by Rev. A. M. Cattanach, M.A.
III. — Saul in Arabia
Our present meditation must, of necessity, be rather short; not, indeed, because it is not an interesting subject, but only because the material at our disposal for such a study is so scanty. The only concrete reference to a period in the life of the Apostle Paul, in which he visited Arabia, is found in his Epistle to the Galatians, in which he writes, “But when it pleased God . . . to reveal His Son in me . . . immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood . . . but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.” (Gal. i, 15-17.) The chapter in Acts, which deals with Saul’s conversion, on the road to Damascus, and his subsequent witness for Jesus in that city, is completely silent on this visit to Arabia. It is generally agreed, however, among commentators, that Saul left the city, shortly after his opening ministry of witness there, and proceeded to the quiet recesses of Arabia, for meditation and contemplation. Where there is some disagreement, however, is in the question of the length of his sojourn in that ‘far-off country’; some maintaining that it lasted three years (based on Paul’s own words in verse 18 of the same chapter in Galatians — “Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem, to see Peter.”), while others think that it only lasted part of that time, giving to that same expression a rather different interpretation. As it is not our purpose to enter into controversial matters, in this series, suffice it to say, that Saul of Tarsus, sometime shortly after God had revealed His Beloved Son in him, on the road to Damascus, left behind the scenes of his busy witness-bearing to the glorious truths of Divine Revelation in the Old Testament Scriptures, and retired to the solitudes of Arabia, to be alone with God. That he did so, by Divine instruction, goes without saying: flesh and blood were not conferred with; at God’s command he left his post at the synagogues of Damascus, and slipped away, for a while, to the ‘secret places of the stairs’, where he might sit at the feet of Jesus, and drink in His heavenly words. That he returned to Damascus thereafter, a wiser and better servant of Jehovah, also goes without saying. May we not gather, then, a few thoughts together, for mutual edification, from the words, ‘I went into Arabia’?
1. He was obedient to the call of God.
It is a principle which ought to govern the lives of all God’s children, that ‘at the word of the Lord’ they shall go forth, at His word return, and at His word remain just where they are. Was it not so in the wilderness, where “at the commandment of the LORD they rested in the tents, and at the commandment of the LORD they journeyed.” (Numbers ix, 23)? How much distress that comes upon a believer, how much secret backsliding in a believer, may all be traced to a violation of this holy principle? O for that wisdom to be ever mindful that Israel prospered, only inasmuch as she obeyed that holy commandment, and suffered loss and setbacks, whenever she disobeyed it! It is such a principle that governed Saul’s life now, and therefore, though ‘flesh and blood’ might have said to him — Why leave this work in Damascus? Why go and bury yourself in the heart of Arabia? Why, even, indulge yourself in solitary study or meditation, running away, as it were, from duty in the heat of the controversy then filling the synagogues of Damascus? — he could always answer, with much confidence — Because it is God’s will; at His command I shall go; at His command again, I shall return.
Thus Saul takes up his staff and departs out of the city, to a far-off land. The unexpected had surely happened — what a change of purpose now, from that with which he had proudly left the city of Jerusalem, not so long ago!
Let us, also, be ready to learn, ready to follow, at His command; may our prayer be, ‘Teach me thy way, and in thy Truth O Lord, then walk will I.’ (Ps. lxxxvi, 11.)
2. He was alone with God.
Whether or not he was entirely destitute of companions on that journey into Arabia, is not revealed, and therefore we can never be sure. It is possible that he would require a guide, or someone to provide for his daily needs. Be that as it may, for our present purposes, it is enough to say that he was, in a spiritual, and, therefore, in a very real sense, alone with God. Alone, like Moses at Horeb, he could commune with the God of his fathers, of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and pore over the contents of ‘Moses, the Psalms and the Prophets’, until each page would shine resplendent with the glory of that Jesus, whom he had but recently come to know, as the promised Messiah of his people. What precious lessons he might learn, as he poured out his soul in prayer to Israel’s God; what instruction he might receive as to the fulfilment of all that had been promised, to the fathers, in the once despised and rejected Saviour, Jesus of Nazareth! Time spent in this way by Saul, would not be spent in vain. In the days of His flesh, had not Jesus Himself, as Master and Lord, gone often aside to pray, and to commune with God His Father? Yea, had He not even called the disciples to do the same — “And He said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while . . .” (Mark vi, 31)? With such an example to follow, might not Saul have gone on his way rejoicing, as he set his face to the road that was to lead him ‘into Arabia’? He had once sat at Gamaliel’s feet; now he was to sit a while (yes, even to ‘rest a while’) at Jesus’ feet, and learn there what he could never have learned at Gamaliel’s feet, though he had sat there all his days. From his former teacher, he might become learned in all the outward paraphernalia of Judaism, but from his present Teacher, he could learn the hidden wisdom, the mystery of the revelation, the deep things of God — he could become learned in the inward blessedness of the man whose sins were freely pondered, whose life was hid with Christ in God. He could learn of Him, who was meek and lowly in heart; he could learn to take His yoke upon him and serve Him night and day. He went into Arabia ‘to rest a while’ — not in idleness, but in sweet fellowship with his new-found Lord and Master.
May we, too, see our need of such a period in our life, if we are His. The gracious soul will need to ‘rest a while’ at times; to pause to think, to contemplate, to learn, to review his life. What better preparation can there be for service, in the highest sense, than to be alone with God? The length of time thus spent may often vary, but if we be truly exercised, whether long or short, it will prove beneficial for us. May we know, with Paul, that it is good to pay a visit to that place where we shall be alone with God. “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews, iv, 16.)
3. He returned again unto Damascus.
He had left Damascus, in the midst of what might have appeared to him to be a very successful mission, and retired, at God’s command, to the quietness and solitude of Arabia. However sweet that time alone with God may also have been, the time now came, when he must needs arise and return to Damascus. The retreat was over: at God’s command, he takes up his staff and sets his face towards Damascus once more, there to begin where he had left off. We may safely conclude that he returned a wiser and better person: in the quietness of that desert place he had learned much: the anointing of the Spirit had been given to him; he had received a better insight into his own emptiness and the infinite fulness of the Redeemer. All that he had been taught there was now to be put to good use, for the edification of the churches scattered here and there throughout the Empire. He came back from Arabia, refreshed in spirit, strengthened with might in the inner man, ready to put on the whole armour of God and fight the good fight of faith. Saul of Tarsus had not spent his time in vain in Arabia. How much of his later usefulness in the church may be traced to that period in his life, we may never fully know, but at least we can be sure that we owe much to it, for in that period Saul of Tarsus became a ‘polished shaft in the hand of his God’, a dedicated servant of Jehovah, whose work in the churches we can still admire and honour, to the praise of the glory of God’s free and sovereign grace.
Is there no lesson here for us? If we are drawn aside at times, to seek the Lord in secret, or laid aside from duty in His Divine Providence, are we not able then to occupy until He come? Is it not our duty to improve every situation? The quiet retreat will often be sweet to the child of God, but he must ‘return to Damascus’ too. The Lord will give strength to face up to all the difficulties of the wilderness. After a happy Communion season, it is often difficult to return to the world and our several duties in it; it is exactly at such a time as this that grace is needed to remember that Saul also had to return, and so to be encouraged to go on in strength of God alone.
If laid aside in Providence, the experience may not, of itself, be so sweet, but, if rightly exercised thereby, the gracious soul cannot fail to profit by it. The Lord will gently speak a word in season and when the lesson has been learnt, as gently lead him back to serve Him in the world. May we know a little, then, of God’s gracious dealings with His people in this manner, so that we may become epistles of Christ, as Saul was, known and read of all men.