Zechariah 1:18,19 - The horns that scattered Judah

1:18

God uses imagery to communicate the message to Zechariah as well as prose. There is a reason for this, it is because communication is not just via our intellect, but includes all our senses and emotions. If we focus on just one aspect at the expense of the others we are at best missing out, or not communication fully, and at worst misleading. Preaching and teaching that communicates purely via the intellect is incomplete. Preaching and teaching that focuses on the emotions is incomplete, and possibly manipulative and misleading. An individual may focus more on one than the other, but we need a balanced diet! The problem with imagery in the Bible is that while the visions may have had a clear meaning for the original recipient, they often do not for us. This is most clearly the case in Revelation. Fortunately in Zechariah he often asks the angel what it means and we get an interpretation. Horns usually stand for strength in the Bible, and here they represent the strength of the nations that had oppressed Israel. It is normal to feel the strength of the things that oppress us.

1:19

Zechariah is very helpful to is as he seems to have little idea as to what the visions mean and so frequently asks the angel to explain their meaning. The angel tells him that the horns represent the nations that “scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem”. It is significant that both Judah and Israel are mentioned. God’s plan is for both Judah (the southern kingdom) and Israel (the northern kingdom).

Acts 26:9-18 - Turning from the power of Satan to God

26:9-11

Paul then recounts his involvement in the active and zealous persecution of Christians. Interestingly, he sees it as “opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth”. It resulted in followers of Christ being imprisoned or killed, but the thing that stimulated this was the name of Jesus. Paul did all this with authority from the chief priests, ie he was not freelance, but acting under Jewish authority. Paul did this in “raging fury”.  We see the same today when some muslims persecute Christians, and , in a non physically violent manner, in the opposition of some LGBT activists to Christians who argue the Biblical view on sex and marriage. There is a loss of rationality.

26:12-18

Paul then recounts again his road to Damascus experience. He was on his way to persecute more Christians, but God had other plans and the Lord appeared to him before he got to Damascus. Jesus had appointed Paul to open the eyes of the Gentiles, “so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God” that they may be saved. Sometimes preachers say that Islam is inspired by the devil, or is in some way Satanic. This is usually an unwise thing to say. Either it will be said with wrong motives or wrong understanding, or even if it is said with proper understanding it will be completely misinterpreted by those who hear. The truth is that all people who do not believe in Christ are in darkness and under the power of Satan. Being under the power of Satan in the Biblical sense, rather than the comic book sense, is something that is a very mundane thing. People sometimes get worried about a Muslim assuming some position of authority, such as Sadiq Khan becoming mayor of London, but the Biblical view is that that is no different than an atheist becoming mayor of London. The current headlong rush of the West in to moral insanity has been led by atheists/secularists, not Muslims. The power and influence of Satan is far more pervasive than we imagine, and the road to freedom is to repent and believe in Jesus Christ. And God desires that all men and women be free and receive forgiveness and eternal life.

Zechariah 1:17 - The Lord will again comfort Zion

1:17

This repeats and expands upon the message of the previous verse. There will be fruitfulness and prosperity in the land. Note the “My cities”, Israel and Jerusalem belongs to God, and by the way, so do we. If we look at God and the gospel is purely philosophical terms then we will completely miss it. There is a key relational aspect to the gospel and to all of theology. Indeed the Bible is a record of the relationship between God and His people.The land will overflow with prosperity. Most of us are rightly repelled by the so-called “prosperity gospel” for it is at best a distortion of the true gospel, and at worst an abomination. However, this must not blind us to the fact that God does actually want to prosper his people. He did not create us, and did not save us, in order for us to be poor! Now there is suffering and there is poverty and we need to understand that this happens for various reasons. One is that I am sinful, so some suffering will be a result of our own sin. Secondly, people will sin against me, so some suffering will be a result of what others to do to us. Thirdly, we live in a fallen world, so some suffering is not directly attributable to anyone in particular, it is just part of the general condition. But then there is a fourth reason, and we really need to understand this. We share in Christ’s sufferings as part of the process of bringing God’s love to the world. So in this world God will bless us from time to time, but there will also be times when He leads us to share in Christ’s sufferings.

