Aug 19 2014

Saul’s Baptism – Acts 9

Now in Damascus for three days after the encounter on the road which left him blind, Saul did not eat or drink anything. The Lord told a man named Ananias (in a vision) to “go to the street called Straight,” to find Saul and restore his sight. Ananias protested, reminding the Lord of all he had done to the Christians in Jerusalem, stating that he had full authority to do the same to anyone in Damascus.

English: Damascus, street called straight (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

But the Lord told him that Saul had been chosen by Him to carry His name “before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.” Saul would of course do exactly that, as we will see throughout the book of Acts. But it is significant to note that his purpose, beyond evangelizing the Gentiles, included doing so not just for kings (and presumably an emperor). He was to do so to the children of Israel themselves. And Saul (Paul) will do plenty of that as well.

Then the Lord told Ananias that He will show Saul how much he must suffer for the sake of His name. God’s word never mentions a statement from God or Jesus that has no meaning. So it is appropriate to consider that Saul would have a very good idea of what was in store for him the rest of his days, as his life was changing forever.

Ananias reluctantly agreed to go. And as he laid his hands on Saul and told him what the Lord had told him to do in verse 17, verse 18 says that “something like scales fell from his eyes” and his sight was restored. That phenomenon is not explained because it does not need to be. The entire ordeal was certainly miraculous. But the real miracle was that this man who had caused the death of so many Christians was then baptized into Christ.

(This year’s reading plan for Luke, Acts, and 1 and 2 Chronicles averages just 15 verses per day – 5 days per week!)
Schedule for this week
Read or listen to audio of today’s selection from Acts here
Read or listen to audio of today’s selection from 2 Chronicles here

/Bob’s boy

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some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please visit this site’s menu item “The Author’s Books” for info on the author’s books, website, and social media contacts.

All of my comments in this blog are solely my responsibility. When reading any commentary, you should always refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word.

Aug 18 2014

Saul Goes Hunting – Acts 9

As chapter 8 opened, we had Saul of Tarsus (in Luke’s words) “ravaging the church,” literally dragging people out of their homes, and taking them to prison – all for being Christians. And thus began the scattering of the church to other regions. Chapter 9 opens with these two verses which speak volumes:

But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

The statement in that opening phrase demonstrates the venomous heart Saul had against those who followed Jesus. He believed in his heart

the Conversion of Saul on the road to Damascus as painted by Michelangelo. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

that the disciples were blasphemous against God and all that he had been taught his whole life; and he wanted nothing less than to crush them. Having made a very good start at doing so in Jerusalem was no longer enough. Now he wanted to go to Damascus to hunt down those who had escaped to that location, as well as any who may have already been there. Verse two marks the first time the Bible refers to Christians as belonging to “the Way.” “The Way” was a name used for Christianity during those times. Luke uses the name in Acts (Acts 19:9,23; 22:4; 24:14,22).

On the way to Damascus, a bright light from heaven fell upon Saul — strong enough to bring him to the ground, and he was blinded. Jesus spoke to him, saying “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” He was told to go into the city, where he would be told what to do. Verse 7 says that the men with him stood speechless, “hearing the voice but seeing no one.” This is another passage that skeptics try to use as a contradiction. Paul gives his own account of this in Acts 22:9, saying that those men “saw the light but did not understand the voice…” Ironically, such skeptics, by seeing this as a contradiction, prove that it is possible to hear (and read) without understanding.

/Bob’s boy

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some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please visit this site’s menu item “The Author’s Books” for info on the author’s books, website, and Facebook page.

All of my comments in this blog are solely my responsibility. When reading any commentary, you should always refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word.

Aug 17 2014

Azariah the Prophet Speaks to Asa – 2 Chronicles 8

English: Asa destroys the idols and forbids worship in local shrines (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Spirit of God visited Azariah the prophet so that he would go talk to the newest king, Asa. He told hi how that God would be with him as long as he was with God. But if he forsakes the Lord, God will forsake him. As soon as Asa heard this prophecy, he got rid of the idols from Judah and Benjamin, as well as from the cities that he had taken.

And he gathered the people of Judah and Benjamin together and related these things, no doubt making clear to them that things would be different now concerning God. And many others who learned that the Lord was with him, came to live under his rule as well. Asa even removed his own mother, Maacah from being queen accuse she had made an idol to Ashera. He crushed and burned her idol as well.

He did not take away the high places, however. But verse 17 says: “Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was wholly true all his days.” He showed God respect, and he brought sacred gifts into the House of God,. As a result of Asa’s actions, there was no more war until the 35th year of his reign.

(This year’s reading plan for Luke, Acts, and 1 and 2 Chronicles averages just 15 verses per day – 5 days per week!)
Schedule for this week

/Bob’s boy

___________________

some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please visit this site’s menu item “The Author’s Books” for info on the author’s books, website, and Facebook page.

All of my comments in this blog are solely my responsibility. When reading any commentary, you should always refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word.

Aug 15 2014

Philip Baptizes the Ethiopian – Acts 8

Philip went and joined the Eunuch. He was reading from Isaiah 53 7-8 specifically at that time, which says:

Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 074 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.

