Acts 17:22-23 Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you:
Several hundred years before Jesus was born, a plague broke out in Athens, Greece. In an effort to stop the plague and appease the ‘gods’, the Athenians sought counsel from a wise man named Epimenides from the island of Crete.
When Epimenides arrived in Athens, he was amazed at the number of statues of gods the Athenians had erected, to which he stated, “Gods must be easier to find here than men!”
The elders of Athens eagerly gathered on Mars Hill the following day to hear the wisdom of Epimenides and his recommendation for dealing with the plague. So the wise man instructed the Athenians to gather at Mars Hill, bringing with them a flock of sheep, a band of stonemasons and a large supply of stones and mortar. He also commanded that the sheep be prevented from grazing the entire night so that when they arrived the following morning they would be hungry.
The following morning, Epimenides stated, “Learned elders, you have already expended great effort in offering sacrifice to numerous gods, yet all have proved futile. I am now about to sacrifice based upon three assumptions rather different than yours.”
“The first assumption is that there is still another god concerned in this matter of the plague—a god whose name is unknown to us, and who is therefore not represented by any idol in your country. Secondly, I am going to assume also that this god is great enough—and good enough—to do something about the plague, if only we invoke his help. Thirdly, that any god great enough and good enough to do something about this plague is probably also great and good enough to smile upon us in our ignorance—if we acknowledge our ignorance and call upon him!”
Next, Epimenides ordered the sheep to be released, and he prayed, “O thou unknown god! Behold the plague afflicting this city! And if indeed you feel compassion to forgive and help us, behold this flock of sheep! Reveal your willingness to respond, I plead, by causing any sheep that pleases you to lie down upon the grass instead of grazing. Choose white if white pleases, black if black delights. And those you choose we sacrifice to you—acknowledging our pitiful ignorance of your name!”
As the sheep were released, the people were shocked when the sheep started lying down instead of grazing! Wherever they lay, an altar was erected and a sacrifice was made to the “unknown god!” The Athenians were freed from their plague, and the legend of their deliverance at the hands of the “unknown god” continued unto the time of Paul when he entered into Athens.
This amazing event became Paul’s point of departure for reaching the Athenians with the gospel of Jesus. God had laid a historical foundation to prepare their hearts for seeking and believing in a legendary “unknown god”; a god who had already demonstrated his saving power among them, but one whom the apostle had now come to identify…. and fully reveal to them!
God continues even now, preparing souls in mysterious ways, throughout the world! He is looking for laborers to go into the harvest fields! And no matter where you are, there’s a harvest field right outside your door…so go forth!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]Last week, we discussed the significance of Jerusalem in the culmination of the age. Here, we’ll continue to scratch that surface. The word “Jerusalem” is so rich with meaning that a single devotion will only begin to unpack it; there are so many etymological approaches. But most agree that the root letters at the end, שלם (shalem) spell a Hebrew word requiring numerous English words to fully comprehend including, “perfect”, “complete”, “sound”, “whole”, “harmony”, “peace”, etc. In addition, the concept of payment is present, as לשלם (leshalem), “to pay”, also suggests “reward”.
When God set apart the Seventh Day it was after He Himself had worked for six, and then rested. Shabbat is therefore, “primordial” in a real sense, something established from the beginning of time. This makes the pattern of working six days and resting on the seventh something fundamental to human existence, and something exceedingly blessed.
The expectation of the coming Kingdom of God is intimately connected with the restoration of Israel and the city of Jerusalem. The preceding passage describes Zion in labor, as once again, we find the metaphor of birth used to convey this scriptural promise. It is a national gestation which will not be aborted, but will come to fruition. But first, before this labor begins…a “male child” is born… This can be none other than Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah, Israel’s King, Himself, arriving beforehand, (on a donkey, at that), quite some time before the labor which gives birth to the nation; and causing the prophet to wonder if a nation can be born in a day.
Yesterday, we began our series of devotions focused on the birthing of the Kingdom. Continuing to develop these insights, let’s look at day 2 of creation and its focus upon water.
Here’s an interesting fact about American church history that you may not know. Years ago, when the first New England churches were designed, they were built with clear windows rather than the stained glass ones we see so often today — and the graveyard was usually built in the churchyard, which would normally be seen from the pulpit. Why?
For several years now, I’ve been focusing on the Kingdom of God, a central theme of Yeshua’s preaching [Luke 4:43], and will be offering a series of devotions on this topic with particular emphasis on our present season, which I believe portends the birthing of this Kingdom. A study of the gestation process from conception to birth yields insight as a natural parallel into the historical process we’re witnessing and taking part in. This theme will be developed in the coming days.
One of the sacrifices mentioned in the Tenach (Old Testament) is mentioned as a Peace sacrifice or sometimes translated as the Thanksgiving sacrifice. It is known as the ‘shalem’ sacrifice. The root behind this word is the word ‘shalom’ whereby we get the word, peace.