“Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.”
Barnabas, we are told, “was a good man and full of the Holy Ghost.” He was known among his brethren as, “the son of consolation.” He was sent by the church at Jerusalem to Antioch to aid those new in the faith. Upon his arrival and seeing God’s marvelous grace manifested in the lives of the young converts, he exhorted them to, “cleave unto the Lord.”
If you’re familiar with the Old Testament, you’re aware this is exactly what Moses and his protégé, Joshua, urged Israel to do. The word “cleave,” as used in our context, means: to adhere, to glue, to join, or stick to. Those early Christians were encouraged, not cling to some doctrine, dogma, or denomination; but rather to, “cleave unto the Lord.”
Whatever shortcomings one might find in Jacob’s physical and spiritual makeup, you could not fault him in being a “clinger-on,” so to speak. He knew both how to hold on and hold out. True, it cost him dearly, but it was a price he was more than willing to live with the rest if his life. It forever changed the way he walked, and everyone knew it. But he didn’t care, for his God had touched him!
By an Old Disciple