Hosea 10:5-8 - Cover us

10:5,6

Beth-Aven means “House of Iniquity” and is a polemical term used by Hosea to refer to Bethel, where this idol was originally set up, though it would be carried off to Assyria. An example of a similar term today could be referring to the Episcopal Church of America as the Apostate Church of America. Why the trembling? Maybe the people feared that it would be carried away, and then they wondered where their help would come from (though, of course, it never actually came from the calf-idol!). They would all moure, people and priests alike, when it was taken into exile. All this would bring shame upon Israel.

10:7,8

The high places had been set up as places to worship idols, the king was complicit in all this, ruling a rebellious kingdom. Both would be destroyed. The king would be swept away, the high places destroyed. Note that Israel (and Judah) had been told on numerous occasions not to set up high places, and having set them up, to totally destroy them. She had failed to do so, so God would do it Himself. We either fulfil God’s commands, or He will fulfil them Himself.

The high places would become utterly desolate. The cry to the mountains to fall upon them is echoed in Revelation. (Rev 6:16).

Acts 10:1,2 - Cornelius

10:1,2

We now meet Cornelius, excluding the Ethiopian eunuch, the first gentile convert. An Italian cohort or regiment was one tenth of a legion, or about 600 men. Roman soldiers tended to serve for periods of about twenty years, and during that period they were technically not allowed to marry. It was also common for them to stay in the same place. While they were not supposed to marry, they often took a local woman as a partner and officials would look the other way. After their tour of duty was over the relationship would be recognised as a marriage. “All his household” is a term that as well as including relations could also encompass servants. Cornelius was a God fearing man, and one who gave generously to the poor. He also prayed frequently.

10:3,4

The “ninth hour” was one of the regular prayer times, coinciding with the time of the evening offering in the temple, so further emphasising the piety of Cornelius. During this time an angel appeared to him. The angel tells him that his prayers and alms have ascended before God. So we see here another example of a “good man” being commended in the Bible. Good character and good behaviour is commended in the Bible, and it makes a difference to our relationship with God.

Hosea 10:1-4 - Their heart is false

10:1

Israel was doing well. When Israel invaded the Promised Land they conquered many peoples, and then started to plant and cultivate the land. They started to prosper, but then instead of giving thanks and honour to God, they gave it to idols instead. Israel was warned against this, and it is a pattern that is repeated again and again in humanity, and even in churches. We will attribute success to anyone or anything other than the Lord from whence it truly comes.

10:2

Our minds and hearts are corrupted. And remember that when the Bible speaks of heart it includes far more than just our emotions, it also includes our mind and will. So our minds will deceive us, and Israel would have to bear her guilt. In the ensuing destruction her altars ad sacred stones would be destroyed.

10:3,4

There is a deep cynicism in the land. They had no king, but even if they did have a king what would he do for them. So promises and oaths multiply, but they all turn to nothing ending up with many lawsuits which are like a poisonous weed. This is prescient of our own society. Cynicism is rife, governments no longer seem to work. Politicians make promises, but they are often self-contradictory, nothing much happens except creating more work for lawyers. And courts rather than government seem to decide an increasing number of things. Israel’s situation in Hosea’s day, and our own situation, is the inevitable result of rejecting God. There is no longer any standard. We seek to set our own standards, making ourselves the reference point, yet it results only in chaos.

Acts 9:39-43 - Dorcas restored to life

9:39,40

Peter was taken up to the room where Dorcas was lying. The scene was typical of Jewish custom of the time. The widows showed Peter the handiwork that Dorcas had made during her lifetime, this was a mark of the respect that she was held in. In a manner reminiscent of some of the healings Jesus carried out, Peter sent the mourning widows out of the room. However, in a manner different from Jesus, Peter got on his knees and prayed. He then commanded Tabitha to get up. The same healing power was at work as when Jesus was with them physically, but the power came from Jesus, not from Peter. Tabitha “woke up and then sat up.

9:41-43

Peter then took her by the hand and helped her up. The believers, especially the widows, were invited back and Tabitha was presented to them. The widows had seen Tabitha well and truly dead, so would appreciate the full nature of the miracle. Unsurprisingly, the miracle became known all over the region. Many people believed in the Lord. Miracles can serve a purpose in people coming to faith. Peter stayed in the town for a while. Simon would have worked with animal hides.