By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?

Philip asked him if he understood what he was reading, and the Ethiopian invited him to come up into the chariot with him. Peter explained this well-known passage as it applied to Jesus, and he used that opportunity to preach Christ crucified to him. Coming upon water, the Ethiopian asked Philip to baptize him. Afterward, the Eunuch went on his way, rejoicing.

One cannot help but wonder how many others this Eunuch taught upon his return to Ethiopia. But afterward, Philip “found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.” The words “found himself” suggest that the Spirit carried him away by divine intervention.

/Bob’s boy

___________________

some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please visit this site’s menu item “The Author’s Books” for info on the author’s books, website, and Facebook page.

All of my comments in this blog are solely my responsibility. When reading any commentary, you should always refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word.

Aug 14 2014

Philip sent to Meet an Ethiopian – Acts 8

Lambert Sustris – The Baptism of the Ethiopian Eunuch by the Deacon Philip – WGA21979 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Verse 25 says that Peter and John “testified” and spoke the word of the Lord to villages in Samaria before returning to Jerusalem. “Testifying” merely refers to giving people their eyewitness account of Jesus rising from the dead. Meanwhile, an angel of the Lord appeared to Philip and told him to go to the desert land that was to the south on the road between Jerusalem and Gaza.

Philip did obey, and upon arriving, he met with an Ethiopian eunuch who was a court official to Candace, the queen of Ethiopia. “Candace” was a name assigned to all such rulers of Ethiopia during that time (much like the name Pharaoh was given to rulers of Egypt. Because the Ethiopian would have been returning from worship in Jerusalem to a destination over a 1,000 miles away, he must have been a a very devout man. Some speculate that he was a “God-fearer” — a Gentile who had converted to Judaism. That certainly seems to fit. Philip found him in his chariot reading the prophet Isaiah. The Spirit sent him to join the Ethiopian in his chariot.

/Bob’s boy

___________________

some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please visit this site’s menu item “The Author’s Books” for info on the author’s books, website, and Facebook page.

All of my comments in this blog are solely my responsibility. When reading any commentary, you should always refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word.

Aug 13 2014

Peter Rebukes Simon – Acts 8

Word reached the apostles that the people of Samaria were being taught, believed and obeyed the gospel. So they sent Peter and John to “lay hands” upon many of them so that they would receive the gifts from the Holy Spirit that would allow them to work the same miracles that Philip was doing – healing the sick, the lame, etc.

Peter’s conflict with Simon Magus by Avanzino Nucci, 1620. Simon is on the right, dressed in black. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When Simon saw that these gifts came to those who had been so designated by the apostles, he wanted those gifts as well. So he offered money to Peter and John in hopes of getting them to lay hands on him also. Peter’s rebuke of Simon for this shameful act and the condition of his heart is cause for some debate as to what is actually meant. Part of what Peter said was: “I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.”

But it seems clear to this writer that Peter meant exactly what he said. Simon did have bitterness in his heart because of the loss of the attention that he had received from amazing the people, and he wanted that attention back. This selfishness was the motive for his desire to receive the Holy Spirit. There was nothing about it that remotely resembled a desire to serve the Lord or to help others in need. It was pure selfishness and pride that motivated him, and he needed to repent for it. His request for their prayers aft the rebuke gives us hope that he did repent, and perhaps he became useful in the Lord’s church.

/Bob’s boy

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some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please visit this site’s menu item “The Author’s Books” for info on the author’s books, website, and Facebook page.

All of my comments in this blog are solely my responsibility. When reading any commentary, you should always refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word.

Aug 12 2014

Philip Preaches in Samaria – Acts 8

English: This is a map of first century Iudaea Province that I created using Illustrator CS2. I traced this image for the general geographic features. I then manually input data from maps found in a couple of sources. Robert W. Funk and the Jesus Seminar. The Acts of Jesus. HarperSanFrancisco: 1998. p. xxiv. Michael Grant. Jesus: An Historian’s Review of the Gospels. Charles Scribner’s Sons: 1977. p. 65-67. John P. Meier. A Marginal Jew. Doubleday: 1991. p. 1:434. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)Now that the church had scattered to escape the persecution in Jerusalem, one of the places some of them went was Samaria. The Samaritans had long been shunned by the Jews, so the significance should not be overlooked. This was the beginning of evangelism in its purest form. People who held no “office” or position in the church were teaching and preaching the gospel. Philip was one of those first seven that had been chosen a deacons, and he also was teaching in Samaria.

Having been given authority by the laying on of hands by the apostles, Philip was casting out demons, healing the sick and the lame, and (most importantly) preaching the good news of Jesus Christ. Verse 8 says that there was much joy in the city because of the work that he was doing. There was also a man there named Simon, who had practiced manic of some sort. He had amazed the people and had commanded much attention from them because of it. many believed and were baptized.

Simon himself was one of those who were baptized, and afterward he stayed with Philip, and was amazed because of the miracles that Philip performed. But before being converted, he had convinced the people that he was himself someone very special – and he also evidently believed that to be the case.

