Alastair's Adversaria - Biblical Reading and Reflections: June 26th (Daniel 5 & Acts 21:1-16)

Episode Date: June 25, 2021

Belshazzar's feast. Warnings of imprisonment at Jerusalem. My reflections are searchable by Bible chapter here: https://audio.alastairadversaria.com/explore/. If you are interested in supporting this project, please consider supporting my work on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/zugzwanged), using my PayPal account (https://bit.ly/2RLaUcB), or buying books for my research on Amazon (https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/36WVSWCK4X33O?ref_=wl_share). You can also listen to the audio of these episodes on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/alastairs-adversaria/id1416351035?mt=2.

Daniel chapter 5. King Belchazza made a great feast for a thousand of his lords and drank wine in front of the thousand. Belchazza, when he tasted the wine, commanded that the vessels of gold and silver that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem be brought, that the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. Then they brought in the golden vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, them, and the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines, drank from them. They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone. Immediately the fingers of a human hand appeared, and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace, opposite the lampstand, and the king saw the hand as it wrote. Then the king's colour changed, and his thoughts alarmed him, his limbs gave way and his knees knocked together. The king called loudly to bring in the enchanters

the Chaldeans and the astrologers. The king declared to the wise men of Babylon, whoever reads this writing, and shows me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold around his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. Then all the king's wise men came in,

but they could not read the writing or make known to the king the interpretation. Then King Belchazza was greatly alarmed, and his colour changed and his lords were perplexed. The queen, because of the words of the king and his, lords, came into the banqueting hall, and the queen declared, O king, live forever, let not your thoughts alarm you, or your colour change. There is a man in your kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father, light and understanding and

wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods were found in him, and King Nebuchadnezzar, your father, your father the king, made him chief of the magicians, enchanters, chaldeans, and astrologers, because an excellent spirit, knowledge and understanding to interpret dreams, explain riddles and solved problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belta Shazer. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation. Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king answered and said to Daniel,

You are that Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah, whom the king my father brought from Judah. I have heard of you that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. Now the wise men, the enchanters, have been brought in before me to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but they could not show the interpretation of the matter. But I have heard that you can give interpretations and solve problems. Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation,

you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another. Nevertheless, I will read the writing to the king and make known to him the interpretation. O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father kingship and greatness and glory and majesty. And because of the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, nations and languages trembled and feared before him.

Whom he would he killed, and whom he would he kept alive, Whom he would he raised up, and whom he would, he humbled. But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened, so that he dealt proudly, he was brought down from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him. He was driven from among the children of mankind, and his mind was made like that of a beast, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, until he knew that the Most High God rules the kingdom of mankind and sets over it whom he will. And you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this,

but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of Heaven, and the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have drunk wine from them, and you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honoured. Then from his presence the hand was sent, and this writing was inscribed, and this is the writing that was inscribed. Mene, Mene, Teckel and Parson, this is the interpretation of the matter. Mene, God has numbered the days of your kingdom, and brought it to an end. Tekle, you have been weighed in the balance

and found wanting. Peres, your kingdom is divided and given to the Meads and Persians. Then Belchazer gave the command, and Daniel was clothed with purple, a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made about him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. That very night, Belchazza the Caldean king was killed, and Darius the Mead received the kingdom, being about 62 years old. Daniel chapter 5 continues the Aramaic second. of the book. It corresponds with chapter two in the book-ended structure of this section from chapter two to chapter seven. Both chapters concern the humbling of kings, although the outcome for Belshazzar is very different than that for Nebuchadnezzar. Once again, the story of Babel and its

themes lies close in the background. Babel, of course, was the original Babylon, a hubristic attempt of man to make a kingdom that would last forever, to gather together time, to gather together heaven and earth, and together together all of humankind, in this one world's society. At the beginning of chapter one of the Book of Babylon, the temple vessels were mentioned, as having been taken from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. These are, as it were, a Chekhov's gun in the book, and now finally, in Chapter 5, it's going to get fired. A lot of history has transpired between the time of Nebuchadnezzar and Belchazza. Nebuchadnezzar ranged from 605 BC to 562 BC. After him, there were four very short reigns of kings before Nabonidas came to the throne in 556 BC.

