Paul
the apostle told the church members in Corinth, “the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for
evermore, knows that I lie not.”,
and
in
chapter
eleven and verse thirty-two of Second Corinthians, Paul shared what
was desired with one, “In
Damascus the governor under Aretas the king kept the city of the
Damascenes”
where
we read:
In
Damascus the governor under Aretas the king kept the city of the
Damascenes
with
a garrison, desirous to apprehend me:
The
verse begins, “In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king
kept the city of the Damascenes
with
a garrison, ...”.
Paul
began with the words, “In
Damascus”
which means “silence is the sackcloth weaver” and was “one of
the most ancient and most important cities of Syria lying in almost
lovely and fertile plain at the eastern base of the Antilibanus”
“the
governor”
or “an ethnarch, one set over a people as ruler but without the
authority and name of a king” “under
Aretas” which
means “graver” refers to “an Arabian king” “the
king” whose
name means “leader of the people, prince, commander and lord of the
land” “kept
the city”
or “guarded by a military guard either to prevent hostile invasion
or to keep the inhabitants of a besieged city from flight” “of
the Damascenes”
which means “the people of Damascus” “with
a garrison” or
“guarded by a military guard either to prevent hostile invasion or
to keep the inhabitants of a besieged city from flight”. Paul
referred to Damascus' “governor”
who was under King Aretas who provided a military “garrison” for
protection.
The
verse goes on to say, “...desirous
to apprehend me:”
Paul
added the words, “desirous”
which
means “has in mind, intends, desires, wishes and determines with
purpose” “to
apprehend me”
or “to lay hold of, take, capture and imprison Paul”. Paul knew
the “governor” of Damascus intended to “arrest” him.
When
we meditate upon these words of
Paul, we discover his knowledge of a government official who desired
and intended to “arrest” him. Even though Paul shared the “gospel
of Jesus Christ”, he was not exempt from troubles, circumstances or
people in authority. Paul knew of the “governor's”
intention and continued anyway to tell others about the “good news”
of God. If we should ever suffer from sharing Jesus with others, let
us remember Paul's plights with authorities and continue to share no
matter how adverse the consequences may be.
Next
time Paul
tells the church members, “through
a window in a basket was I let down by the wall, and escaped his
hands”
and
more,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then,
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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