Bible Snack #150

17 …nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. 18 Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and remained with him fifteen days. 19 But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother (Galatians 1:17–19).
 
I like Paul. I like his writings, his explanations, his descriptions, his depth—I just plain like him. Here he is showing us how he gathered his knowledge. After all, he was killing Christians before the time he writes about here. He knew nothing of Jesus and His teachings. All he knew was that Christianity was turning his world upside down, and he didn’t like that. So, when he became one of them, he had some fast learning to do. Here’s what I like about the way he obtained his knowledge. He didn’t ask every man, woman, and child what they knew about this man named Jesus and the religion he seemed to have fostered.
 

No. He went to the man himself. He sequestered himself in the desert. And he spoke with the Lord. It’s not clear how many years he spent in the desert, but it was long enough to learn even the deep things that the Lord could not teach His disciples before He left this world, because they weren’t ready. Then he went back to Damascus and spent three years with the community there. Then he went to Jerusalem to confer with the leaders, the disciples of Jesus. He was already preaching in the synagogues, but like all of us, he needed confirmation.
 
As you read your Bible, ask the Lord to be your teacher and show you the deep things of God as well as the fundamentals. Then confer with a renowned human teacher to be sure that you never stray from the truth.