For many years, the absence of any reference to Belchazza within the archaeological and other material led people to believe that he was just a figure invented within the biblical text with no historical basis. Figures like Belshazzar gave support to the claim that the Book of Daniel was merely a work of historical fiction. However, later discoveries made clear that Belchazer was in fact a historical figure. and vindicated the biblical text and its references to him. Belshazzar was the son and the crown prince of Nabonidas. He was not the sole ruler at this time, but was in a co-regency with his father. However, as his father was away from Babylon for a long period of time,

in a sort of self-imposed exile, Belshazzar exercised more royal prerogatives than we might initially expect. Many scholars also believe that Nebuchadnezzar was Belchaz's maternal grandfather. Belchaz's mother, the Queen's, in this story, being Nebuchadnezzar's daughter. The story of Chapter 5 begins with Belchazza throwing a great feast for his nobles. In the course of the celebration of the feast, he brings in the vessels of gold and silver that had been taken from the temple by Nebuchadnezzar. These vessels dedicated to the service of the Lord, Belchazza and his lords used for their drunken revelries

and their idolatrous worship. We should recall that priests were specifically prohibited from drinking while in the temple, in the context of the Book of Loviticus. the deaths of Nadab Nabahubaihu as they offered strange fire to the Lord is implied to have resulted from their drinking of wine. We should also think back to Jeremiah chapter 25, where the Lord declares through the prophet Jeremiah that he will test the various nations that have been involved in the downfall of Jerusalem.

This judgment will occur as they drink his cup of wrath and reel in the resulting drunkenness. In verses 15 to 29 of that chapter, Thus the Lord, the God of Israel said to me, take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. They shall drink and stagger and be crazed because of the sword that I am sending among them. So I took the cup from the Lord's hand and made all the nations to whom the Lord sent me drink it. Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and officials, to make them a desolation and a waste,

a hissing and a curse, as at this day. Pharaoh, king of Egypt, his servants, his officials, all his people, and all the mixed tribes among them, all the kings of the land of Uzz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, Ashcalon, Gaza, Echran, and the remnant of Ashtad, Edom, Moab, and the sons of Ammon,

all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the coastland across the sea, Didan, Timur, and all who cut the corners of their hair, all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mixed tribes who dwell in the desert, all the kings of Zimrai, all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of

of media, all the kings of the north far and near, one after another, and all the kingdoms of the world that are on the face of the earth, and after them the king of Babylon shall drink. Then you shall say to them, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, drink, be drunk and vomit,

fall and rise no more, because of the sword that I am sending among you, and if they refuse to accept the cut from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, thus says the Lord of hosts, you must drink. For behold, I begin to work disaster at the city that is called by my name, and shall you go unpunished? You shall not go

unpunished, for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth, declares the Lord of hosts. It seems that not only the drinking vessels of the temple have been brought to this feast, but also the lampstand. The fact that it is spoken of as the lampstand, suggests that this is the lampstand of the temple in Jerusalem itself, an object that had been consecrated to the Lord's service. The lampstand was associated in some ways with the high priest within the temple. It was connected with the almond or watcher tree, whose blossoms were represented upon it. Some commentators also observe its similarity to a scales, with counterbalancing stems on either side. It has a tree-like character. In other respects, it could be associated with the hand.

There are five lampstands on either side of the temple, like the five digits on each of a person's hands. In the context, it seems clear that it symbolises the Lord's light-giving presence in the situation, watching, inspecting, and bringing matters into judgment. Opposite this lampstand, and presumably in association with the lampstand, the king sees the fingers of a human hand writing in the plaster of the wall, or the dust of the wall. Writing with the finger of God is rare in scripture. The one clear association is the writing of the tablets of the law in the book of Exodus. Another associated instance might be Jesus' writing on the ground in John Chapter 8, as the woman caught in adultery was brought to him. The king's response to this sign

is sheer terror. His colour changes, the colour of his face. His thoughts, the thoughts of his heart, alarm him. His loins were loosed, some translations give this as his limbs giving way, and his knees knocked together. The reference to his loins being loosed suggests that he involuntarily defecates himself. This would have been a fulfillment of Isolns. Isaiah chapter 45 verse 1. Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him,

and to loose the belts or loins of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed. We might also recognise that we are here moving down through the king's body, in a way that corresponds with the great image of chapter 2. The change countenance is the head of gold, the silver chest is the thoughts of the heart, the loins is the way.

and thighs, and the iron legs are the knees knocking together. King Belchazza, the personal representative of the great Tower of Babylon, is being shaken and toppled. We might also recognise behind this account some allusions back to the ritual of the law of jealousy in Numbers Chapter 5, when a woman was suspected of adultery by her husband, and yet there was insufficient evidence to convict her. The woman could be brought to the Lord, where the Lord would render judgment directly upon her himself, giving her a test of jealousy. The test of jealousy involved taking some dust from the tabernacle floor, mixing it in with water, which also contains scraped off handwriting of a curse.