Acts 26:1-8 - Why is it thought incredible that God raises the dead?

26:1-3

Agrippa then invited Paul to speak and explain himself. Paul spoke in respectful terms, getting on the right side of Agrippa so that he would be more likely to listen. He also flattered Agrippa by referring to his knowledge of the ways of the Jews. So he asked Agrippa to listen patiently.

26:4-8

Paul began by referring to his earlier life. From his youth he had been a devout Jew, and many others knew about this. Paul lived as a Pharisee. The Pharisees were the strictest Jewish party, being the most assiduous in following the Law. So Paul is saying that he is not a rebel against the Jewish Law. The whole message of the gospel is that it is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets, it is what the Law was pointing forward to. The Old Testament contains many promises to Israel, yet the Jews themselves knew that they had never been completely fulfilled. Even after the return from Babylon and the rebuilding of the temple there were many who still saw themselves as being in exile, at least in a spiritual sense. If we look at the history of Israel since the return most of it, as in New Testament times, was spent under domination of some other nation. Yet the promises still stood. So Paul is saying that he stands accused because of his thoroughly Jewish hope.

Verse 8 is interesting and worth pondering, “Why is it thought incredible that God raises the dead?”. The common claim of the sceptic or atheist is that resurrections don’t happen. It is true that they don’t normally happen, but there is nothing unreasonable amount God, the creator of all things, raising someone from the dead. He is the one who gives life to all.

Zechariah 1:14-16 - I am exceedingly angry

1:14,15

Zechariah was given the word he was to proclaim to the people. We are not told when he actually did this, but when he did it is unlikely that he merely repeated the words we have here. I would guess that he expanded and expounded on these words. Anyway, to the words themselves. There were two key elements. First, the Lord was jealous for Jerusalem and Zion. He has a deep care for them, and a deep desire for them. A deep desire that the people of Jerusalem and Zion would put their full trust in Him, then they would be truly blessed. Secondly the Lord is angry with the nations. The nations were sent to execute judgement upon Judah, but “they went too far”, ie they were cruel and uncaring. There are arguments about the current place of Israel in God’s plans, with some believing in “replacement theology”. Such people should be very careful. The place of Israel is not just a matter of theological argument, it is a matter of the heart of God, and all of Scripture leads us to believe that the heart of God is for Israel.

1:16

So now we get what the endpoint will be. The Lord will return to Jerusalem with mercy. Yes He had visited them with judgement, but there will come a time when He visits them with mercy. That day, when it comes in all its fullness, will involve Israel turning to Christ. “And there my house will be rebuilt”. The rebuilding of the temple was only a foretaste of the true fulfillment of this, His house will be a house built with living stones. “And the measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem”. Ie Jerusalem will be an integral part of God’s plans.

Acts 25:13-27 - Agrippa and Bernice

25:13

Agrippa and Bernice arrived a few days later, so Paul would have opportunity to preach the gospel to more of those in authority. So we see men having their own plans. The Jews wanted an opportunity to kill Paul, Festus was playing politics, but God worked through all this so that Roman leaders would hear the gospel. We should also note that there is no record of the leaders mentioned in these chapters being converted.

25:14-22

Festus explained the situation to Agrippa. Festus seems to see Paul as a kind of leftover from Felix’s time in office. He then explains how he interacted with the Jews, who were just interested in seeing Paul condemned. Festus is trying to make it clear that if anything was wrong it wasn’t his fault, and he has handled everything in good order since taking over. He also says that  he found no good case from the Jews. He could see that the dispute was a purely religious matter. Agrippa wanted to hear Paul fo himself.

25:23-27

It seems that Agrippa and Bernice had a high opinion of themselves and liked all the trappings of office. So they were surrounded by military tribunes and prominent people of the city. Paul was then brought in. Agrippa wanted Paul to know that he was coming to meet someone of great importance. Festus then gives a brief summary of the situation and how they have got to there they are. Part of the problem in Paul appealing to the emperor was that there were now really no charges against him, at least no sustainable ones. Yet he had appealed to the Emperor, so had to go. Festus needed something to write in the letter that would go with Paul to Rome, ie the Emperor would want to know why this man was being sent to him.

