The beloved physician Luke 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 in chapter sixteen and verse twenty-six of the book of Acts Luke shared how, “suddenly there was a great earthquake” where we read:
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.
The verse begins, “And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken:” Luke began with the words, “and suddenly” which means “and unexpectedly and unawares” “there was a great earthquake” or “there appeared and came into existence a massive shaking, commotion or tempest”, “so that the foundations of the prison” which means “insomuch, therefore and wherefore foundational stones belonging to the place of bondage, dungeon or jail” “were shaken” or “were put into motion by agitations and tottering”. Luke shared how a quaking of the earth unexpectedly appeared which shook the foundation stones of the “prison” in which “Paul and Silas” were held captive.
The verse goes on to say, “and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.” Luke continued with the words, “and immediately” or “and straightaway and forthwith” “all the doors were opened” which means “each, every, the whole and everyone of the entry and exit doors were opened up”, “and every one's bands” or “and each, all, the whole and everyone of the prisoner's bonds or chains” “were loosed” which means “were relaxed and desisted”. Luke shared how the “earthquake” caused all the “doors” of the prison to be “opened” and every bond and chain of the prisoners to be relaxed.
When we think through Luke's words in this verse, we learn how “an earthquake” unexpectedly appeared while “Paul and Silas” were singing praises to God. This caused the “doors” of the prison to open and the bonds of the prisoners to be set free. We shall see how God uses this event to “save” the jailer and his household in our next few verses, but for now, let us marvel in the movement of God because “Paul and Silas” worshiped Him in the midst of their troubles. God loves to have a personal relationship with everyone through His Son Jesus, and when they submit themselves to Him, He will forgive their sins, grant them everlasting life and inhabit their praises especially when they worship Him in adversity.
Next time Luke shares how, “the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open … would have killed himself”, 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". All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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