If a guilty woman drunk this, the Lord would bring a miraculous punishment upon her. Numbers chapter 5 verses 21 to 22 describe what would happen. The Lord make you a curse and an oath among your people, when the Lord makes your thigh fall away and your body swell. May this water that brings a curse pass into your bowels, make your womb swell and your thigh fall away, and the woman shall say, Amen, amen. In Daniel chapter 5, we have another inspection of jealousy, with elements that recall this earlier right. There is handwriting, where in the original right there was dust from the tabernacle floor.

Here there is the plaster, or what could be rendered, the dust of the wall. In Numbers Chapter 5, the woman drinks from a cup prescribed by the Lord. In Daniel chapter 5, Belchaza and his Lord sacrilegiously drink from the cups of the Lord. The words Amen Amen that the woman pronounces are an anagram of the words Menei-Mene, and the wound swelling and the thigh falling away could be seen to correspond with the loosening of Belshazzar's loins. Belshazzazzar summons the enchanters, the Chaldeans and the astrologers, promising them a huge reward if they're able to read the writing and make the interpretation known to him. The promise that they would be the third ruler in the kingdom fits with what we know of Belshazzar,

whereas other kings might have offered that the person would be the second ruler, in the kingdom, as Belchazza is co-regent with his father Nabonidas, he can only offer the third spot. After the Enchanters, Chaldeans and astrologers have failed, the queen who is likely the queen mother, the wife of Nabonidas and the daughter of Nebuchadnezzar, and hence a person of great importance in the court, especially in the absence of her husband Nabonidas, gives her counsel to her son. The queen is the only woman who speaks in the book of Daniel. By this point Daniel is likely in his 80s and has been out of the service of the king for some time. The queen's However, remembers Daniel and the way that the Lord used Daniel in the reign of Nebuchadnezzar.

Belchaza, by contrast, is like the Pharaoh that forgot Joseph. Belchazza doesn't seem to be entirely ignorant of Daniel, however. When Daniel is brought in before him, he exhibits some knowledge of Daniel beyond what his mother told him. Possibly by this point, he would have hidden the temple vessels, not wanting Daniel to realize what had been going on. Daniel, who interestingly has called Daniel through most of this account, refuses the gifts of the king, but says that he would read the right writing and make known the interpretation. He begins, however, not directly by giving the reading of the text and its interpretation, but by speaking about the contrast between Nebuchadnezzar and Belchazza. Within the book-ended structure of these chapters, chapters four and five, give accounts of two humbled

kings that are contrasted with each other. Daniel emphasizes the glory and the might of Nebuchadnezzar and the way that the Lord humbled him in the events of Chapter 4, the Lord thereby demonstrating his rule in the affairs of men. Belchazza failed to learn the lessons from his maternal grandfather's experience. His sins were more egregious than those of his grandfather. He had lifted himself up against the lord himself, defile the vessels of his temple, and employed them in acts of idolatry. James Jordan notes that the shifting of the order of the metals in verse 23, from the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone to silver and gold bronze, iron, wood and stone, is an indication that the silver and the gold, the silver of Medo-Persia and the gold of Babylon have switched positions.

Belshazzar and Babylon with him have lost their power, and in their place is rising the kingdom of Medo-Persia. This introductory statement is an important part of helping us to understand what comes later, the interpretation of the riddle. To most readers of Daniel chapter 5, the writing on the wall may receive little attention. There are four words on the wall, and for some reason Belshazzar and his wise men are unable to read them. The English Bible reader might speculate that these were words written in the language that Belshazzar and his wise men couldn't understand. The connection between the words and their interpretation might also seem somewhat opaque.

