18:10 These prohibitions, which were a repeating of things said earlier, were not heeded and the prophets had to remind Israel of their sins.

God gave Israel a guarantee with which they could test a prophet (Deut 18:21). If his words did not come true, then "That is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken".  From this I think it's fair to say that every prophet said at least one thing appropriate to the days in which he lived.  We should therefore find some local and some future words recorded by all the holy prophets.

Vs.10-12 Magic arts exist today as well as they did in the ancient world.  Whether they are effective or not isn't the issue.  They supplant faith in Yahweh which is not acceptable. 

Instead, Yahweh directs Israel, and us, to listen to the bona fide prophets who He has sent, especially the Lord Jesus (vs.14,15,18,19).  The true prophet's predictions will be realized and a false prophet will suffer death (vs.20-22). 

Jesus was confirmed as a true prophet as He correctly foretold the destruction of the temple in the Olivet prophecy (Matt 24).  Therefore, we can confidently believe the second part of that prophecy as it pertains to these end times.

Anything that takes away the Providence of Yahweh in our lives is unacceptable.  Let us not take think that reading the horoscope (or suchlike material vs.10,11) is harmless or just fun.  It underscores an attitude that lacks faith and satisfaction that Yahweh is working in our lives (Phil 4:11). 

 It is for the same reason that spending a dollar on a lotto ticket (or maybe a pound on the football pools in the UK) is wrong.  We are showing lack of trust in Yahweh's provision and contentment with our lot (Prov 30:8,9).  Just what would we do if we won a major prize anyway?  Let us cater to the spirit and our future hope, trusting in Yahweh and not the flesh! 

18:1       In emphasising again that the priest had no inheritance Israel were to appreciate that the Levites’ physical state was dependant upon their generosity to God.

18:13 The call to perfection, seen within the context of obedience to the law of Moses, is one area of the Old Testament what might have been in the mind of Jesus when he called his disciples to perfection – Matt 5:48

18:18   In saying that the prophet like unto Moses will receive God’s words directly God is describing the way in which Moses had spoken to Pharaoh - Exo 7:2.

18:10-11 Another warning to a people who are about to enter the land which is inhabited by those who practice the things being prohibited by God. Israel are reminded that they will drive such people out of the land because they are involved in idol worship.

V.4 The priests were representatives of Yahweh.  As such they were to be honored with the firstfruits of their produce.  Jesus is our High Priest, and as such he should receive the firstfruits of our produce.  We produce fruit for Him by: developing our own character to conform to His; by supporting our brothers and sisters who make up His household; and by preaching the Gospel to all we meet.

Vs.15,18,19 Jesus the messiah was being presented to the nation of Israel.  He had been promised since the beginning (Gen 3:15).  These references show why it is important to read the Old Testament to fully understand the gospel (the things concerning the kingdom of God and the Name of Jesus Christ).

18:15-16 This prophecy of Christ – see Acts 3:22, 7:37 – is a wonderful provision. It is given against the background of Israel not wanting to hear God’s words directly. So God is providing a saviour because they recognise that they are alienated from God

10 & 11 These chapters differs in structure from the rest of the book of Ecclesiastes in that it reads like a list of Proverbs such as one found in the book of Proverbs.

v. 20 the idea of a bird telling one's secret words is the basis for the saying 'a little bird told me.'

10:4 'yielding' could just as well be translated 'gentleness' - see RV margin.

It is so easy in a dispute to raise our voice and to get angry. But it is better to be gentle in our approach Prov 15:1

V.2 In terms of position, right represents honor and strength, while left represents weakness and disfavor. The positions of right or left are significant in the Bible.  Some examples: Jacob's favored son of Rachel was Benjamin (son of my right hand); the position of presenting children for blessing (Gen 48:13,14); the position that Jesus has in relation to His Father (Acts 7:55; Heb 10:12); the position at the judgement (Matt 25:32,33). 

It is interesting that the words right and left derive from the Latin words for dextrous and sinister.  Dextrous we associate with industry and ability - positive qualities; sinister we associate with evil and suspicion - negative qualities.  In fact left-handed people, not too many centuries ago, were considered devil-possessed.  Also, for what it's worth, science has determined that left-handed people do not live as long as right-handed people on average. 

10:16 The comment about the disastrous situation when the king is a child is drawn upon in Isa 3:4 when Isaiah speaks of the sorry state of Judah when he was speaking. To them.

10:3 Of course the ‘fool’ does not actually say ‘I am a fool’. It is the way in which he behaves that demonstrate his folly. Likewise the way that we behave demonstrates what we are like far more than what we might say about ourselves.

10:6-7           The description here of ‘folly’ being in ‘great dignity’ and the role of princes and servants reversed reflects the way in which the world works. If enough people say that something is right people start to believe it.  Right judgement and behaviour is based upon facts and not emotion.

10:1 The couplet in this verse represents the ideas of the last verse of the previous chapter. The ‘sinner’ of Ecclesiastes 9:18 is the ‘dead fly’ of Ecc 10:1

V.2 The right hand is always considered the strong hand.  There are many references to the strength of Yahweh’s right hand, for example Psa 44:3.  Jesus was invited to sit at His Father’s right hand (Psa 110:1).

On the other hand (pun intended), the left hand is considered weak.  The vast majority of people are right handed, and their right hand is physically stronger than the left.  Throughout history anything right was considered strong and above suspicion, while anything left was considered weak and suspect.

