Tehillah Generation Chapel
Daily Manna | Tuesday, March 20, 2018 | Reading: Exodus 33:1-11, Exodus 4, Gen 3:1-21
Topic: The Tabernacle of God 386
Scripture: But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say not of this building. (Heb 9:11)
Note: 2Cor 5:1, “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” Youthful exuberance, hotblooded passion and total ignorance, all contributed mischievously in Paul’s activities of terror against the Church and the disciples of Jesus. Wrong or twisted knowledge in the hands of a depraved man is an extremely dangerous weapon. In the mind of Paul’s contorted view of the Church, his delusional desire to wipe out the evil uprising called the Church and the Christians at large, led him into a venture that he wouldn’t have been involved with if he had the right knowledge.
Paul planned, strategized, organized and pursued the Christian believers into every hiding hole for arrest and persecution. Not satisfied with the atrocities in Jerusalem, he was pursuing the Christians in Damascus for arrest, having obtained the necessary letters authorising him to cause these arrests. The death of Stephen in Jerusalem with Paul’s active involvement, did nothing to diminish Paul’s involvement in these terrorist activities. Sadly, Paul wasn’t even aware that he was a terrorist visiting atrocities on fellow innocent humans. In his mind, he was genuinely serving God.
The complex nature of terrorism makes it extremely diverse, even among people of same religious beliefs. The fusion of culture and faith creates a hybrid nomenclature that isn’t homogeneous.This new phenomenon generates internal wangling that leads to substantial disagreements and dissonances. These differences in the quest for social, political and economic justice have witnessed ideals that are entangled with political, cultural and ecological dynamics that contribute to tension, fueling resistance and opposition, occasionally manifesting in acts of terrorism.
In his raging madness at apprehending the defenceless Christians, Paul had not given a thorough thought to the possibility that the Christians could be right after all. This lack of consideration on the part of Paul was inconsistent with the philosophy of his rabbinical professor, Gamaliel, who believed that anything that’s of God would stand, irrespective of the oppression against it. When the Sanhedrin was on the threshold of slaying Peter for supposedly preaching abomination, it was the counsel of Gamaliel that broke the resolve of the council concerning their murderous intent, warning them that they could be fighting against God.
Food for thought: Aware of social, cultural, political and economic injustice against the downtrodden, Jesus preached love as the solution to the myriad problems facing mankind.
Declaration: But if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God! So they took his advice. Acts 5:39
©Author: Rev Fred Aboe