Marked for life

When people think of Revelation and being marked it is almost always in terms of the mark of the beast. However, that is not the only mark. In Revelation chapter 7:3 we read of the angels putting “a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God”. Likewise in Ezekiel 9:4 we read of God putting a mark on the forehead of “those who grieve and lament the detestable things that are done in the [city]”. We live in a time when our society is jettisoning as much as possible and quickly as possible all its Christian heritage. An example of this is that this week a Catholic priest was removed from being a university chaplain for, well for following Catholic teaching. In a day such as this we need to have a very clear view of who we are in Christ and what we are here for.

Today at church the highlight of the sermon for me was the final point, realising the price that is been put on us by God, namely the precious blood of Jesus. As Paul says in 1 Cor 6:20, we were bought at a price. And in 1 Peter 1:19 we read that we were bought with the precious blood of Jesus. In days such as these it is easy to feel increasingly marked, as if we are aliens in this society, that our beliefs mark us out as targets. Well society may have all sorts of attitudes towards us, and maybe we will be marked out as a target, but we are also marked out by God. And we are indeed aliens in this society, and Hebrews 11:13 says that the heroes of faith admitted that they were strangers and aliens upon the earth.

But we are also marked out for a purpose. Esther was reminded that she was born “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14). She had to take a risk, but she had been chosen by God and placed by God, and for a Godly purpose. We were chosen before the beginning of time. Eph 2:10 says that “we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do”.

We need to have a right view of ourselves, a Godly view of ourselves, and we need to live our lives in the light of this view.

Hosea 9:12-17 - Wanderers among the nations

9:12

Now this verse offends us! Even if children are born, God would bereave them of them. This greatly offends our modern Western ears, but we need to read the second half as well. “Woe to them when I turn away from them!” This is a consequence of God turning away from them. Now why has God turned away? Because they repeatedly rejected God, they repeatedly turned away from Him! And what we do has consequences, but we also need to note that God portrays Himself as actively involved in the consequences. Sometimes we describe hell as being separated from God, and the atheist or secularist may consider this no bad thing! But if they think that, they think it only because they do not realise the full consequences of being separated from God.

9:13

This verse makes no more comforting reading. V13 reads differently in NIV and ESV, NIV mentioning Tyre, but ESV not. ESV has “like a young palm” instead of “like Tyre”. Anyway, Ephraim was planted in a pleasant place, everything should have been OK. But instead, because of her rebellion, she would only bring out her children to the slayer. Terrible judgement awaited her.

9:14-17

The misery continues, and continues to offend our western ears. Hosea calls on the Lord to give them “wombs that miscarry” and “breasts that are dry”, ie there will be no future generations. Gilgal became a place if idolatrous worship. So Israel would pay the price. We react in horror at this judgement, but we do better to react in horror at the continual rejection of God by Israel, and then look at the ongoing rejection of God’s ways by our own society. “They will be wanderers among the nations”, and this is surely what happened to Israel.

Acts 9:36-38 - Full of good works and charity

9:36

Joppa, today known as Jaffa, was the only important Jewish port. It was eleven miles from Lydda. Dorcas was the Greek name for Tabitha, both of them mean “gazelle”. It was common for Jewish women of means to engage in charitable works. It is a feature of the New Testament, and the Old, to commend people who are “full of good works”. We know that no one is saved by works, but only by the undeserved grace of God, and that God saves all sorts of unworthy souls (such as Saul!). However, we should also note that people of good character are commended, and it is far better to be of good character than to be a complete scoundrel. That is Biblical teaching.

9:37,38

“She became ill and died”. This is an example of a righteous person dying of illness, bad things do happen to good people. Jewish preparation for burial, for women, included women washing the body. Disciples sent for Peter, knowing he was not too far away. They also urged him to come without delay. Burials took place quickly, and would probably take place before sunset. This implies that they had some hope that Peter could do something. Maybe they were remembering the example of Lazarus. Note the possible implication that they believed that Peter could raise her from the dead. We tend to be very wary of such things in the West, and various charlatans give much cause to be sceptical, but the Biblical teaching would seem to suggest that we should be much more expecting, and far less doubting.

