The Stay (Acts 27:9-12)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 9/24/2018 9:32 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                                                 Focus:  The Stay

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                  Reference:  Acts 27:9-12

 

            Message of the verses:  “9  When considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous, since even the fast was already over, Paul began to admonish them, 10  and said to them, "Men, I perceive that the voyage will certainly be with damage and great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives." 11 But the centurion was more persuaded by the pilot and the captain of the ship than by what was being said by Paul. 12 Because the harbor was not suitable for wintering, the majority reached a decision to put out to sea from there, if somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete, facing southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there.”

 

            I will quote from John MacArthur’s commentary so that we can understand what Luke is saying when he talks about the time period that they were in by saying “since even the fast was already over.”  “The ship was delayed for a considerable time in Fair Havens, apparently waiting for a change in the winds.  To continue the voyage was now dangerous, since it was late in the sailing season.  Luke notes that ‘even the fast’ (the Day of Atonement) ‘was already over.’  For ancient sailing vessels, travel was problematic and dangerous from mid-September to mid-November.  All sailing in the open sea ceased from mid-November until at least February.  Inasmuch as the Day of Atonement fell in late September or early October, Paul’s ship was already well into the danger period.”

 

            It looks like there was a meeting about what they should do, and it seems that Paul was also involved in this meeting, perhaps because Paul was a seasoned traveler and could give his impute on what should be done.  “Paul began to admonish them, 10 and said to them, "Men, I perceive that the voyage will certainly be with damage and great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives."”  We read in 2 Corinthians 11:25 the following:  “Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep.”  In this section of 2 Corinthians Paul was giving a testimony of what had happened to him while on his missionary journeys serving the Lord, and in that verse we see that he had been in three shipwrecks and was not wanting to add another, although if he wrote 2 Corinthians after this event then this coming shipwreck would already been written about.  Not real sure when 2 Corinthians was written, probably late 55 or early 56.

 

            It was regretfully that “the centurion was more persuaded by the pilot and the captain of the ship, than by what was being said by Paul.”  We have mentioned that this ship was owned by the imperial grain fleet, which makes it property of Rome it was the centurion and not the pilot or the captain who would make the final decision.  Perhaps the centurion was making that decision because there was need to have the grain delivered.  We will see that this was a bad decision as the grain would end up in the sea.

 

            Now we want to talk about why Fair Havens was not suitable for wintering.  “Since the harbor at Fair Havens was exposed to winds from half the compass points (though small islands did provide some shelter), it was a less desirable place to spend the winter.  Because the harbor at Phoenix (about forty miles away) faced southwest and northwest, it provided much better shelter from the winter storms.”  (John MacArthur)

 

            If the decision was made for comfort, comfort would not be what they were facing as we will see in our next SD when we talk about “The Storm.”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  There are times when believers think that Pastors have a better opportunity to get prayers answered than regular believers.  Perhaps this is true if the Pastor has lived a life closer to the Lord than the believer who is asking the Pastor to pray for them.  However I believe that believers who are walking with the Lord can receive answers from the Lord.  In the case of what we are looking at today Paul, along with Luke and the other believer were the best people to give advice to the captain and the centurion. 

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I trust the Lord to give me His direction on the purchase of a different car as we are in the market for a different car.

 

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “The upper room” (Luke 22:12).

 

Today’s Bible question:  “Who was described as ‘A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house’?”

 

Answer in our next SD.

 

9/24/2018 10:03 AM