Proclamation:
“… Seizing Paul, they dragged
him from the temple, and immediately the gates were shut. While they were trying to kill him, the news
reached the commander of the Roman troops that the whole city of Jerusalem was
in an uproar. He at once took some
officers and soldiers and ran down to the crowd. When the rioters saw the commander and his
soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.” Acts
21:30-32 (NIV)
Explanation:
This historical account of
the events in the life of the Apostle Paul was recorded under the influence of
The Holy Spirit of God by Luke, the physician and Paul’s traveling
companion. Earlier in his life, Paul had
led soldiers to persecute Christians. Now
soldiers arrived just in time to save him from the Jews who were "...
about to kill him ..." by beating him to death. The soldiers did not save Paul because they
knew him or liked him. They were just
trying to stop a riot because "... all Jerusalem was in an uproar." (Acts
21:31) The soldiers were part of the
Roman government which was anti-Christian. The Roman commander arrested Paul to stop a
riot. So, in essence, Paul was saved by
his enemies, the soldiers, from his enemies, the Jews. God arranged it so that Paul's enemies, the
soldiers, were a blessing to him, they saved his life.
Application:
Paul was blessed by his
enemies. Some blessings can come from
some strange places. Our blessings may also
come from some unusual places or from some unlikely people. God can use whomever He wants to bless His
people. God can "... make your
enemies your footstool ..." (Matthew 22:44) Their intentions may have been to harm us and
not to do us any favors but God can use them to be a blessing to us. Or, as Joseph said to his brothers, "...
you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good ..." (Genesis 50:20)
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