Acts 21:17-30
English
Standard Version (ESV)
17 When we had come to Jerusalem, the
brothers received us gladly. 18 On the following day Paul went
in with us to James, and all the elders were present. 19 After
greeting them, he related one by one the things that God had done among the
Gentiles through his ministry. 20 And when they heard it, they
glorified God. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands
there are among the Jews of those who have believed. They are all zealous for
the law, 21 and they have been told about you that you teach
all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to
circumcise their children or walk according to our customs. 22 What
then is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. 23 Do
therefore what we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow; 24 take
these men and purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses, so that
they may shave their heads. Thus all will know that there is nothing in what
they have been told about you, but that you yourself also live in observance of
the law. 25 But as for the Gentiles who have believed, we have
sent a letter with our judgment that they should abstain from what has been
sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled,[a] and from sexual immorality.” 26 Then
Paul took the men, and the next day he purified himself along with them and
went into the temple, giving notice when the days of purification would be
fulfilled and the offering presented for each one of them.
27 When the seven days were almost
completed, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole
crowd and laid hands on him, 28 crying out, “Men of Israel,
help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against the people
and the law and this place. Moreover, he even brought Greeks into the temple
and has defiled this holy place.” 29 For they had previously
seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul
had brought him into the temple. 30 Then all the city was
stirred up, and the people ran together. They seized Paul and dragged him out
of the temple, and at once the gates were shut.
I am guilty as
charged, I have done just what these Jewish elders did, tried to fix it on my
own. Glorifying God in one breath,
praising Him for His great works, and then trying to fix things and make them
right. At first I wondered why Paul went
along with all of this. Sending a letter
to make sure the Gentiles knew to follow the minimal requirements of the Jewish
law would not have been something Paul would have endorsed, yet, he went along
with it all. He would not have wanted to
appear to be someone who was required to follow Jewish traditions in order to
be protected. Then it struck me that
Paul knew this too would bring glory to God.
He knew these men needed to learn that God was in control and nothing
they did would change that. I would
imagine Paul knew this would somehow result in his arrest and he was okay with
that.
This is a lesson
I need to learn, a lesson I long to understand.
That is why there are so many of my blogs pointing to God’s
control. God is in control and all that
He does is for His glorification. He
loves His people and when they see the good that He does through whatever means
both positive and negative, His will is accomplished. It may not look like it at the time but He is
working all things out for the good of His people. Look up Romans 8:28 for a reference on that!
As you seek Him today remember that God cares for you.
Seeking Him with
all my heart,
Sheila
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