Acts 23:12-35
“And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. And they were more than forty which had made this conspiracy….
Then the soldiers, as it was commanded them, took Paul, and brought him by night to Antipatris.”
When God is ready to defend a man, He goes all the way to put his enemies to shame and to confusion.
I have had a pictorial knowledge of this particular passage since my primary school days through one of the Bible story books we read in those days: how Paul was saved from the mob lying in wait to kill him and how God always arose to defend him; how he was let down the wall in a basket etc. The pictures are still vivid in my memory!
As I went through the above passage recently, I saw a fresh illumination of the operations of God in the life of His servant, Paul and by extension to us all who serve His purpose. There have been many threats to the life of Paul; atimes, he was beaten to the point of death and some other times, he escaped the mob.
However, I am particularly touched by this encounter where some more than forty people have even gone to the extent of making a vow not to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul!
Wow! That was a serious one and they meant business! They had deviced a plan and connived with those who will make it work! All was well orchestrated!
God works in mysterious ways: He caused Paul’s nephew to hear of the plan and he divulged it to Paul. Thank God for the young Man who knew what to do at that time. I believe he must have been from the tribe of the Men of Issachar! He had an understanding of the time and what to do!
May we be people of understanding and knowledge at every critical moment. Amen!
I am just thrilled at the role everyone played in this passage, towards the deliverance of Paul! It certainly wasn’t Paul’s time to die!
May God continue to raise and put people in place for our defence and deliverance against every evil plot and schemes of the enemy. Amen!
An ambush had been laid against Paul by some Jews in connivance with the Jewish authorities, the chief priests and elders with the plan to kill Paul before he gets to the destination where he supposedly would have been tried! Hmmmm! What a conspiracy!!
Only God knows how many plans have been made against our lives, to stop us in life. Faithful is He who fights our battles while we are even oblivious of them.
Thank God for the commander who took a quick initiative to beat the plan, arranging for Paul to be taken away that same night in the company of soldiers and horses. He didn’t wait till the next day when the conspirators would have gathered themselves and gone ahead to lay the ambush, presuming Paul will be taken on the journey during the day! God indeed arranged for a deliverance that came ahead of the evil plot. Help came before the disaster could surface!
Wow! I am thrilled! This is God for us: He shows up ahead of time; foiling every evil plots and counsels. His promise in Isaiah is real and I love it so much…
Isaiah 54:15
“Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.“
The evil plot was foiled and Paul was saved from the hands of the evil conspirators. Glory to God!
I believe there are so many instances unknown to us, where God has shown up ahead of us; where He has orchestrated deliverance where we never knew or even before we knew of wicked plots and siege. He is the Ever-Faithful God!
As the year wraps up, and as we move into another year, it is my prayer that every evil plot and conspiracy against our lives be thwarted! May every evil gathering of plans, thoughts, counsels, wicked imaginations and expectations, amunitions, weapons targeted against us be destroyed and all evil conspirators be heavily disappointed.
May God continue to always show up in our affairs, defending us and raising people for our help in every needed situation. Amen!
© Funmi Adebayo