Comments for May 11

28:60 Deuteronomy gives an insight, from time to time, about what life was like in Egypt. Here we learn that when Israel were in Egypt they saw illnesses which they saw that the Egyptians suffered form. Whilst we do not know what those diseases were we might infer that they were not diseases that the Israelites, typically, suffered from.

THE IMPORTANCE OF JOY

Joy is a part of the fruit of the Spirit. Paul tells us to rejoice in the Lord many times. We are encouraged to be joyful. But to have joy in our lives is much more than just a suggestion and a good idea.  It is essential if we want to be pleasing to God.

This is what God said to Israel when he laid out blessings and curses for their obedience or lack of it. "Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things, therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the LORD will send against you..." (Deut 28:47-48).

Hundreds of years later, when Israel and Judah were driven from the land by the Assyrians and Babylonians, it was their lack of joy and gladness that was a major cause. They no longer took joy in serving the LORD. It had become a burden. They got more joy out of serving their idols than in serving the LORD.

We too could do a grit-your-teeth-and-get-on-with-it service for God. But he wants our hearts, our love and our joy. If we don't enjoy serving God now, what makes us think that we might enjoy it for eternity? Would God want to give us something that gave us no joy for ever?

Let's grow joy in our love for God now. Serve the LORD with joyfulness and gladness of heart.
 

28:27 the warning that God would “smite” them is taken up by the prophet - Isa 3:17 – to reprove Judah for imitating the false worship of the nations surrounding them.

28:66-67  These words were chillingly fulfilled during the era of the Nazi party in Germany. Moses was inspired to describe exactly how the Jews in hiding in Germany and occupied counties would feel.

30:2-3  The amazing mercy of God is seen here. He knew Israel would turn from Him and consequently be cursed. But through His actions – His chastening hand – the nation would eventually seek Him in faithfulness. Then He would bless them!

Their forthcoming experience is ours! How our hearts respond to His chastening hand determines whether His mercy will be extended to us at the resurrection.

28:5 “store” might better be translated “kneading trough” thus presenting two elements of blessing closely associated.

v. 6 - 2Tim.2:19 talks of the seal, but what of the 'love is strong as death'? Does your mind not go to Peter in John 21:15-19? What of Paul in Acts 20:24?

v.11 The 'vineyard' which Solomon let out is the nation of Israel which was ruled over by Solomon. He set judges and captains over the land. They had responsibilities to the King and ultimately to Yahweh. Jesus draws on this scene by linking Isaiah 5 and Song 8:11 together in Matt 21:33 in the parable of the vineyard - it is clear why 'they perceived that he spake this parable against them [Luke 20:19]

v.7 - Here we see the love that is so strong that it stands above all. Ultimately, in eternal terms, love is stronger than death, and more to be feared. It is the love for God (which is a result of the love of God for us) that causes our house to be built on the rock, so that against it the waters and the floods have no power. Matt.7:24,25

Here are a couple of echoes from Proverbs 6

The Proverbs speak about the way that jealousy works in man.

Are we so jealous over our love of Christ?

:14 'make haste' quoted in Revelation 22:20 is the way that the bride, looking for her bridegroom, desires her lord. The servants of God should long for the return of Christ in the same way.

8:5 In  3:6 we see the bride groom coming out of the wilderness - bringing salvation. Now we see him coming out of the wilderness again, this time escorting the one he has saved. Coming 'the second time ...' Heb 9:28

V.1-2  It is not lust, but selfless love that dominates the affections of the Bride for her Beloved. She desires his presence that she might enjoy complete fellowship with him.

SEALED WITH LOVE
 
The heart can be a fickle thing moving from one passion to another.  In a relationship between a man and a woman things change over time.  The good looking, strong hero she once married, now has a pot belly that looks six months pregnant, his hair is falling out and he gets puffed out walking to the letterbox.  And the sexy young girl he once married has gone grey, has varicose veins up her legs and has traded her sensual lingerie for flannel nighties.  Physical attraction will diminish and so we need to keep our hearts from wandering toward others who may seem more attractive at the time. 
 
