Having been rescued from certain death by the Roman commander in Jerusalem, the apostle Paul was allowed to speak to the frenzied Jewish mob, who, just moments earlier, had attempted to tear him to pieces. He spoke to them in Hebrew. This surprised the crowd who’d assumed he was a Greek. A noticeable stillness prevailed, and the mob listened well as Paul gave his personal testimony. Their attentiveness, however, was short lived, and soon they cried out, “Away with such a fellow … he is not fit to live!” What was it that caused this sudden outburst? Paul had just told them that Jesus had commissioned him, “TO WITNESS TO THE GENTILES.” That God should bless the Gentiles with salvation, was a step too far for these Jews who prided themselves in being the CHOSEN people. They overlooked the fact that it had always been God’s intention to bless the Gentile nations – See Genesis 12:3
‘And they listened to him until this word’ -
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Just as the Israelites were commanded to keep the weekly Sabbath, so too, the cultivated
land was to enjoy a sabbatical year of rest. There was to no sowing or harvesting
during this twelve month period. What then were they to eat during this seventh year
and the year following while they waited for the eighth-
“When you come into the land which I give you, then the land shall keep a sabbath
to the LORD” -
‘‘It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness’ -
Much is expected from those who have the rule over us. Rulers, because of their high station in society, should stand out as beacons of respectability. The Scriptures give many examples of those who fall well short of this expectation. Herod ‘put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem ... from two years old and under’. Felix, ‘hoped that money would be given him by Paul, that he might release him’, and the Roman governor at Jerusalem, Pontius Pilate, in spite of knowing that Jesus was innocent and had been handed over to him out of ‘envy’, wilts under pressure and complies with the request of the mob, to crucify Jesus. We do well to bear in mind, ‘It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes’ – Psalm 118:9
The end of May, 2011, in the UK, saw two High Court injunctions imposed upon the national newspapers, forbidding them to name two high profile personalities from the sporting and banking world, involved in alleged extramarital affairs. At great personal cost, these two individuals tried to use the law to suppress the publication of facts that would cause them shame and pain. One commentator pointed out that only the rich could afford the legal costs of a ‘gagging order’. Spending the cash to save their skin and embarrassment! When facing their Creator in judgment, these two individuals and many more besides, will find out that ‘Riches profit not in the day of wrath.’
“Riches profit not in the day of wrath” -
‘‘A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches’ -
Often, when a name is mentioned, we immediately link that person with an event or object. For example, when we think of Noah we associate him with the Ark. When we think of Solomon we associate him with wisdom, whereas Moses is linked with the Ten Commandments. Paul, when writing to Timothy, warned him not to make the pursuit of wealth his goal in life. Those who do so are in danger of ‘piercing themselves through with many sorrows.’ The disciple Judas was such a person. His desire for wealth turned him into ‘a thief’, and ultimately to the selling of Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. His NAME is forever linked with that heinous act of treachery
‘Give, and it shall be given to you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together,
and running over’ -
It has been rightly stated that the Lord is no man’s debtor. On the shore of Lake Galilee, [Luke ch.5] the Lord borrowed a boat for a preaching point. He asked the owner of the boat, Simon, to take the vessel a little distance from the shore so that He might sit and teach the people who lined the beach. Simon was willing to GIVE his boat to the Lord, and true to His word, the Lord would now GIVE to Simon, ‘good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over’. The Lord returned Simon’s favour by filling his boat with fish. However, the blessing didn’t stop there. It ‘ran over’ into the boat that belonged to John and James. They were literally sinking with blessing!