Hosea 9:9-11 - No birth, no pregnancy, no conception

9:9

The people had corrupted themselves. These last two verses were spoken to Israel, yet they are so true of our own society. We do not like to be told that we are wrong and need to change our ways. A sure sign that the grace of God is being poured out is that people are willing to acknowledge their sins and their need to change, people repent! Unless that happens, then God will “remember their iniquity” and punishment will come. There are two options with regard to our sins. Either God will remember them or God will forget them, and only through Christ is the latter possible.

9:10

Israel was nothing without God, she would not even have existed as a nation without God. Yet when they came to Ball-peor they started to worship idols. They consecrated themselves to things of shame, and so became detestable themselves. That is the consequence of worshipping worthless things, we become worthless. In fact, one could say we become like whatever it is we worship. As a race, the whole of humanity would not exist unless God had created us.

9:11

So Ephraim’s glory would fly away like a bird. And notice what that meant, no birth, no pregnancy, no conception. She would become unreproductive. The west is busily rejecting all its Christian heritage, and its glory likewise will fly away. It is also noticeable that in “advanced” godless societies the birth rate declines, and in a number of countries is below the replacement level.

Acts 9:32-35 - Peter heals Aeneas

9:32

Peter apparently was carrying out something of an itinerant ministry, travelling from place to place. Here we read that he came to the saints at Lydda. This, along with Acts 9:13, is one of the first occurrences of Christians being referred to as saints. The word saint means “consecrated to God”. In Roman Catholic thinking, and perhaps common usage, it tends to focus on the person, seeing them as somehow being better than the average person, being holier. In the Bible it is perhaps more accurate to put the focus on God. He has set people apart for His own purposes. Saints referred to all Christians, not just a few, and the focus is on our identity, who we are in the world. We have been set apart by God for His purposes.

Lydda was 25 miles north west of Jerusalem and was an important coastal city.

9:33-35

Aeneas was paralyzed and had been confined to bed for eight years. His condition was well established.  Peter declares to him “Jesus Christ heals you”. Notice two things about this. First, it is clear that the healing comes from Jesus. Secondly, the healing is declared with certainty. In line with this certainty, the man is healed immediately. This had an effect on all the people. We do not need to take “all” literally, but it does imply that the healing had a major effect. Moreover, it also implies that there was no doubt about the efficacy of the healing. The people also turned to the Lord. The purpose of all things is that people turn to Jesus.

Hosea 9:7,8 - The day of punishment has come

9:7

This was no arbitrary series of events that were happening to them, but were punishment from the Lord, judgement upon their sin. The prophet was meant to be one who proclaimed the word of God, proclaimed the truth, but he was a fool. The man of the spirit was meant to be a man who was truly wise and had insight, but he was mad. Fool and mad here could be taken as meaning the supposed prophets and men of God were really no such thing and just offered human wisdom. Or they could be taken to mean that because society had rejected God, they considered those who were still men of God speaking God’s words to be fools and madmen. This latter situation pretty much describes the state of the West in these days.

9:8

The prophet of God is the “watchman of Ephraim”. He is there to warn the people, in particular to warn them when they are straying from God’s path and of the judgement that is therefore heading there way. He was truly a friend of the people, yet there was hatred of him in the house of God. As we know, Jesus encountered the same reaction, only more so, as He explained in the parable of the tennants.

Acts 9:28-31 - Preaching boldly in the name of Jesus

9:28

So, due to the intervention of Barnabas, Saul went around preaching in Jerusalem. Consider the effect of this, and also how, in human terms, difficult it must have been for Saul. He was preaching Christ right amongst those with whom he had previously been working against Christ. And Saul preached boldly. Preaching is meant to be bold. Not necessarily loud, but always clear and direct.

9:29

Saul also got involved in direct arguments. If we look at Acts we see all sorts of preaching. Sometimes it is directly linked with spiritual gifts, at other times it presenting things in an apologetic manner (proving from the Scriptures), at other times there is direct confrontation. We are to present the gospel in all sorts of ways, and should be wary of criticising someone else who presents it in a different style to the one we, or our church, uses. Of course, if they are presenting a “different gospel” that is another matter altogether. The Hellenists were Greek speaking Jews. They followed the tradition of the Jerusalem Jews in wanting to kill Saul.

9:30

The brothers learnt about the plot and so got Saul out of the way, first bringing him down to Caesarea, and then to Tarsus. Caesarea was a mixed Jewish and Syrian city, and was used by the Romans as their administrative centre for the region. So the Jews would be less likely to be able to carry out their plan there. Tarsus was a very Hellenized place, and was highly educated. It was also very commercial and prosperous. There was a significant Jewish presence in the place. It was also known for sexual vice.