Marriage is so much more than good looks and sex.  It is a bond of love that unites two people for a lifetime.  It is a covenant before God and the keeping of promises of commitment to each other.
 
The beloved says to her lover, "Place me like a seal over your heart." (Song 8:6)  This is good advice to anyone who is married or contemplating marriage.  Once our partner is placed as a seal over our hearts, our hearts are sealed from new attractions.  Our heart will then be devoted to the ONE we love no matter what changes may come or go.
 
May our hearts be sealed in love and devotion to the man or woman God has given us.  May that seal never be broken.

The Bride speaks the words of Song 10 in Song 7:10-ch8:4.  She longs for the time when the Bridegroom is with her, but requests no one to wake Him until He is ready. The 11th Song is in Song 8:5-7  and reveals a conversation between Him and her.  The final Song, Number 12, occupies the rest of the chapter, and again is a dialogue between Christ and His bride.

8:5 In keeping with the picture of the bride coming from the wilderness ‘who is this …’ is more correctly rendered ‘who is she …’

8:6-7 There is a contrast being shown between the heat of love and the heat of jealousy. Whilst love cannot be destroyed jealousy destroys the one who manifests it.

8:7      The idea that waters cannot overcome love is seen again – Isa 43:2 - in the way in which Israel are told that their trust in God will preserve them through, amongst other things, ‘waters’.

V.8 The sister of the bride is immature and not yet able to marry. When she becomes mature she will be protected (v.9). The bride, being mature, had already found protection in her lover (v.10).

The present bride represents Israel who was under the protection of Yahweh. Her immature sister represents the Gentiles who will grow in the knowledge of Yahweh. Her protector will be her betrothed, the Lord Jesus. Thus bride and groom - ecclesia and master - will be established.

8:1 We might think it odd that the bride would speak of her beloved as being like her brother but the likeness she is making is to the closeness between her and her brother – it is a blood relationship. Do we feel that we have such a close relationship with Jesus? After all we are his brethren – Heb 2:12

8:8-9    We might find the words here a little strange to our western ears. However the principle here is that the bride is making representations for her ‘little sister’ that she might be as fruitful as she is herself.

8:12  Whilst the woman appreciates that the vineyard is not actually hers. Rather it is Solomon’s as can be seen from the previous verse, she treats it like her own in that she accepts full responsibility for it.  Is this how we view our responsibility to God and His son?

8:6-7   “jealousy is cruel” quotes Prov 6:34 and “if a man ... substance” echoes the sentiments of Prov 6:35. The context in the Proverbs indicates that adultery causes changes that are exceedingly difficult to recover from. Likewise anyone who meddles with false doctrine is contaminated in ways which are difficult to remove from one’s thinking.

Your study of this scripture may be enhanced if you can acquire a little book published in 1925. The thoughts within it were dictated (!) by Sister Helen Attwell (my grandmother) and an item in the Magazine at the time reviewed it as follows:

The Song of Songs: A meditative commentary, by C. Helen Attwell. London: The Maranatha Press. 1s. 6d. net. A well-made little book, 7 inches by 5 inches, well printed and bound, extending to 100 pages. “A labour of love on the part of a sister who for many years past has been a confirmed invalid and during practically the whole period of the compilation of the work, bedridden and helpless.” She expresses her thanks to brethren and sisters who have helped her in the work at her dictation, especially brother R. E. Whitaker, who has done much in putting the book into shape. We trust that “the sorrows of the night” may for the suffering author soon give place to the “hallowed morn” of “the bridegroom” coming to bestow “beauty for ashes.”

