by David Scott Robertson
"The next morning the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. More than forty men were involved in this plot" (Acts 23:12-13).
The Apostle Paul - what a guy.
Depending upon who you asked in the Book of Acts,
He was either a mighty man of faith in Jesus
Or he was not fit to live.
Paul started revivals and riots wherever he went.
He was a man of great compassion and even greater controversy.
Today, the politically correct crowd
Struggles with the "J"- word (J-esus).
In Acts chapters 21-23, the politically correct (Jewish) crowd
Struggled with the "G" - word (G-entiles, Acts 22:21-22).
In this thought about God, I'd like to focus briefly not on the Apostle Paul,
But on the forty to fifty men who "bound themselves" [what an apt description] with an oath neither to eat or drink until they had killed Paul (Acts 23:12).
I will henceforth refer to this group collectively as "the forty liars."
Why?
Because their extreme zeal,
Fueled by extreme emotion,
Led them to extreme stupidity.
What they really wanted to be were "the forty heroes."
If their conspiracy to kill Paul had succeeded,
I may be writing about "the forty murderers."
Of course, in their righteous indignation,
They thought they were doing God a service by ridding the earth of heretics like Paul.
"Now then, you and the Sanhedrin petition the commander to bring him before you on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about his case. We are ready to kill him before he gets here." (Acts 23:15 NIV)
These vigilantes boastfully and foolishly
Bound themselves with an oath that swelled into a "great oath."
"They came to the chief priests and elders, and said, 'We have bound ourselves under a great oath that we will eat nothing until we have killed Paul.'" (Acts 23:14 NKJV)
But there was one factor the forty liars didn't count on - the Jesus Factor.
"The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, "Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome." (Acts 23:11 NIV).
The forty liars were about to discover that if Jesus Christ wants to cheer you up no man can take you down!
The Lord had arranged for Paul's nephew to eavesdrop on the wicked plan:
"But when the son of Paul's sister heard of this plot, he went into the barracks and told Paul." (Acts 23:16 NIV)
Subsequently the Roman commander, Claudia Lysias,
Unknowingly cooperating with the purposes of God,
Ordered a daring rescue to safely remove Paul out of harm's way.
Now here is where we see "forty or more" men,
One by one,
Become liars.
I don't read anywhere in the scriptures
Where these men continued their hunger strike.
I don't read in the text about men so desperate to drink and eat food
That they form a special operations commando force to pursue Paul,
Engage in combat with two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen (Acts 23:23) to kill Paul and fulfill their vow.
How it rather happened, I suppose, was that at some point
Each man realized the impossibility and futility
Of fulfilling the rash vow he had foolishly made.
And the moment, the very moment, that they took a swallow of water,
Or put one morsel of food to their mouth,
They automatically became a liar - and added this to their sins.
They had broken their vow.
They had went back on their word.
They had permanently soiled their reputation.
They were now, from this point forward,
Completely, utterly untrustworthy.
I don't know, but it is possible that the forty liars may have assembled together,
As a whole or in smaller groups,
And somehow rationalized and justified
Why they should not, in fact, die of starvation.
They may have even discussed it over a meal.
Perhaps they even prayed the traditional Jewish prayer over the food:
"Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who brings forth bread to the earth."
But no matter what they said,
Or what they did,
It did not alter the fact that they were liars all the same.
They had broken the Law of Moses.
They had violated the 9th commandment (Exodus 20:9).
Ironically, the only escape for the forty liars from condemnation
Was to embrace the very truth of Jesus' forgiveness of sin
Whom Paul the prisoner preached.
And that is the one thing that we have in common with the forty liars.
We all have need of Jesus.
"…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," (Rom 3:23 NIV)
Murder.
Lying.
Sexual immorality.
Willful disobedience.
Passive indifference.
All are sin.
Under the law, all sin required the death penalty.
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom 6:23 NIV)
Let us not fall into the same condemnation as the devil, who is the father of all lies (John 8:44).
If you have found yourself foolishly and rashly compromising your integrity through ignorant words that have come out of your own mouth,
I counsel you to heed what God advises in the wisdom literature found in Proverbs:
"…if you have been trapped by what you said, ensnared by the words of your mouth,
"then do this, my son, to free yourself, since you have fallen into your neighbor's hands: Go and humble yourself; press your plea with your neighbor!
"Allow no sleep to your eyes, no slumber to your eyelids.
"Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler." (Proverbs 6:2-5 NIV)
Moreover,
"My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,
"for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires." (James 1:19-20 NIV).
DSR
11/11/02