Did You Miss It?
Sometimes when we read the bible we are not truly as engaged as we hoped we would be. We are reading, but often we are not listening and thinking about what we have just read. I believe this is a huge failure on my part to not pay close attention to the powers of observation. The following verses I hope will illustrate my point. Today's verses are found in Acts 14:19-20 and I am in the King James version of the bible.
"And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium who persuaded the people, and having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead. vs 20" Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up and came into the city; and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe."
Now, allow me if I may to illustrate my point. Did you find anything unusual about the stoning of Paul and the subsequent events following that? If you did, congratulations but, if you did not then this is what I am trying to convey.
verse 19 says that they stoned Paul...supposing he had been dead. I started thinking about the process of stoning . This was a death sentence that was carried out by the Jewish culture that one of the primary ways to put to death the offender. The Jews were experienced in this practice, and believe me when I tell you they were not throwing pebbles, but rather stones that weighed probably between 1/2 lb. up to as much as person could conceivably hurl. These stones were capable of breaking bones, inflicting deep gashes, and crushing skulls. The victims were secured to a tree or post or they were put in a hole so they could not escape the barrage. Now, the end of the verse says that supposing he had been dead. I think it is safe to say that the Jews were convinced by the physical damage to Paul's body that he was dead. I do not think that God covered him supernaturally or protected him in some miraculous way, otherwise why would the Jews have thought he was dead.
That was my first observation about this event. The second observation that reaffirms the power of observation is this. Vs 20 says "...and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe." Did you catch that and what it implies? This is a miracle that we could easily miss lest we observe and contemplate (chew on it). Are you seeing it? I hope so and I hope that I am not being redundant. The experience of stoning was familiar to the Jews and they knew the sights and sounds of such an agonizing death sentence. They were so convinced that Paul was dead they ceased the stoning. In my mind that would mean that there was enough evidence, albeit broken bones, bleeding, etc. that the proof was there. Paul was dead. However, what grabbed me was the NEXT DAY part where Paul left for Derbe. His body was damaged enough to convince his executioners to cease stoning him because their experience in this type of death sentence convinced them he was dead, but yet the next day he is healthy enough to journey to Derbe. No gashes, no concussions, no broken bones that we know of...healthy enough to leave without assistance of a walker, a gourney, a cane, etc....you get the point.
I think that this would have been quite an eye opener to the disciples that greatly affirmed their faith in God and can you imagine how the "campfire" stories would have been told about this event.
In closing, I hope you will practice your observation skills and hone them so that you, as well as me will mine those precious nuggets that are found in God's word.
