“Acts 23:12-22”

Monday, February 15, 2016

“When it was day, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves under an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. There were more than forty who formed this plot. They came to the chief priests and the elders and said, ‘We have bound ourselves under a solemn oath to taste nothing until we have killed Paul. Now therefore, you and the Council notify the commander to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case by a more thorough investigation; and we for our part are ready to slay him before he comes near the place.’ But the son of Paul’s sister heard of their ambush, and he came and entered the barracks and told Paul. Paul called one of the centurions to him and said, ‘Lead this young man to the commander, for he has something to report to him.’ So he took him and led him to the commander and said, ‘Paul the prisoner called me to him and asked me to lead this young man to you since he has something to tell you.’ The commander took him by the hand and stepping aside, began to inquire of him privately, ‘What is it that you have to report to me?’ And he said, ‘The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down tomorrow to the Council, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more thoroughly about him. So do not listen to them, for more than forty of them are lying in wait for him who have bound themselves under a curse not to eat or drink until they slay him; and now they are ready and waiting for the promise from you.’ So the commander let the young man go, instructing him, ‘Tell no one that you have notified me of these things.’”

---End of Scripture verses---

We ended yesterday’s reading with these comforting that Jesus spoke to Paul: “Take courage; for as you have solemnly witnessed to My cause at Jerusalem, so you must witness at Rome also” (verse 11). We don’t have to wonder, then, how it was that Paul’s nephew just happened to be at the right place at the right time to overhear the conspirators plotting to kill his uncle (verse 16). Jesus had promised to keep Paul safe, at least until he had the opportunity to preach the Gospel in the city of Rome, and He made good on that promise. As a matter of fact, God used the various plots and schemes of the Jews to kill Paul as a means to actually get him to Rome. “The Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you because the Lord your God loves you” (Deuteronomy 23:5).

So, more than 40 people “bound themselves under an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul” (verses 12-13). I have to believe that these men found a way to release themselves from this “solemn oath” (verse 14) before they died of thirst and starvation, because the Lord obviously extricated Paul safely from their grasp. No matter how determined people are to upset the plans of God, when the Lord makes a vow, His promise will be kept. When Jesus told Paul that He would keep him safe, the whole nation of Israel could have risen up against him in a coordinated effort to kill him and it still would have been to no avail. Friends, you can always believe the word of God and you can always count on Him to follow through on His promises. “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent; has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? (Numbers 23:19).

Hebrews 6:13-20 – “For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, ‘I will surely bless you and I will surely multiply you.’  And so, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise. For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute. In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”

It is impossible for God to lie and it is impossible for God to be mistaken. When God made promises to Abraham, they were as good as done, even though Abraham had to patiently wait for God to make good on them. One of those immutable promises was that God would bless all the families of the earth through Abraham’s seed (Genesis 12:3). God worked that promise and that plan out through the course of hundreds of years when He sent Jesus into this world to live and die for the sins of all humankind (Galatians 3:16). Because of what Jesus accomplished for us with His life, death and resurrection, we have the full assurance of an eternity in heaven if we obey the Gospel and remain faithful to Him until the end of our lives (Hebrews 10:19-25; 1 Peter 1:3-5; Revelation 2:10).

“Every word of God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him” (Proverbs 30:5).

Please read Acts 23:23-35 for tomorrow.

Have a blessed day!

-Louie Taylor

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