9:31

So a time of peace reigned for the church in Judea, Galilee and Samaria. So we see that the church goes through periodic times of growth and peace, and then trouble and persecution. Summary sections, such as this verse, are used to signify the end of one section, and the beginning of another.

If you never preach repentance, you are not preaching the gospel

In Acts 26:20 Paul describes the gospel as proclaiming that people “should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with repentance”. If you are a regular reader of my blog you will have noticed that I keep going on about the centrality of repentance. The reason I do this is that it was central to all the preaching in Acts, and so lacking in most of our preaching today. If you think you are proclaiming the gospel, but are never preaching repentance, then you are not preaching the gospel. But let’s look at it more positively. We are all living life wrong, living life independent of God with all the terrible consequences of that. We all need to change and we are all guilty. God has declared that if we do repent and put faith in Christ then He will forgive us our sins and through the Holy Spirit start a work of transformation in our lives. There is no other gospel.

Hosea 9:4-6 - What will you do?

9:4

Under the Law you were unclean if you touched a dead body. So when someone in your family died you had to eat separate from others and could not go to the temple for a while. This is what eating the “bread of mourners” meant, and this is what it would be like for Israel. Indeed, this judgement upon them lasted for hundreds of years, for even in New Testament times Samaria was considered unclean be most of Israel, they had to eat by themselves.

9:5,6

The Israelites thought they were in control of worship. They held the feasts, they offered the sacrifices. We are in grave danger whenever we imagine that we are in charge, instead of being people who are led by the word of God and the Spirit. They would realise how little they were in control when they were taken away, other nations would have a hold over their lives. Life would be miserable for them.

Acts 9:26,27 - Saul in Jerusalem

9:26

It seems that in Damascus Saul was welcomed, and they would have been greatly encouraged by his bold proclamation of the gospel. However, the people in Jerusalem were much more suspicious. This is understandable. The disciples in Jerusalem had first hand experience of persecution at the hand of Saul, while those in Damascus had only heard about it (though they expected that it was now their turn). So it was perfectly reasonable for the Jerusalem Christians to doubt that Saul was really a disciple. Sometimes in the church we expect people will always react with perfect faith and grace. This is unreasonable. The nature of the church is that we will (indeed, should) attract people from very difficult backgrounds. The church is made up of highly imperfect people. If we go around expecting everyone to treat us perfectly (or, more accurately, what we perceive to be perfect, we could be wrong!) we will be disappointed. Moreover, it will hinder us from receiving the grace of God. The one who needs grace also needs to exercise grace towards those trying to help.

9:27

There was one person, Barnabas, who had confidence in Saul, and so he took action. Consider how important this one act was. We all know how important Paul’s mission would be, but it took one individual to play this vital role. We set up systems and structures for church government, and this is right and proper, but we should never lose sight of the fact that things work, and problems are overcome, because individual people take steps of grace and faith. Barnabas knew the background, and what had happened in Damascus, so he took Saul to the apostles and told them what had happened. Note that grounds for accepting Saul were not just “you should do it”, but there was hard evidence to back it up.

Hosea 9:1-3 - You have played the harlot

9:1,2

The most important factor in Israel’s life was that she had been unfaithful to the Lord. Everything else was of little importance compared to this. Building up her army would not help, diplomatic efforts would not help. Only repenting and returning to the Lord would help.

9:3

“They will not remain in the Lord’s land”. This is what happened, the Assyrians relocated many of the indigenous inhabitants of Israel. They forgot that it was the Lord’s land. All of us do well to remember that the earth is the Lord’s (Psalm 24:1). Despite her apostasy, they still found eating “unclean” food revolting, yet that is what they would have to do when they were exiled. In the same way people who are nominally Christian, but have abandoned God’s ways still react against many types of immoral behaviour.But if they persist in their rejection of God’s ways they will get what they asked for and be revolted.

