found "no charge against him that deserved death or imprisonment." In Caesarea, Paul was kept under guard in Herod's palace.

Acts 24 tells about Paul's trial, about a week later, in front of the Governor. The high priest (Ananias) had come to Caesarea with a lawyer named Tertullus to present the charges, of being "a troublemaker, stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world." Paul defended himself, saying that he didn't argue with anyone in the temple or stir up crowds in the synagogue or anywhere else in the city. And he professed his belief in God and that he was "a follower of the Way." "Then Felix, who was well acquainted with the Way, adjourned the proceedings." He told the commander to keep Paul under guard but "give him some freedom." Later, he spoke with his wife ("Drusilla, who was a Jewess") and then sent for Paul and listend to him talk of his faith in Jesus. "Paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, 'That's enough for now!'" For two years Paul remained in prison until Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus.

In Acts 25, Paul is tried before Festus, who wants to send him to Jerusalem to be tried by the Jews. But Paul said that he was standing in Caesar's court, where he should be tried. After Festus conferred with his council, he agreed that "to Caesar you will go!" A few days later, King Agrippa arrived at Caesarea and Festus discussed Paul's case with him. Agrippa expressed interest in hearing Paul for himself. And Agrippa entered Festus' audience room the next day, and Paul was brought in to see him.

Thoughts, questions, issues

• Paul's pugnacious side is on display here. He's not going to back down, at all, from his beliefs or acquiesce to those who want him stopped.
• This is another section of the book that carries the unmistakeable air of historical truth.

Psalms 36:1-22

The psalmist here is again giving us essentially proverbs. As we saw so often in the book of proverbes, we've got the comparison of the wicked and the righteous, and how trust in the Lord is essential for a good life.

Psalm 37
Of David.
1 Do not fret because of evil men
or be envious of those who do wrong;

2 for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.

3 Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

4 Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:

6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.

8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret—it leads only to evil.

9 For evil men will be cut off,
but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.

10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look for them, they will not be found.

11 But the meek will inherit the land
and enjoy great peace.

12 The wicked plot against the righteous
and gnash their teeth at them;

13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for he knows their day is coming.

14 The wicked draw the sword
and bend the bow
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose ways are upright.

15 But their swords will pierce their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.

16 Better the little that the righteous have
than the wealth of many wicked;

17 for the power of the wicked will be broken,
but the LORD upholds the righteous.

18 The days of the blameless are known to the LORD,
and their inheritance will endure forever.

19 In times of disaster they will not wither;
in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.

20 But the wicked will perish:
The LORD's enemies will be like the beauty of the fields,
they will vanish—vanish like smoke.

21 The wicked borrow and do not repay,
but the righteous give generously;

22 those the LORD blesses will inherit the land,
but those he curses will be cut off.

03/15/10

Acts 19-22

In Acts 19, Paul arrives in Ephesus and asks some of the disciples whether they had received the Holy Spirit when they were baptized. Told that they hadn't he aked what baptism they'd received, and was told, "John's." Paul told them that John's was a baptism of repentance and baptized them "into the name of the Lord Jesus...the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied." Paul preached in the synagogue there for three months, then, after some "became obstinate...publicly maligned the Way," he took the disciples and "had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus" for two years, and God did "extraordinary miracles" through Paul. Some Jews who had driven out spirits "tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed," but a demon replied "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" And the possessed man "overpowered them all," a story which had all of the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus "seized with fear" and honoring the name of Jesus. Many who had practiced sorcery "brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly," scrolls valued at fifty thousand drachmas. After all this, Paul decided to go through Macedona and Achaia on his way to Jerusalem, and that he must visit Rome. He sent Timothy and Erastus to Macedonia.

"About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way." A silversmith (Demetrius) who made pagan idols, called the craftsmen together, and expressed concern that Paul's work would endanger their trade and "that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited, and the goddess herself." They caused a great riot, and "the people seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul's traveling companions from Macedonia." Paul wanted to address the crowd but the disciples held him back. But the city clerk addressed the crowd and told them that "these men...have neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess," and dismissed the assembly.

