Paul could identify with the psalmist, for he was surrounded by hundreds of hostile Jews who were bent on his destruction. Their plot to assassinate him seemed foolproof, except for the fact that Paul knew the Lord was the lifter of his head. In fact, God had already arranged for Paul’s nephew to hear of the plan and to be taken to inform the commander of the army of the evil plot. The commander then intervened, and the plot was foiled (Acts 23:16, 23-24).
There is a place of rest in the Lord where we do not fear the plots of the enemy. Instead, we lie down and sleep because the Lord sustains us (Psalm 3:5). We are encircled by God’s protection, and Satan cannot enter that circle without God’s permission. We can rest easy today under God’s shield, for He will not allow the plots, devices, and arrows of the devil to remain inside our circle forever.
Let us make David’s prayer our own: “Arise, O Lord! Rescue me, my God! Slap all my enemies in the face! Shatter the teeth of the wicked” (v. 7). Whatever plot the enemy may have hatched, God has a mes-senger-perhaps a nephew-to foil it!
1 Chronicles 1:1-2:17
Historical Records From Adam to Abraham
1 Adam, Seth, Enosh,2Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared,3Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noah.
4The sons of Noah:
Shem, Ham and Japheth.
5The sons of Japheth:
Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshek and Tiras.
6The sons of Gomer:
Ashkenaz, Riphath and Togarmah.
7The sons of Javan:
Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittites and the Rodanites.
8The sons of Ham:
Cush, Egypt, Put and Canaan.
9The sons of Cush:
Seba, Havilah, Sabta, Raamah and Sabteka.
The sons of Raamah:
Sheba and Dedan.
10Cush was the father of
Nimrod, who became a mighty warrior on earth.
11Egypt was the father of
the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites,12Pathrusites, Kasluhites (from whom the Philistines came) and Caphtorites.
13Canaan was the father of
Sidon his firstborn, and of the Hittites,14Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites,15Hivites, Arkites, Sinites,16Arvadites, Zemarites and Hamathites.
17The sons of Shem:
Elam, Ashur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram.
The sons of Aram:
Uz, Hul, Gether and Meshek.
18Arphaxad was the father of Shelah,
and Shelah the father of Eber.
19Two sons were born to Eber:
One was named Peleg, because in his time the earth was divided; his brother was named Joktan.
20Joktan was the father of
Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah,21Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah,22Obal, Abimael, Sheba,23Ophir, Havilah and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan.
24Shem, Arphaxad, Shelah,
25Eber, Peleg, Reu,
26Serug, Nahor, Terah
27and Abram (that is, Abraham).
The Family of Abraham
28The sons of Abraham:
Isaac and Ishmael.
29These were their descendants:
Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishmael, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,30Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema,31Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah. These were the sons of Ishmael.
32The sons born to Keturah, Abraham’s concubine:
Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah.
The sons of Jokshan:
Sheba and Dedan.
33The sons of Midian:
Ephah, Epher, Hanok, Abida and Eldaah.
All these were descendants of Keturah.
34Abraham was the father of Isaac.
The sons of Isaac:
Esau and Israel.
Esau’s Sons
35The sons of Esau:
Eliphaz, Reuel, Jeush, Jalam and Korah.
36The sons of Eliphaz:
Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam and Kenaz;
by Timna: Amalek.
37The sons of Reuel:
Nahath, Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah.
38The sons of Seir:
Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer and Dishan.
39The sons of Lotan:
Hori and Homam. Timna was Lotan’s sister.
40The sons of Shobal:
Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho and Onam.
The sons of Zibeon:
Aiah and Anah.
41The son of Anah:
Dishon.
The sons of Dishon:
Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran and Keran.
42The sons of Ezer:
Bilhan, Zaavan and Akan.
The sons of Dishan:
Uz and Aran.
43These were the kings who reigned in Edom before any Israelite king reigned:
Bela son of Beor, whose city was named Dinhabah.
44When Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah from Bozrah succeeded him as king.
45When Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites succeeded him as king.
46When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab, succeeded him as king. His city was named Avith.
47When Hadad died, Samlah from Masrekah succeeded him as king.
48When Samlah died, Shaul from Rehoboth on the river succeeded him as king.