1. Song 8:5 - "Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved?" - admiring onlookers are speaking.

2. Song 8:5 - "I raised thee up" - bridegroom is speaking.

3. Song 8:6 - bride is speaking.

4. Song 8:8 - multitudinous bride is speaking.

5. Song 8:9 - bridegroom is speaking.

6. Song 8:10 - bride is speaking.

7. Song 8:13 - bridegroom is speaking.

8. Song 8:14 - bride is speaking.

1. Song 8:2 - "of the juice of my pomegranate" - the pomegranate is symbolic of the sacrificial death of Christ; and in the presence of the redeemed, Christ will drink of its juice; he will see his seed (Isa 53:10).

2. Song 8:4 - "I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem" - this suggests the bridegroom has not yet come.

3. Song 8:4 - eliminate "my" and perhaps the "until he please" would be better rendered "until it please" (see the fuller comments on Song 2:7).

4. Song 8:6 - "for love is strong as death" (John 3:16).

5. Song 8:6 - "the grave"<7585>.

6. Song 8:6 - "the coals thereof are coals of fire" - love is likened to fire with its burning zeal, energy and power.

7. Song 8:8 - according to H.P. Mansfield, the little sister is the spiritually underdeveloped equivalent of the bride who will be taught during the millennium and granted immortality and union with Christ at the end of the thousand year millennium.

8. Song 8:9 - "wall" refers to a defense against sin and the maintenance of spiritual virginity; "silver" is the metal of redemption; "door" refers to the being admitted to recieve Christ's teachings, Christ is the door (John 10:1,7,9).
9. Song 8:10 - "favour"<7965>.

10. Song 8:11 - Solomon, the prince of peace, types Christ who is also associated with a vineyard.

11. Song 8:11 - "Baalhamon"(<1174> means Lord or possessor of a multitude or abundance); "bring a thousand pieces of silver" (silver is the metal of redemption).

12. Song 8:12 - "O Solomon, must have a thousand" - bride acknowledges her debt to her bridegroom.

13. Song 8:12 - "and those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred" - keepers of the vineyard who labored as the leaders in the ecclesia of Christ get a double tithe much like the firstborn would get favored with a double portion.

8:5    This is the second time the question “who is this” is asked in the Song of Solomon. The first is 3:6

Looking after Solomon's family

Solomon had a thousand wives and concubines and in v12 we read that they had two hundred keepers:

   "My own vineyard is before me.
    You, O Solomon, may have a thousand,
    And those who tend its fruit two hundred." (NKJV)

These are presumably eunuchs or maids who helped to look after the women and children. The Shulamite herself may have been one of these, because in Song 1:6 she says "they made me the keeper of the vineyards"

8:9    “boards of Cedar” are found in the temple which Solomon built – 1Kin 6:9,15,16

8:8    When we read of “a little sister” and conclude that she is the daughter of the woman – not the bride – we see that Israel and Judah are described as two sisters. The older one being Israel and the younger being Judah – Eze 16:46. So the women of the Song of Solomon are concerned that the bride might teach their sister how not to go astray from God.

Song 8:10    More correctly the word translated “favour” is better rendered “peace”. Favour is a general term. But it is very specifically “peace” that we  wish to find with God and His son.

8:5        We saw – 3:6 –the groom coming out of the wilderness. Now we see that his bride is on his arm. The only reason why the groom would go into the wilderness would be to rescue his bridge. There is nothing else of value in the wilderness.

8:12    The “vineyard” is the family of fellow believers. Do we see it as our job to tend this “vineyard”? Do we see ourselves as having a responsibility to meet the need of our fellow believers or do we see doing things for them as a necessary duty. Something we feel we should od but would prefer not to have to?

8:10 Do we see ourselves as finding peace with Jesus when he returns? It is not right to think negatively about how Jesus will view us at that time. His view of us when he returns is determined by how we live and think now.  If we think he will not be pleased with us at his return we should examine what we are doing and thinking now that would displease him and make the necessary changes in our lives.

