Acts 26:19-23 - I preached that they should repent

26:19,20

Paul then tells Agrippa that he was obedient to the vision. He started work immediately preaching first in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and Judea. After that he went to the Gentiles. He preached repentance, and that repentance should be demonstrated by actions. Repentance is a key part of gospel preaching, and true faith shows itself by actions. There are some who think that the letter of James is somehow offering a view that is opposed to Paul. This is utter nonsense. Paul could not conceive of faith without actions.

26:21-23

Paul was attacked by the Jews because of his preaching of the gospel, not because of any insurrection against Rome, or general trouble making. Paul was rescued by God, and he reiterates that the gospel is entirely consistent with the prophets and Moses, i.e. all of the Old Testament. Indeed the gospel is what they prophesied would happen. In particular, the Messiah would suffer, Isaiah 53 is the best example of this, but a number of Psalms foretell this as well. He would rise from the dead, and the message of salvation would go out to Jews and Gentiles. 

1 Samuel 2:1 - My heart rejoices in the Lord

2:1

The account in chapter one immediately moves to Hannah’s prayer. When God helps us in a situation there is a tendency to just breathe a sigh of relief, or to accept it gratefully and move on. Here Hannah adopts a different approach. She looks at what she can learn from the situation, based on her immediate circumstances, and then draws wider implications about who God is. It is interesting that a number of women in the Bible have sung songs or made prayers on the basis of what God has done. I think of Miriam, Deborah, Hannah and Mary.

First Hannah rejoices in the Lord. She does not rejoice merely because of the blessing she has received, but rejoices in the Lord. 

“In the Lord my horn is lifted high”. Horn usually signifies strength in the Bible. Our strength is exalted in the Lord.

“My mouth boasts over my enemies”. There are those who at one time boasted over us, mocked or derided us, claiming victory. But in the Lord we will triumph over them.

“I delight in your deliverance”. We should all delight in the Lord’s deliverance of us from the dominion of darkness, from sin and death.

Acts 26:12-18 - To turn them from darkness to light

26:12-14

Then on one of his murderous journeys everything changed. He was off to Damascus to persecute a few more Christians, but on the way he saw a bright light, brighter even than the sun. He and his companions all fell to the ground, and Paul heard a voice saying “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads”. Paul was working against the purposes of God, against what God was doing. The Jewish leaders were doing the very same thing now. To work against God is indeed a hard thing to do!

26:15-18

Paul did not know who the voice was, though he refers to him as “Lord”. The voice then identifies himself as Jesus. Jesus tells Paul to get up, and tells him that Jesus has appointed him to be His witness and servant. Paul was not given a choice in the matter! He also assures Paul that He will rescue him from the Jews (his own people) and the Gentiles, Paul was persecuted by both groups. Paul’s task was “to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.”. And that is still the task of the church, and of you and me. The world is living in darkness and is under the power of Satan.

1 Samuel 1:21-28 And he worshipped the Lord there

1:21,22

Elkanah continued to follow the family custom of going up to make the annual sacrifice; it seems that he had made a vow at some point to do this. This time Hannah did not go. We aren’t told why, maybe it was just to look after the boy. Whatever the case, she intends to fulfil her vow. Once the boy is weaned, i.e. no longer absolutely dependent upon his mother, she will take him to the temple and present him there. That will be his lifelong vocation. The vow must have been quite difficult for Hannah, but she was a faithful woman.

1:23-28

Elkanah trusted Hannah, and gave her permission to stay at home. “May the Lord make good his word”, could be “make good your word”.  So Hannah did stay at home. Once Samuel was weaned she took him to the temple, along with a  three year old bull, flour and wine. Some manuscripts have “three bulls”. Presumably Elkanah went with her. They made the sacrifices and then took the boy to Eli. She reminded him of the time when she had been praying, and he thought she was drunk. She offers the boy for the Lord’s service for the whole of his life. Samuel worshipped the Lord there.

Acts 26:8-11 - Why should you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?

26:8

“Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?” The Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the dead, the Sadducees did not. When in Athens Paul’s hearers were ready to listen up to the point where he started to speak about the resurrection. Now everyone knew that resurrections do not normally happen, but the gospel is not speaking about them happening “normally”, but about God raising Christ, and at His return, raising us. God is the creator of the whole universe, He is God, so there is nothing surprising about Him being able to raise the dead!

26:9-11

As I’ve mentioned before, Paul’s having been a deeply committed Jew made things all the worse as far as the Jews were concerned. Paul (or Saul) sought to do all he could “to oppose the name of Jesus”. He persecuted the church in Jerusalem, though note now that he refers to it as “opposing Jesus”.  Paul had people thrown into prison, with the authority of the chief priests. He was also happy to have them put to death. He loved to go from one synagogue to another. In fact, there was no end to his zeal.

1 Samuel 1:15-20 - Go in peace

1:15,16

Hannah wasn’t drunk and explained to Eli what she was actually doing. When someone does misjudge what we are doing we may be tempted to respond harshly, but it is  better to quietly explain what we are actually doing. Hannah explained that she was deeply troubled, and had not been drinking wine or beer. She was “pouring out her soul to the Lord”. This is the best thing that we can do when we are deeply troubled, it is what we should do. So she implored Eli not to consider to be a wicked woman. She had been praying out of her “great anguish and grief”.

1:17,18

Eli doesn’t apologise, or at least no apology is recorded here, which isn’t necessarily the same thing. But he does tell her to “go in peace”, and asks the Lord to grant what she has asked of Him. Hannah is now content. She went on her way, ate something and was no longer downcast. I don't think any supposed lack of apology (which is definitely not proven) is of any significance. Hannah is now at peace with God and with Eli.

1:19,20

The whole family arose early the next morning and worshipped the Lord. They then returned home. Elkanah made love to his wife, Hannah, and she conceived. It is made clear that it is the Lord who enabled her to have a child. As with most things, the way things work is that we do our part, but the success is ultimately dependent upon the Lord. She gave birth to a son and she named him Samuel. It is perhaps significant that it is Hannah who names the boy. “Samuel” sounds like the Hebrew for “heard”.

Acts 26:1-7 - You have permission to speak

26:1-3

We now get another example of Paul “giving his testimony” before rulers. This one is the most detailed of Paul’s explanations. Agrippa invites Paul to speak, Festus having given Agrippa charge of the hearing. Unlike Festus, Agrippa was well acquainted with Jewish customs. He had charge of the temple and could appoint the high priest. So Paul wants to explain things to him carefully.

26:4,5

Paul again starts with his beginnings. Right from the beginning he had been brought up and lived as a committed Jew, going on to become a Pharisee. The Pharisees were the strictest  Jewish sect, seeking, in their own terms, to strictly adhere to the Law.  All this was something that the Jews could readily attest to if they were honest.

26:6,7

The Jews regarded Paul, along with other Jewish Christians, as a heretic, an enemy of the Law. However, Paul claims quite the opposite. The gospel is the fulfilment of the Law, it is all entirely consistent with the Law. The gospel is God’s fulfilment of the promises He had made to their ancestors. All the Jews knew that the promises in the Old Testament, especially those given by the prophets, had not been fully fulfilled. So Paul’s argument is that he is being accused because he is acting as a true Jew!