Theme: THE FRAILTY OF MAN
Text: “And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him. So when this was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed.” – Acts 28:8,9.
Comment: In fulfilment of his promise to endow the apostles with power so that, “they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover”, Apostle Paul did a couple of miracles for the barbarous people of Melita confirming the power of God in him. First, he shook off a venomous beast from his hand into the fire in fulfilment of Christ’s statement to his apostles that, “They shall take up serpents… it shall not hurt them” (Mark 16:18), and second was the healing of the father of Publius, the chief man of the Island.
The helpless condition of the man, who “lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux” showed that mortals are prone to sicknesses. Truly, King David lamented: “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” (Psalm 51:5). Satan, the devil, the author of sickness, uses it as a tool to cause fear and torment against the people of God. they should not fear but trust in God always. (Isaiah 41:10). The current corona virus pandemic is a vain attempt by the Devil to cause panic and destroy people in the world, but God’s intervention is gradually bringing relief to many nations. – Psalm 118:6; Hebrews 13:5,6.