Comments for May 1

v.10-12 - When we look at this list, albeit rather unusual language, we can relate things in the world so easily to these ideas. God has created this evil for our testing and temptation. We should not deny its existence (God doesn't) but instead use it as a trial of our faithfulness to the ways set down by the Living God. Deut.12:31, Lev.18:21-30, 20:2-5, 2Kings 16:3, 17:7, 21:6, Acts 19:19, Gal.5:20.

v.13 Perfection is the standard to which we are called. Genesis 17:1 here 1 Kings 8:61 Matthew 5:48 19:21 John 17:23 It is a state we can attain in this life. 2 Corinthians 13:11 Philippians 3:15 2 Timothy 3:17 Being 'perfect' in the Scriptural sense, is not being faultless. Consider Genesis 25:27 'Jacob was a plain [perfect] man'

v.13 - Bro Peter below mentions the perfection that is so rare but is required of us. Notice how this verse is sandwiched between verses about the worst of the things that we could possibly do. The contrast is completely black and white here.

18:9 Yet another warning about the dangers of worshipping the gods of the nations.

18:10 These prohibitions, which were a repeating of things said earlier, were not heeded and the prophets had to remind Israel of their sins.

DEVOTED TO GOD

About one in twelve Israelites were Levites. Their job in Israel was to serve the LORD by doing the service of the tabernacle and by teaching the people about the LORD. God must have seen this as a very important work to dedicate such a large percentage of the people to this service. Their ministry was a full time paid position. The Levites did not inherit fields or land. Their lot was to be scattered throughout Israel and to be provided for by the people they were serving.

The people were to provide all that the Levites needed. They were given portions of the sacrifices, the tithe from one in three years, and the firstfruits and firstborn of all the crops, produce and livestock of the Israelites.

With this system in place it meant that Israel should have stayed devoted to the LORD all their days. The priests and Levites would have encouraged Israel to stay faithful, and the people in turn would have provided for the priests and Levites.

Today there is a real lack of spirituality in the world around us, and part of the reason is that there are not enough people devoted, like the Levites, to keeping others dedicated to God. Let's make sure that those who are devoted to God do not have to give up because they are not provided for. The labourer is worthy of his hire.

In regard to the May 1 readings and the comment on Deut. by Bro Peter Forbes, if I may just add a few comments to support Bro Peter Forbes' observation that 'perfect' does not mean faultless; Perfect or perfection is usually quite a bad translation as far as the English meaning is concerned. A check on the word meanings will support this - In v13 of Deut 18 the word (all numbers are Strong's) is 8549 as is Bro Peter's 1st quote Genesis 17:1, and means complete or entire. His 2nd quote 1Kings 8:61 is 8003, = complete or safe. Matt 5:48 and 19:21 the Greek word number is 5046 = complete, from a root which has the idea of setting out for a definite goal.  John 17:23 is 5048 = to complete or accomplish . Then there is the next quote 2Cor 13:11; 2675 = complete or thoroughly repair. Philippians 3:15; 5046 as in Matt 5 & 19.  2 Timothy 3:17; 739 = fresh by impl. complete. "That the man of God may be complete, throughly furnished unto all good works" - How? - by reading "all scripture" (v16) which is what you are setting out to encourage.

:16 In saying 'Let me not hear …' Moses is reminding the people of what they had said 38 years earlier (Exodus 20:19). So God promises that He will send Jesus!

18:9  There were dangers associated with entry into the land of Canaan. Whilst Israel were in the wilderness they were untouched by other nations. In the land they would be settled and could easily fraternise with those living round them. Whilst our life is a 'wilderness journey' we are living amongst others who have evil practices. We must take the same sort of care that Israel were to take when they entered the land.

V.21-22  The question is asked in the 21st. verse. The test to be applied was one of practical common sense, as we read in verse 22. A true prophet commands confidence by the accurate fulfilment of his prophesies. Examples: Moses: Exo 8:9-11 Nathan: 2 Sam 7:12-17  Elishi: 2 Kin 3:16-20 Hosea: Hos 1:4

God gave Israel a guarantee with which they could test a prophet (Deut 18:21). If his words did not come true, then "That is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken".  From this I think it's fair to say that every prophet said at least one thing appropriate to the days in which he lived.  We should therefore find some local and some future words recorded by all the holy prophets.

Vs.10-12 Magic arts exist today as well as they did in the ancient world.  Whether they are effective or not isn't the issue.  They supplant faith in Yahweh which is not acceptable. 

Instead, Yahweh directs Israel, and us, to listen to the bona fide prophets who He has sent, especially the Lord Jesus (vs.14,15,18,19).  The true prophet's predictions will be realized and a false prophet will suffer death (vs.20-22). 

Jesus was confirmed as a true prophet as He correctly foretold the destruction of the temple in the Olivet prophecy (Matt 24).  Therefore, we can confidently believe the second part of that prophecy as it pertains to these end times.