8:5 Leaning speaks of dependence. We know that we have been saved from sin and death by the work of Christ. But once delivered do we feel that we can be self-sufficient and independent of him? Baptism is just the start. What should follow is a lifelong dependence on him as we learn of him and his Father in scripture with its principles put into practice in our lives.

8:5 here we have a beautiful picture which has its origins in Israel being delivered out of the wilderness sin to the land of Canaan – leaning on God. This is a figure of the redeemed believers being led out of a world of sin and death at his return.

8:8-10 The bride is not self-centred nor selfish. She sees herself as married to the groom. However she has concern for others – her “little sister” who is not as fruitful as she is. So her concern is that her “little sister” will also grow up spiritually.

Is this how we feel about our brethren and sisters who seem to us to lack spirituality? Do we pray for them? Do we encourage them in spiritual things?

8:4  We have seen the same language – 3:6, 5:10 – on the lips of the woman on two previous occasions. Notice that on all three occasions the focus is on waiting “until he please”. The focus is not on the desires of the bride but on the groom and what he wants. A bit like “thy will be done” as the way we should be thinking as we strive to be more like Jesus.

8:4 that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases

There is a suggestion here (and in 2:7) that romantic love has its own pace. While endless courtships should not be promoted, nor should hasty courtships be promoted either.  Be intentional, but don't rush in deciding the suitability of a marriage partner.

25 v.7,8 - Here we see the potential for unrighteous judgement. The ultimate unrighteous judgement was that against Jesus of course, but it seems that many men of God are made to suffer this very thing. Let us remember that man's judgement counts for nothing. Ps.27:12, 35:11, Matt.5:11,12, 26:60-62.

25 v.9 'willing to show the Jews a pleasure' marks the way that the authorities treated Paul during this time in his life as can be seen in the following passages Acts 25:3 12:3 24:27 Which actually reflects the way in which Pilate treated Jesus Mark 15:15

26 v.16 I know that we have made this point before but it bears making again. The disciples are told that they are witnesses to God's work with Jesus Luke 24:28 Which point they are not slow to point out in their preaching. Acts 1:8 22 2:32 3:15 4:33 5:32 10:39 41 13:31 22:15 26:16

25:9 The way in which Festus wished to please the Jews highlights that this man - a servant of Romans - was more concerned with appeasement than with truth and justice.

26:31-32 So the conclusion is that, like Jesus, the charges laid against him by the Jews are unfounded. It is important that we have the testimony of gentile rulers that this is so. No Jew can ever make the claim that the preaching of Jesus or Paul was illegal or against the state - which was the Jew's accusation. Actually it attacked their position - not what God had taught through Moses.

25:8 In answering for himself we see that Paul was not interested in seeking the best legal representation or even in using the Roman law to help him. His prime focus was the preaching of the gospel. A lawyer could not have done that for Paul.

26:31 So again the point is made that Paul had done nothing worthy of death. (23:29, 25:25 and here) - Just as Pilate said of Jesus (John 18:38, 19:4,6)

Acts 26:18. From the very first it was laid upon Saul that he was to preach justification by faith. (Acts 20:21.) “that they may receive forgiveness of sins” Which the Law could not give and which was not given to Gentiles because of their unbelief, and their being strangers from the covenants of promise.(Acts 2:38, 5:31, 10:43, 13:38.)

25:2-44 This is a re run of the sort of event that took place when Paul was in Jerusalem. Paul's nephew alerted to the Romans of the plot (23:16) and so the Romans would be aware of what was going on and as it had been established that Paul was a Roman ( 22:26) there would be great care taken over  him.

26:1 Telling us that Paul 'stretched forth the hand' seems an almost irrelevant comment. However it is not. Paul, though before the Romans, was appealing to Israel. God had said (Isa 65:2) that stretched out his hand to Israel, but they would not hear. Paul is imitating the way that God appealed to a disobedient nation.