49When Shaul died, Baal-Hanan son of Akbor succeeded him as king.
50When Baal-Hanan died, Hadad succeeded him as king. His city was named Pau, and his wife’s name was Mehetabel daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-Zahab.51Hadad also died.
The chiefs of Edom were:
Timna, Alvah, Jetheth,52Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon,53Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar,54Magdiel and Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom.
Israel’s Sons
2 These were the sons of Israel:
Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun,2Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad and Asher.
Judah
3The sons of Judah:
Er, Onan and Shelah. These three were born to him by a Canaanite woman, the daughter of Shua. Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the LORD’s sight; so the LORD put him to death.4Judah’s daughter-in-law Tamar bore Perez and Zerah to Judah. He had five sons in all.
5The sons of Perez:
Hezron and Hamul.
6The sons of Zerah:
Zimri, Ethan, Heman, Kalkol and Darda—five in all.
7The son of Karmi:
Achar, who brought trouble on Israel by violating the ban on taking devoted things.
8The son of Ethan:
Azariah.
9The sons born to Hezron were:
Jerahmeel, Ram and Caleb.
10Ram was the father of
Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, the leader of the people of Judah.11Nahshon was the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz,12Boaz the father of Obed and Obed the father of Jesse.
13Jesse was the father of
Eliab his firstborn; the second son was Abinadab, the third Shimea,14the fourth Nethanel, the fifth Raddai,15the sixth Ozem and the seventh David.16Their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail. Zeruiah’s three sons were Abishai, Joab and Asahel.17Abigail was the mother of Amasa, whose father was Jether the Ishmaelite.
Acts 23:11-35
11The 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.”
The Plot to Kill Paul
12The next morning some Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.13More than forty men were involved in this plot.14They went to the chief priests and the elders and said, “We have taken a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul.15Now 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.”
16But when the son of Paul’s sister heard of this plot, he went into the barracks and told Paul.
17Then Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the commander; he has something to tell him.”18So he took him to the commander.
The centurion said, “Paul, the prisoner, sent for me and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.”
19The commander took the young man by the hand, drew him aside and asked, “What is it you want to tell me?”
20He said: “Some Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul before the Sanhedrin tomorrow on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about him.21Don’t give in to them, because more than forty of them are waiting in ambush for him. They have taken an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him. They are ready now, waiting for your consent to their request.”
22The commander dismissed the young man with this warning: “Don’t tell anyone that you have reported this to me.”
Paul Transferred to Caesarea
23Then he called two of his centurions and ordered them, “Get ready a detachment of two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at nine tonight.24Provide horses for Paul so that he may be taken safely to Governor Felix.”
25He wrote a letter as follows:
26Claudius Lysias,
To His Excellency, Governor Felix:
Greetings.
27This man was seized by the Jews and they were about to kill him, but I came with my troops and rescued him, for I had learned that he is a Roman citizen.28I wanted to know why they were accusing him, so I brought him to their Sanhedrin.29I found that the accusation had to do with questions about their law, but there was no charge against him that deserved death or imprisonment.30When I was informed of a plot to be carried out against the man, I sent him to you at once. I also ordered his accusers to present to you their case against him.
31So the soldiers, carrying out their orders, took Paul with them during the night and brought him as far as Antipatris.32The next day they let the cavalry go on with him, while they returned to the barracks.33When the cavalry arrived in Caesarea, they delivered the letter to the governor and handed Paul over to him.34The governor read the letter and asked what province he was from. Learning that he was from Cilicia,35he said, “I will hear your case when your accusers get here.” Then he ordered that Paul be kept under guard in Herod’s palace.
Psalm 3
Psalm 3
3 LORD, how many are my foes!
How many rise up against me!
2Many are saying of me,
“God will not deliver him.”
3But you, LORD, are a shield around me,
my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
4I call out to the LORD,
and he answers me from his holy mountain.
5I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.
6I will not fear though tens of thousands
assail me on every side.
7Arise, LORD!
Deliver me, my God!
Strike all my enemies on the jaw;
break the teeth of the wicked.
8From the LORD comes deliverance.
May your blessing be on your people.
Proverbs 18:14-15
14The human spirit can endure in sickness,
but a crushed spirit who can bear?
15The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge,
for the ears of the wise seek it out.
