Meditational Bible Study from the Book of Acts 12 KJV
For Mithcah Bible Baptist Church _ Bahrain
Daily Online Devotional Bible Study and Group Prayer Fellowship - 061726
“9 And he went out, and followed him; and wistnot that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision.
10 When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadethunto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him.
11 And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.”
Lesson: The LORD Hath Sent His Angel
Acts 12:1-11 KJV -
“1 Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.
2 And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
3 And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.)
4 And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.
5 Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.
6 And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison.
7 And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.
8 And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saithunto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me.
9 And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision.
10 When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadethunto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him.
11 And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.”
The persecution of CHRIST’s disciples in Jerusalem have gone extremely grievous, thatHerod the king put forth his hand on it, killing James the brother of John: one of JESUS’ apostles. (The first apostle killed by Herod recorded in the bible) That upon seeing it pleases the people, he took and bound in chains Peter; committing him unto the hand of the quaternion soldiers; four soldiers to guard him every fourth watch rotations, so that after Easter in the day time he would be deliver to the people.
But prayers without ceasing was made by the church unto GOD for Peter. And the unimaginable thing happened: The angel of The LORD came to rescue him; wake him up while he is in deep sleep in between two soldiers to whom his both hands were chained; poke him at the side and told him to follow him. And then the angel led him; set him to freedom, walked on his feet out of that heavily secured prison.
Thoughts we have from these passages:
Acts 12:11-17 KJV
“[11] And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.
[12] And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying.
[13] And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda.
[14] And when she knew Peter's voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate.
[15] And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel.
[16] But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished.
[17] But he, beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, Go shew these things unto James, and to the brethren. And he departed, and went into another place.”
And as Peter was overwhelmed about how GOD, through the angel of The LORD delivered him out of bondage, he came to commune himself with his fellow believers in the house of Mary the mother of John Mark, where ceaseless prayers were being held for him. And him knocking at the door, Rhoda the damsel came to supposedly open the door. But when she heard Peter, instead of opening the door, she ran inside telling the others with excitement that Peter is outside. But them who heard her, instead of coming to excitedly open to let him in, refuted her saying she’s hallucinating or it is Peter’s angel whose knocking.
It might be their fear to open up and be hauledby the soldiers who are up to imprisoning and persecuting them as followers of CHRIST, the reason why instead of opening the door, they tried to dwell on their ideas of the impossibilities. For what manner of man in their time, is able to freely get out himself so easily from being held in heavily guarded isolation to face an immediate execution?
But GOD’s way is incomprehensible to men. His might is unimaginable and His power is immeasurable.
This is the blessedness of us believers:
So instead of making many excuses and reasonings, doubting about what GOD is doing, able to do still, and about to be doing within our uncertainties, or how He answer our prayers, trust Him and fear not to open the door of our hearts, and every opportunity to share His love, let it be opened and have Him pleasurably dwell therein.
Let the embracing peace of the LORD be our shield from any overwhelming doubts and anxieties of this life, every day and ever.
For He works in His very own mysterious way to make sure His will be done and we will see He is in control of everything; just as how He did; recorded in the following verses:
Acts 12:18-25 KJV -
18 Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers, what was become of Peter.
19 And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judæa to Cæsarea, and there abode.
20 And Herod was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon: but they came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastusthe king's chamberlain their friend, desired peace; because their country was nourished by the king's country.
21 And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them.
22 And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.
23 And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.
24 But the word of God grew and multiplied.
25 And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark.
He wanted for us to know that even the mighty King Herod; one among the fiercest persecutor of Jesus Christ’s believers in the Jewry, met his worst end; shamed, and sagged in the very sight of the people. He was not able to escape the sorest judgement of GOD; he thought to himself that he’s doing great in the sight of God and men, that he was highly favored. For even people’s praises and glory which should be given to GOD he has coveted, when he held himself eminently in the sight of all the people.
GOD gave everyone the chance to repent just like Saul, who have nothing to do but to be resolved to follow the LORD and took heed to The LORD’s calling and commissioning him. But if one has the stony heart like Herod, who hold on to his power as king, and overwhelmed by position and pride, andbecome the blockage and pain in the neck of the growing in faith, like King Herod, then GOD will remove him in the sorest and shameful way; for all people to witness He is still He is; and make His Almighty Name be known to the rest.
So for us all true believers of The Only LORD and Savior JESUS CHRIST, let this sink in to our mind: “when the going gets tough, just keep on going, for the Toughest of all will surely give us strength, to makes us tough enough to get going.
In whatever situation we are in, let us keep The LORD’s peace be settled within.
Because the GOD who created everything has many ways to free us from whatever bondage that hinders us to keep on going. Whether it is His hand who remove our shackles, or He will send His angel to wake us up from deep sleeping and lead us out to be in His shelter, surely, He will do for us even the impossible thing. So, let our faith over power our every fear!
Good morning
Acts 12
King James Version
12 Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.
2 And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
3 And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.)
4 And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.
5 Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.
6 And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison.
7 And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.
8 And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saithunto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me.
9 And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision.
10 When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadethunto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him.
11 And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.
12 And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying.
13 And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda.
14 And when she knew Peter's voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate.
15 And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel.
16 But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished.
17 But he, beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, Go shew these things unto James, and to the brethren. And he departed, and went into another place.
18 Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers, what was become of Peter.
19 And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judaea to Caesarea, and there abode.
20 And Herod was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon: but they came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus the king's chamberlain their friend, desired peace; because their country was nourished by the king's country.
21 And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them.
22 And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.
23 And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.
24 But the word of God grew and multiplied.
25 And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark.
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