In chapter 20, Paul traveled through Macedonia and Greece with several companions. They all met and spent a week in Troas where Paul raised a young man named Eutychus who had fallen from a third story window. Paul then traveled on foot to Assos and met the ship carrying his companions, and then decided to hurry to Jerusalem, by Pentecost if possible. He had the leaders of the church in Ephesus come to Miletus to meet with him, and gave them his farewell, telling them that "compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there," and that "none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again." They wept and prayed with him, and accompanied him to his ship.

In chapter 21, Paul returns to Jerusalem, passing through Rhodes and Cyprus and Tyre. He and his companions spent seven days in Tyre, with the disciples urging them not to go to Jerusalem. He traveled from Tyre to Caesarea, staying at the house of "Philip the evangelist, one of the Seven." A prophet named Agabus traveled from Judea, and tied Paul's hands and feet with his own belt, saying that "In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles." Paul was not dissuaded, insisting that he was ready not just to be bound "but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." And they went up to Jerusalem, where they were received warmly by the disciples. The next day, they went to see James, with all of the elders, and Paul greeted them and "reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry." The praised God, and then told Paul that the Jewish believer were "zealous for the law" and had been informed that Paul was teaching Jews to "turn away from Moses." They proposed that he take four men among them who had made a vow and "join in their purification rites and pay their expenses" so that people would "know there is no truth in these reports." The next day, he purified himself along with them, then gave notice at the temple of the days when the purification would end and the offering be made. When the time of purification was almost over, Paul was publically accused of teaching against the Mosaic law, seized and dragged from the temple. The commander of the Roman troops heard of the uproar as the crowd was trying to kill Paul, and tooks some soldiers to stop the riot. He arrested Paul and had him chained up, and asked the crowd who he was, but there was too much tumult to get an answer, so he had him taken away to the barracks. When they got there, Paul told them that he was a Jew from Tarsus, and asked to speak to the people. They allowed him to, and he addressed the crowd in Aramaic.

In chapter 22, Paul defended himself, in Aramaic, before the crowd. He told them that he was a Jew, "thoroughly trained in the law of our fathers" under Gamaliel, and "just as zealous for God as any of you are today." He told them of how he persecuted the church, and then shared the story of his conversion on the road to Damascus. When he told them that the Lord said to him that "I will send you far away to the Gentiles," the crowd "raised their voices" and called for his execution. The Roman commander had him taken into the barracks and directed that he be flogged and questioned, but Paul asked whether it was legal to flog a Roman citizen who hadn't been convicted of anything. When asked, he told them that he was born a citizen, and they did not flog him. The next day, he released him and order the priests and Sanhedrin to assemble, and had Paul brought before them.

Thoughts, questions, issues

• As in chapter 16, Luke reports some of these journeys and events in the first person plural, as a participant and eyewitness.
• The story of Eutychus is one that could be true without any miracle, if the first people to reach him just thought he was dead and didn't make a thorough examination before Paul got there. I frankly dislike the resurrection stories in Acts, because they don't ring true to me. The barrier between life and death is a significant one, a veil that Jesus pierced, if you will, and it's hard for me to believe that God would have the apostles doing it willy-nilly afterwards.
• The story of the silversmith and the riot in Ephesus, on the other hand, absolutely rings true. Certainly, those in the business of making idols were going to be hurt if the market for idols dried up.
• I find the reference to "Philip the evangelist, one of the Seven" perplexing. One of the Seven what? Of course, as I write this, a memory stirs - hold on just a second...Yup, my bad, never mind. Philip is, of course, one of the seven chosen to offload the chores of day-to-day living from the apostles back in Acts 6:5, along with Stephen and five others.
• The reading schedule stopped after chapter 21, but I thought that was a bad place for it, so I did chapter 22 also.

