Saul had a mission and purpose for his life. It was to protect the religious system of which he had become a significant part. He had only recently witnessed and consented to the fatal stoning of Stephen, whose last words on earth revealed the truth of the Gospel of Yahshua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) to any that had ears to hear what he was saying:

To Saul, those who challenged his religion were worthy of persecution and even death. He was so determined to rid the world of the Jews that had come to believe that Yahshua was the promised Messiah, that he chased after them to cities beyond Jerusalem and even to nations outside of Judah. In his zeal, he sought and obtained permission from the high priest to follow his pursuits. Saul was focused on his mission as he approached the City of Damascus, which was located in Syria. That is when a life-changing event happened to him. He saw "a light from heaven:"

Then Saul heard a voice, which called him by name:

As Saul later recalled this miraculous occasion, he said that the voice spoke to him in the Hebrew language, which is written in the Greek text as εβραις (Hebrais):

The voice told Saul that it is hard to "kick against the pricks." This seems to mean that the more he resisted God’s calling on his life, the more it would hurt him.

The language that Saul heard is significant because the speaker identified Himself by name:

Regardless of what the Greek text says, many believe the voice actually spoke in the Aramaic language, rather than in Hebrew. The Aramaic language had been learned by the Jews while they were captives in Babylon nearly six centuries earlier and was commonly spoken in Judah during the first century. If the resurrected Messiah did speak to Saul in Aramaic, then He probably called Himself "Yeshua," instead of "Yahshua."

The influence of Babylon on the name is revealed in the name Joshua, the son of Nun, which is the same name as "Yahushua" or, as it is spoken, "Yahshua." After the captivity, the name of Joshua, which means "Yahweh is salvation," was changed to "Jeshua," which means "he is salvation:"

"Yah" is the short form of the name of God, which is "Yahweh." If the Messiah spoke Hebrew, as the Scripture says He did, then He would have likely called Himself "Yahshua," rather than "Yeshua." He would have thereby clearly identified Himself to Saul as the One who fulfilled the prophecy as the Savior that would come in the name of Yahweh:

When Saul, who had fallen down to the earth in the sight of the bright light which came upon him, finally rose up from the ground, he was blind! Instead of aggressively marching into Damascus as he had planned, he was led into the city by hand. Saul remained blind for three days, during which time he also fasted:

By Saul’s own account, he had been a prideful and zealous Pharisee:

Suddenly, however, his whole life changed. After Saul was humbled and blinded, Yahshua told him that He had another purpose for his life. He was sending Saul to minister the Gospel to the Gentiles!

Ironically, Yahshua told the blinded Saul that He was sending him to open the Gentiles’ eyes! He sent Saul to tell them that, through faith in Him, they could be turned from darkness to light, as they were delivered from the power of Satan to God. Their sins could be forgiven and they could be sanctified:

Saul thought that he knew the purpose for his life, which was to defend the traditions he had been taught. It was only after he was humbled that Yahshua revealed a greater purpose for him. Ironically, Yahshua used this "Hebrew of the Hebrews" to bring the truth of the Gospel to the Gentiles.

Many of us also think we know the best course for our lives. Some of us, like Jonah, who was called to prophesy to Nineveh (see Jonah 1:1-3), resist Yahweh’s calling until unbearable afflictions overtake us. A great storm arose in Jonah’s life that put him in a helpless and hopeless situation, in the belly of a fish. That was when he was willing to humble himself before Yahweh and cry out to Him:

Many of us already think we are in Yahweh’s will and doing what He has called us to do. However, it is only after He humbles us that we are able to see His greater purpose for our lives. This was the case with the prophet Isaiah. He was a prophet during the reign of Uzziah, the powerful king of Judah. Uzziah, however, died of leprosy because he ignored the holiness of Yahweh by illegally offering incense in the temple. Isaiah recorded the events of his life:

It was in the year that King Uzziah died that Isaiah began to see more clearly the awesome holiness of Yahweh:

As Isaiah got a glimpse of Yahweh’s holiness, he was humbled as he saw more clearly his own sinfulness:

It was in Isaiah’s state of humility that Yahweh cleansed him of his sin. Only then did he know that he was ready to fulfill Yahweh’s calling for his life:

Many of us make great and prideful plans for our lives, which we zealously try to fulfill. Then, after we are humbled through afflictions, Yahweh shows us that it is He, and not ourselves, that directs our steps: