The beloved physician Luke wrote as Paul defended himself before the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem, “Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question. And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees: and the multitude was divided. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both. And there arose a great cry: and the scribes that were of the Pharisees' part arose, and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man: but if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him, let us not fight against God. And when there arose a great dissension, the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take him by force from among them, and to bring him into the castle. And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as you have testified of me in Jerusalem, so must you bear witness also at Rome”, and in chapter twenty-three and verse twelve of the book of Acts Luke shared how, “certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse” Paul where we read:
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.
The verse begins, “And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, ...” Luke began with the words, “and when it was day” which means “and at the time and moment daytime or sunrise appeared”, “certain of the Jews” or “particular ones within the Jewish nation as respects to origin, birth or religion” “banded together” which means “made a coalition, conspiracy or concourse of disorderly persons”, “and bound themselves” or “and devoted their own selves” “under a curse” which means “and declared themselves liable to the severest of divine penalties”. Luke shared how the “daytime” arrived and a particular group of Jewish men made a coalition and put themselves under a liability which had “divine penalties” if broken.
The verse continues, “... saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.” Luke added the words, “saying that they would neither eat” which means “uttering, declaring and proclaiming that the men who put themselves under a curse would not consume any food” “nor drink” or “no and not in any way would they imbibe anything” “till they had killed Paul” which means “until they had destroyed, abolished and extinguished Paul whose name means small or little”. Luke shared how the men who banded themselves together under a “curse” said they would not consume any food or imbibe any drink until they had abolished and destroyed “Paul”.
When we consider Luke's words in this verse, we learn how some of the Jewish men decided to commit themselves to a “curse” if they ate or drank anything before they had “killed” “Paul”. We note the vitriol these men had against “Paul”, and we can only imagine how desperate they were to have him eliminated. There is a spiritual war against the gospel of Jesus Christ, and many people are used by Satan himself to attempt to stop the message of God's salvation through Him. Anyone who yields themselves to Jesus will be forgiven of their sins and granted everlasting life with God, however, anyone who refuses to receive Jesus as their personal “Savior and Lord” will give an account of their sinful life and be separated from God in hell for all eternity. This battle, as demonstrated by these Jewish men, continually ensues, and those who are wise will not only recognize it, but surrender themselves to Jesus and defeat the foes against Him.
Next time Luke shares how, “there were more than forty which had made this conspiracy”, 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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