Psalms 36

For four verses, the psalmist deals in "the sinfulness of the wicked." The first, and most serious charge, is that "there is no fear of God before his eyes." I've mentioned before that there are parts of the Psalms, translated into English and broken into verses, that read much like parts of the book of proverbs. Well, Proverbs tells us that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge," and here the Psalmist tells us that the lack of that fear is the "sinfulness of the wicked."

And there's a lot of truth here. That is, in the end, what sin is - it's a turning away from God, from God's word. Sinfulness comes when we focus on ourselves and "in [our] own eyes [we] flatter [ourselves] too much to detect or hate [our] sin..."

Psalm 36
For the director of music. Of David the servant of the LORD.
1 An oracle is within my heart
concerning the sinfulness of the wicked:
There is no fear of God
before his eyes.

2 For in his own eyes he flatters himself
too much to detect or hate his sin.

3 The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful;
he has ceased to be wise and to do good.

4 Even on his bed he plots evil;
he commits himself to a sinful course
and does not reject what is wrong.

5 Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the skies.

6 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
your justice like the great deep.
O LORD, you preserve both man and beast.

7 How priceless is your unfailing love!
Both high and low among men
find [b] refuge in the shadow of your wings.

8 They feast on the abundance of your house;
you give them drink from your river of delights.

9 For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.

10 Continue your love to those who know you,
your righteousness to the upright in heart.

11 May the foot of the proud not come against me,
nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.

12 See how the evildoers lie fallen—
thrown down, not able to rise!

03/14/10

Acts 16-18

In chapter 16, Paul went to Derbe and then to Lystra, where he met Timothy, whose mother was Jewish and whose father was Greek, who was a believer. Paul wanted to take him along, so he was circumcised and and went with Paul as they traveled through the churches, bearing the decisions from the council in Jerusalem. Laster, as they were in Troas, Paul had a vision of a man from Macedonia begging him to come and help them. So they sailed from Troas and made their way to Philippi ("a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia") and stayed there for a while. On the Sabbath, they spoke outside the city gate and converted a woman named Lydia, and she and her household were baptized, and Paul and his companions stayed there. After driving a spirit out of a slave girl, Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown into jail for "throwing [the] city into an uproar by advocating customs unlawful for ... Romans to accept or practice." In the middle of the night, there was an earthquake throwing open the doors of the jail and striking off the shackles of the prisoners. The jailer, seeing the doors opened, "was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped," but Paul called to him to tell him that all of the prisoners were still there. The jailer "rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas" and asked them what he had to do to be saved. The jailer took them to his home and he and his family were baptized. When the magistrates learned, the following day, that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they took them out of prison and asked them to leave the city.

In chapter 17, Paul travels to Greece. First in Thessalonica and then in Berea, they went in to the synagogues and the Jews were outspoken against them. In Berea, Timothy and Silas stayed while Paul went on to Athens. There "he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols." He reasoned with Jews and Greeks in the synagogues and the marketplace. A group of philosophers that he argued with brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus to "know what this new teaching is." He talked about an inscription - "To an unknown God" - and told them that "the God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands." Many sneered but some wanted to hear more and were converted.

Acts 18 tells of Paul going to Corinth, where he worked as a tentmaker with a Jew named Aquila and his wife Priscilla. Whn Silas and Timothy joined him, Paul "devoted himself exclusively to preaching" but when the Jews opposed him, he "shook out his clothes in protest" and declared that he would, from now on, "go to the Gentiles." And he stayed in Corinth for a year and a half. He later sailed for Syran with Priscilla and Aquila, had his hair cut off in Cenchrea "because of a vow he had taken" and arrived at Ephesus where he left Priscilla and Aquila. He again preach in a synagogue, but refused when they asked him to stay, saying "I will come back if it is God's will." He visited the church at Caesarea and then went to Antioch. After some time there, he traveled again, through the region of Galatia and Phrygia.

