Acts 17 - first half

So, welcome to the first official blog entry of our Bible Study. Today we discussed Acts 17. A couple things first:

Dr Dave had us read in his sermon Exodus 4:24-26: 24 At a lodging place on the way, the LORD met {Moses} [a] and was about to kill him. 25 But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son's foreskin and touched {Moses'} feet with it. [b] "Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me," she said. 26 So the LORD let him alone. (At that time she said "bridegroom of blood," referring to circumcision.) We discussed this in more detail...Why would God be ready to kill Moses? In our discussion, we looked a quite a few things. One is that Moses was God's chosen man, a man whose name and exploits would live on for eternity...and yet, he was not following the covenantal agreements with all His people. No free cards for the leaders, instead God asks for more, not less of them. Integrity is who you are when no one is looking...and God is ALWAYS looking. The blood tie of circumcision draws parallels to the lamb of Passover, the Jewish law to come and it's sacrifices and finally to the blood of THE LAMB, Jesus. And Moses tried to follow God before having his house in order. Since Zipporah knew IMMEDIATELY what to do, the discussion had to have taken place before...this was a conscious choice...ouch... To lead his people, Moses had to be obedient to God...

Getting back to Acts, In Chapter 17, we have Paul and Silas heading to Thessolonica. They had just been imprisoned in Phillipi (praying and singing hymns - in the dungeon!) and on their release, the say their goodbyes to Lydia and the brothers and head out to Thessolonica, a large town of 200,000 people, the capitol of Macedonia. They go back to the synagogue...remember in Phillipi, there was no synagogue, so they "gathered at the river" but Paul returns to his normal pattern and heads to the 'gogue. Why does Paul keep going back to the synagogue? Is he that stubborn? No...well, maybe yes (I love Paul's drive!) but it is not Paul who decides this...it is God! He still has not given up on His people, on His covenant so Paul is always sent to the Jews first...

A large group is persuaded by Paul's sharing of the Gospel. Some Jews, a large number of Yahweh following Greeks and "prominent women" of Thessolonica. We discussed the prominent women for a while. What does that mean? Wives of leading men? Prominent in their own rights? I wondered on their own prominence based on the goddess worship in some of the areas...but in the end, we do not think that was a big factor. If you find differently, please comment!!!

So, we see the leaders of the synagogue go off into their usual jealous response. This message of Jesus was threatening to the status quo...scary stuff! And the status quo always fears change! They go so far as to hire out (or at least convince) the local ruffians to form a mob and riot... A couple things to note: 1. These guys could not even do their own fighting, they hired out!!! At least most groups did their own attacking of Paul! It could be that with the size of the city, hiring thugs was an easy thing to do! 2. Why a riot? Because a riot brings the Roman's into the picture. The thing the Romans hated above all else was a riot. They would send in their guard to put down any riot. No messing around... They grab Jason, Paul's local contact and host, and bring him to the local city leaders. Their call to the the leaders was eerily close to the crowd a Jesus' trial ("We have no king but Caesar" John 19:15)

Paul and Silas head off to Berea...running away? I think not...we see from all that Paul went through, he was not scared of a fight or persecution...instead, you see God's direction sending him onward...over and over again. With out this persecution, what would have happened? Paul would likely have been a great teacher in a small town...with luck in a large city, like his rabbi Gammaliel...but with God at the helm, Paul became the sower to the world (or at least the known world of this time!), just as Jesus asked...

In Berea, we have the perfect response to any spiritual teaching...they "searched the scriptures"! If only we would do the same! If you are reading this blog, I urge you to follow the Berean's path and search the Bible for proof of what I am posting. If it is not scriptural, no matter who the teacher, throw it out!!! The Berean's (just a note: the store's name comes from this...) searched Isaiah (I'm sure Paul used Isa 53 - what a proof-text of the Messiah), Jeremiah, Daniel and many others to see if what Paul said is indeed what God said...and again, many people open their hearts to Christ. In this modern age, we might actually ignore the prosperity gospel (turn to Christ and you will be rich, happy and all you ever wanted) since Christ himself said that we would see "trouble" (see John 16:33 amongst others...) not prosperity. Our treasures are, for the most part, stored in Heaven. He may bless us greatly on Earth...or not. It is up to His will and plan. No covenant for riches on this Earth. Anyway, I'll climb off my soapbox...

Lastly, we see the Thessolonica crowd show up and get Paul out of Berea...but seeds were planted in Berea! Interestingly, note that Paul is moving farther away from Jerusalem, each time he is chased...and closer and closer to Rome...where the leaders of this world are located. Away from any comfort level he may have had, and closer to the darkness on which light must shine....

That's it for this week...may God bless you! And may you be like the Bereans this week!