Acts 9:23-25 - Apostle in a basket

9:23

So far we have an almost magical progression of events (forgive the untheological language!). Saul has had an encounter with the Lord, been radically changed, and is not fulfilling God’s mission for his life. Now we see that this was mixed in with the harsh realities of life. Just as the Jews plotted to kill Jesus, so now they are plotting to kill Paul. “Jews” here, as in John’s gospel, probably refers primarily to the Jewish religious leaders, rather than the Jews as a whole. Proclaiming Christ as Lord challenged their standing. Indeed, Jesus and the gospel presents a challenge to anyone who is standing on any other authority.

9:24,25

However, God is in control, and Saul became aware of the plot. The Jews were taking steps to capture Saul if he tried to leave the city, but Saul and the disciples bypassed them by lowering Saul in a basket from window in the walls of the city. This may have been a rather ignominious departure for Saul, but it was certainly better than being killed. So we see the mixture of the miraculous and amazing intervention of God in the whole affair, together with practical steps to avoid capture. The “spiritual” and the “mundane” go together in the normal Christian life.

Hosea 8:8-14 - Israel has forgotten his maker

8:8-10

Israel would indeed be swallowed up. Assyria would invade and conquer. Many of her people would be dispersed among the nations, and peoples from other nations would be settled in her land. This is how Assyria operated. Israel was selling herself, but wasn’t even attractive to the other nations, so she had to increasingly cheapen herself. Sadly, this is an apt description of the church as well when it seeks to become popular with the world. Israel’s true identity lay in God, and there was no escaping this. She could not be like other nations, so they would waste away among the nations.

8:11,12

There is a deep irony here. “Though Ephraim built many altars for sin offerings, these have become altars for sinning”. The Law had been given to Israel and is specified how and where things should be done, but Israel ignored this and did their own thing. They did this claiming they were seeking to worship God, but the results were anything but pleasing to God. The sins would include general sins in the nation of bloodshed and injustice, but may also have included temple prostitutes and the like which were common at pagan places of “worship”. We seem the same pattern today. Many “churches” claim to be seeking to demonstrate the love of Christ, but the Bible is “regarded as something foreign” and is ignored.

8:13,14

Many of the rituals may have had some superficial resemblance to the statutes of the Law, but they were not pleasing to God. So they would return to Egypt, this may be meant to be taken metaphorically, meaning they would return to captivity.

Israel had forgotten her maker. The kings of Israel and Judah had built palace, and had fortified many towns, but all this would be in vain. Their fortresses would be consumed by the enemy, and this happened with the Assyrian and Babylonian invasions.

Acts 9:19b-22 - Immediately he proclaimed Jesus

9:19b,20

These two verses are wonderfully encouraging. Saul spent some time with the disciples. Imagine what this was like for them. Here was this arch-persecutor of the church, so this must have been some wariness, to say the least. Yet here he was, and he was learning from them. Then, without any delay, Saul starts declaring the gospel in the synagogues, saying the Jesus is the Son of God. What a transformation in the man. Sin has a pernicious effect on us, a very deep rooted effect, but the blood of Jesus, the power of the Holy Spirit, the grace of God can change anyone’s heart, and radically so. The gospel, as pronounced in Ezekiel, is that God will give men a new heart. We should pray fervently for this to happen. And also in our own lives, not just the lives of others. Transformation is the goal of the gospel.

Note also that he preached in synagogues (plural). He preached in the heart of the battle ground.

9:21,22

Not surprisingly, those who heard him were amazed. They knew what his reputation was, what he was known for prior to his conversion. They knew what he had done before (caused havoc in the church), and why he had come to Damascus. But God had other plans! This is the sovereignty of God at work, and it is something to rejoice in.

This amazement, and maybe not a little doubt, did not deter Saul at all.  Instead he increased in strength. When God is at work in us, the circumstances will not deter nor defeat us. Moreover, he confounded the Jews by proving that Jesus is the Christ. So we see here the role of apologetics in spreading the gospel. Arguments are not the be all and end all of witnessing, but they are an important part. And notice how Saul’s past would have prepared him for this. He knew the Old Testament scriptures extremely well. Now that the veil had been removed from his mind he could see how they all pointed to Jesus.

We should perhaps note that in Galatians 1:17 Paul says he went to Arabia and then returned to Damascus. Luke, as is common in the gospels, has telescoped events. Ie they were not giving a detailed day by day account of things, with every detail recorded.

