But Joseph said to them, “It is as I said to you. You are spies. By this you shall be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here...” And he put them all together in custody for three days...Then they said to one another, “In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.”
—Genesis 42:14-15, 17, 21
So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt three days.
—Exodus 10:22
“For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
—Matthew 12:40
Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
—Acts 9:8-9
The Lord didn't destroy Saul for his violent opposition to the infant church; He gave him three days of darkness.
Joseph was second in command in Egypt. He could have ignored his brothers' plea for food. He could have left them to rot in prison for their treachery, or even executed them. Instead, he gave them three days to consider their past actions. Genesis records their recognition of their own guilt, and shows by their subsequent words and actions that they had repented.
The Lord directed Moses to give Pharaoh one last chance to submit before death came. Three days of darkness gave Pharaoh time to reconsider his arrogance. The sun, worshiped by the Egyptians, was demonstrated to be just another part of the Lord's creation, totally subject to His will. Pharaoh tried to negotiate—as if he had anything with which to bargain—and ultimately refused to learn.
Esther requested three days and nights of fasting before she went to the king on behalf of her people. She prepared herself and approached the king in keeping with Mordecai's instruction.
Jonah was given three days inside the fish that had swallowed him—three days in which to repent of the rebellious attitude that sent him running away from the Lord's command to preach to Nineveh. He obeyed physically, but his heart clearly wasn't in the task, and he pouted when the Lord showed mercy to the Ninevites.
Jesus foretold his own three days in the darkness of the tomb. But then He left the tomb behind, bringing life and light to those who would believe.
Saul had three days of darkness and fasting to consider his own actions and to humble himself before the One whose body he had been persecuting. At the end of that time, he got up, prepared to be a new person. More importantly, a believer and ambassador and apostle of the One whose grace had rescued him.
I don't know whether Saul/Paul thought about the length of his darkness when he arose to be baptized. But, given his education, I feel that it's likely that he recognized it at some point. Perhaps as he wrote to the believers in Corinth:
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.
Three Days
For his anger is but for a moment,
and his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may tarry for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.
—Psalm 30:5
But Joseph said to them, “It is as I said to you. You are spies. By this you shall be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here...” And he put them all together in custody for three days...Then they said to one another, “In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.”
—Genesis 42:14-15, 17, 21
So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt three days.
—Exodus 10:22
“For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
—Matthew 12:40
Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
—Acts 9:8-9
The Lord didn't destroy Saul for his violent opposition to the infant church; He gave him three days of darkness.
Joseph was second in command in Egypt. He could have ignored his brothers' plea for food. He could have left them to rot in prison for their treachery, or even executed them. Instead, he gave them three days to consider their past actions. Genesis records their recognition of their own guilt, and shows by their subsequent words and actions that they had repented.
The Lord directed Moses to give Pharaoh one last chance to submit before death came. Three days of darkness gave Pharaoh time to reconsider his arrogance. The sun, worshiped by the Egyptians, was demonstrated to be just another part of the Lord's creation, totally subject to His will. Pharaoh tried to negotiate—as if he had anything with which to bargain—and ultimately refused to learn.
Esther requested three days and nights of fasting before she went to the king on behalf of her people. She prepared herself and approached the king in keeping with Mordecai's instruction.
Jonah was given three days inside the fish that had swallowed him—three days in which to repent of the rebellious attitude that sent him running away from the Lord's command to preach to Nineveh. He obeyed physically, but his heart clearly wasn't in the task, and he pouted when the Lord showed mercy to the Ninevites.
Jesus foretold his own three days in the darkness of the tomb. But then He left the tomb behind, bringing life and light to those who would believe.
Saul had three days of darkness and fasting to consider his own actions and to humble himself before the One whose body he had been persecuting. At the end of that time, he got up, prepared to be a new person. More importantly, a believer and ambassador and apostle of the One whose grace had rescued him.
I don't know whether Saul/Paul thought about the length of his darkness when he arose to be baptized. But, given his education, I feel that it's likely that he recognized it at some point. Perhaps as he wrote to the believers in Corinth:
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.
Paul used his three days well.