Galatians 1:17, commentary and pictures

After his conversion Paul did not go up to Jerusalem to consult or learn from those who were apostles before him, but went into Arabia and afterward returned to Damascus. He left Damascus for Arabia after preaching Christ there only a short time, when fierce opposition stopped his work and put his life in danger, leaving for safety and retreat by God's direction and commission. In the desert solitude of Arabia, alone with God apart from others and the apostles, he gave himself to communion, prayer, study and meditation, reviewing his past, deepening his repentance, emptying his soul of prejudice and tradition, and studying the Scriptures stored in his memory with Christ as his teacher. There Jesus met with him and strengthened and established him in faith, wisdom and grace for his great work among the Gentiles as one chosen apostle by God and not by men, so that his preaching came not by instruction from men but by revelation from Jesus Christ. After returning to Damascus he preached boldly in Jesus' name until opponents plotted to kill him and he escaped by night lowered in a basket through the wall, while at Jerusalem the believers had heard only rumor of his change and feared and doubted him and would not receive him.

Journey After Conversion

After his conversion Paul did not go up to Jerusalem to consult or learn from the apostles who were before him, but went into Arabia and afterward returned to Damascus. He made no communication with the apostles at Jerusalem first, going from Damascus into Arabia and later returning to Damascus.

He left Damascus for Arabia after preaching Christ there only a short time, when fierce opposition prevented him from continuing his work. His life was in peril and in danger, so he left for safety and a time of safe retreat. He went by God's direction and commission, told by a messenger from heaven to leave for a time.

His time in Arabia came before his return to Damascus and his later visit to Jerusalem. After returning to Damascus he preached boldly in Jesus' name, and the Jews' plot to kill him led the disciples to lower him in a basket through the city wall. About three years after his conversion he went to Jerusalem chiefly to see Peter, and three years passed before he visited Jerusalem, where he stayed only fifteen days.

Preparation in Arabia

In the desert solitude of Arabia, apart from others and from the apostles, he was alone with God in communion, prayer, study, meditation and contemplation, making nature's solitudes a school. There he reviewed his past life, searched and examined his heart, deepened his repentance, emptied his soul of the prejudices and traditions that had shaped his life, and studied the Old Testament Scriptures stored in his memory with Christ as his teacher to learn of God and receive instruction from the Source of truth. Through this seeking he was preparing for his work among the Gentiles, which felt too great and important for him as one chosen as an apostle not by men but by God.

He sought God earnestly until he knew his repentance was accepted, his great sin pardoned, and Jesus would be with him and sustain him with constant grace in his coming ministry. He carried ever in his body the marks of Christ's glory in his eyes blinded by the heavenly light, while the days of darkness spent in solitude at Damascus were as years in his experience. In Arabia Jesus communed and met with him in close connection with heaven, strengthening and establishing him in faith and giving him wisdom and grace. His preaching therefore did not come from instruction by other people but from revelation by Jesus Christ.

Preaching and Reception

After his time in Arabia Paul returned to Damascus and there preached boldly in the name of Jesus. His bold preaching roused such opposition that his enemies plotted to kill him and watched the gates of the city to seize him. To save his life the disciples took him by night and let him down in a basket through an opening in the city wall.

Because he had withdrawn into Arabia, no definite word of him and little definite news of his change reached the disciples and believers at Jerusalem. They had heard only a rumor of his wonderful change, and remembering his former persecutions they were slow to believe that he had truly become a follower of Jesus. They doubted the reports of his conversion and feared he was acting a part in order to deceive and destroy them. When he afterward tried to join himself to the brethren as one of their number they would not receive him, and this rejection was to him a cause of great grief and disappointment.