Perhaps the four words are simply headings for a prophetically revealed message that cannot be deduced from them. Daniel's interpretation is considerably longer than the words themselves. So, we might presume, he must be adding a lot of information to what is given in the writing itself. Then, if we do look closer, other puzzles emerge. For instance, why is the word menet repeated? Or why does the plural parson become peres singular in the solution? The first thing that we need to recognise is that the words written on the wall would have likely been a consonantal text without vowels and likely without spaces either. If you imagine receiving a text in English without vowels and without spaces, you can imagine that it would be very difficult

to interpret, and exceedingly difficult if you didn't have any sort of clear context. There were many different ways that you could divide the words of the writing on the wall to derive some sort of message from it, and no clear way to narrow down its possible meanings. A solution to the riddle of its meaning would need to stand out so clearly from other candidates that its truth would become apparent. Daniel's solving of the riddle begins by reading the text itself, broken into its component words, Mene, Mene, Teckle, and Parson. The first word Mene, teckel and parson,

three nouns, all refer to a particular type of thing, weights. The second Mene, however, might not be a repetition of the weight, but the passive participle, it has been weighed. The first, Mene, is a minor, or 60 shekels. The second, teckel, is a shekel. The third, Perez, written in the plural form of parson, is half of a weight, either half of a minor or half of a shekel.

As I will argue, it seems to be taken in both of these senses in different ways in Daniel Chapter 5. At one point it is the half weight of a minor, at another point the half weight of a shekel. The riddle is a multi-stage puzzle, and in breaking it down into these words and recognising that they refer to a process of weighing or assessing, Daniel has unlocked the first stage. The interpretation that Daniel arrives at is much more elaborate than this, however, and contains a lot more information, so we need to consider what other steps might have taken him there. Daniel does seem to exercise some prophetic insight in this passage. He mentions the hand sent from God that wrote upon the wall,

even though the text doesn't record Daniel being informed about how the writing came to be there. Nevertheless, there is no statement here that the Lord informed Daniel of the meaning of the handwriting on the wall. Daniel is renowned for his skill in interpreting visions, dreams and solving riddles. He has a divine gift, but this gift need not mean that he is privy to revealed information that others lack in this instance. Nowhere here does Daniel say that he has a crucial part of the puzzle that others lack, as if the handwriting were merely a fragment of a larger revelation. No, he presents his message as an interpretation of what is written. We should be able to trace the stages by which Daniel arrived at his interpretation,

and the stages by which others could have followed his interpretation, recognizing it to be the correct one. James Bejan, drawing together work from Al Walters, James Jordan and others, has written an extensive and profoundly illuminating exploration of Daniel's solution to this riddle, which provides the basis for much of my treatment. The ground story of the solution is the identification of the three nouns. How did Daniel get to the next story? By taking the root consonants of the three nouns that he had identified,

he identifies three verbs corresponding to the three nouns. He then, working on this next story of interpretation, expounds those verbs. Mene corresponds with a verb for to weigh or value, from which he determines the meaning God has valued your kingdom. Teckle corresponds with a verb for to weigh, whose meaning he expounds as, you've been weighed in the balances. Perez corresponds with a verb for to divide or distribute, yielding your kingdom has been divided. This still leaves us with the question of how Daniel moved from the

verbs he identified to his interpretations. The staircase by which Daniel ascended to the highest story of his interpretation was a final transformation of the root letters. Having identified the three nouns and the initial three verbs, he recognised a third form of the roots, which made it possible for him to solve the entire riddle. These third forms themselves aren't given to us in the text, but they can be deduced from Daniel's interpretations, in which the key terms cast the shadow of synonymous words and expressions. The first part, corresponding to Mene, is he has entrusted it to you. The synonymous verb is usually translated, finished or brought to an end, but is elsewhere used in the sense of paying over, in the sense of completing or performing a transaction.

The second part corresponding to Teckle is, you're too light. The third and final part corresponding to Perez is twofold, a verb to give the meaning it has been allocated, and the noun Persia. As Carol Newsom notes, the text could easily have given us the key terms related to the original consonants that would have revealed how Daniel arrived at his interpretation. However, by giving us synonyms instead, it gives us enough to discover them, while veiling them to all but the most attentive readers of the text, who are thereby rewarded with the satisfaction of insight. The handwriting on the wall sets up what Newsom calls the governing trope of someone using scales. On the one side of the scales is a minor weight, the weight of the kingdom of Babylon that God has entrusted

to Belchaza, which he had inherited from Nebuchadnezzar, with whom Daniel has just unfavourably contrasted Belchazza at length. This is then the meaning of the first line, the interpretation of Menei. The weighty kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar has been weighed out and entrusted to Belchazer. The second line, the interpretation of Teckle, places Belchazer himself on the scales, weighing him against the weight of the kingdom committed to him. Belchazza, however, is an extreme lightweight, only one shekel, a 60th of what Nebuchadnezzar was. As Bajan observes, such comparisons of persons with relative weights are found elsewhere in the literature of the period. The insufficiency of this shekel-weight man for this minor-weight kingdom presents a problem that is solved in the third line, the interpretation of Perez.