V.15;18 The generation which heard Moses' last exhortations did have a prophet like unto Moses, who did fulfil the details of the prophecy. Joshua was raised up "from among their brethren". God put into his mouth all that he was to speak to the people, and whosoever did not hearken to the word of God through him, was destroyed from among the people.

Anything that takes away the Providence of Yahweh in our lives is unacceptable.  Let us not take think that reading the horoscope (or suchlike material vs.10,11) is harmless or just fun.  It underscores an attitude that lacks faith and satisfaction that Yahweh is working in our lives (Phil 4:11). 

 It is for the same reason that spending a dollar on a lotto ticket (or maybe a pound on the football pools in the UK) is wrong.  We are showing lack of trust in Yahweh's provision and contentment with our lot (Prov 30:8,9).  Just what would we do if we won a major prize anyway?  Let us cater to the spirit and our future hope, trusting in Yahweh and not the flesh! 

18:1       In emphasising again that the priest had no inheritance Israel were to appreciate that the Levites’ physical state was dependant upon their generosity to God.

V.15,18,19 - As previously noted by Michael Parry, Moses refers here to the prophet Christ. Luke gives us that confirmation in Acts 3:20-23

18:13 The call to perfection, seen within the context of obedience to the law of Moses, is one area of the Old Testament what might have been in the mind of Jesus when he called his disciples to perfection – Matt 5:48

SACRIFICED BY FIRE
 
God listed a number of detestable practices that the children of Israel were never to participate in. The first one was this: "Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire." (Deut 18:10) That's easy, we say. There is no chance of me ever sacrificing my son or daughter in the fire. In fact, if we did and were charged with the murder of our children, the consequences would be almost unbearable.
 
But let's stop and think about what was really involved. Offering children as sacrifices in the fire was first of all an offering to another god. We might not have idols of wood and stone, but we do have idols. People become addicted to sport, the internet, drugs, pornography, television, video games, careers, sex, violence and any number of other compelling behaviours. Any of these can become idols to us or to our children. All too often we, as parents, take advantage of one or more of these babysitters while we take a break from the children or even honestly thinking we are providing them with the best.
 
The other aspect to sacrificing children in the fire is that the children were first burnt, then had their lives consumed by the fire. If we allow our children too much exposure to the addictiveness of the idols around us, they themselves will become addicted, the service to the idol will become more important than their service to God, their consciences will become burnt and their hope of eternal life will be lost as they consumed by the addictive natures of the idols we have exposed them to.
 
Let's make sure we are very careful not to sacrifice the children God has given us to other idols by the fire of addiction.

18:18   In saying that the prophet like unto Moses will receive God’s words directly God is describing the way in which Moses had spoken to Pharaoh - Exo 7:2.

18:10-11 Another warning to a people who are about to enter the land which is inhabited by those who practice the things being prohibited by God. Israel are reminded that they will drive such people out of the land because they are involved in idol worship.

V.4 The priests were representatives of Yahweh.  As such they were to be honoured with the firstfruits of their produce.  Jesus is our High Priest, and as such he should receive the firstfruits of our produce.  We produce fruit for Him by: developing our own character to conform to His; by supporting our brothers and sisters who make up His household; and by preaching the Gospel to all we meet.

Vs.15,18,19 Jesus the messiah was being presented to the nation of Israel.  He had been promised since the beginning (Gen 3:15).  These references show why it is important to read the Old Testament to fully understand the gospel (the things concerning the kingdom of God and the Name of Jesus Christ).

v18-19 relate to John 12:47-49. Jesus' mission was to speak the words God gave him. Such is the importance of those words that we will be saved or condemned depending on our response. For us the words of God are not accompanied by fire, darkness and earthquake so that we should be afraid (v15-17) nor are Christ's commandments burdensome so that we should shy away from listening. So if God has gone to such great lengths to give us a palatable form of words through the embodiment of grace and truth in His son, how much more will we be cast away if we turn away our ears from hearing them (Heb 12:18-25).

Deut 18:15;Acts 7:37.

18:15-16 This prophecy of Christ – see Acts 3:22, 7:37 – is a wonderful provision. It is given against the background of Israel not wanting to hear God’s words directly. So God is providing a saviour because they recognise that they are alienated from God

18:3-4 Because the priests had no inheritance it was the obligation of the people to provide for their needs. We have no requirement to provide for our brethren who are servants as they tend to have jobs and an income. However we can provide for them in ways other than material things.  We can encourage them in the work. We can help with some of the research that they may need doing or in preparation if we have skills that they can benefit from.

Deut 18:9-14 - V11 KJV "familiar spirits"<178>  [Heb. "ob" and refers to a mumble, i.e. a water-skin (from its hollow sound); hence, a necromancer (ventriloquist, as from a jar); charlatan mediums would call upon supposed spirits of the dead who were supposedly familiar to the mediums in order to (falsely) make it appear that they were being employed to consult or raise desired supposed spirits of the dead] are mentioned in a number of places in the Bible (Lev 19:31;20:6,27;1Sam 28:3,9;2Kin 21:6;23:24;Isa 8:19;19:3) but the death state is one of unconsciousness like sleep (Psa 146:4;Isa 38:18;Ecc 9:5-10;Job 3:11-19;Psa 6:5;88:10-12;John 11:11,24). 

