How did Paul carry out judgment on Elymas?
Filled with the Holy Spirit, Paul fixed his eyes on Elymas, called him a child of the devil, and asked if he would stop perverting the Lord’s ways. Paul turned judgment over to God, declaring the Lord’s hand would blind him for a season; immediately mist and darkness fell, and he sought someone to lead him by the hand.
Les explains that Elymas the sorcerer, identified as a Jew, withstood Paul and Barnabas and tried to keep the Roman deputy from hearing the Word of God and to turn him away from the faith. Paul, formerly Saul, was filled with the Holy Spirit, so his response was not merely a human reaction of anger. He set his eyes on Elymas and called him a fool of all subtlety and all mischief, a child of the devil and an enemy of all righteousness, asking whether he would cease perverting the right ways of the Lord. Les points out that Paul did not execute the judgment himself; he turned it over into God’s hands. Paul declared that the hand of the Lord was upon Elymas, making him physically blind and unable to see the sun for a season—a protracted period, not for his whole lifetime. Immediately mist and darkness fell on him, and he went about seeking someone to lead him by the hand.
And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.
More Questions
How long was Elymas blinded?
Elymas was struck with physical blindness, unable to see the sun, not for the rest of his life but for a season, a protracted period of time, not for his whole lifetime.
What happened to Elymas immediately after Paul pronounced blindness on him?
The judgment came immediately: mist and darkness fell on Elymas at once and he went about seeking someone to lead him by the hand.
How long was Elymas the sorcerer blind and was it physical blindness?
The blindness that fell on Elymas was physical—he could not see the sun—and it was only for a season, a protracted period of time, not for the rest of his life.
What did God do to Israel that was like what Paul did to Elymas?
God did to the nation of Israel exactly what Paul did to Elymas the sorcerer, because Elymas was opposing the Gospel going to a Gentile.