Elohim Shomri (God is My Protector)

[Lovekr07]

'Three days after arriving in the province, Festus went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem, where the chief priests and the Jewish leaders appeared before him and presented the charges against Paul. They requested Festus, as a favor to them, to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, for they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way. Festus answered, “Paul is being held at Caesarea, and I myself am going there soon. Let some of your leaders come with me, and if the man has done anything wrong, they can press charges against him there.” After spending eight or ten days with them, Festus went down to Caesarea. The next day he convened the court and ordered that Paul be brought before him. When Paul came in, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him. They brought many serious charges against him, but they could not prove them. Then Paul made his defense: “I have done nothing wrong against the Jewish law or against the temple or against Caesar.” Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there on these charges?” Paul answered: “I am now standing before Caesar’s court, where I ought to be tried. I have not done any wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well. If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!” After Festus had conferred with his council, he declared: “You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!” '



Acts 25:1-12

https://www.bible.com/bible/111/ACT.25.1-12



When Governor Festus arrived in Jerusalem, the chief priests and Jewish leaders presented their charges against Paul. As a scheme, they requested Festus to have Paul transferred there as a favor to them, Festus told them no because Paul was being held in Caesarea waiting on his arrival. When I read that, I immediately felt so proud to have the Lord as my Father because I saw His sovereignty and how he was protecting Paul from what he knew nothing about, even without Fesus knowing that God was protecting him. That is so awesome!! The Jews thought that they were so smart and sneaky, but I can just picture the Father in Heaven looking down at them at this moment and laughing! In fact, they were going to great lengths and wasting so much time and energy to try to destroy Paul who had God’s favor and protection all over him. I am not sure how they did not see this, but instead they just would not let him go. Although, if you think about it, that is exactly what the Devil does to God’s people all the time. The crazy part is that he has not stopped and will not stop until Jesus comes back and permanently humbles and destroys him. The Devil still thinks he is going to win!! The audacity!! This is what the Bible describes as the pride that leads to one’s downfall. It would appear that pride does not know how unpowerful and ignorant it is. Pride is stupidity because it is truly thinking that oneself is better than they are or thinking that they can fool God or stop Him.



When governor Fesus returned to Caesarea, he convened the court had Paul brought before him. They brought many serious charges against him that they could not prove. They were desperate to have Paul condemned and imprisoned, even though he was not guilty of their charges. In hopes of appeasing the Jews, Festus asked Paul if he wanted to go to Jerusalem to be tried on those charges. Because the Holy Spirit anoints our decision making and because of the Lord’s sovereignty and protection, Paul told them that he would appeal to Caesar instead. The Jews’ scheme to ambush him on the way to Jerusalem was returned to the sender. No weapon formed against Paul would prosper!! Hallelujah!!! Paul even said that if he were guilty of any of their charges, he did not wish to escape the consequences, but he was not willing to suffer and die of things that he was not even guilty of. Amen to that!



I am so thankful that the Lord is no respecter of persons. Everything He did for the disciples and the great men and women in the Bible, He will do for us who follow Him as well! And an even more profound thought is that the Lord did not love Paul or any of the “greats” of the Bible more than He does you or me!! Yes, it is a great honor that they were the first ones that experienced God in those ways and that their stories are in the written Word of God, but He loves us every bit as much as He does them and everything He did for them, He will do for us, too!!! He is the SAME God yesterday, today, and forever!! Hallelujah!! Praise the Lord!!!