18:19     ‘will not hearken’  may seem a fairly simple thing to say. However it is evident that in his teaching Jesus drew upon the word of Moses to assert his authority Mark 4:3, 7:14

Deut 18:1-5 reading from the NIV, V1 - we note the concept of people living (or having life) as a connection to sacrificial offerings made to the Lord and that this is their inheritance (perhaps this echoes the inheritance of eternal life for Christ and those who follow him). V3 - perhaps this suggests that the most important sacrifice is the sacrifice of our innermost parts (an inner battle of the mind/heart to overcome the fruit of the flesh with the fruit of the spirit) as opposed to a superficial outward change. V4 - the Jews gave all the crops, etc. that came of first as a sacrifice to God though no animals with a defect were given, the firstfruits (1Cor 15:20-23;Col 1:18) of grain, new wine, oil (Matt 26:6-7), wool (John 1:29,34,36;Rev 1:13,14,17,18;Matt 16:18-20) and this would seem to echo Christ. V5 - chosen to stand and minister in the Lord's name always perhaps suggests manifestation, eternal life and eternal service.

18:6-8 Jerusalem, the place God chose, was a focus in worship. Consequently Levites who were not resident in Jerusalem might want to go there to live and serve God.  Such individuals were to be supported and encouraged. The principle which flows from this is that those who are involved in activities should, at least, be offered the costs which they have incurred in their activities – 1Tim 5:17-18

Deut 18:15-19.

18:18    The people would ask for a king – provision for this is made in Deut 17:14-15. Hover now we read of a better option. God would give them a prophet “like unto Moses”. He would also become their king as this prophet was to be Jesus. Acts 3:20-23

18:22    We see examples of this piece of information in Jesus’ life – John 14:9, 16:4

18:20     The assurance that God gives here that the presumptuous prophet was not sent by God is appealed to – Jer 29:9 – to counter those who opposed God’s word which was being spoken by Jeremiah in the days of Josiah.

18:17    We might have thought it a bad reaction to say that they did not want to hear the voice of God again. However we learn that God saw that as “good”. We have to conclude, therefore, that their words came from reverence, not an unwillingness to hear God’s words.

18:13  The word translated “perfect” <8549> elsewhere, for exampleJob 2:4 – “upright”. So the way a man is “perfect” is seen. It is seen in his dealings with others.

18:2    Do we think that the Lord is our inheritance? This is like Abram who was promised that Yahweh would be his inheritance – Gen 15:4

18:18 That the prophet like unto Moses would be taken from their brethren is like the way that Aaron was taken from among the children of Israel. Whilst it is obvious that Aaron was of the brethren the point is made there, and here, to emphasise the Israelites nature of salvation . Israel were not going to be saved by a gentile.

18:14 God was going to disposes the nations in the land of Canaan because of their idolatry. This should have been a sufficient reason for Israel not to serve idols.

18:2 Is our life focused on the here and now or is it focused on the future?

The faithless priest might look longingly to his brethren in other tribes who had a present possession whilst he had none. Or, on the other hand, he might have little concern for a material possession now, looking to the time when he would share God’s nature, the promise made to Abram –Gen 15:1

So we might ask “where is our heart?” -

18:12  The implication is clear for the nation about to enter the land. The land was cleansed in the past due to immorality. If Israel do those same things they should expect to be expelled from the land as well.

v.1 - shows us how, having obtained a reputation for wisdom and honour, the smallest thing can mar it, and cause it to be unacceptable to the Lord (ie NOT a swell-smelling savour, but a stinking one). Neh.13:26, Mt.5:13-16.

10 & 11 These chapters differs in structure from the rest of the book of Ecclesiastes in that it reads like a list of Proverbs such as one found in the book of Proverbs.

v. 20 the idea of a bird telling one's secret words is the basis for the saying 'a little bird told me.'

v. 11 - Consider these references for the serpent - Psa.58:4,5, Jer.8:17 and then for the babbler - Psa.52:2, 64:3, Prov.18:21, James 3:6

10:1 The truth of this parable is seen in the way (Matt 26:8, Mark 14:4) Judas responded to Mary anointing Jesus' with oil. Whilst the odour of the ointment filled the house (John 12:3) Judas was behaving like the 'dead fly' spoken of here in Ecclesiastes.

