When in prison do
you imagine a lot of those imprisoned long to break out of their confines?
There have been numerous tales of jailbreaks, and attempted jailbreaks, it
truly is a common theme. My faulty logic tells me that most prisoners don't
wish to escape so much as they wish they could get out of jail legally so they
can go back to their lives without fear of be apprehended for escaping. Of
course, I'm thinking with a twenty-first century mind, not one 2000 years
ago. Would the time make a difference, I
imagine to some degree. Still and all, a lot of prisoners may take advantage of
a jailbreak if it were made easy enough for them to get away, right? In any
case, Paul and Silas, whipped and in chains, imprisoned in the local jail were
singing songs of praise to God and praying when SUDDENLY there was a huge
earthquake! This earthquake was so great that the very foundations of the
prison were shaken and IMMEDIATELY all the door of the prison were opened and
all the shackles loosed. Just take a moment and picture it all. The chaos of it
all but also the quickness of it all happening. The prison keeper was sleeping
when it happened and it woke him. Instantly he saw the prison doors were all
open and the greatest of despair overtook him. It was his job to keep the
prisoners from escaping and if he hadn't been sleeping but awake when it
happened he may have been able to keep
the prisoners from escaping! They were all gone and he was to be held
accountable. He knew that his punishment would be humiliation and death and
something broke inside him. He would kill himself before he faced the awful
knowledge what he'd allowed to happen.
Positioning the sword to slice into his own body he was about to plunge
it into himself when he heard a prisoner cry out to him- "Do yourself NO harm for we are all
here!" Paul saw the keeper's intent
and did not want the man to end his own life.
He could have said nothing and let the man kill himself and then escaped
but that was not what God willed. Allowing someone to hurt themselves will
forever be wrong when we have it in our power to help them.
The prison keeper
called for a light and quickly ran into the cell area. Shaking violently from
his near suicide he fell down in front of Paul and Silas. Rising up again, he
brought them out of their cell and said- "Sirs, what must I do to be
saved."
More on this
tomorrow by the GRACE and WILL of our LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST! NOW and
FOREVER!
Act 16:26 And
suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison
were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands
were loosed.
Act 16:27 And
the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors
open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the
prisoners had been fled.
Act 16:28 But
Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all
here.
Act 16:29 Then
he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before
Paul and Silas,
Act 16:30 And
brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
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