After reading Jude, I moved on to Philemon.
14 OCT 08
One of the shortest books of the Bible, but a fairly well-known story:
Onesimus was a runaway slave who belonged to one of Paul's friends. He met or found Paul, who was in prison at the time. Paul led Onesimus to the Lord, then sent him back to his master. Paul's letter is a plea for Philemon to accept Onesimus back as a brother in the Lord, even as if he were Paul himself (v. 17), and not as a slave. Runaway slaves who were returned to their masters were often punished severely.
Paul as an apostle could have ordered Philemon to either grant Onesimus his freedom, give him as a gift to Paul (v.13), or to not punish him. But Paul knew that to do so would infringe on Philemon's free will given by God. If God would not override Philemon's free will, neither will Paul (v.14).
The key phrase in this book is in verse 9: "for love's sake." For love's sake, Paul appeals to his friend instead of using his authority to order him to do the right thing. Paul also knew of Philemon's love for the saints (v. 5), and he was sure that would not only do what he asked, but more than that!
15 OCT 08
An interesting thread in this book is the obligations that people have towards each other.
First, Paul reminds or informs Philemon that he (Paul) is in prison for his faith, and is a prisoner of Christ (v. 9). By stating this, I'm sure he reminded Philemon of his own obligation to Christ.
Paul also indicates that he could have kept Onesimus with him, but he felt an obligation to respect Philemon's choice (v.14).
Paul also recognizes that Onesimus has an obligation to Philemon, but offers to cover any loss that Philemon might have incurred by Onesimus' actions. He also reminds Philemon of the spiritual debt that he owes Paul (vs. 18 - 19).
The key lesson from this thread is: Which obligation is the most important? The obligation to love.
23 OCT 08
Most people might not know it, but Paul makes a pun in verses 10 and 11. In verse 10, he first mentions Onesimus, whose name means "useful." This was a common name for males born into slavery.
The pun comes in verse 11. Paul says that Onesimus, "Useful," was not useful when he ran away, but now he is Onesimus again because Paul led him to the Lord, and is sending him back to Philemon.
All too often, American Christians miss the humor in the Bible due to our not being acquainted with the languages and culture of the times and places of when and where it was written, and also due to the influence of religion that sees laughter as unholy or sinful.
24 OCT 08
To tie together previous entries, what we see in this letter is a balance between love, free will, and obligation.
God will never override man's free will, and neither must His servants. Despite having the authority to order Philemon to release Onesimus, Paul appeals to his friend on the basis of love.
People do have the ability to obligate themselves. Because Philemon was a believer, he chose to submit to the authorities in the Church.
What if Philemon had not been a believer? Once Paul found out his new convert was a runaway slave, he would have sent Onesimus back with a different message. Paul's letter then would have presented the Good News first, and might have appealed to Philemon to release Onesimus, or at least not punish him severely, on the basis of general morality.
Paul made his appeal because of the love of God he experienced. He appealed to the love of God that Philemon experienced as the reason for him to release Onesimus.
The obligations of love are stronger than the obligations of the law.
26 OCT 08
The depth of Paul's appeal to Philemon is seen in verses 7 and 20. In verse 7, Paul notes that Philemon, acting in love, refreshed the hearts of the saints. In verse 20, Paul asks Philemon to refresh his heart. In other words, show me the same love you show to other Christians in your area.
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