Perez relates to the plural parson, to the verbs for division and allocation, and to the proper noun of Persia. If Belshazzar is too light, then two half-miners, the Medes and the Persians, will do the job, as the kingdom is divided and allocated to them. We can see then that in terms of this interpretation there are three stages to the story. In the past there is the weighing out of the kingdom of Babylon and entrusting it to Belshazzar. In the present there is the judging and weighing of Belshazzar himself and finding him wanting. This is in the context of the test of jealousy, as he drinks from the vessels of the temple before the lampstand of the Lord.

The final stage concerns the future, the kingdom that he has, will be divided to people who are sufficient for it, the Medes and the Persians, these two half-miners. We can appreciate then that the weights are integral to the meaning of the riddle. Fittingly, these events occurred just as Libra

was rising over Babylon, as Al-Walter's notes. Libra was known in Aramaic literature as the scales, and that word is at the heart of Daniel's interpretation. As we know that astrologers were at the scene, it seems unlikely that this connection would have passed them by. If we get into the Gametria of the three-by-three block of consonants that composed the riddle, the gametria being the sum of the numerical values associated with the letters, Bejohn suggests that we can see the identities of Cyrus, Darias, the Watchers, the King,

and Belchazer himself all alluded to, with the same sum of the letters in the first row and the first column, 91. That number corresponds with only two proper nouns in the book. God and the king. It also equals the sum of the weights and shekels. A minor, 60, a shekel, 1, and a half minor, or Perez, 30 totaling 91. It is also the same number as the number of letters in Daniel's statement and the interpretation of the riddle together. Elements of our interpretation of a biblical passage could be compared to branches on a tree. Some aspects of our interpretations are like the trunk, which is robust, central and certain. Others are like larger branches. which can support a lot of weight. However, as you venture out further, branches can become a lot

thinner and less suitable for resting much weight upon. This is a chapter with a riddle at the heart of it that invites a lot of careful and deep reading. Yet certain of these speculations about levels of meaning in the riddle of the handwriting on the wall can bear much more weight than others. Nevertheless, even though we should hold certain speculative interpretations very tentatively, recognizing ways in which they could be weak, it is always valuable to get an appreciative sense of how full the tree of the text's meaning might actually be. By interpreting the riddle, Belchazza perhaps thinks that Daniel has diffused it in some way, giving him the means to avoid it. He exalts Daniel to a position of high office, just as Joseph was exalted by Pharaoh back in Genesis.

This is yet another example of the parallels between Joseph and Daniel in this book. However, Belshazzar's fate is not so easily avoided. That very night he is killed, and his place is taken by Darias the Mead. This Median king receives the kingdom, just as the sentence of the handwriting on the wall announced. Darias the Mead is 62 years of age when he receives the kingdom. It is very rare for us to be given the age of a pagan king. Indeed, no other instances of this happening in Scripture come to mind. It's worth reflecting upon why this number is given to us.

Later on in the book, we find the number 62 used in the context. of the 70 weeks of years in chapter 9. This might suggest that the events of the first year of Darius's reign that follow are a means of assisting the attentive reader in interpreting the events of the final week of the 70 weeks of years. A further thing to note is that if we take the Perez half weight to be a half weight of a shekel rather than a half weight of a minor, the total of the weights in the handwriting on the wall comes to 62. 60 is a minor, a shekel is one, and then the two half-shekels come to one shekel, bringing us to 62 shekels in total. This 62-year-old Darius the Mead, then, is marked out as suitable for the kingdom.

The equivalence of his age to the sum of the weights suggests that he is the one who's going to bring balance. A question to consider. In the opening narrative chapters of the Book of Daniel, the shadow of the Tower of Babel hangs over much of the proceedings. What are some of the ways that we can see the story of Genesis 11 and the Tower of Babel in the background of this chapter. Acts chapter 21 versus 1 to 16. And when we had parted from them and set sail,

we came by a straight course to Koss, and the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara, and having found a ship crossing to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. When we had come in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left, we sailed to Syria and landed at Tyre, for there the ship was to unload its cargo. And having sought out the disciples, we stayed there for seven days.

