The Pickens sentinel. (Pickens, S.C.) 1911-2016, 1916-09-28

Tho stirring events of this lesson oc.
:urred IN tho Castle Antonia and tho
Sanhedrin holl. near the temple court
OK Jerusnlcm; also In Caesarea, the
komh capital of Judea. on tho hledI-
terahean coast, In the year A. d. 81,
I Just ut tho close Of Paul's third mis-
slonary journey. The lesson pictures
TWO successive days of strange adven-
lures In which Ir,ul was concerned, n
narrow escape and the unexpected
providcnces used III his deliycrance.
Tho dny wns inaugurated by puul's
magic words II am Il Roman Citizen"
which caused the commander, Lyslas,
TO release him from the threatened
sconrging, and made him more than
ordinarily careful in his treatment Of
! Paul
!. Before. tho Elders wv. 1-12). By
referring bnck to chapter Fl, v. 13, we
und the charge which really underlay
MI OF PnutS trouble, his preaching in
the name of the Lord Jesus. pnuI's
I defense is interesting. He gives us a
rehearsal OF his Christian life. layirc
emphasis upon It's blumelessness and
the fact that he is not an apostate
dew. The high priest speaks to silence
nm, but not gently. Although Paul
Tor moment seems to give way to his
)uStitiaole Indignation, he quickly re-
veals his reverence for the rulers Of
the people. He then divides the san
hcurin. Read carefully chapter % :0-7.
ana compare with verses II md 19
The sanhedrin could not explain. this
testimony Of Paul, and were seeking
to put aside the whole question. An
interesting discussion would be to con.
siuer the insult to Paul. Was his in
dignation right and rightly expressed7
Another question. the matter of Paul's
apology. Just for what did he apollo.
glze? Is 1t ever wrong to speak evil
OF rulers? These were indeed DAYS of
stress and storm. Was Paul justified
In dividing the sanhedrln in order TO
conquer their opposition to himl
Again, how God used these Incidents
IN the furtherance of the gosped Is a
suggestive lesson for us all. 1t has.
been limited that Ananias was not in
MS priestly garments, and therefore
perhaps not readily recognized by
Paul. Paul may never have seen him,
as he was elected high priest after
Paul had left the council It is inter.
esting to note that 1t is not said that
anyone struck Paul or that Paul did
not apologize for his words or deny
them to be true, but only for their be- |
Ing spoken to the high priest. Read |
IN this connection what Christ said to
tho Pharisees Matt % :27). Paul M.
ologized because he had broken the
law found in Exodus o. :28. In the
trial OF Christ one Of the officers struck
Jesus with the palm OF his hand,
Jesus answered him, say.
ing: IF l have spoken evil, bear wit.
ness Of the evil, but If well, why smit.
est thou me?" On the .other hand,
when Jesus wns ill-treated by the com.
mon s0ldircS, he opened not his mouth,
". The Plot and Deliverance wv. 12.
b5). Paul's prospect wns not a pleas.
mt one. In his darkness God appeared
to his faithful servant to cheer. him
". 1D. Perhaps Paul was tempted to
think he Ind made mistake in com.
Ing to Jerusalem over the protests OF
his friends. but evidently tho Lord
heartily approved Of his Testimony
there. A dangerous conspiracy wns
forming against him. but God was, as
he always Is. beforehand with his com.
fort and preparation for tho crisis, Wo
hnve often speculated as to what be.
came Of the forty men who entered
into 1t (sce v. 12)--whethcr they &C.
tunlly lived up to their onth. II they
dld, they must have died OF starvation,
Ihey were determined mcn, willing ia
20 any length, and fnncled they were
doing the will OF God. There Ia M
more dangerous man than he who fan.
cies that no must be tho judge as ia
WHO arc Gods friends and who are his
ioeS, ana TINT li0 is tho appointed exc.
cutlonrr OF Gods Judgment. Tho plot
wns we'll laid. and seemed certain OF
success. but 1t fnilcd miscrnbly. (Sco
nsaim 2:f-i; Gl:l-10; Isaiah ii :1O),
Ihe wicked, who leave God out OF
tneir plans, No matter how cunning,v
thsy plot, hro doomed to failure U.om,
:"l). These plOttcrs co.0pcrntcd win
mo priest. EcclrsNstics have ortc,
descended to tho lowest villaipy. M,n
"Fe h"' murdered today, though their
t'p"''''ions nrp often blasted by un.
pr'hc'rlcd and hclllshly impcllcd pro.
'eSsed followers OF tho lowly Nny,.
rene. Paul hud friends IN th,s c,t.
'i's nephrw's discovery ana revelation,
nnu .he 's'n;ilc soldier, II colonel, Of.
,.teu ms drlivcrancc. In tho boys
nrNt .'' there must have been great nd.
'nl,nt.oh for the uncle. 8 1t would bo
wen ior teachers of boys to have thcm
..peat IN their own language this BOYS
S'orS' Paul was not safe In Jerusa.
.em. Tho Roman governor rccosn,,os 1