When it was day, the Jews made a plot and bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. 13 There were more than forty who made this conspiracy. 14 They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food till we have killed Paul. 15 Now therefore you, along with the council, give notice to the tribune to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case more exactly. And we are ready to kill him before he comes near.”
16 Now the son of Paul’s sister heard of their ambush, so he went and entered the barracks and told Paul. 17 Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the tribune, for he has something to tell him.” 18 So he took him and brought him to the tribune and said, “Paul the prisoner called me and asked me to bring this young man to you, as he has something to say to you.” 19 The tribune took him by the hand, and going aside asked him privately, “What is it that you have to tell me?” 20 And he said, “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more closely about him. 21 But do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty of their men are lying in ambush for him, who have bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they have killed him. And now they are ready, waiting for your consent.” 22 So the tribune dismissed the young man, charging him, “Tell no one that you have informed me of these things.”
Gerbera Daisies | Arbor Gate Nursery, Tomball, Texas | May 2024I have a pet peeve. When pastors hang out together inevitably one will ask, “How many do you worship?” It’s a shorthand way of asking how large your congregation is. “How many people do you have in worship?” is a better way to ask it. So I’ll answer, “We worship One. There are about 200 per Sunday who gather to worship that one.” They usually chuckle, “I get it. Pretty good,” they’ll say. But I’m not sure they do, because the question still comes up. Maybe less frequently today than in years past. Part of that may have to do with the shrinking numbers of people who gather each Sunday to worship the One True God.
There is a great lesson here – but not about worship attendance, but about numbers. Isaiah 31:1 says it well: “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the LORD.”
I think of that in this case because of the more than forty men who have conspired together and taken an oath not to eat or drink until they killed Paul. Forty is a significant number. That’s quite a few for just one man. They weren’t messing around. They were out to get Paul, and they lined up a good number of men to take care of business.
I wonder if they starved to death or died of dehydration. They had sworn not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. But (spoiler alert!) he will get away. They will not succeed – despite their more than forty-strong number.
David had his sling against the giant Saul. Gideon had has donkey’s jawbone. Elijah had his prayer. We have the promises of God. And even if we don’t see his deliverance here and now, we have the witness of Daniel 3:16-18, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.’”
Paul will be saved from these forty men. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were saved. We too have been saved by the mighty hand of God – nailed to a cross, dead in our place, risen from the grave, and returning at the end of days to claim us as his own. Forty, forty thousand, or forty trillion notwithstanding, God’s got us in his heart, and providential care. That’s far more powerful than a mere forty men.
David Bahn - Reflections 
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