Zechariah 1:11-13 - The Lord answered gracious and comforting words to me

1:11,12

The horseman come back from their travels and have “found the world at rest and at peace”. The point of the vision here is that the Lord knows what is going on in the world. At this time the world is quite happy with the way things are. However, this raises a question. What about Jerusalem? The angel knows that the Lord has made promises to Jerusalem and Judah. Seventy or so years ago Jerusalem was destroyed, now some have returned, but things are still pretty terrible. The angel also knows that this has happened because of Judah’s sins against the Lord, the Lord was angry with Israel. So how can the fact of the promises, the fact of Israel’s sins, and the fact of God’s righteous anger be reconciled? It is only through the mercy of God.

1:13

“So the Lord spoke kind and comforting words”. When we have two or more apparently irreconcilable facts our response is often to ignore at least one of them.  This is never the right way to interpret the Bible. God does not neglect reality, and most importantly does not neglect our sins and sinfulness, but this does not negate His promises either. It is the mercy of God that saves us. As individuals we may be facing seemingly impossible circumstances, and one of those factors may well be our own sinfulness. If we are trusting in Christ then we can be confident that the Lord is speaking “kind and comforting” words. There is hope!

Acts 25:6-12 - I appeal to Caesar

25:6-8

Festus spent over ten days in Jerusalem. Things moved a lot more slowly in those days than they do now. Even during the second world war, things moved more slowly. He then returned to Caesarea and Paul was summoned to come before him. Festus would want to know what this potential source of trouble was all about. The Jews were there as well making their various accusations. These accusations were serious, but without proof. Paul answered for himself, showing that he had offended neither the Law, the temple nor Caesar.

25:9-12

Festus, like Pilate before him, was ruled by political pragmatism. He wanted to do the Jews a favour, so that his governorship could get off to a good start, and not be started by a spate of riots! So he invited Paul to go to Jerusalem. We might think this is an odd way to behave, a prisoner does not, on the whole, usually have much say in when and where a trial will take place. The reason for this is that Paul is a Roman citizen, so he has to be treated with care.

Paul knew what the Jews were up to, he also knew that God’s plan for him was that he should go to Rome. So he admitted the seriousness of the charges (ie they merited death). A Roman citizen could appeal to Caesar, but this was usually done after a guilty verdict, not before. So Paul’s appeal was somewhat unusual. This is why Festus conferred with the council, he needed advice and what to do in the light of this unusual request. It was decided that Paul should indeed go to Caesar.

Zechariah 1:7-10 - Sent to patrol the earth

1:7,8

This is now after Haggai’s prophecies (or, at least, the recorded ones).  Zechariah gets his full name and ancestry again. This time the message is given in the form of a vision. Receiving visions was common for prophets in the near east. Indeed, Muslims still receive visions and there are reports of Muslims receiving visions of Christ and being converted. Both in v1 and here the date is also related to Darius, the Persian leader. There has been much discussion of the significance of the colours of the various horses, though it may be that the colour has no deep significance. Myrtle trees were sometimes associated with palaces.

1:9,10

Zechariah is fully aware while he is receiving the vision and he communicates with the angel. The angel will act as a kind of interpreter of the various visions. Note that the angel has the form of a man, this is quite common in the Bible. Angels were not always terrifying, and they were definitely not effeminate! The horseman are “they whom the Lord has sent to patrol the earth”. Israel was nation of little significance in political terms, and was indeed at the mercy of other nations, Persia in particular. God is reminding Zechariah that actually it is the Lord who is the most powerful one (the Lord of Hosts) and He is fully aware of what is going on in the world, and He influences what goes on in the world.

Acts 25:1-5 - Festus

25:1,2

Paul now seems to be doing a tour of various governors and dignitaries. We should bear in mind the comment at the end of the last chapter that he was with Felix for 2 years. So what we read as a few lines is actually taking a significant amount of time. Festus is the new governor, and he travelled to Jerusalem. There he met with the chief priests and Jewish leaders. One might have thought that after two or more years they would have forgotten about Paul, especially as he couldn’t have caused that much trouble while held captive by Felix, but that was not the case. They were as obsessed as ever about doing away with Paul.