Acts 9:15-19a - He is a chosen instrument

9:15,16

While there is a conversation between God and Ananias, there is no change in the command. “Go! This man is my chosen instrument”. When talking earlier about Paul I mentioned Prov 3:5. We all need to heed the instructions in that verse. Our understanding is strictly limited, and God does things, and has already planned things, that we know nothing of.God was fully aware of who Saul was, and, of course, knew what He had already done to Saul. Now He tells Ananias what His purpose for Saul is. Saul was God’s chosen instrument to proclaim the gospel to the Gentiles and the people of Israel. Then He adds that He will show Saul how much he must suffer for the sake of God’s name. This is not a very encouraging message to take, unless it actually was from the Lord. Ananias had to have faith in order to carry out this command.

9:17-19a

Ananias did have faith, and set out to implement the command. So Ananias went to the house where Saul was, placed his hands upon him and prayed for him. Notice also that he says somethings that were not mentioned in the previous couple of verses, in particular the part about being filled with the Holy Spirit. Either Ananias worked out that this must be part of the deal, or else the report in verses 15 and 16 is just a brief summary of the interaction between Ananias and the Lord. Whatever the case, Saul was healed and then got baptised. Imagine the faith that Ananias needed to have. Notice also that here we have an “ordinary” disciple (though, of course, he was in many ways extraordinary) praying for an apostle to receive the Holy Spirit. This just adds one or two more questions to the cessationists’ arguments. Saul had been weakened by his experiences and his fasting (v9).

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Acts 9:10-14 - Look for a man of Tarsus

9:10-12

In Damascus the Lord called to a disciple named Ananias. It is quite normal for God to speak to people. Now it is not that common to receive audible words, the Bible is our primary source of hearing from God, but sometimes God does speak directly to a person. It seems that God called Ananias in a loud voice. Ananias answered. God then told him where to go in order to meet Saul o Tarsus. Note that God has also prepared Saul for this meeting, giving Saul a vision of Ananias laying hands on him so his sight would be restored. Notice the kindness towards Saul from God, in telling him that his blindness was temporary.

9:13,14

It is interesting that there is a conversation between Ananias and the Lord. Indeed, this is a feature of many interactions between God and His servants. We need to appreciate what God was telling Ananias to do. Everyone had heard of Saul and knew what he was about.  God’s command to Ananias was like telling someone to go to the Gestapo commander. Moreover, Ananias knew why Saul had set out for Damascus.

Hosea 8:4-7 - Reap the whirlwind

8:4-6

If we read 2 Kings 15:8-30 we see that political life in Israel was a bloody matter. They had completely shut God out of civic affairs in Israel, so chaos and bloodshed was the consequence. We need to beware of this today. God is being increasingly shut out of public life. The consequences will not be good. Some worry about a theocracy, but when God is given His rightful place we actually find that we have more freedom.

The riches of the kingdom were devoted to making idols, this would lead only to destruction. The bull was often worshipped in nations of the time, and we know that when Moses went up the mountain the people made a golden calf. In 1 Kings 12:26-30 we see that people were even claiming to be worshipping the Lord.

As well as being an offence to the Lord it was also absolutely stupid. How could a calf made by a metalworker be capable of saving them? But when a people reject God their thinking becomes futile.

8:7

“They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind”. This is a well known phrase, and this is where it comes from!  The principle of sowing and reaping is very common throughout the Bible, namely that what we do has consequences. In worshipping idols and making alliances with godless nations Israel was sowing to the wind. The result would be that destruction would come upon her. Her efforts would be totally fruitless, and even if they did yield anything, the fruit would go to foreign nations, not to Israel.

Acts 9:5-9 - Who are you Lord?

9:5

Paul recognised the voice as being heavenly in some sense, calling Him Lord, but Paul did not recognise Him. In all his zeal Paul had not actually been serving God. More to the point, he did not know God. Part of the gospel is that we will know God and recognise Him. Jesus said His sheep know Him and recognise His voice (John 10:14). A sign of someone not knowing God is that they are serving a cause, rather than serving a person. What Paul was actually doing was persecuting Jesus, persecuting the Lord. We should all watch ourselves to ensure that we do not move from serving the Lord to serving a cause.

9:6,7

Paul is then told what to do. Note that in this there is no part given to any choice on Paul’s part. Jesus chooses to appear to him, and then Jesus tells him what to do. Once in the city he would be told what to do.

