People On His Mind

1 Corinthians 1:1 KJV

Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,

It has always been one of my pleasures to consider the various men that Apostle Paul mentions in his writings.

Here is a man mentioned, as far as I can recollect, at no other time by Paul. We have to presume (because we have no hard evidence) that this Sosthenes was the same ruler of the synagogue in Corinth who was beaten by the Greeks during Paul's church planting work there.[1]

Sosthenes was not a Christian, was mistreated by the Gentiles as a direct result of the Christians, and yet still, at some point, became a Christian. We make weak Christians when we try to protect them from the enemies of Christianity.

That Paul mentions him is not surprising considering the manner of Paul. He spoke of people

·       in the positive sense

·       in the negative sense and

·       in the course of Biblical communication

That reminds me that Paul had people always on his mind and we would do best to do the very same. 

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[1] Acts 18:17 KJV

Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. And Gallio cared for none of those things.

No Place for the Egotist

Numbers 18:1 KJV

And the LORD said unto Aaron, Thou and thy sons and thy father's house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary: and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood.

Gill writes of this passage, "…this shows that the office of priesthood, though honourable, was burdensome, and not to be envied; and that the people needed not to be under such terrible apprehensions as they were lest they should come too near the sanctuary, as to be in danger of death, since it lay upon the priests and Levites especially to take care thereof, and who, if negligent, would suffer."

I am reminded of Hebrews 13:17, Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.

The responsibility of the pastorate is not to be envied and should only be taken on by those whose calling prevents them from any other. This is no place for the egotist and glory seeker and, while they may be able to create for themselves a comfortable living and in some cases a great deal of prosperity, they will give an account for their abuse of the office and of the presumption of being a minister.

The Difference Between Knowing and Doing

Romans 15:5 KJV

Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus:

The Apostle urges his reader to bear the infirmity of the weak and “not to please ourselves”[1]. To aide us in this exhortation he reminds us that God is the God of patience and consolation. He is both long suffering with our sins and quick to grant us those elements of comfort for the spirit and soul.

·       I can be patient because God has been patient with me.

·       I can offer comfort because God has comforted me.

The Apostle offers this reminder in the form of prayer, which teaches us that there is a great difference between knowing a thing and carrying it out. I know I ought to be patient. I know I ought to seek the comfort of others, but the reality is that I cannot do either effectively without the enlistment and help of God.

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[1] Romans 15:1 KJV

We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.

The Way We See Ourselves

Numbers 13:33 KJV

And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.

The ten spies were first, in their own eyes, as grasshoppers. Whether the people of the Canaan saw them that way is difficult to say. We do know that spies “felt” like they were perceived that way.

Oftentimes the way people see us is the way we see ourselves.

·       It might be due to our conduct

·       It may be the result of our own communication

We often project onto others the perception we have of ourselves.

But sometimes we believe others think of us one way when in truth they haven't thought that way at all. Our relationship with them is not effected by their perception of us but by our perception of ourselves.

Just forty years after the spies saw themselves as grasshoppers before the giants of Canaan, a younger generation of Israelites entered the Promised Land to take it. There was, at that time, little or no talk of giants[1]. This time the perception of the Canaanites concerning the Jews was fear of their God. They did not see Israel as grasshoppers. They saw them as the people of the living God.

Had Israel believed themselves to be the “people of God” forty years earlier they may have noticed that the Canaanites saw them that way too.

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[1] Though we know they still existed.

Stuffed Sick

Numbers 11:32-33 KJV

And the people stood up all that day, and all that night, and all the next day, and they gathered the quails: he that gathered least gathered ten homers: and they spread them all abroad for themselves round about the camp.

And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD smote the people with a very great plague.

What a difference there was between how Israel ate the manna versus how they ate the quail! With the manna the people would gather enough for their family for that day. The food was prepared a variety of ways and had a light healthy taste to it. In the case of the quail we get the sense of where this will lead in that they "fell a lusting"[1] for something other than what God has given.

·       They gathered them hastily

·       They hoarded them greedily and

·       They consumed them gluttonously

They were still filling their bellies when the wrath of God brought disease upon them. I imagine they began to vomit and buckle over with stomach cramps as there bellies, filled beyond their capacity to hold it in rejected its load.

God had graciously sustained them but sustenance did not satisfy them. They wanted, for lack of another term, to be “stuffed sick.”

They got what they wanted.

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[1] Numbers 11:4 KJV

And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat?