Paul’s mentor Gamaliel
Jealously was the reason given for the persecution of some of the early Apostles in the book of Acts chapter 5. The High Priest and his associates within the Sanhedrin were threatened by the new movement and had the apostles arrested and put in prison.
The defiant words of the apostles in the face of the hostility made the leaders furious and sought to put the apostles to death. It was at this time that a respected member of the Sanhedrin spoke up. His name was Gamaliel, who was a teacher of the law and mentor to one who become the great Apostle Paul.
The words of Gamaliel are central to this article and are recorded in Acts 5:34-39
But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honoured by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while. Then he addressed the Sanhedrin: “Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered.
Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”
The men were subsequently released, and it is the issue of our adversaries realising they are fighting God that is the subject of this article. On that basis I felt it useful to look at scenarios in the ancient scriptures where the adversaries of the people of faith, came to the realisation that they were fighting God.
The Egyptian Army
It was God who led them out of Egyptian Bondage and set an Angel to guard them on their journey. The angel became a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar or fire at night to guide the people. We read that it was in fact the Lord Himself who went before the people in the cloud and the fire, as recorded in Exodus 13:21
And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:
When the people appeared cornered at the Red Sea, it was the words of Moses that brought comfort in Exodus 14: 13-14
And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more for ever.
The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.
The Lord did indeed fight the battle as it was His battle to fight. When the Egyptian army approached the Angel of the Lord went behind the people to create barrier and divine delay.
The specific actions of the Lord of the Universe and the outcome of the battle are recorded in Exodus 14:24-27
And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians,
And took off their chariot wheels, that they drove them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, let us flee from the face of Israel; for the Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians.
And the Lord said unto Moses, stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.
And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.
The battle was won by the Lord of the Universe. It was at the point of their demise that the Egyptian army realised they were fighting God Himself.
Armies surrounding Jehoshaphat and his people
It was a coordinated well-planned attack that left Jehosephat and his people in a hopeless situation. The Moabites, Ammonites and some Meunites held meetings and devised a strategy to surround and overwhelm Jehosephat and his people.
Realising the perilous situation, Jehosephat and his people cried out to the Lord of the Universe. They acknowledged they had no power over the great armies confronting them and set about to worship God in the crisis. It was the words of a man called Jahaziel which provided comfort as recorded in 2 Chronicles 20:14-17
Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly.
He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.
Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel.
You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you.”
It was basically the same theme as spoken by Moses at the Red Sea. The people did not have the fight the battle. It was God’s battle and He would deliver them. The same applies to you in your battles, when you find yourself surrounded with no escape.
The outcome was miraculous and it is worth noting the specific actions of the Lord as the people worshiped Him. The Lord created confusion in the ranks of the advancing armies and they destroyed each other. The wealth left behind took 3 days for Jehosephat and his people to collect. The miracle is recorded in 2 Chronicles 20:21-25
After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:
“Give thanks to the Lord,
for his love endures forever.”
As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. The Ammonites and Moabites revolted against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.
When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped. So, Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry off their plunder, and they found among them a great amount of equipment and clothing and articles of value—more than they could take away. There was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it.
Therin lay the solution to your struggle when you feel overwhelmed by forces surrounding you. Worship activates the supernatural and turns the battle in your favour.
Elisha
He appeared surrounded and vastly outnumbered by the Syrian army which had encircled him. Elisha the master prophet however knew something his terrified servant did not know. There was more for them than against them. He said as much to his servant and prayed that the Lord would open the spiritual eyes of his servant. The story is recorded in 2 Kings 6:15-18
When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.
“Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, “Strike this army with blindness.” So, he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked.
Saul who became Paul
We started with the words of Gamaliel, and it would be Saul the zealot who trained under Gamaliel, who found out that he was fighting God. Saul a man consumed with destroying the early church and persecuting Christians.
Paul gave a full confession of his behaviour when he confessed to King Agripa in the book of Acts 26:9-11
“I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests, I put many of the Lord’s people in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them.
Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. I was so obsessed with persecuting them that I even hunted them down in foreign cities.
It was this zeal to destroy the people of God that led Paul to have an encounter with the God of the people he was persecuting. Paul described his supernatural encounter on the road to Damascus in Acts 26:12-16
“On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. About noon, King Agrippa, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?
‘It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’
“Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’
“‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me.
Paul found out what his mentor Gamaliel had said in the Sanhedrin. He found himself fighting God. To his good fortune, he was not destroyed but positioned to become a great Apostle. To all the adversaries trying to fight you, they may the hear the same words spoken to Paul; ‘It is hard to kick against the goads.’
Observations & Applications
There will be times when the level of opposition that confronts us is overwhelming. Despite our best efforts we quickly assess that we have no chance of victory without the intervention of the Lord of the Universe. It is encouraging to know that in the middle of the storm, He is ever present to deliver us.
The time when our adversaries think they have us surrounded and move in to finish us off, is often the time when they meet our God. He does not come when we first get into trouble but arrives just in the nick of time. The reality is His timing is perfect.
Using the examples in the stories I have mentioned I will provide a few points that causes our adversaries to realise who they are really fighting.
- Things start breaking down in their lives the more they afflict you. Like with the Egyptian army, the ‘wheels start coming off’ their plans to harm you.
- Supernatural ways of escape are created for you.
- Confusion is sown among your adversaries who may turn on each other.
- It will become evident to both you and your adversaries that there are more things working for you than against you in the situation.
- You have a host of Angels encamped around you to deliver you
- God will show up and make Himself known on your behalf.
- The problem will be turned into a blessing for you.
When you should be defeated but become stronger is a time when your adversaries realise who they are really fighting. They have not been fighting you but fighting against the All Mighty God who defends and protects you.