And through the spirit they were telling Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. When our days there were ended, we departed and went on our journey. And they all, with wives and children, accompanied us until we were outside the city. And kneeling down on the beach we prayed, and said farewell to one another. Then we went on board the ship, and they returned home. When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Talmayus. and we greeted the brothers and stayed with them for one day. On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea,

and we entered the house of Philip the Evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied. While we were staying for many days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea, and coming to us, he took Paul's belt and bound his own feet and hands and said, Thus says the Holy Spirit,

this is how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles. When we heard this, we and the people there urged him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be imprisoned, but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. And since he would not be persuaded, we ceased and said,

Let the will of the Lord be done. these days we got ready and went up to Jerusalem. And some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us, bringing us to the house of Nason of Cyprus, an early disciple with whom we should lodge. Earlier in chapter 20, Paul had interrupted the return journey to Jerusalem at Miletus to deliver a final charge to the Ephesian elders. Now after an emotional parting, at the beginning of Acts 21, he rejoins the company on the ship and they continue their journey. The we-s-sense, section continues here. Luke is present as part of the company and now they are going to be moving towards Jerusalem together. There is a detailed itinerary here of their journey, as there was

in chapter 20, with each brief stop on the way mentioned. It's perhaps reminiscent of the itinerary that we find on the wilderness wanderings given in places like Numbers Chapter 33 or Deuteronomy chapters 1 to 3. They're moving from the west coast of modern Turkey, round past Korea in the Roman province of Asia, dropping off on the islands of costs and roads, before landing in Patara in Lissia. At Patara, they board another, presumably larger ship to go beyond the islands and out into the wider Mediterranean, travelling towards Venetia. The distance from Patara to Tyre was about 400 miles, and has been estimated to take about three to five days of sailing. Their journey seems to be going smoothly. When they arrive in Tyre, they have the time to

spend a week with the disciples there, presumably they are well on target to be in Jerusalem for Pentecost. The disciples here express concern about the fact that Paul is going to Jerusalem. It is revealed to them by the Spirit what awaits Paul there, and presumably they infer from that that he should not go. However, Paul's journey to Jerusalem is itself by the constraining of the Spirit, as we see in Acts chapter 20 versus 22 to 23, and now behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrict. strained by the spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. Such sufferings were always essential to Paul's mission, as we see in the instructions given to Ananias in Acts chapter 9,

verses 15 to 16. But the Lord said to him, go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel, for I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name. Paul is being conformed to Christ. In the Gospels, as Jesus had travelled with his disciples towards Jerusalem, he had revealed them on a number of occasions what awaited him in the city, and they had sought to dissuade him, as they realized what lay ahead. Paul experiences much the same thing. On the one hand, the spirit has told him that he must go towards these sufferings. He is constrained by the spirit. On the other hand, the spirit is revealing to the people around him that he is about to go and the fate that awaits him.

And in the process, the spirit is actually increasing pressure against him. Now he needs not only to follow the constraining of the spirit against all the weakness of the flesh within. He also has to follow it against all of persuasions of his friends without, who have been given part of the picture by the spirit, but not the full picture. The spirit in the process is testing and proving Paul. All of the disciples at Tyre with their families

go with Paul and his company down to the beach, praying with them before sending them off. They stop off at Talmayas and visit the Christians there for one day, and then on to Caesarea, where they stay with Philip. Philip the Evangelist was one of the seven who was called back in Chapter 6, and it describes him as having four unmarried daughters here who prophesied. Luke might have several reasons for mentioning the daughters at this point. First of all, it draws our minds back to Acts chapter 2, verses 17 to 18. and the prophecy of Joel, as it was quoted by the Apostle Peter in his sermon on the day of Pentecost,

and in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even on my male servants and female servants in those days, I will pour out my spirit, and they shall prophesy. Luke often has male and female pairings. We've seen this at several points in the Book of Acts. We also see the same thing in the book of Luke, for instance with characters like Simeon and Anna. In chapter two of his gospel, he describes Anna as a prophetess.