26:2  Even in captivity Paul never ceased to preach and witness for Christ. This activity continued throughout his journey to Rome, and while in house-arrest there.  Wherever, and under whatever circumstances, we find ourselves, there is the same opportunity, and we should be happy for it like Paul (Phil 4:11). 

25:6 In saying that Festus ‘tarried … more than ten days’ highlights that he was not too concerned to resolve the issue of Paul, just like all the other Romans who had been involved so far in Paul’s imprisonment.

26:4-7 Paul reasons that his countrymen know how he had behaved in the past and how he had been a faithful Jew – but none of them would testify to this as it did not suit the objectives of the Jewish authorities.

A SERVANT AND WITNESS
 
Paul's conversation with Jesus on the road to Damascus is expanded on as Paul explained to Agrippa about the things that happened that day. Jesus had said to Paul, "I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me." (Acts 26:16-18)
 
Paul's commission may be a little more specific than ours, when Jesus said, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." (Matt 28:19-20) But even so, like Paul we are still witness and servants of Jesus - doing his work and spreading his word.
 
Our aim is to open the eyes of the people that are around us to the power of God so that they can receive the forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified in Jesus. This is the reason God has put us in schools, workplaces and communities. It is so we can spread his word to the people around us. So like Paul, let's get active and do it.

26:5 The accusation against Paul related to Jewish customs so he highlights a fact that the Jewish leaders did not want to acknowledge – that he had been brought up a strict Pharisee.

Paul took whatever opportunities he had to preach. He knew that King Agrippa was an expert in Jewish customs, and so he pitched his talk to the king at an appropriate level. He spoke of his conversion from Judaism to Christianity, and from there he went on to the witness the Jewish Scriptures bore to Jesus, the firstborn from the dead. Festus mocked, but King Agrippa was impressed. I wonder how sincere Agrippa was when he said that Paul almost persuaded him to be a Christian (Acts 26:28). Paul was very persuasive.

25:11 Here we have another of the great crises recorded in the Acts. By making this appeal, Paul's case is automatically taken away from Festus and transferred to the Emperor. Paul knew he could not expect justice from Festus, and could see that the Jews were working on Festus' weakness; his lack of knowledge of Judaism and Christianity, his desires to please the Jews, and the pressure of their good relationship which the Sadducees had built up with the Romans. His appeal now ensured that he would be transferred to Rome, the capital of the Gentiles.  

25:27   It was also unreasonable to send a man as a prisoner who had no charges laid against him. Festus shows his duplicity and desire not to disturb his relationship with the Jews in the way he responds. Doubtless the problems that Pilate had with the Jews about Jesus was well known and no other Roman ruler wanted to do down that route.

25:13 King Agrippa was, in fact, Agrippa II, the great-grandson of Herod.  He was the last in the line of the Herods.  He and Bernice were both children of Agrippa I and were carrying on an incestuous relationship at this time.  Bernice had been married a couple of times before (one marriage was to her uncle), and would be married again after her liaison with Agrippa.  Later (according to Tacitus, the Roman historian) Bernice would become Titus' mistress.                                  

26:28 Any contemplation of Agrippa's accepting Christ would have been quickly dissuaded by the self-indulgent floozie Bernice.

25:3 The murderous thoughts of the Jews continues and despite the judgement of the Romans that Paul should be judged they still sought to kill Paul.

25:21 Augustus was born in 63 BC and was called Octavius after his father. His father died while Octavius was young, and so his great uncle Julius Caesar took it upon himself to educate the young lad.

Octavius grew in power and influence.  He defeated Anthony at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC and gained supreme power.  He was named Augustus Caesar.  He died in 14 AD at the age of 76.

26:10-17 Paul, by appealing to what he had done in the past, makes it clear that his change was of God for particular purpose and not some mere whim. This is not just a defence of his actions but an explanation as to why he preached to the gentiles which was the particular problem that the Jews had. It seems that they would, by and large, have been tolerant of Paul’s preaching had he not said the hope was also available to the gentiles.