25:3-5

The Jewish leaders wanted Paul transferred to Jerusalem, all the easier to kill him! With a new governor they saw a new opportunity. The new governor would be keen to have good relations with the Jewish leaders, making it easier to run the place. If the transfer had taken place the Jews would have ambushed Paul along the way and killed him.

Festus would have had some political nous, and may have been aware of what had gone on before. So he plays for time, inviting the Jewish leaders to come to Caesarea so he can see if there are any valid charges against Paul.

Zechariah 1:5,6 - So they repented

1:5

Zechariah is trying to get them to realise what matters most, what is truly eternal. “Where are your ancestors?” They were clearly no more, the ways they followed did not do them any good. “And the prophets?” Now there were both false prophets and true prophets. The false prophets tended to prophecy “nice” things, saying that Jerusalem would not be destroyed. The good prophets were faithful to God and His word, but they too, of course were no more. Now how can we relate this to the word of God? Well the good prophets preached in line with the Law, in line with what God had said and done in the past. So if we relate this to LGBTQ issues and approaches fo churches we can draw a parallel. (I know I mention LGBT stuff quite a lot, this is only because it is a current issue and illustrates the same distinction between what is truly of God and what is not.) The sin affirming churches and preachers are like the false prophets of OT times, saying in effect that God will not punish sin. That is an extremely foolish and dangerous thing to say. The consistent record of Scripture is that God will punish sin. The faithful preachers and churches are those that hold true to God’s word. But even with good prophets or preachers, we must not put faith in them, for they will still die, but the word of the Lord lasts forever.

1:6

The false prophets preached nice words, but the actual word of God overtook them, ie judgement and disaster did come. This is one the key reasons why the second part of Isaiah is so important. For God says he is foretelling things well ahead of time so that when the events did take place they would look back and see that it is the word of the Lord that we must pay attention to.

“Then they repented”. This word was given between Haggai 2:1-9 and 2:10. So the people responded by getting back to working on the temple. A key element to repentance is recognising that the Lord is right. Men spend an awful lot of time trying to argue that God is wrong and should be ignored. Repentance happens when we “acknowledge that actually the Lord is right in what He says and in His judgements upon us.

Acts 24:22-27 - From Felix to Festus

24:22-24

Knowledge of “the Way” had obviously become quite widespread, and Felix knew quite a lot about it. Paul was effectively put under some form of “house arrest”, ie he was held captive, but was given a degree of freedom.

Felix had a Jewish wife, though he was not Jewish himself. Maybe it was through his wife that he got his knowledge of the Way. Felix had actually caused Drusilla’s divorce from her first husband. Felix sent for Paul and listened to him talk about faith in Christ. So Paul was talking to leaders about Christ.

24:25-27

Paul talked about righteousness, self-control and judgement. These topics were particularly relevant to Felix, given his somewhat dubious reputation. When Christian leaders today speak to those in authority, do they speak about “righteousness, self-control and judgement”? This made Felix afraid, Paul was literally putting the fear of God in him. This is how it should be when Christians speak to those in power. We are not there to babble platitudes. So Felix sent Paul away. What was he expecting to hear? This went on for two years. However, Felix was not changed, demonstrated by the fact that he was hoping for a bribe! Felix remained a corrupt ruler, and this led to Paul being kept in prison, even though there was no just cause.

Complete notes on Micah

Complete notes on Micah are now available on Dundee Believer.

Acts 24:17-21 - Answering accusations

24:17,18

Paul continues with his defence, describing how after an absence of many years he returned to Jerusalem. And he did so with the purpose of bringing gifts for the poor (a fact attested to in several of the letters) and to present offerings (he was going with the Jewish Christians who were going to make a vow).

Moreover, Paul was ceremonially clean, ie he had gone through the various Jewish rituals. He was going quietly to the temple, not with a crowd, and certainly with no intention whatsoever to create a disturbance.