BANKING
Stephen Covey, in his book, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, speaks about the emotional bank account. He says that for every relationship we have we have an emotional bank account. As we speak to people, listen to them, serve them and are positive towards them, we are putting deposits into the account. Over time those deposits build up to a degree of trust, respect and love. Deposits are nearly always made in small, but consistent amounts.
Withdrawals, on the other hand are made by gossip, unfaithfulness, backstabbing, and other negative actions and words. Withdrawals are usually large and it often only takes a few to completely empty the emotional bank account in a relationship.
Solomon likens it to dead flies in perfume. There may be a lot of perfume, but a small creature like a dead fly can ruin the whole lot by making a beautiful thing smell bad. He continues, "So a little folly outweighs wisdom and honour."
Here is the point. Even for someone with a beautiful character, one or two acts of folly or mistrust can spoil the whole summary of their character. Withdrawals are expensive. Weigh it up and do the right thing.

:2 This is not a physical description. An anatomical examination of a man will not determine whether he is a fool or wise. However the idea is picked up to speak of the end of the wise and the fool - The sheep go to the right and the goats to the left (Matthew 25:34,41)

FUTURE PLANS

"No one knows what is coming - who can tell what will happen after him?" (Ecclesiastes 10 v 14).

There is only one thing we can be totally certain of in this life. Many people think that it is death, but in actual fact the Lord Jesus could return before we die. Really, the only thing we can be certain of is judgement. If that is the case, then it must affect the way we live and the way we plan for things in our lives. If a judgement is the only thing we can count on in this life, then all our planning for the future must be done with this in mind. We have no guarantee that any of our plans will either succeed or fail tomorrow, or even more, next week, next year, or after we are dead. So it is up to us to make the most of our time, preparing ourselves to be acceptable to our Lord.

It makes a big impact to our decision making to ask ourselves, "If this were the last decision I were to make, would it be to do what I am about to do now?" If we knew the day of our death (or the day of judgement), how would that affect the life we live now? Because we don't know the day of our death, or the day of judgement, or even what tomorrow will bring, we must do our best with what we have so that we will be ready at any time, to meet our God.

10:4 'yielding' could just as well be translated 'gentleness' - see RV margin.

It is so easy in a dispute to raise our voice and to get angry. But it is better to be gentle in our approach Prov 15:1

V.1-3  The proverb in these verses illustrates the difference between our use of "heart" as the seat of emotions, and the Biblical use of it to mean the seat of understanding and the core of the whole personality.

V.1  It is a pity that one error can spoil much goodness (See also Eze 33:13; 1Cor 5:6).

V.2 In terms of position, right represents honour and strength, while left represents weakness and disfavour. The positions of right or left are significant in the Bible.  Some examples: Jacob's favoured son of Rachel was Benjamin (son of my right hand); the position of presenting children for blessing (Gen 48:13,14); the position that Jesus has in relation to His Father (Acts 7:55; Heb 10:12); the position at the judgement (Matt 25:32,33). 

It is interesting that the words right and left derive from the Latin words for dexterous and sinister.  Dexterous we associate with industry and ability - positive qualities; sinister we associate with evil and suspicion - negative qualities.  In fact left-handed people, not too many centuries ago, were considered devil-possessed.  Also, for what it's worth, science has determined that left-handed people do not live as long as right-handed people on average. 

Ecc 10:1 reminds us that our speech should always be with grace, seasoned with salt (as Col 4:6). We must be so careful that we do not cause offence by saying unChristlike things. If we do, then the Preacher says it’s like a dead fly causing the special perfume to stink.

10:16 The comment about the disastrous situation when the king is a child is drawn upon in Isa 3:4 when Isaiah speaks of the sorry state of Judah when he was speaking to the people of His own day. Isaiah 3 describes the godless practices of those who lacked leadership.

10:3 Of course the ‘fool’ does not actually say ‘I am a fool’. It is the way in which he behaves that demonstrate his folly. Likewise the way that we behave demonstrates what we are like far more than what we might say about ourselves.

10:3 The fatal results to all who exercise such an unwise policy (Ecc 8:9), they all fall into the pit that they dug for others (Prov 26:27); he who makes a hole in a fence suffer themselves (Psa 80:12).  

10:6-7           The description here of ‘folly’ being in ‘great dignity’ and the role of princes and servants reversed reflects the way in which the world works. If enough people say that something is right people start to believe it.  Right judgement and behaviour is based upon facts and not emotion.

10:1 The couplet in this verse represents the ideas of the last verse of the previous chapter. The ‘sinner’ of Ecc 9:18 is the ‘dead fly’ of Ecc 10:1

V.2 The right hand is always considered the strong hand.  There are many references to the strength of Yahweh’s right hand, for example Psa 44:3.  Jesus was invited to sit at His Father’s right hand (Psa 110:1).

On the other hand (pun intended), the left hand is considered weak.  The vast majority of people are right handed, and their right hand is physically stronger than the left.  Throughout history anything right was considered strong and above suspicion, while anything left was considered weak and suspect.

In Latin, right is dexteritas from which we derive our word dextrous meaning skilful.  Conversely, left (hand) comes from the word sinister  from which we derive our word sinister meaning suggestive of evil. 