These four young girls are not described as prophetesses, but they do prophesy. Perhaps Luke reserves the terms prophet and prophetess for people who have more established ministries. Whatever is the case, these young women reflect very positively upon their father. A spiritually gifted father has raised spiritually gifted daughters. And here there are activity of prophesying, parallels with the character of Agabus, a male prophet who delivers a message concerning Paul. Caesarea is for this company the last stop before Jerusalem. This is the point where Paul faces the crunch moment, the temptation to turn back.

It is a significant point for Luke as well. Spending time like this with Philip and his family would give him an extended period of time to spend in conversation with one of the important sources for his book of act. Much of the content of chapter 6 to 8 of the book would rest upon Philip's testimony. The prophet Agabus was previously mentioned in chapter 11 verse 28, where he foretold the famine that would come upon the world. Now he performs a prophecy with Paul's belt to symbolise what will happen to him in Jerusalem. In Luke's account here of the prophecy of Agabus,

he's drawing attention back to previous events within his Gospel of Luke. The moment of decision that Paul faces here is being compared to the choice, choice that face Christ as he moved towards Jerusalem, and then later in the Garden of Gessemone. Agabus declares, this is how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles. This is a somewhat inexact description of what actually happens, as the Romans take Paul into custody after their commotion in the temple. One could make a case that he's not really delivered into their hands by the Jews. However, although Agabus' statement can be defended in its accuracy, its main effect,

is to parallel Paul and Christ. We have statements in Luke that are very similar to this concerning Christ, Luke chapter 18, verses 31 to 33. And taking the 12, he said to them, see, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished, for he will be delivered over to the Gentiles, and will be marked and shamefully treated and spit upon, and after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise. The delivering over to the Gentiles will happen in Paul's case as well. When the disciples hear about this, they weep and try to urge Paul not to go to Jerusalem. Paul begs them not to weep, it will only make his journey harder.

He must go to Jerusalem, he must suffer for the name of Jesus Christ, he's ready to be imprisoned and even to die. Here Paul takes up the language of the apostle Peter that is given to us in Luke 22, verse 33. Peter said to him, Lord, I am ready to go with you, both to prison and to death. In contrast to Peter's overconfident and failed commitment, Paul will carry his commitment through.

Eventually they resign themselves to Paul's determination. Let the will of the Lord be done. And this again recalls events from the Gospel of Luke, in Luke chapter 22 verses 41 to 42, and he withdrew from them about a stone's throw and knelt down and prayed saying, Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done. Paul is facing his Gessimini moment here,

and he faithfully moves on in the steps of his master. Looking at the description of prophecy in this chapter, it's worth reflecting upon the way that prophecy can be incomplete. In chapter 20, verses 22 to 23, Paul knows that suffering and imprisonment awaits him, but he does not know exactly how things will play out. Prophecy can be inexact, as we see in chapter 21, verse 11, as Agavis destroyed. describes the way that Paul will be handed over to the Gentiles. It may also lead to false conclusions, as we see in verse 4 of this chapter,

where the disciples infer from the message of the Spirit that Paul is going to face persecutions and imprisonment, that he should not go up to Jerusalem. This further suggests that prophecy can be conditional. The prophecy declares what will happen if Paul goes to Jerusalem. The prophecy does not declare that Paul going up to Jerusalem and being imprisoned is inevitable. Paul has a choice. He could turn back. at this point. All of this description of prophecy suggests that prophecy needed to be handled with great care. It would reveal part of the picture, but people could easily be misled concerning

it, and follow it in false directions. The prophet also seems to be in danger of giving an interpretive spin upon his prophecy, as we see in the case of those who try to dissuade Paul from going to Jerusalem, because they mistakenly took the prophecy concerning his imprisonment there to be an indication that he should not go. Even beyond the discernment between true and false prophecy then, prophecy seems to have required considerable amount of wisdom in its handling. The prophecy that we see in this chapter is limited counsel. It isn't firm, authoritative, and infallible direction. Some of the disciples from Caesarea go up with them to Jerusalem. They bring them to the house of Nathan of Cyprus. He's an early disciple. Perhaps as a Jerusalem Christian with connections to Cyprus, he would somehow

have had connections with Barnabas. They all stay with him and the fact that they're staying with an early Christian in Jerusalem perhaps serves as an indication that he is another important source for Luke's account of the early years in Jerusalem. Someone who had been present for the early years in Jerusalem would be able to fill in many parts of the story that we see in chapters 1 to 8. A question to consider, where else in the New Testament do we see Paul tested concerning his sufferings in a way that is reminiscent of Christ.