THE TRUTH OR THE WAY?

It is always interesting to think about the message that was preached to the new believers through the book of Acts. Paul's summary of his teaching as he told it to Agrippa is a good example. Paul said, "So then, king Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven. First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds." (Acts 26:19-20)

Paul's message was not just an intellectual religious message that explained the fact of Jesus as the Messiah, it demanded repentance, it demanded a turning to God, and it demanded action as the things we do prove that we are living a new life. The gospel message is much more than a set of beliefs we hold to - it is a way of life. The early believers didn't refer to Christianity as "The Truth," instead they called it "The Way." The Truth implies knowledge. The Way implies action.

So what action are we putting into our life? Have we turned from our old way of life, making decisions that serve us less and God more? And do we prove daily that our repentance is still valid by the deeds we do because we are followers of Christ?

Let us live the way a follower of Christ should live.

25:3-4    One presumes that Festus was unaware of the Jews plans to kill Paul. They wanted a ‘favour’ indicating that it was unusual to move the prisoner. Maybe Festus simply wanted to show that Rome really was in control of events in the land of Israel.

v 6 First Principles>The Promises made to the Fathers>The Hope of the Christian in the Promises

Paul was willing to be judged for the hope in the promises which God made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It gives us much encouragement to have this hope as well.

To see more of the hope of the Christian in the promises, go to Acts 28:20.

25:27   Paul had been told by Jesus that he would testify of him in Rome Acts 23:11. Here and Acts 26:32 we see that from the point of view of the Romans Paul had nothing to answer. However if it were not for the protection of the Roman state Paul would never have got to Rome. So we see the hand of God. It is made clear that Paul is not guilty of the charges, yet he is taken to Romans so he is able to fulfil what Jesus had said about him testifying in Rome.

26:2      Jesus had warned his followers – Matt 10:18 – that they would be brought before kings. So maybe Paul was not too surprised. Jesus had warned that this was likely to happen.

25:7  That the Jews made accusations against Paul that they could not prove is just like they were towards Jesus before his crucifixion Mark 14:57-58.

Notice the similarities and contrasts between what happened here and what happened at Jesus's trial. The Romans are clearly more careful here, possibly because of the backlash they received over the hasty and illegal trial of Jesus, and also because Paul was a Roman citizen. Notice that Pilate is no longer the Roman Governor, presumably having been removed from his office. We're not told why. Also notice, for example, that Festus is going "by the book":

"About whom, when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me, desiring to have judgment against him. To whom I answered, It is not the manner of the Romans to deliver any man to die, before that he which is accused have the accusers face to face, and have licence to answer for himself concerning the crime laid against him. Therefore, when they were come hither, without any delay on the morrow I sat on the judgment seat, and commanded the man to be brought forth." Acts 25:15-17

This is what Pilate had not done. He had interviewed Jesus by himself, then spoken to the mob by himself. Notice also how quickly Festus responds, possibly because he is afraid the Jews might take things into their own hands.

25:16  Festus was less than honest in what he said to Agrippa. Here he rightly states the Roman way of doing things. However he had already asked Paul if he would go to Jerusalem which was a violation of the Roman practice.

26:6         In Acts 23:6 Paul speaks of the “hope of the resurrection”. Here it is the “hope of the promise made to the fathers” and in Acts 28:20 it is “the hope of Israel”. All three statements are true, of course, and show elements of the Christian gospel.

26:8      From a human perspective it is an incredible thing that God raised Jesus. However we do not use a human perspective to decide the works of God. We must not allow the scepticism of those around us cloud our belief in the certainty of the resurrection of Jesus and the guaranteed future resurrection of believers.

25:3    So again the Jews seek Paul’s life. Even when in the protection of the Roman army Paul’s life was in danger. It is a real change from when Paul was seeking to kill any Christian to now where the Jewish authorities are, it seems, seeking to kill only one Christian – Paul.

