Acts 23:11 says, And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome. After Paul was once again in the custody of the chief captain, the next night the Lord stood by him and told him to be of good cheer. Paul had been beaten, chained, imprisoned and still had people trying to kill him, and he was told by the Lord to be of good cheer. Our problems are few compared to his, so we should have no trouble being of good cheer. Paul had testified in Jerusalem and now he was to testify in Rome. He might not have considered his time in Jerusalem to be successful, but God did. We may have trouble seeing success in what we do for the Lord, but if we are doing what God wants us to do, He will see the success. Verse twelve adds, 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. Verse thirteen continues, And they were more than forty which had made this conspiracy. The Jews had not given up on killing Paul. More than forty of them had made a conspiracy, according to KJV, to neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. We can only assume that they either died of thirst and starvation or they broke their vow, because they did not kill Paul. We should be very careful about making vows to God when they are not in accordance with His will. Verse fourteen states, And they came to the chief priests and elders, and said, We have bound ourselves under a great curse, that we will eat nothing until we have slain Paul. Verse fifteen adds, Now therefore ye with the council signify to the chief captain that he bring him down unto you to morrow, as though ye would enquire something more perfectly concerning him: and we, or ever he come near, are ready to kill him. They went to the chief priests and council, told them of their vow, then asked them to lie to the chief captain to get Paul in a position that they could kill him. This speaks loudly of the spiritual condition of many of those who were supposedly God's chosen people. As followers of Christ, if we ever think of doing anything immoral in the name of God, we better pray that He just takes us on home before we bring dishonor to His name. Verse sixteen continues, And when Paul's sister's son heard of their lying in wait, he went and entered into the castle, and told Paul. Paul's nephew heard of their plot and went to Paul and told him. Plots against God are hard to keep secret. The enemies of God will never subvert His plans, and His plan was for Paul to go to Rome. Paul did not have to worry, and we don't either. Verse seventeen declares, Then Paul called one of the centurions unto him, and said, Bring this young man unto the chief captain: for he hath a certain thing to tell him. Paul called a centurion to bring his nephew to the chief captain. If we are being mistreated or threatened in life, we need first to pray, and then go to the one who can do something about it. Verse eighteen adds, So he took him, and brought him to the chief captain, and said, Paul the prisoner called me unto him, and prayed me to bring this young man unto thee, who hath something to say unto thee. The centurion did s Paul asked, though he didn’t have to. Not everyone in a position of power over us in this world is indifferent to our situation if we are in a dangerous position. Verse nineteen continues, Then the chief captain took him by the hand, and went with him aside privately, and asked him, What is that thou hast to tell me? The chief captain was also willing to listen to Paul’s nephew. He too could have been indifferent. Verse twenty says, And he said, The Jews have agreed to desire thee that thou wouldest bring down Paul to morrow into the council, as though they would enquire somewhat of him more perfectly. Paul’s nephew said that the next day the Jews were going to ask that Paul, who was out of their reach at this time, be brought down to the council for further questioning. This would have seemed a reasonable request. We shouldn’t be surprised if people of the world lie about their intensions concerning Christians. Verse twenty-one adds, But do not thou yield unto them: for there lie in wait for him of them more than forty men, which have bound themselves with an oath, that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him: and now are they ready, looking for a promise from thee. Paul’s nephew the told the chief captain about the forty men who had vowed to neither eat or drink until they killed him, and this was the purpose for their wanting Paul to be sent to the council. Verse twenty-two continues, So the chief captain then let the young man depart, and charged him, See thou tell no man that thou hast shewed these things to me. The chief captain believed him and sent him on his way, warning him to not tell anyone about his visiting the chief captain. We need to pray that if we are ever in any dangerous situation and bring it to the attention of the authorities that they will believe us. Verse twenty-three states, And he called unto him two centurions, saying, Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Caesarea, and horsemen threescore and ten, and spearmen two hundred, at the third hour of the night; Over forty Jewish men had taken a vow to kill Paul, and the chief captain sent two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen to escort Paul to Felix the governor. He was taking no chances with having harm come to Paul, already afraid from his actions so far. God had told Paul that he was to go to Rome, and now he was providing him an armed escort. We can trust God to provide well above what is needed for us to do His will. The Jewish leaders agreed to the plot, and the government officials worked to stop it. They were to leave with Paul during the night. Some interpret it as three hours past sunset and others at three hours past midnight. Either way, the chief captain wasn't waiting for morning. We need to be as ready to move for God, day or night. Verse twenty-four adds, And provide them beasts, that they may set Paul on, and bring him safe unto Felix the governor. Paul was on his way to Rome as God had said he would be. If God sends us somewhere, it may we may not go as we would prefer, but as long as we are willing to go by the way that He provides, we will get there.
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