Reading for Today:

• 2 Chronicles 34:1 Chapter 34 1 Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign; and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem. –36:23
• Psalms 86:1-5 Chapter 86 1 Bow down thine ear, O Jehovah, and answer me; For I am poor and needy. 2 Preserve my soul; for I am godly: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee. 3 Be merciful unto me, O Lord; For unto thee do I cry all the day long. 4 Rejoice the soul of thy servant; For unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. 5 For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in lovingkindness unto all them that call upon thee.
• Proverbs 21:13-14 13 Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, He also shall cry, but shall not be heard. 14 A gift in secret pacifieth anger; And a present in the bosom, strong wrath.
• Acts 21:1-17 Chapter 21 1 And when it came to pass that were parted from them and had set sail, we came with a straight course unto Cos, and the next day unto Rhodes, and from thence unto Patara: 2 and having found a ship crossing over unto Phoenicia, we went aboard, and set sail. 3 And when we had come in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left hand, we sailed unto Syria, and landed at Tyre; for there the ship was to unlade her burden. 4 And having found the disciples, we tarried there seven days: and these said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not set foot in Jerusalem. 5 And when it came to pass that we had accomplished the days, we departed and went on our journey; and they all, with wives and children, brought us on our way till we were out of the city: and kneeling down on the beach, we prayed, and bade each other farewell; 6 and we went on board the ship, but they returned home again. 7 And when we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais; and we saluted the brethren, and abode with them one day. 8 And on the morrow we departed, and came unto Caesarea: and entering into the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, we abode with him. 9 Now this man had four virgin daughters, who prophesied. 10 And as we tarried there some days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus. 11 And coming to us, and taking Paul's girdle, he bound his own feet and hands, and said, Thus saith the Holy Spirit, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles. 12 And when we heard these things, both we and they of that place besought him not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, What do ye, weeping and breaking my heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. 14 And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done. 15 And after these days we took up our baggage and went up to Jerusalem. 16 And there went with us also `certain' of the disciples from Caesarea, bringing `with them' one Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we should lodge. 17 And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly.

Notes:

2 Chronicles 35:3 3 And he said unto the Levites that taught all Israel, that were holy unto Jehovah, Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel did build; there shall no more be a burden upon your shoulders: now serve Jehovah your God, and his people Israel. the holy ark. The ark of the covenant which was to remain in the Most Holy Place had been removed, probably by Manasseh who set a carved image in its place (33:7). The law for the carrying of the ark during the tabernacle days, when it was portable, called for poles to be place through rings on the sides and Levites (Kohathites) to carry it by the poles without touching it (Ex. 25:14, 15). Now that the temple was built and the ark had a permanent place, it no longer needed to be transported in the old way.

Chronicles 35:21 God commanded me. Necho is referring to the true God—whether he had a true revelation or not is unknown. Josiah had no way to know either, and it is apparent he did not believe that Necho spoke the word of God. There is no reason to assume his death was punishment for refusing to believe. He probably thought Necho was lying and, once victorious with Assyria over Babylon, they would together be back to assault Israel.

2 Chronicles 36:11 11 Zedekiah was twenty and one years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: –21 The reign of Zedekiah, a.k.a. Mattaniah (ca. 597–586 B.C.). Jeremiah prophesied during this reign (Jer. 1:3) and wrote Lamentations to mourn the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 586 B.C. Ezekiel received his commission during this reign (Ezek. 1:1) and prophesied from 592 B.C. to his death in 560 B.C.

Acts 21:2 2 and having found a ship crossing over unto Phoenicia, we went aboard, and set sail. finding a ship…Phoenicia. Realizing he would never reach Jerusalem in time for Pentecost if he continued to hug the coast, Paul decided to risk sailing directly across the Mediterranean Sea to Tyre (v. 3).The ship they embarked on would have been considerably larger than the small coastal vessels on which they had been sailing. The ship that later took Paul on his ill-fated voyage to Rome held 276 people (27:37); this one was probably of comparable size.

Acts 21:9 9 Now this man had four virgin daughters, who prophesied. virgin daughters. That they were virgins may indicate that they had been called by God for special ministry (1 Cor. 7:34).The early church regarded these women as important sources of information on the early years of the church. prophesied. Luke does not reveal the nature of their prophecy. They may have had an ongoing prophetic ministry or prophesied only once. Since women are not to be preachers or teachers in the church (1 Cor. 14:34–36; 1 Tim. 2:11, 12), they probably ministered to individuals.

DAY 19: Why did Paul not heed all the warnings about going to Jerusalem?

The church in Tyre had been founded by some of those who fled Jerusalem after Stephen’s martyrdom ( Acts 11:19 19 They therefore that were scattered abroad upon the tribulation that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phoenicia, and Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the word to none save only to Jews. )—a persecution Paul himself had spearheaded. When Paul arrived there, the disciples there told Paul “to not to go up to Jerusalem” (21:4). This was not a command from the Spirit for Paul not to go to Jerusalem. Rather, the Spirit had revealed to the believers at Tyre that Paul would face suffering in Jerusalem. Understandably, they tried to dissuade him from going there. Paul’s mission to Jerusalem had been given him by the Lord Jesus (20:24); the Spirit would never command him to abandon it.

Later, a prophet named Agabus (11:28) met Paul in Caesarea. Although it was located in Judea, the Jews considered Caesarea, seat of the Roman government, to be a foreign city. Old Testament prophets sometimes acted out their prophecies (1 Kin. 11:29–39; Is. 20:2–6; Jer. 13:1–11; Ezek. 4; 5), and Agabus’s action of binding his hands and feet with Paul’s belt foreshadowed Paul’s arrest and imprisonment by the Romans ( Acts 21:11 11 And coming to us, and taking Paul's girdle, he bound his own feet and hands, and said, Thus saith the Holy Spirit, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles. ).Though falsely accused by the Jews (vv. 27, 28), Paul was arrested and imprisoned by the Romans (vv. 31–33).

Hearing these warnings, it is not surprising that both Paul’s friends (Luke and the others traveling with him) and the Caesarean Christians pleaded with Paul to not go. Paul’s response is to say, “I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus” (v. 13). Jesus’ name represents all that He is. That said from Paul, his friends response was, “The will of the Lord be done” (v. 14)—a confident expression of trust that God’s will is best (1 Sam. 3:18; Matt. 6:10; Luke 22:42 42 saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. ; James 4:13 13 Come now, ye that say, To-day or to-morrow we will go into this city, and spend a year there, and trade, and get gain: –15).

From The MacArthur Daily Bible Copyright © 2003. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson Bibles, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc, Nashville, TN 37214, www.thomasnelson.com.

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