"The whole city was aroused, and the people came running from all directions. Seizing Paul, they dragged him from the temple, and immediately the gates were shut. While they were trying to kill him, 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. The commander came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains. Then he asked who he was and what he had done." Acts 21:30-33 (NIV)
Because of his preaching and teaching, the Apostle Paul had angered some of the Jewish leaders so much that they stirred up a crowd of Jews against him. They had seized him and were beating him with the intent of killing him. The commander of the Roman troops was responsible for keeping order within the city. When he heard about the riot, he took some troops to the scene to restore order. To control the crowd he arrested Paul.
In those days, Christians were hated by the Roman leaders and by the Jewish leaders. So basically, one enemy saved him from another enemy. We need to recognize that God can use our enemies and our haters to be a blessing to us, in spite of their feelings and intentions towards us. The Lord can make our enemies our footstool. (Psalms 110:1, Matthew 22:44, Mark 12:30, Luke 20:43, Acts 2:38, Hebrews 1:13, & Hebrews 10:13) Our blessings can come from what seem to be some strange places.
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