24:19-21

So Paul was entirely innocent of setting out to cause a disturbance. Indeed, it was the Jews from Asia who were the ones who created the disturbance.  So those who were accusing Paul should give specific charges, rather than vague assertions. Paul then referred directly to the resurrection. So we see a mixture here of Paul giving careful and reasoned defence, completely countering the groundless accusations, and putting the focus on the issue that really mattered, namely the resurrection of Jesus Christ. we have a habit of doing one or the other. Either we dwell completely on answering accusations/questions in the world’s terms, or we ignore this and focus entirely on proclaiming the gospel. We need to do both. There is perhaps something of this in the debate between the evidential and the presuppositional approach to apologetics. I believe that we need a proper balance between the two.

Zechariah 1:3,4 - Return to me, and I will return to you

1:3

“Return to me and I will return to you”. This is a common message in the Bible. We often blame God, asking “why doesn’t God do something?”, we think the problem lies with God, when in reality it lies with us. There can be a passivity in religion, thinking that God will look after us and we don’t need to do anything. This can come in in various ways. There can be an entitlement approach, thinking God has a duty to forgive or help us, or it can come in through a wrong Calvinist type of approach (I am fairly Calvinistic in my thinking, by the way), thinking that the sovereignty of God means that we do not have a part to play. None of this thinking is Biblical. We are utterly dependent upon God, but the Bible always lays a responsibility upon us as well. The term “Lord of hosts” (literally “lord of armies”) emphasises the omnipotence of God, His almightiness.

1:4

“Do not be like your forefathers ..” God had sent many prophets to Israel in the past, they had received many warnings but had ignored them all. A relatively small number of the Israelites had returned from exile, but the physical return did not deal with the real problem. The real problem was the sin in their hearts. They needed to return from their evil ways and their evil deeds. Sin is a matter of our actions and a matter of our nature. We need a change of heart and a change of actions. Previously the people had ignored the warnings of the Lord, now He urges the current generation to respond. So we see again, as we see in every book in the Bible, the centrality of repentance to God’s message to His people. So often today our preaching finds little place for repentance. If that is the case then we can be sure that we are not preaching the gospel.

Acts 24:14-16 - Taking pains to have a clear conscience

24:14

We see hear that the “Nazarene sect” term used earlier was indeed referring to the Christians, or followers of “the Way”, as Paul refers to it here, and is a term used elsewhere in Acts. Paul also makes it clear that he worships the “God of our ancestors”, the gospel is not anti-Jewish, but is a fulfilment of the Law. All the Law and the prophets in the Old Testament point forward to Christ.

24:15,16

The Jews (excluding the Sadducees) believed in a final judgement and a resurrection of the dead. Indeed, foundational to the gospel is belief in a final judgement. It is because there is a final judgement that it is essential that we believe in Christ, otherwise our chances are bleak on that day, to say the least. So Paul strove to have a clear conscience before both God and man. Ie Paul was not someone who lived his life oblivious to what God thought, nor even to what men thought. Of course, God’s “opinion” came first, but going to the temple in the first place was done in order that Jewish Christians would not misunderstand him.

Trans Kids: It's Time to Talk

Can I strongly encourage you to watch the Channel 4 programme Trans Kids: It’s Time to Talk. It was broadcast last night, but you can see it on All 4 for the next 29 days.

The programme is presented by a woman who many years ago insisted on being a boy, though without any of the puberty blockers, hormone treatment etc that is available today. Because she had not taken puberty blockers when puberty set in she started to come to terms with being a woman, and is now perfectly happy in her body.

Stella O’Malley, the presenter, is not anti-transgender, and this makes the programme all the more effective. There are several positive aspects of the programme.

One is factual, it helps you to realise what the “trans journey” actually involves.

You here of the attempts to shut down debate on whether the approach being taken by society is actually a wise approach, or whether it is highly dangerous. The attempts to shut it down come both from trans activists and from official bodies, like universities.

It helps you realise that the people involved are real people, and it makes you want to weep. Indeed, at the end of the programme Stella was weeping.

I would hope that all the politicians who so keenly promote the TIE initiative and similar plans watch this programme. Maybe they will think a little more deeply about the path they are taking this nation on.

And may Christ fill our hearts with the love, compassion, truth and wisdom that we need.