/Bob’s boy

___________________

some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please visit this site’s menu item “The Author’s Books” for info on the author’s books, website, and Facebook page.

All of my comments in this blog are solely my responsibility. When reading any commentary, you should always refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word.

Aug 11 2014

Saul Ravages the Church – Acts 8

Paul the Apostle, Russian icon from first quarter of 18th cen. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The first three verses of chapter 8 really belong with chapter 7 in this writer’s opinion because they really mark the end of what could easily be considered the first section of the book of Acts. The significance of the previous chapter’s cold-blooded murder of murder of Stephen cannot be understated. A t the end, they stoned Stephen to death, laying their garments at the feet of Saul. Verse one begins

And Saul approved of the execution.

The reality of those words from verse one would haunt the apostle Paul for the rest of his life. Known at this time as “Saul of Tarsus,” Paul was himself a Pharisee, having been “educated at the feet of Gamaliel” (Acts 22:3), a much revered member of the Sanhedrin council. Though himself not a member of the Sanhedrin, the last few verses confirm that Paul did enjoy a somewhat revered status himself. That status afforded him some authority as well. The fury over Stephens speech was not quenched by his death by way of stoning. The wrath of the council was then turned upon all Christians, and Saul acted upon their authority as he “was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison (verse 3).

The tremendous growth of the church from the day of Pentecost up until Stephen’s death had been a great blessing mixed with the growing pains we saw in chapter 6. Now as the church scattered, that growth would ensure that many more in many other places would be taught, as well as become teachers of, the gospel of Jesus Christ. The apostles, of course, remained where they were.

/Bob’s boy

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Please visit this site’s menu item “The Author’s Books” for info on the author’s books, website, and Facebook page.

All of my comments in this blog are solely my responsibility. When reading any commentary, you should always refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word.

Aug 10 2014

Asa Reigns as King – 2 Chronicles 14

English: Asa of Judah was the third king of the Kingdom of Judah and the fifth king of the House of David. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Having just assumed the throne in Chapter 13, Abijah is laid to rest at the start of chapter 14. It is longer, however, than the account of his reign in 1 Kings 15, which does at least note the war. His son, Asa, takes over; and the text tells us that the land had “rest” for ten years. One reason for that was undoubtedly because verse two says that he “did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God.” He took away the foreign altars, got rid of the Asherim, and commanded Judah to keep God’s commandments.

Asa built fortified cities and towers and walls, and also built up a strong army – 300, 000 might men of Judah and 280,000 from Benjamin. There was peace until Zerah the Ethiopian came up against him with a million men and 300 chariots. verse 9 says they came as far as Mareshah, which had been one of Rehoboam’s fortified cities. Asa went out to meet him and prayed to the Lord with both pleading and praise. So, verse 12 says, the Lord defeated Zerah and his forces. Asa and his men pursued those who fled, and none were left alive.

Asa and the men of Judah took much spoil, the text says, from both the Ethiopians and the cities they attacked near Gerar, before returning to Jerusalem.

(This year’s reading plan for Luke, Acts, and 1 and 2 Chronicles averages just 15 verses per day – 5 days per week!)
Schedule for this week

/Bob’s boy

___________________

Please visit this site’s menu item “The Author’s Books” for info on the author’s books, website, and Facebook page.

All of my comments in this blog are solely my responsibility. When reading any commentary, you should always refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word.

Aug 8 2014

The Stoning of Stephen – Acts 7

Pietro da Cortona, Stoning of Saint Stephen, 1660. Acts 7:55 says that, as he was dying, Saint Stephen saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As Stephen prepares to wind down and get to the ultimate point in his history lesson to the Sanhedrin, comes to the house of worship. He speaks of the tabernacle that Moses had built under God’s direction (verse 44, Exodus 25). He speaks of the Israelites bringing it into Canaan under Joshua, where it remained until David’s time. Then Solomon built a house for the Lord. But he reminds them in verses 48-50, that God does not dwell in the temple, and for all its glory, His own hands made everything in it.

He then addresses the council more personally, and speaks of their own vile rejection of “the cornerstone” and their betrayal of God and His son, saying:

“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears,
you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.
Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?
And they killed those who announced beforehand
the coming of the Righteous One,
whom you have now betrayed and murdered,
you who received the law as delivered by angels
and did not keep it.”

Stephen had not only turned the tables on his own accusers as having gone against God, but had called them the murderers that they were! Their fury had to have been something to see. Then verses 55-57 read:

But he, full of the Holy Spirit,
gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God,
and Jesus standing pat the right hand of God.
And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened,
and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

I believe this is a literal account of what the Spirit showed Stephen before he died. It must have been a most comforting sight, knowing that he would be with the Lord soon. So they dragged him out of the city, and laid their garments at the feet of a man named Saul (stoning was hard, sweaty work) before they stoned Stephen to death.

/Bob’s boy

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some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please visit this site’s menu item “The Author’s Books” to find out about my published and upcoming books, and for a link to my Facebook Author’s Page.

All of my comments in this blog are solely my responsibility. When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word.