26:13  The way in which Paul says that it was “midday” when he was blinded reminds us that as Saul was resisting the word of God the punishment of Deut 28:29 came upon him to bring him to a realisation of the rebellious way he was behaving towards God.

26:27 When Agrippa said that Paul would have been “set at liberty” if he had not appealed to Caesar it would appear that he is using a legal term that the Romans used to speak of granting freedom. The use of the same phrase by the writer of the letter to the Hebrews – Heb 13:23 – of Timothy would imply that he was, at that time, a prisoner of Rome.

Acts 26:22

“Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come.”

“Not long ago, on the occasion of an address on a kindred subject, a person in the audience put several questions. In answering them, the writer quoted from the prophets; but was stopped by the remark, ‘Oh, but that’s in the Old Testament; we have nothing to do with that; the New Testament is our standard; the Old has passed away.’ Now this sentiment is a common one with many religious people. It is an erroneous idea, and has done great mischief.” (Cf. Acts 17:11; Acts 24:14).

“… Paul says, ‘The Scriptures are able to make thee wise unto salvation’ (2Tim 3:15). Now it must be remembered that this could only apply to the Old Testament. When Paul made the statement, the New Testament was not in existence. Consider then the import of the statement—the Scriptures of the Old Testament are able to make us WISE UNTO SALVATION. If this be true, how can it be correct to speak of the Old Testament having been done away?”

“The Old Testament lays the foundation of all that is involved in the New. The New Testament is simply an appendage to the Old, valuable beyond all price, and indispensable in the most absolute sense; but in itself, apart from the Old Testament, far from being sufficient to us that perfection of Christian knowledge which constitutes a person ‘wise unto salvation.’ The two combined form the complete revelation of God to man, vouchsafed for his spiritual renovation in the present, and his constitutional perfection in the future. Divided, they are each inefficacious to ‘thoroughly furnish the man of God unto all good works.’” (Emphasis added).

Quotes from Brother Robert Roberts, CHRISTENDOM ASTRAY, pp. 30-32

26:25 The placing of “truth and soberness” together is echoed in Titus. A major theme of Titus is soberness, for example see, amongst others, Titus 1:8;2:4,6,12, for words related to the Greek for “soberness” here in Acts. And Titus is also concerned with truth for in the first verse Paul writes of “the acknowledging of the truth” (Tit. 1:1), then speaks of “God, that cannot lie” (Tit. 1:2).

26:27 When Agrippa said that Paul would have been “set at liberty” if he had not appealed to Caesar it would appear that he is using a legal term that the Romans used to speak of granting freedom. The use of the same phrase by the writer of the letter to the Hebrews – Heb 13:23 – of Timothy would imply that he was, at that time, a prisoner of Rome.

25:20  The offer that Paul could go to Jerusalem was not because the Roman authorities thought that was necessary. Rather it was part of the way that the Romans wanted to please the Jews –  25:9

26:10-18 I suppose there were two things that the Jews did not like about Paul’s preaching One being that he was saying that Jesus who they had crucified was alive for ever and that God had charged him with preaching to the gentiles.

26:9-12 Herein is the point of the Jewish opposition to Paul. Doubtless other believers preached the risen Jesus boldly. However Paul was in a different category. Unlike the vast majority of believers Paul had been a very vocal and active opponent of the brethren and even had obtained authority from the highest Jewish official to bind the believers and kill them. So why did this prominent opponent of the believers become one of them?

The answer is clear. Because he knew that Jesus was alive. It is difficult to image in that his opponents were unaware of the evidence for the risen Jesus – so they try to silence the man who had changed from being an opponent to a proponent of the gospel.

26:10 When they were put to death I cast my vote against them

This voting included Stephen "And Saul approved of his execution" (Acts 8:1) cp Acts 7:58 "then they ... stoned [Stephen]. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul".  Saul was central to the execution and gave his approval. In effect, Saul killed Stephen.