Gimel

¹⁷ Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live and observe thy word.

¹⁸ Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.

¹⁹ I am a sojourner on earth; hide not thy commandments from me!

²⁰ My soul is consumed with longing for thy ordinances at all times.

²¹ Thou dost rebuke the insolent, accursed ones, who wander from thy commandments.

²² take away from me their scorn and contempt, for I have kept thy testimonies.

²³ Even though princes sit plotting against me, thy servant will meditate on thy statutes.

²⁴ Thy testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors. (KJV)

As I study the life of Paul I realize had much knowledge he had of the Torah, the Prophets and the Writing (our Old Testament) that he acquired in his early training as a Pharisee.  However, he also was probably trained in all the traditions of the elders, which Jesus preached against as setting aside the commandments of God in order to keep the traditions of the elders (Mark 7:1-23).   It was only after Paul’s encounter with Christ that he approached and applied his knowledge of the scriptures in a different matter.  He found the key to understanding them in Jesus.  I believe it was these three quiet years in Paul’s life that he searched the scriptures (our Old Testament) and let the Holy Spirit open his heart truly understand all the references of Christ found in Torah, the Prophets, and the writings. 

By studying the lives of the Old Testament saints, we can see how God prepares those that he uses for the work of His ministry before they are even aware that God is going to use them.  A great example of this is Moses.  He was educated in all the learning the Egyptians and was a man of power in words in deeds.  However, it took forty years in the wilderness and the becoming a shepherd before God approached him to the task of leading Israel for the next forty years.  It was also during these last forty years that God inspired Moses to give us the Pentateuch.  When we study Paul we realized that God had the same plan for him as he had for Moses.  Not only did Paul have the role of the apostle to the Gentiles, but he also wrote thirteen epistles, and possibly the book of Hebrews which guide the church through his ministry and for the last two thousand years. 

In II Timothy 2:15 Paul tells Timothy to study to show himself approver unto God as a workman that needed not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.  Paul realized how important this quiet time was in the scripture.  I have a note in my Bible that I made many years ago.  As I study the scriptures in my later years I realized that my views are not changing but growing as the Holy Spirit opens up the meaning of the scriptures as I seek to know more about Jesus and His love.  It is in these still quiet moments as we let the things of earth grow strangely dim and we seek to let the Holy Spirit speak to us that the peace of God that passes all understands enters into our live.