SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/23/2018 9:50 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Intro to Acts 23:12-35
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Acts
23:12-35
Message of the verses: “12 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. 13 There were
more than forty who formed this plot. 14 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. 15 “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." 16 But the son of Paul’s
sister heard of their ambush, and he came and entered the barracks and told
Paul. 17 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." 18 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." 19 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?" 20
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. 21 “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."
22 So the commander let the young man go, instructing him, "Tell no one
that you have notified me of these things." 23 And he called to him two of
the centurions and said, "Get two hundred soldiers ready by the third hour
of the night to proceed to Caesarea, with seventy horsemen and two hundred
spearmen." 24 They were also to provide mounts to put Paul on and
bring him safely to Felix the governor. 25 And he wrote a letter having this
form:
26 “Claudius Lysias, to the most excellent
governor Felix, greetings. 27 “When this man was arrested by the Jews and was
about to be slain by them, I came up to them with the troops and rescued him,
having learned that he was a Roman. 28 “And wanting to ascertain the charge for
which they were accusing him, I brought him down to their Council; 29 and I
found him to be accused over questions about their Law, but under no accusation
deserving death or imprisonment. 30 “When I was informed that there would be a
plot against the man, I sent him to you at once, also instructing his accusers
to bring charges against him before you."
31 So the soldiers,
in accordance with their orders, took Paul and brought him by night to
Antipatris. 32 But the next day, leaving the horsemen to go on with him, they returned
to the barracks. 33 When these had come to Caesarea and delivered the letter to
the governor, they also presented Paul to him. 34 When he had read it, he asked
from what province he was, and when he learned that he was from Cilicia, 35 he
said, "I will give you a hearing after your accusers arrive also,"
giving orders for him to be kept in Herod’s Praetorium.”
As
I look at this section of Scripture, the last part of chapter 23 I can’t help
but think about what the Lord had just told Paul in a vision that He was
thankful that Paul was obedient to Him in Jerusalem, testifying to the Jews,
and now the Lord tells Paul that he must testify of Him in Rome too. It will take a while before Paul goes to
Rome, but he will get there, as the book of Acts closes while Paul is in Rome.
Another
thing I think about is what the Lord had told to Peter found in the 21st
chapter of the book of John where He tells him exactly how he will die to the
glory of the Lord, and then later on we found Peter in a cell chained between
two soldiers where he was to be executed the next morning. Peter was asleep, and I believe he was asleep
because of the assurance of what the Lord had told him earlier how he would
die, and it was not by the sword.
In
John MacArthur’s commentary he introduces this section by talking about how
perhaps Paul may have been thinking about King David and the ten years that he
was on the run, running from King Saul, but David was assured that he would
become King of Israel because the prophet Samuel had anointed him to be king
when he was a young man. As we look at
these three Biblical characters they all have in common that the Lord had given
them promises and they all believed them.
I suppose that the dream that Joseph had when he was a young man also
fits into this category too.
MacArthur
writes that perhaps Paul was thinking about a psalm that David wrote which I
will include in this SD. Psalm 56:1-13
is the psalm quoted in his commentary.
1 Be gracious to me, O God, for man has
trampled upon me; Fighting all day long he oppresses me. 2 My foes have
trampled upon me all day long, For they are many who fight proudly against me.
3 When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. 4 In God, whose word I praise,
In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do
to me? 5 All day long they distort my words; All their thoughts are against me
for evil. 6 They attack, they lurk, They watch my steps, As they have waited to
take my life. 7 Because of wickedness, cast them forth, In anger put down
the peoples, O God! 8 You have taken account of my wanderings; Put my tears in
Your bottle. Are they not in Your book? 9 Then my enemies will turn back
in the day when I call; This I know, that God is for me. 10 In God, whose
word I praise, In the LORD, whose word I praise, 11 In God I have put my
trust, I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me? 12 Your vows are binding
upon me, O God; I will render thank offerings to You. 13 For You have delivered
my soul from death, Indeed my feet from stumbling, So that I may walk before
God In the light of the living.”
John
MacArthur writes: “This narrative
passage contains no doctrinal truths or practical exhortations; it merely
recounts an event in Paul’s life. Yet no passage of Scripture
could more clearly illustrate the providence of God.
“God’s
providence is His sovereign control over and ordering of natural circumstances
to accomplish His will. It is also
illustrated clearly in the Old Testament in the book of Ester, where God
providentially protected His people, Israel, from their destructive
enemies. God’s providence underlies such
familiar and comforting passages as Philippians 4:4-7; Hebrews 13:6; and Luke
12:22-34.
“God’s
dramatic, providential deliverance of Paul plays out in three scenes; the plot
formulated, found out, and frustrated.”
Lord,
willing, we will begin by looking at Acts 23:12-15 in our next SD, “The Plot
Formulated.”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I have always believed that God is in control
of all things and that He will use these things to bring about His will upon
the earth. In believing this it makes me
think just how great, and how powerful God is as He takes even sinful things
and causes them to bring glory to His name.
For instance, as we look at what happened in World War Two we see that
out of all the mass killing and terrible things that happened out of that war
came the re-birth of the nation of Israel, something that was prophesied in
Ezekiel chapters 36-37.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Trust the
Lord even in times when things do not seem to be going the way I would want
them to go as I know He is working things out for His glory and for my good.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “First day of the first month
of the second year” (Exodus 40:2, 17).
Today’s Bible question: “Whom did Paul counsel to be rich in good
works?”
Answer in our next SD.
8/23/2018 10:32 AM
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