On to Jerusalem

 Meditations on The Acts of the Apostles

April 16, 2021

On to Jerusalem

When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”

Acts 21:14

Read: Acts 21:1-14

The Old Testament prophets often used symbolic prophetic actions to make their point. Ezekiel used a brick to symbolize the destruction of Jerusalem. Isaiah walked naked and barefoot to symbolize Israel in exile. Jeremiah smashed a pot to symbolize God’s coming judgement against Israel. In today’s reading, Agabus used a belt to symbolize the fate that awaited Paul in Jerusalem.

The disciples were led by the Spirit to urge Paul not to go to Jerusalem. Agabus, a prophet, affirmed the warning. Was Paul just being stubborn, or was he too being led by the Spirit? I think they all were led by the Spirit, and the warnings were a means to clarify the danger awaiting Paul. Paul and all the disciples resolved the dilemma the way the Lord taught the disciples to pray, and by the example of the Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane: “The Lord’s will be done.”

My Takeaway: An important detail in today’s reading affirms women have been a vital part of the Christian church since the earliest days: “The next day we went on to Caesarea and stayed at the home of Philip the Evangelist, one of the seven men who had been chosen to distribute food. He had four unmarried daughters who had the gift of prophecy.” (Acts 21:8-9 NLT)

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2021 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.