Zechariah 1:1,2 - The Lord was very angry with your forefathers

1:1

As with Haggai, we tend to get precise dates in Zechariah as to when the various messages were given. This date places this oracle in 520 BC, and between Haggai’s 3rd and 4th messages. Two ancestors of Zechariah are mentioned, Berechiah and Iddo. If more than one ancestor is mentioned it is usually the case that the last named is the most important. Nehemiah 12:4 mentions an Iddo who returned with Zerubbabel and who was a priest. If this is the same Iddo, then it indicates that Zechariah comes from a prominent priestly family. The name Zechariah means “Yahweh remembers”.

1:2

“The Lord was very angry with your forefathers”. It is so important to know and remember the context. Jerusalem and the temple had been destroyed and many of the Israelites parcelled off to exile in Babylon because of their sin. Likewise today we need to remember that the whole reason for the cross and for Jesus is that we have sinned against God, and this sin merits judgement, wrath from God. Many react against this, or try to soften it, or even do away with it altogether. If we do this then we will never understand nor appreciate the gospel, and we will not be communicating God’s message to the world.

Acts 24:5-13 - False accusations

24:5-8

Having buttered up the governor, the specific charges are now laid out. First, they say they have found him to be  a troublemaker and to be guilty of stirring up riots among Jews “all over the world”. He was accused of being a ringleader of the Nazarene sect. This may have been a way of referring to the followers of Jesus of Nazareth. Then he was accused of seeking to desecrate the temple, this latter accusation was a complete fabrication. They finished by saying that Felix would find that these claims were indeed true if he examined Paul himself.

24:9-13

Other Jews joined in the accusations, adding their own tuppence worth. Paul was then allowed to answer the accusations. So we see here God using the state authorities to ensure that justice is done. Paul too begins by speaking well of Felix. Paul then refers to the actual facts of that matter, and that in no way had he stirred up the crowds. It had been, of course, the Jews who had stirred up the crowds. This tactic of stirring up a riot and blaming the other side is a long established technique. It has been used throughout history, and is used today, eg it is used by the opponents of Israel herself. Paul declares that his accusers could not prove their claims, other than to make assertions.

Zechariah - Introduction

Zechariah was a contemporary of Haggai and was active during the post-exilic period recorded in Ezra and Nehemiah. Prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel had made some great promises, as well as their many prophecies of judgement, yet the return from exile clearly had not fulfilled these prophecies. A relatively small percentage of the exiles had actually returned. The city walls were in ruins, as was the temple, and things generally were in very poor state. Israel was a vassal state, and had neighbours who taunted her. Darius I was the ruler of the Persian empire, and while in 522 BC it looked as though his empire might be falling apart Darius consolidated control in 520 BC.

The book of Zechariah consists of various literary forms. There is exhortation, prophetic visions and oracles..Many parts of Zechariah are apocalyptic. Daniel and Revelation are the two other main apocalyptic books. We think of apocalyptic as meaning dealing with catastrophic times, though in fact it means a revealing (hence the name Revelation). Ie it reveals what is really going on behind all the external political and military turmoil.It gives “the view from heaven”, often given through an angelic interpreter. Daniel and Revelation provide a playground for all sorts of silly interpretations. In apocalyptic literature it is vital to remember that the visions and imagery are there to provide a vehicle for communicating the message, they are not the message themselves. It is all too easy to over interpret the visions, seeing things that are not there. Every little detail of a vision or image is not necessarily communicating something! The visions are there to reveal the truth about God, rather than future telling.

Acts 24:1-4 - Flattery

24:1

Five days later the high priest and some of the elders turned up, they had brought a lawyer with them as well so that they could present their charges against Paul. What they did not realise was that the real issue was God’s charges against them, indeed against the whole of humanity. This is what they really needed to respond to, and to do so by repenting. We see the same pattern today. Those who want a secular society with no regard for God bring charges against Christians. Sometimes informally in public debate, sometimes in courts of law. We need to be aware of who is really on trial.

24:2-4

Tertullus, the lawyer, started by buttering up the governor, talking about the “long period of peace” they had enjoyed. The charge would be that Paul was endangering this peace, and peace was the one thing above all else that a Roman governor wanted in his region. Then the lawyer expresses “profound gratitude” towards the governor. This was complete nonsense as they resented Roman rule. If Jesus had come to overturn Roman rule they would have been delighted and would have “joined the revolution”, but Jesus had a greater revolution in mind. The lawyer addresses the governor with the utmost respect.