During the 18^th and 19^th centuries in western industrial countries, left-handed people suffered great prejudice.  They were forced to use their right hands, for example to write with in school.  Today, prejudice has all but dissipated except that some still use statements like: He gave a left-handed compliment meaning that he gave a compliment which contained an evil intent.

10:8 Whilst this little Proverb may seem to teach a simple principle about safety it clearly is speaking of more profound things Psalm 7 speaks of the evil of Doeg the Edomite in the days of David. His treachery against the priests is likened to a pit into which he fell – Psa 7:15.

10:16    The ‘child king’ as not got the wisdom to listen to others. Puffed up by his importance he will not listen to the counsel of others  Ecc 4:13, 8:4

Ecc 10:20

"Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter."

We know that what comes out of our mouth defines who we are, but do you know that Google's Internet search engine describes its technology as, "Pigeon Rank"? It is a system using pigeon clusters (PC) to assign a rank to web pages through pecking. The more pecks from the pigeons, the higher the page is ranked!

Many jobs and careers have been lost and opportunities diminished because of revelations about their online image cache. Nothing is private on the social networks, and this would be well to keep in mind. Being online you are on the worldwide web waves, and the computer's pigeon clusters will tell the matter!

Ecc 10:15 - perhaps this means a fool has no direction and is lost. Ecc 10:18 - we also need to work hard to build up our spiritual house. Ecc 10:19 - perhaps this is demonstrating the wisdom of the world who believe money is the answer to everything and see feasts and wine as an occasion of laughter while believers depend on God and remember Christ's sacrifice with the emblems of bread and wine.  Ecc 10:20 - becareful what you say or it may get back to the object of your reviling via carrier pigeon or some other means.

10:5-7   Returning to the condition of worldly rulers yet again Solomon sees that it is the rulers who set up inappropriate people to tasks. Folly is esteemed better than wisdom. The problem with worldly leaders is that they are easily flattered and others seek to flatter them in return receiving favours.

10:18 Whereas the wise man’s observations are true of buildings there is a spiritual lesson. The ‘fabric’ and ‘structure’ of the ‘house of God’ – the ecclesias – decays without fellowship and working together.

Watch what you say in secret

"Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter."

We can see the wisdom of Ecc 10:20 when we consider how many people recently have been caught out after posting derogatory comments on facebook or twitter, and been sacked from their jobs or even sent to jail. What this verse is saying is that words you say in secret don't always stay that way, or the words you intend for one audience may reach another. The verse takes care not to describe exactly how this might be, because the point is that we don't know how our secret words get out, until it's too late! It's fitting isn't it that the way the writer describes this is using the same symbol as twitter - the little bird?

1. Ecc 10:1 - "Dead<4194> flies<2070>" - this may refer to the flies of death (i.e. a dead body) as opposed to dead flies.

2. Ecc 10:1 - (NIV) "...a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor" - the smallest thing can mar wisdom and honor.

3. Ecc 10:2 - "heart"<3820>.

4. Ecc 10:2,3,12,13,14,15 - V2 "fool's"<3684>, V3 "fool"<5530>, V12 "fool"<3684>, V13 "foolishness"<5531>, V14 "fool"<5530>, V15 "foolish"<3684>.

5. Ecc 10:6 - "Folly"<5529>, "rich"(<6323> can mean noble).

6. Ecc 10:8-9 - a reference to counting the cost?

7. Ecc 10:10 - we need our spiritual swords sharp (Eph 6:17).

8. Ecc 10:12-14 - words reveal what is in a man's heart (Matt 12:34-37) be he wise or foolish.

9. Ecc 10:14 - (NIV) "No one knows what is coming -- who can tell what will happen after him?" - judgment is coming, but we can't prophesy.

10. Ecc 10:15 - (NIV) "A fool's work wearies him; he does not know the way to town." - Barnes says, "The sense is: 'The fool wearies himself with ineffectual attempts, he has not sufficient knowledge for the transaction of ordinary business.'"

11. Ecc 10:16 - KJV "child"<5288> / NIV "servant" / NET "childish".
12. Ecc 10:16-17 - feasting in the morning is not the proper time and it suggests a lacking of leadership, self-indulgence, intemperance (Isa 5:11), and a lack of discipline.

10:1     The principle of contamination in ointment by just one dead fly is seen developed in Hag 2:13 speaking of the law and its implication for our behaviour. Paul, likewise - Rom 16:17– gives us a practical response to such “dead flies”. 

10:14    Man, especially the foolish man, thinks he can speak about his future plans as if he is on control of the future. The wise man recognises that God is in control and that he himself cannot predict what will happen in his life in the future. Which man re we like?

10:8   What Solomon writes here he has written before – Prov 26:27

10:2    The “wise” can undo all the good he has done by speaking folly.