A native of Alexandria, a Jew named Apollos, came to Ephesus with a "thorough knowledge of the Scriptures" and "taught about Jesus accurately." When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they invited him to their home for further discussion. "He was a great help to those who by grace had believed. For he vigorously refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ."

Thoughts, questions, issues

• One of the most notable aspects of chapter 16 is the sudden change in voice. Through the first 15 chapters, everything is third person. In chapter 16, we get a shift into first person plural. While Luke the historian passes on what he has been told about the events in the Gospel and the first 15 chapters of Acts, he relates at least some of what happens next as an eyewitness to the events.
• Interesting that Paul cutting off his hair because of a vow was noteworthy, but not noteworthy enough to give us anydetails about it.
• It's hard, strictly using the internal sources in Acts, to date any of these even with any specificity. Or at least it seems that way to me.

Psalms 35

The psalmist cries for help. A martial plea for martial virtue and martial aid.

Psalm 35
Of David.
1 Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me;
fight against those who fight against me.

2 Take up shield and buckler;
arise and come to my aid.

3 Brandish spear and javelin [a]
against those who pursue me.
Say to my soul,
"I am your salvation."

4 May those who seek my life
be disgraced and put to shame;
may those who plot my ruin
be turned back in dismay.

5 May they be like chaff before the wind,
with the angel of the LORD driving them away;

6 may their path be dark and slippery,
with the angel of the LORD pursuing them.

7 Since they hid their net for me without cause
and without cause dug a pit for me,

8 may ruin overtake them by surprise—
may the net they hid entangle them,
may they fall into the pit, to their ruin.

9 Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD
and delight in his salvation.

10 My whole being will exclaim,
"Who is like you, O LORD ?
You rescue the poor from those too strong for them,
the poor and needy from those who rob them."

11 Ruthless witnesses come forward;
they question me on things I know nothing about.

12 They repay me evil for good
and leave my soul forlorn.

13 Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth
and humbled myself with fasting.
When my prayers returned to me unanswered,

14 I went about mourning
as though for my friend or brother.
I bowed my head in grief
as though weeping for my mother.

15 But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee;
attackers gathered against me when I was unaware.
They slandered me without ceasing.

16 Like the ungodly they maliciously mocked [b] ;
they gnashed their teeth at me.

17 O Lord, how long will you look on?
Rescue my life from their ravages,
my precious life from these lions.

18 I will give you thanks in the great assembly;
among throngs of people I will praise you.

19 Let not those gloat over me
who are my enemies without cause;
let not those who hate me without reason
maliciously wink the eye.

20 They do not speak peaceably,
but devise false accusations
against those who live quietly in the land.

21 They gape at me and say, "Aha! Aha!
With our own eyes we have seen it."

22 O LORD, you have seen this; be not silent.
Do not be far from me, O Lord.

23 Awake, and rise to my defense!
Contend for me, my God and Lord.

24 Vindicate me in your righteousness, O LORD my God;
do not let them gloat over me.

25 Do not let them think, "Aha, just what we wanted!"
or say, "We have swallowed him up."

26 May all who gloat over my distress
be put to shame and confusion;
may all who exalt themselves over me
be clothed with shame and disgrace.

27 May those who delight in my vindication
shout for joy and gladness;
may they always say, "The LORD be exalted,
who delights in the well-being of his servant."

28 My tongue will speak of your righteousness
and of your praises all day long.

03/12/10

Acts 13-15

In Acts 13, the Holy Spirit said to the prophets and teachers at Antioch to "set apart for me Barnabas and Saul." So they fasted and prayed and laid hands on them and sent them off. They went to Seleucia and sailed for Cyprus, where "they proclaimed the word of God" in the synagogues. In Paphos, they met a Jewish sorceror (Bar-Jesus or Elymas) who attended the proconul (Sergius Paulus). The proconsul wanted to hear Saul and Barnabas had to say but Elymas opposed them. Saul "filled with the Holy Spirit" looked at him, accused him of being "a child of the devil and an aenemy of everything that is right" and told him he would be blind, and "immediately mist and darkness came over him." The proconsul saw what had happened and believed. Later, Paul (formerly Saul) and his companions whent to Psidian Antioch where they were invited to speak in the synagogue. Paul preached the God of Israel and the Gospel of Jesus and the people invited them to speak more about these things on the next sabbath. The next sabbath "almost the whole city gathered" but the Jews "were filled with jealousy and talked abusively against what Paul was saying." The word of God spread through the regious, but the Jews stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and they "shook the dust from their feet in protest...and went to Iconium."

