@Inmate
I have not weighed in on your proffered subject yet, only writing briefly one time by request. At that endeavor, it seems, I have had no effect.
Still,I’d like to offer a new perspective regarding your wonderful question.
You asked:
This verse is in-no-way among my “favorite prisoner verses”, as if I had some, but as I have read through this thread, I don’t think this nuanced viewpoint has been brought out yet.
“And it came to pass at midnight that the LORD struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of livestock.” (Exodus 12:29)
What I find interesting in Moses’s poetic perspective, is how he employs the plight of those incarcerated in the dungeon as polar opposites to the unmitigated freedom of the monarch, thereby expressing the all-inclusive reach of The Lord’s corrective “strike force”. The monarch is ruler of the prison, but The Lord is an obvious ruler of the monarch. That night, the first born of the most powerful man on earth died suddenly, as did some in prison, who died not for the crimes that put them in there, but as victims of the hardened heart of the monarch. Moses exposes how utterly powerful is the all-inclusive Judgement of God. The impenetrable dungeon that was designed to safeguard society from the incarcerated could not protect the prisoner from the reaching judgement of God.
I think it has already been stated in this thread, but here is another biblical example that demonstrates the permeability of prison walls to the penetrating Mighty Hand of God, both for blessing and for judgement; blessing on those who He calls His own sheep, and judgement on those who reject Him.
The permeability of prison to The Hand of God is likewise reflected in our New testament,
Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church. Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. Now it was during the Days of Unleavened Bread.
So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover. Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.
And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison. Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!” And his chains fell off his hands. Then the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and tie on your sandals”; and so he did. And he said to him, “Put on your garment and follow me.” So he went out and followed him, and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.
And when Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people.”
Acts 12:1-11 (NKJV)
I think we would love to have much more juicy detail in this story that might slake our appetite for how miracles work, but those details would surely only obscure the message; the message that Jesus sets the captives free. Jesus, launching His earthly ministry, spoke precisely of Himself when he read the Isaiah passage in the Nazareth synagogue (Luke 4:18):
“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.” (Isaiah 61:1-3)
Isaiah’s rich metaphors remind us of the pervasiveness of the Hand of God, penetrating even the prisons. Healing broken hearts, freeing captives, comforting those who mourn, removing the spirit of heaviness and clothing them all with garments of praise, Jesus, The Spirit of The Lord, is planting saintly trees of righteousness, strong trees with His name on them. Why? That He may be glorified.
Those who are incarcerated understand the confines of sin much more poignantly than those who live trammeled in sin’s shackles, but believe they are free. Jesus made Himself like a prisoner (Matt 25:43) so He could personally set the captives free. Who can internalize and appreciate that promise better than one who looks at literal iron prison bars every day. From monarch to prisoner, the Hand of God is mighty to save. From His own choosing, by His own arm, He is planting His trees, for His Glory.
Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. > He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. (Psalm 1:1-3)
Thanx @Inmate, for this prompt
KP