Summary of Ecclesiastes 10

10:1-15    It is very easy to earn a bad name

               Rash folly undoes the good already done

               Which is a consequence of elevating man’s thinking in contrast to God’s wisdom

10:16-17  folly rather than wisdom ruling is a disaster

10:18-19  Inactivity produces spiritual decay

10:20       don’t complain – God hears

LOOKING WISE   

The other day, I was talking to someone I considered to be quite wise. During the conversation we had, I commented on their wisdom and the help that they had given me over the years. I was surprised that he seemed surprised that I thought he was wise. And yes, he is. One of the things that goes to accentuate my friend's wisdom is that he doesn't say much - and when he does talk, he says what needs to be said in well chosen words that say what he means.

In contrast to my wise friend, I have met plenty of other people, who may even have the same level of wisdom, but refuse to stop talking long enough to listen. Do they seem wise? No. Sometimes the quantity of the words they might speak will even cause me to tune out and completely miss the wisdom that might flow from their mouths.

Listen to what the preacher says about it: "A fool multiplies words, though no man knows what is to be, and who can tell what will be after him?" (Ecc 10:14)

The lesson is a simple one. If you want to be (or even look) wise, shut your mouth and use your ears more than your lips. You might be surprised at how wise you will seem.

 

10:9-10       These seemingly obvious statements are not just speaking about natural things. Preparedness is more profitable than sloth when it comes to learning the things of God.

10:12 Wise counsel is not to speak unless one has something useful to say. It is all too easy to start speaking when we have nothing of any value to add only to find that we start to “babble” and show our ignorance.

10:20 “curse not the king” is an extension of what the Law of Moses says – Exo 22:28.

10:11-12 Discretion in the way we speak with those we meet is essential. It is better to remain silent that to babble on about things about which we know little. Eventually the babbling will get one into trouble

10:1-19  And now looking at the thigs of daily life “folly” brings disaster. Whilst it might appear to be prospering for a time it the seeming success will come to nothing.

v.5 - here Paul, unlike the child Samuel in 1Sam3:10, when approached by a voice from heaven, uses the word Lord. It seems odd that it should be this way round, because, although Paul had it wrong about Jesus, he was a 'Pharisee of the Pharisees' and as such would have a great deal of respect for God. 1Tim.1:13, Acts 26:9, Isa.45:9, 1Cor.10:22.

v. 5 The word 'kick' is only used in these places to speak of rebellion. 1 Samuel 2:29 here Acts 26:14 Therefore we might conclude that Paul would reflect on Eli and his downfall when Jesus spoke with him.

We should not think of the conversion of Saul as God forcing the man to recognise Jesus as the Messiah. In that he was kicking against the pricks (9:5) we have to conclude that he was struggling with what he heard the apostles teaching. He must have been thinking about the Scriptures that they were using. So he was ready to receive the message. So God intervened and he responded willingly.

AMAZING CONVERSION

Saul, a persecutor of Christians, authorising Christians to be killed for their beliefs, chasing followers of Christ out of their homes and out of their cities, arresting them and putting them into prison, and, in his quieter moments, he just breathed murderous threats against the Lords disciples.

We all know someone like Saul. We have acquaintances who are anti-Christian, who, with every breath they breathe, curse the disciples of Christ, discredit them, blaspheme and teach others to do the same. But which of us would ever have thought that Saul would become a follower of Christ? If we had known him would we have preached to him? From that life of self righteous persecution of Christians, Saul became one of the most powerful disciples of Christ, choosing to suffer persecution himself rather than to stop preaching the good news.

The same may happen to the people we know. We may be very surprised at the people God calls and the way that he calls them. We need to remember that God calls people as they are, to become like him. They may not seem much like Christians now - but then neither did Saul. Our job is to pass out the invitation and watch Gods word make some amazing conversions.

:2 That Saul desired letters from the high priest rather than being given them indicates that his actions were really self motivated rather than being at the bidding of the chief priests.

 V.4; 7 "heard a voice" Both Saul and those with him heard a voice. Compare this with ACTS 22:9 "they heard not the voice of him that spake to me." The answer is, Saul not only heard the voice, but understood what it said. Those that were with him heard the voice, but did not understand what was said. John 8:43

9:2 Here and 8:3 we learn that Paul imprisoned and persecuted both men and women. On two occasion in Acts (Acts 5:14, 8:12) we learn that both men and women were baptised. It is as if the twofold persecution of both men and women is countered with a two fold observation that both men and women accepted the gospel.

Vs.1,2 Saul consented to Stephen's death and then went on a campaign to stamp out the ecclesia. Saul means asked which is fitting of his action in asking for letters to quash the ecclesia. After his conversion, his name was changed to Paul which means little.  How befitting this was as he considered his new status to be less than his brethren (Eph 3:8).

Vs.3,9 Saul was blinded by the presence of Jesus and remained so for three days, after which he received his sight (v.18).  This speaks to the Lord's three-day sojourn in death after which He was raised to life.  It seems that Paul's eyesight subsequently deteriorated as he mentions his large handwriting to the Galatians (Gal 6:11).  Could it be that the Lord allowed this as a reminder to Paul of his role reversal?  Once he walked by sight, but now in Christ he walked by faith. 