In chapter 14, Paul and Barnabas went and preached "as usual" at the synagogue. They were so effective that many believed, but the Jews who didn't "stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers." They remained and the Lord "confirmed the mssage of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders." They found out about a plot to stone them and fled to the cities of Lystra and Derbe "where they continued to preach the good news." In Lystra told a crippled man to rise, and he did, which aroused the people to think that they were the gods Zeus (Barnabas) and Hermes and to gather food to sacrifice to them. But Paul and Barnabas stopped them, insisting that "we too are only men, human like you." They stopped the sacrifices with difficulty, but then "some Jews came from Antioch and Ioconium and won the crowd over." Paul was stoned, dragged out of the city and left for dead, but "after the disciples gather around him," he arose. Then he and Barnabas left for Derbe, where they preached the Gospel and "won a large number of disciples." They then returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, encouraging the churches they had planted.

Acts 15 describes the council at Jerusalem, at which there was discussion about how much of the Mosaic code must apply to Gentile believers, starting with concerns about circumcision. Some pharisaic believers said that the Gentiles should be required to be circumcised. Peter reminded them of his vision in which God "made no distinction between us and them" and suggested that they should not "try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear." Paul and Barnabas talked about the miracles and wonders they had witnessed among the Gentiles, and James suggested that they "should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God," that they should tell them "to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood." This decision was put into a letter and sent to Antioch with Paul, Barnabas, Silas and Judas (Barsabbas). Silas and Judas later returned to Jerusalem, but Paul and Barnabas remained teaching in Antioch. Some time after that, Paul wanted to go back to the towns where they had preached, but they had a disagreement when Barnabas wanted to take John Mark but Paul didn't ("because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work.") Barnabas took Mark and went to Cyprus, while Paul took Silas and went through Syria and Cilicia, "strengthening the churches."

Thoughts, questions, issues

• In chapter 15, we make the conversion from Saul to Paul. There is no explanation, not that I can see anyway, but he's never Saul again.
• Obviously, the council of Jerusalem was a tremendously significant historical account. The spread of Christianity could have been hampered greatly by a decision to impose the Mosaic code and Levitical laws against Gentile converts.
• It's interesting that Paul can blind a man who doesn't believe, and heal one that does, but he and Barnabas can't work out whether to bring Mark along on their journey and actually separate as a result of the disagreement. But it is the kind of "warts and all" detail that authentic history tends to contain and hagiography tends to leave out.

Psalms 34

Praise. Constant and unadulterated. It's a proverb made into a song, a prayer of praise and thanksgiving sung to the Lord...

Psalm 34
Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he left.
1 [a] I will extol the LORD at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.

2 My soul will boast in the LORD;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.

3 Glorify the LORD with me;
let us exalt his name together.

4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.

5 Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.

6 This poor man called, and the LORD heard him;
he saved him out of all his troubles.

7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.

8 Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

9 Fear the LORD, you his saints,
for those who fear him lack nothing.

10 The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

11 Come, my children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

12 Whoever of you loves life
and desires to see many good days,

13 keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from speaking lies.

14 Turn from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.

15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous
and his ears are attentive to their cry;

16 the face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles.

18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

19 A righteous man may have many troubles,
but the LORD delivers him from them all;

20 he protects all his bones,
not one of them will be broken.

21 Evil will slay the wicked;
the foes of the righteous will be condemned.

22 The LORD redeems his servants;
no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.