Luke the beloved physician shared as Paul, Silas, Timothy and Luke himself went, “to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying”. “Paul and Silas” delivered the damsel of the evil spirit, “and when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers, and brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city. And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans. And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely. Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed”, and in chapter sixteen and verse twenty-seven of the book of Acts Luke shared how, “the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open … would have killed himself” where we read:
And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.
The verse begins, “And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, ...” Luke began with the words, “and the keeper of the prison” which means “and the warden or jailer belonging to the place of bondage, dungeon or jail” “awaking out of his sleep” or “rousing and becoming alert from his sleeping”, “and seeing the prison doors open” which means “and observing, beholding and noticing the vestibules or portals of the jail opened up” did the following. Luke shared when the earthquake occurred the “jailer” awoke from sleeping and noticed the “entry and exit ways” of the “prison” were opened up.
The verse continues, “he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.” Luke added the words, “he drew out his sword” or “the jailer took out his straight sword or large knife”, “and would have killed himself” which means “and was about to take his own life by committing suicide”, “supposing that the prisoners” or “thinking and deeming that the captives and ones in bonds” “had been fled” which means “escaped or sought safety by flight”. Luke shared how the “jailer” took out his “sword” and was about to commit suicide because he thought all the “prisoners” had escaped.
When we consider Luke's words in this verse, we learn how the “earthquake” affected the “warden or jailer” of the “prison”. He was “sleeping”, woke up when the earthquake occurred and was about to take his own life when he saw the doors of the prison open and believed the “prisoners” had all escaped. As a lead jailer, this man knew his own life would be taken by the Roman government because he allowed the prisoners to escape, so he decided to take his own life. We shall see how “Paul” responds to his actions in our next verse, but for now, let us realize God was at work in this “jailer”, and He was about to change his life for all eternity. God uses natural events to get people's attention, and because He loves them so much, He wants them to have a personal relationship with Him through His Son Jesus. When they yield to Jesus, He will forgive their sins and grant them everlasting life. Let all who read these words realize just how close this “jailer” came to His eternal destiny apart from God and understand how the Lord used an “earthquake” to alter His life forever.
Next time Luke shares how, “Paul cried with a loud void, saying, Do yourself no harm”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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