Ac 23:11-22 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. 12 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. 13 And they were more than forty which had made this conspiracy. 14 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. 15 Now therefore ye with the council signify to the chief captain that he bring him down unto you to morrow, as though ye would inquire something more perfectly concerning him: and we, or ever he come near, are ready to kill him. 16 And when Paul's sister's son heard of their lying in wait, he went and entered into the castle, and told Paul. 17 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. 18 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. 19 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? 20 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 inquire somewhat of him more perfectly. 21 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. 22 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.
Here we see a Divine intervention on Paul's behalf. Forty men had taken an oath and vowed to kill Paul. They had designed a plan to have him sent to the Jewish Council for questioning, and then ambush and kill him. They had actually vowed not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. This was a very serious plan to stop the Gospel. Paul was a very influential, well educated, articulate man of God. He spoke fourteen different languages fluently. He was born a Jew and had Roman citizenship. He was trained by the great teacher, Gamaliel. Unlike the other Apostles, who were considered and unlearned men, he was a well educated man. God had a plan also. that the Gospel would be preached, not only to the Jews, but the Gentiles. Not only to the ignorant and unlearned, but the educated as well. God had already told Paul that he must go to Jerusalem and Rome, and nothing can stop the plan or will of God.
This is encouraging to me because there are some things that God promised me that have not yet come to pass. Therefore, I am not afraid of my enemies, because I know that God is with me and I must accomplish what he spoke over my life. Whatever I have to face, the bible declares that "all things work together for good..." (Rom 8:28). It may not feel good, look good, or sound good, but it is working for my good! So don't worry about the "haters", God is with you and he is able to complete what he started. Just make certain he started it.