Micah 7:19,20 - You will show faithfulness

7:19

Too often we think of forgiveness as letting us “get away” with our sins, or as a mere overlooking of sin. In reality it is something much stronger than that. Here it says He will have compassion on us and will “subdue our iniquities” (NKJV) or “tread our iniquities underfoot” (ESV). He will cast our sins into the depths of the sea. This is a complete defeat of sin and sinfulness within us. In the New Testament this is presented as our being justified by Christ’s sacrifice and our being sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Sin in us is utterly defeated.

7:20

All this is part of the fulfilment of the promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (though Isaac is not mentioned in this verse). God’s covenant with His people are important, and all His workings need to be understood in the light of the covenant. In Hag 2:5 God talks in terms of acting in accord with the covenant He made when He took them out of Egypt. In the New Testament Paul explains the gospel in terms of God fulfilling the Abrahamic covenant.

Acts 23:31-35 - I will give you a hearing

23:31,32

As often happens in Acts (and the gospels) we get incidental details, these are not crucial to the “theological” account of what is happening, but to add to the authenticity. Roman soldiers exercised daily, often in the form of twenty or more mile marches. After they got to Antipatris the soldiers returned to the barracks. Antipatris was at the end of the Judean hill country, so the rest of the journey would be over largely Gentile country and so a lot safer. So the horseman took Paul the final part of the journey. The soldiers would be better used in Jerusalem.

23:33-35

So the cavalry arrived in Caesarea and presented the letter and Paul to Felix. Again we get an incidental detail. Felix asked which province Paul was from, the reason was that it would be possible for Paul to be sent to the governor of that province. On hearing that Paul was from Cilicia Felix decided not to send Paul there. The reason was that the governor of Cilicia  was the governor of Syria, and he was Felix’s immediate superior. So it would look as though Felix was not capable of handling the matter, so it would not look good for him. So Felix would deal with the matter, once Paul’s accusers had arrived. In the meantime Paul was given accommodation in the palace of Herod the Great. Paul was a high-status prisoner.

Acts 23:23-30 - Felix the governor

23:23,24

The matter was obviously taken very seriously, with a substantial cohort of soldiers being sent with Paul. Caesarea was the Roman capital of Judea. The commander was intent of Paul being safely delivered to the governor Felix. Felix was governor from about AD 52 to AD 59. He was a freedman, ie a former slave, and other historical documents condemn him as being corrupt.

23:25-30

A letter was sent and this constituted a formal legal referral. The letter had the typical format for letters of that type of the time. The commander stresses that he rescued Paul, and did so because he was a Roman citizen. Then he makes it clear that the cause of the dispute was a matter of Jewish law, and nothing to do with Roman law. He also regarded the man as innocent, and certainly not deserving of death. He had learnt of the death threat, and so sent Paul to Felix for a proper hearing.

Micah 7:17,18 - Who is a God like you?

7:17

Micah paints a very vivid picture of the state that the nations will come to. They will be utterly debased and will have to acknowledge the supremacy of the Lord, and will even be afraid of His people. With our Western mindsets we find this very difficult to comprehend or even accept, but this is because of a lack of understanding on our part, a lack of appreciation of who God is, and a lack of appreciation of the nature and awfulness of sin.

7:18

“Who is a God like you ...” Taken together with the previous verse we see here a vital element of God’s forgiveness. It is the sins of His people, of His inheritance who He forgives. He does pardon sin and forgive transgression, but this is not something that is just doled out willy nilly. It is forgiveness towards His chosen people. We should also note that it is not a simple matter. His own people suffered punishment from the Lord.