The men who were with Paul were speechless. They had heard the voice, so knew what had been said to Paul, but they had seen no one. So they would know that someone or something was calling into question the whole of Paul’s life.

9:8,9

Saul got up, but was now blind. Why did God do this to him? Was it symbolic of Paul needing to be guided by the Spirit, instead of by his own intellect? This is not to say that we should not use our brains, but we can become so full of ourselves and our supposed understanding, that we start to rely on this instead of relying on the Lord. As it says in Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding”. We are meant to be a people who are led by the Spirit. Let me say it again, this does not mean we don’t use our mind, but the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. As soon as our own wisdom becomes the foundation then we are in big trouble. So Saul was led to Damascus. He remained blind for three days and did not eat or drink anything.

Hosea 8:1-3 - Israel has spurned the good

8:1

This is probably one of the many places where it is useful to ignore chapter divisions. Israel had sought relief in the form of help from other nations. This chapter tells us what the result will be, and it isn’t good! The trumpet was to give a warning sound. The invading army is probably Assyria, and the imagery of a hunting eagle is used (though it could also mean vulture). Imagery is used in prophecy to make the impact more dramatic, to give the hearers a better picture or feel of what was going to happen.

This attack was not the result of a capricious action by God, but a judgement upon the persistent sin of the nation. They had broken the covenant and rebelled against the Law.

8:2,3

Israel would cry out that they did worship the Lord, that they did know Him. But in reality they had rejected the good, they had rejected God’s ways. We see the same in many churches today over LGBT issues. They claim to be acting in line with Christ, yet they utterly reject the word of God. They have rejected the good. So the result will be that the enemy will pursue them.

Acts 9:1-4 - Saul, breathing threats and murder

9:1,2

Sometimes people wax lyrical about Stephen’s death having made an impression on Saul/Paul and this playing a part in his eventual conversion. Well maybe, but the Biblical evidence for this is precisely zero. At the beginning of chapter 8 we read that Saul approved of Stephen’s execution (8:1) and then was ravaging the church (8:3). Here we read that Saul was still breathing threats and murder and was on his way to Damascus to round up a few more Christians. Nor was Paul discriminating between men and women, if they followed Christ then he wanted to imprison them. This is the Biblical picture of Paul immediately prior to his conversion.

9:3,4

The reason Paul was converted is because God intervened. At no point in the tale does the will of Paul seem to come much into the picture. Paul was on his way to Damascus to capture a few more Christians, then a “light from heaven shone around him”. Saul fell to the ground and heard a voice saying “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Saul thought he was acting for the Lord in persecuting the church. He, along with the other religious leaders, had been blinded by Satan.

He did not realise what he was doing. By the way, this does not make him any less guilty. Far from acting for the Lord, he was acting directly against the Lord. If someone persecutes a Christian, then they are persecuting Jesus Himself.

We all know that while here he is known as Saul, later he is known as Paul. When and why did his name change. There is a very good article on this here. His name was not changed. As was quite common in those days, he had two names. Saul was his Jewish name, and Paul his Greek name. In his persecuting the church days using his Jewish name made sense. Later when he was the apostle to the Gentiles, becoming all things to all men, using his Greek name was the obvious thing to do. This was not a name change given to him by Jesus, unlike with Simon becoming Peter.

Hosea 7:13-16 - They devise evil against me

7:13

Now look at this verse. There are three key messages that come out of it. First, the people are heading to destruction because they have sinned against God. They have strayed from God and rebelled against Him. Next is that God longs to redeem the people. And finally, He cannot redeem them (treat the word “cannot” with caution here, for this is just part of the picture) because they speak falsely about God. We can see exact parallels with our own society. It is certainly true that we have strayed from God’s ways, and are living in ever increasing rebellion against God. It is also certainly true that God longs to redeem us. And it is also true that we speak falsely about God. The picture of God presented by the world is certainly false. Sadly, the picture presented by much of the church is equally false.

7:14-16

God wants us to cry to Him from our hearts. Instead the people just wailed on their beds in agony. The reference to “slashing themselves” is that cutting oneself was a practice associated with the worship of some idols.They turned to idols instead of to the living God. There was no excuse for this, for God had trained them. He had given them the Law, He had sent prophets. They had every opportunity to learn from the Lord. Their leaders were no good, and so would be humiliated. Egypt was one of the countries they turned to from time to time, but they would be ridiculed in this land.