V.25 The basket (Gr.spuris) in which Paul escaped was quite large.  These same baskets were used to collect the leftovers after feeding the four thousand (Matt 15:37,38).  The baskets used in the feeding of the five thousand (Matt 14:20,21) were much smaller (Gr.kophinos) and could not hold a man.

The number 5 in scripture can indicate 'grace'. In this chapter we note that Saul loses his sight for a period, and when he receives his sight again he sees Ananias. I found this of interest because the name Ananias means 'the grace of God' and indeed it was by the grace of God that Saul received his sight, and also 'Ananias' occurs 5 times in this chapter 9 of Acts.

9:27 Barnabus, unlike the others, was willing to take a risk, so to speak, with Paul. There is a need for us, from time to time, to put away our prejudices and accept people for what they say even if what they say does not match how they used to be.

V.25 In this verse is recorded what had to be one of the most humiliating experiences of Paul's life. In the recent past, Saul had sought out the followers of the Christian faith and had led them bound to Jerusalem. Now, the same people were leading Saul, not bound, but under fear for his own life. He now owed his life to those who a short while ago were those he pursued, who were now risking their lives to save his. He submitted to their leadership. Up until this time he had always travelled openly by day, now he crept by night, afraid to show himself to his people.

9:20 And so Saul, a new man – see comments in May this year – begins to live the ‘new life’ in Christ.

Paul was a chosen vessel. He knew this later, when he wrote to the Galatians (Gal 1:15,16), and realised how God had been preparing him all of his life for this great commission of taking the gospel to the Gentiles. One would have thought that a man with a high qualification in the Jews’ religion would have made an excellent missionary to the Jews, but it was not to be so. He needed all that Old Testament knowledge to understand that God had promised that all nations would be blessed in Abraham (Gen 12:3). He always went to the Jews first, when he arrived in different towns, and tried to persuade them, but usually they refused, and so he went to the Gentiles. Perhaps God was keeping him “down” in Jewish circles, lest he should think of himself too highly.

9:2      In telling us that Saul went to the High Priest to obtain letters we learn that the persecution was initiated by Saul with the compliance of the High Priest rather than Saul simply doing the bidding of the High Priest. Thus we see the magnitude of his hatred for the Christians. Possibly part of his ‘kicking against the pricks’.

LAST brIEF ENCOUNTER

For quite some time Saul had observed the Christians and their way of life. He had listened to Stephen's speech, witnessed his stoning, and chased the believers from city to city only to see the growth of Christians increase instead of decrease. There must have been questions that perplexed him about the Christian faith. Some of those questions without answers must have come from Stephen when they saw his face like the face of an angel, when he looked up to "see heaven opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God", and then as he was about to die, praying, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." (Acts 7:56,60)

But on the surface nothing changed. Perhaps Saul buried all his questions deep to get rid of them while he continued in his persecution of the Christians.

It only took a brief encounter with Jesus and three days to think it over before Saul completely turned his life around and became one of the most fearless preachers of Christianity instead of one of the most feared persecutors. That brief time was enough time for him to find answers to his nagging questions and to become a new man.

We don't know which of the people around us in their hard outer shells are ready for that last brief encounter to change their lives completely. We may be the catalyst for that encounter. Let's never give up - even for someone as ruthless as Saul.

Vs.5,6,17 Paul was given a direct commission from Jesus, and he also received the Holy Spirit. It is important to remember this when we read Paul’s directives in his epistles. They are not merely his opinions.

9:2 Having wrought havoc among the believers in Jerusalem, which had caused the disciples to leave Jerusalem Saul now seeks to extend his activities – through legal means! – to the other places where the gospel has taken root.

V.23 After many days: if we pick up Paul’s trail we see that he went to Arabia (Seir) and then back to Damascus on a second visit (Gal 1:17).  It was on his second visit that the Jews took counsel to kill him.  From Paul’s first visit to Damascus until the end of his second visit was three years (Gal 1:18).

After he escaped their grasp, Paul was taken by Barnabas to the apostles at Jerusalem (vs.27,28). In Jerusalem, he saw only Peter and James (Gal 1:18,19).

9:14 The record tells us that Saul had authority from the chief priests in Jerusalem but note that Ananias knew that as well even though Saul had not arrived with his threatenings. This implies that news of what Saul was going to do had preceded him, probably as news sent by the chief priests to those in Damascus to enable them to prepare the persecution of the brethren.

INCREDIBLE ANSWER TO PRAYER

Jesus said to "pray for those who persecute you." (Matt 5:44)

Of all the people that persecuted the developing Christians, Saul of Tarsus would have been one of the worst, if not, the worst of them all. He stood there while Stephen was put to death, and then "breathed out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples." (Acts 9:1) He wreaked havoc through Jerusalem and even travelled to Damascus to arrest and imprison believers. We are not told whether or not the believers prayed for Saul, but because praying for those who persecuted him was such a well modelled teaching of Jesus, we can presume that they did. 