In Latin, right is dexteritas from which we derive our word dextrous meaning skilful.  Conversely, left (hand) comes from the word sinister  from which we derive our word sinister meaning suggestive of evil. 

During the 18^th and 19^th centuries in western industrial countries, left-handed people suffered great prejudice.  They were forced to use their right hands, for example to write with in school.  Today, prejudice has all but dissipated except that some still use statements like: He gave a left-handed compliment meaning that he gave a compliment which contained an evil intent.

10:8 Whilst this little Proverb may seem to teach a simple principle about safety it clearly is speaking of more profound things Psalm 7 speaks of the evil of Doeg the Edomite in the days of David. His treachery against the priests is likened to a pit into which he fell – Psa 7:15.

Vs.1,2 Saul consented to Stephen's death and then went on a campaign to stamp out the ecclesia. Saul means asked which is fitting of his action in asking for letters to quash the ecclesia. After his conversion, his name was changed to Paul which means little.  How befitting this was as he considered his new status to be less than his brethren (Eph 3:8).

Vs.3,9 Saul was blinded by the presence of Jesus and remained so for three days, after which he received his sight (v.18).  This speaks to the Lord's three-day sojourn in death after which He was raised to life.  It seems that Paul's eyesight subsequently deteriorated as he mentions his large handwriting to the Galatians (Gal 6:11).  Could it be that the Lord allowed this as a reminder to Paul of his role reversal?  Once he walked by sight, but now in Christ he walked by faith. 

V.25 The basket (Gr.spuris) in which Paul escaped was quite large.  These same baskets were used to collect the leftovers after feeding the four thousand (Matt 15:37,38).  The baskets used in the feeding of the five thousand (Matt 14:20,21) were much smaller (Gr.kophinos) and could not hold a man.

9:27 Barnabus, unlike the others, was willing to take a risk, so to speak, with Paul. There is a need for us, from time to time, to put away our prejudices and accept people for what they say even if what they say does not match how they used to be.

Acts 9:20 And so Saul, a new an – see comments in May this year – begins to live the ‘new life’ in Christ.

Paul was a chosen vessel. He knew this later, when he wrote to the Galatians (Gal 1:15,16), and realised how God had been preparing him all of his life for this great commission of taking the gospel to the Gentiles. One would have thought that a man with a high qualification in the Jews’ religion would have made an excellent missionary to the Jews, but it was not to be so. He needed all that Old Testament knowledge to understand that God had promised that all nations would be blessed in Abraham (Gen 12:3). He always went to the Jews first, when he arrived in different towns, and tried to persuade them, but usually they refused, and so he went to the Gentiles. Perhaps God was keeping him “down” in Jewish circles, lest he should think of himself too highly.

9:2      In telling us that Saul went to the High Priest to obtain letters we learn that the persecution was initiated by Saul with the compliance of the High Priest rather than Saul simply doing the bidding of the High Priest. Thus we see the magnitude of his hatred for the Christians. Possibly part of his ‘kicking against the pricks’.

Vs.5,6,17 Paul was given a direct commission from Jesus, and he also received the Holy Spirit. It is important to remember this when we read Paul’s directives in his epistles. They are not merely his opinions.

9:2 Having wrought havoc among the believers in Jerusalem, which had caused the disciples to leave Jerusalem Saul now seeks to extend his activities – through legal means! – to the other places where the gospel has taken root.

V.23 After many days: if we pick up Paul’s trail we see that he went to Arabia (Seir) and then back to Damascus on a second visit (Gal 1:17).  It was on his second visit that the Jews took counsel to kill him.  From Paul’s first visit to Damascus until the end of his second visit was three years (Gal 1:18).

After he escaped their grasp, Paul was taken by Barnabas to the apostles at Jerusalem (vs.27,28). In Jerusalem, he saw only Peter and James (Gal 1:18,19).

9:14 The record tells us that Saul had authority from the chief priests in Jerusalem but note that Ananias knew that as well even though Saul had not arrived with his threatenings. This implies that news of what Saul was going to do had preceded him, probably as news sent by the chief priests to those in Damascus to enable them to prepare the persecution of the brethren.

INCREDIBLE ANSWER TO PRAYER

Jesus said to "pray for those who persecute you." (Matt 5:44)

Of all the people that persecuted the developing Christians, Saul of Tarsus would have been one of the worst, if not, the worst of them all. He stood there while Stephen was put to death, and then "breathed out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples." (Acts 9:1) He wreaked havock through Jesusalem and even travelled to Damascus to arrest and imprison believers. We are not told whether or not the believers prayed for Saul, but because praying for those who persecuted him was such a well modeled teaching of Jesus, we can presume that they did. 

As Saul of Tarsus was struck blind on the road to Damascus and was converted at his unplanned meeting with Jesus, the disciples would not have realised just how surprising their answers to prayer were going to be. In fact, after his conversions many believers found it very difficult to believe that Saul had changed.

We might pray for people, but as we pray we often forget that God can do incredible things as he answers our prayers. We don't need to limit him to what we think he can do. None of us would have expected the wicked Saul of Tarsus to end up as the greatest servant of all time, yet that is what God can do.

So let us pray and let's not be surprised at what God can do as he answers our prayers.