Acts 23:14-22 - We are ready to kill him

23:14,15

This plot to kill Paul was done in collusion with the chief priests and the elders and the Sanhedrin. Their plot was to have Paul brought to the Sanhedrin and this would give them an opportunity to kill Paul on the way. So we see the absolute antagonism of the Jewish religion to the gospel. Jesus said that anyone who tries to save his own life will lose it, but that he who loses his life for Christ’s sake will save it, (Lk 9:24). We often read this in the context of risking one's life for Christ’s sake, and this is obvious application there. But there is also application in terms of our salvation. The Jews were seeking to protect their position, their status. In doing so they would indeed lose their own life, and this would happen physically in AD 70. If instead they had admitted their guilt and their inability to save themselves they would have found eternal life.

23:16-22

However, the Jews were not the only ones at work, God was also at work. The son of Paul’s sister heard of the plot and went to warn Paul. Paul then told one of the centurions to take his nephew to the commander. This duly happened and the young man informed the commander of the plot. The commander told the young man to keep quiet about things, and he acted on this information.

Micah 7:14-16 - I will show them marvellous things

7:14

Again we have the shepherd analogy. The fundamental point of all the references to shepherds is that it is the Lord Himself who shepherds the flock. We need to be looked after by the Lord, and we are meant to be looked after by the Lord. Israel made a fundamental mistake when she insisted on a king, rejecting the Lord’s kingship. Mankind as a whole made a fundamental mistake when he rejected the Lord. We were designed to live under His care and guidance, and we should seek to develop a relationship with the Lord. Bashan and Gilead were among the first lands to be taken by Israel when she entered the promised land, and among the first lands to be lost.

7:15,16

Once again God would show His wonders. There are sometimes great arguments over whether or not there are miracles today, or whether there should be miracles. The consistent of testimony of Scripture is that miracles are part of God’s “armoury”, part of His way of working. Miracles are in the hand of the Lord, we go wrong if we think we have control over them. And part of the purpose of miracles is to confound the wise, in this case it is the nations that will be put to shame. If we look at the ministry of Jesus we see that He shamed the religious leaders on several occasions with His miracles. As we live in an arrogant society that thinks it knows so much better than the Lord we should not be surprised if the Lord starts doing miracles to confound the “wise”.

Acts 23:11-13 - Take courage

23:11

We now have another direct communication from God to Paul. The Lord stands near to Paul and tells him to “take courage”, and that he will testify in Jerusalem and in Rome, so his end would not come in Jerusalem, despite all that was going on. So we see that when Paul needs direct encouragement God gives him direct encouragement. The notion proposed by some that God no longer gives any encouragement beyond the written word of God is nothing more than an idle notion, and one that is at odds with the record of Scripture itself. As I have pointed out before, we should also note that Paul did not seek the revelation, or at least we are not told of his seeking it. We are to build up our knowledge of God and our understanding of Him (and ourselves for that matter) through the Scriptures, and through prayer and worship (according to the Scriptures). But we can also be confident that if we truly need a direct intervention of some sort from God He will give it, if  he has not given us some form of direct communication then we can be confident that at that precise moment we do not need it.

23:12,13

The Jews were still plotting. They had bound themselves with an oath that they would kill Paul, and this was a very serious matter. We see here how warped the human mind can become. We see the same sort of thing with Islamic terrorists and their dedication to killing people. And this was not just a few loonies, but over forty men had committed themselves to this line of action.

Micah 7:10-13 - The earth will be desolate

7:10

Israel was mocked, and even today there are many who denigrate Israel. The church is mocked in the West, and just as Israel in many ways deserved her mocking, so the church deserves much of the mockery she receives. But this is not how things will remain, for the strength of Israel does not lie in Israel herself, and the strength of the church does not lie within the church. Indeed, Israel went wrong when she thought her strength was her own, just as the church goes wrong in the same way. But Israel is God’s nation, and the church is Christ’s, so the final outcome will be Israel turns to her God, to Christ, and that the church, even in the West, will recognise that Christ alone is Lord, and then things will change. “She will be trampled down in the mud”. The streets in those days were the dumping ground for all sorts of rubbish, including human waste.

7:11-13

The walls in this verse are not fortification walls, but boundary walls. There shall be proper boundary walls established again, rather than the rich and powerful taking whatever took their fancy. In that day people from many places will come to Israel. Verse 13 could possibly be seen as a result of human pollution, but it will be as a result of God’s judgement on man’s sin.