As Saul of Tarsus was struck blind on the road to Damascus and was converted at his unplanned meeting with Jesus, the disciples would not have realised just how surprising their answers to prayer were going to be. In fact, after his conversions many believers found it very difficult to believe that Saul had changed.

We might pray for people, but as we pray we often forget that God can do incredible things as he answers our prayers. We don't need to limit him to what we think he can do. None of us would have expected the wicked Saul of Tarsus to end up as the greatest servant of all time, yet that is what God can do.

So let us pray and let's not be surprised at what God can do as he answers our prayers.

In Acts 9:8-9, Saul is symbolically dead. He is 3 days in darkness, as the Lord had been.

Later in the chapter, we see his resurrection. Luke, through the spirit, uses the language he had previously used to describe the raising of Jairus' daughter.

Perhaps all of this was in Paul's mid when he wrote Rom 6:1-4?

9:29    We learnt in Acts 6:1 that the ‘Grecians’ saw themselves as separate from the ‘Hebrews’. That they were a separate group is seen in the way that they are singled out here as a group who opposed Paul’s teaching.

9:13    Notice Ananias questioned God’s judgement. Based on his own experience and what he had heard he could not conceive of any reason why it would be a good idea to go and seek out Saul. Interestingly there is no indication that he was reproved for this questioning.

9:3         This is not the first time that Saul had travelled from Jerusalem to apprehend brethren for he told Agrippa – Acts 26:11 – that he had persecuted them in cities (note the plural)

9:12    In the record of what was said to Ananias we learn more than is recorded of Jesus’ appearance to Saul. The record is careful to tell us the most important thing in each place. When recording what was said to Saul we do not need to know about Ananias. But when Ananias is spoken to he needed to know that Saul had been told to seek him out so that he would not be troubled by the arrival of Saul – who up to this point had gone about killing disciples of Jesus. 

v30: Saul appears to have remained in Tarsus until Barnabas fetched him in Acts 11:25.

9:33-34        Peter’s healing of the man who was sick of the palsy echoes one of Jesus’ miracles as seen in Matthew 8:6 and the centurion’s servant Matt 8:16

9:14      That Ananias was aware of Saul’s mission and the degree of authority that he had indicates that news of what was planned travelled round the Middle East.

9:39    The way in which Peter followed those who had come from Dorcas and then raised her form the dead echoes Jesus following Jairus –Matt 9:19 –and subsequently raised his daughter from the dead shows that the Apostles continued the work of Jesus precisely.

9:11-17           The instruction to Ananias, and his willingness to go and speak to Saul show tremendous faith. Firstly he had to be convinced that the “vision” was not just a bad dream and then had to be convinced that the words would actually come true.

9:13-16   Notice that a man is able to discuss his apprehensions with God! We might have thought that Ananias should have just accepted what was revealed to him. But not, his apprehension is an acceptable state of mind, only resolved by further conversation.

9:25 Whilst the historical record here reads as if Saul went straight from Damascus to Jerusalem there is at least a three year gap between this and the next verse. Gal 1:17-18 indicates that Saul left Damascus and went to Arabia and only went to Jerusalem from Damascus the second time he was in Damascus.

9:6 Christ had said: “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves” (Mt. 10:16). Paul had set off to Damascus as one of these wolves, a fulfilment of Jacob’s prophecy concerning Saul’s tribe: “Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf” (Gen. 49:27). And as a Pharisee, he was in any case like a wolf for Christ had said to the Pharisees: “your inward part is full of ravening” (Lk. 11:39), which is to be like a wolf: “ravening wolves” (Mt. 7:15). But now he is “trembling”, and this is the behaviour of a dove: “They shall tremble … as a dove …” (Hos. 11:11). The process of moving from a persecuting wolf to a harmless dove had begun.

9:25Whilst the historical record here reads as if Saul went straight from Damascus to Jerusalem there is at least a three year gap between this and the next verse. Gal 1:17-18 indicates that Saul left Damascus and went to Arabia and only went to Jerusalem from Damascus the second time he was in Damascus.

9:15-16 Ananias had a dilemma. He knew what Saul had been doing and the permission he had been given and yet he had been told by “the lord” to seek Saul out. The actions which followed showed an overwhelming confidence that he had actually heard the words of Jesus.

9:15  It is clear from the records in the New Testament that Saul – later Paul – did preach to the gentiles. However we should give a little thought to that. It was ingrained into Jews that gentiles were “beyond the pale” but now one of the staunches Jews who opposed Jesus is now called not only to accept Jesus as Messiah but to convey that message to gentiles!

9:26 There had already been two of whom we know who were not faithful disciples –  5:1 – Ananias and Sapphira – who had tried to deceive the apostles. Doubtless mistrust was quite an issue amongst the believers lest they be betrayed and killed. So it is not at all surprising that Saul of Tarsus was viewed with suspicion.