Before his call, what did Moses really know about God?
He knew about the creation and all the stories of Genesis. He knew how God had called Abram to separate himself from his kinsmen and follow Him. He knew about Isaac and Jacob, Joseph and his brothers and how they had fled to Egypt for relief from the famine. He also knew the plight of the Israelites of his own time and was passionate about it. So passionate that it led him to murder. Then he found himself a fugitive, herding sheep in the desert.
Paul’s world was similar to Moses', except that his people were being oppressed by Caesar instead of Pharaoh. Paul knew the things that Moses knew, plus the teachings of the prophets, who came after. He had the Wisdom books, too. He also knew the Law inside out. He was a man who sincerely sought to serve God and was passionate about the Law. He couldn’t accept the teachings of this new sect that followed Jesus of Nazareth. Their “good news” was causing confusion and conflict throughout Israel and it had to be stopped. So he killed them, even women and children, and finally set out for Damascus with letters of authority from the leaders at Jerusalem to drag the heretics back for trial.
These were similar men, in similar times, whom God used to change the world.
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i have never seen paul in that way in comparison to moses before...
ReplyDeleteNo. I hadnt either until the Lord started me down that road. I dont know that there's a lot of significance, and I certainly wouldnt build any doctrines around these similarities. Their just interesting things to note. Sort of like the similarities some people point out between JFK and Lincoln.
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