Paul shipwrecked

Prologue… This is a fun story. One day I was working on a blog idea for a Bible thing I was working on for this guy, and I was going to build out a nice blog section for the site. It had to do with ancient pages and one was Acts 27-28. So I asked sister BatYah, what are your thoughts on 27-28? She has so much fun with it! This lady loves The Bible! Furthermore this is a great example of how one taught by The Holy Spirit consumes The Word! It is a blast and makes the mind full of wonder for Jesus.

Let her zeal for God inspire you! And then go read The Bible for yourself and pray about what you read, it’s the trip of a lifetime.

Acts 27:

This chapter is really incredible and I want to start by pointing out that Paul warns of this imminent danger and how could it not be that this place Fair Havens (near the city of Lasea) was the intended place of refuge, presumably to wait out a storm, but yet the centurion disregards Paul’s warning (as is often the case when a Holy Spirit filled believer tries to warn one without the Spirit) and instead hearkens to the ship master (classic case of trusting man rather than God, not to say that Paul was like God, but rather he was filled with the Spirit of God) and as the Word of the LORD says in Jeremiah 17:5, “Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord” we see the fallout and result of such a case. However, we also know that the Father protects His own, working out all for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28) and as we also know, Paul was an apostle of Jesus Christ, called according to His purpose. Nonetheless, there is consequence to dismissing the counsel of the Holy Spirit, as we see this is when the storm arises! A tempestuous wind, referred to in the KJV as the Euroclydon, which means an easterly surger, rises up causing trouble at sea. What I found interesting about this is that the name Euroclydon comes from the Greek noun “euros” which is an east wind and the verb “kluzo” which means to surge or to rage or to violently rinse! Wow. This name Euroclydon was given to a notorious easterly wind that blows in autumn and winter in the Mediterranean Sea, blowing from west to east and in modern day, this wind is known as the Gregalia and Levanter. And Paul foresaw this peril , as He was indwelled with the Holy Spirit, and operating in the gift of prophecy, knowing the peril that was up ahead, and surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, without first revealing it unto his servants the prophets (Amos 3:7), and I very strongly believe this is a gift given to all of His children who seek Him diligently.

So after all of the tossing of the ship, they finally began to take heed to lighten it, but to no avail and they began to lose hope! When we do things against the will of God, it can often feel like too little too late, however, He always makes a way for His will to be accomplished as we see in this story. And of course Paul makes sure to remind them, that they should have hearkened unto His Spirit led counsel, in an “I told you so” moment but also simultaneously brings them good news and that is that no life would be lost in this, however the ship was surely not going to make it! And this word of knowledge (yet another Holy Spirit gift) came straight from the “angel of God” and it shows Paul’s great faith (yet another gift of the Spirit) that he believed the Word of the LORD in that all life would be spared , enough to relay in it confidence as it was the will of the LORD that he should appear before Cesar (27:24). This word of knowledge and prophecy given by the angel also made him aware that they would be cast upon a certain island (27:26) but they would basically end up shipwrecked in the process. However, before that would happen, after the 14 day of fasting on the journey, Paul advises that they should all eat for the preservation of their health, as he stated “there shall not a hair fall from the head of any” (27:34), a promise from the LORD. And this nourishment would be the last for the remainder of the journey, as afterward they were able to cast the rest of the wheat out to sea, to lighten the load and continue in hope. I saw Jesus here in this part, as we know His words in Matthew 11:30, that his burden is light. And I began to ponder this more deeply, as sometimes when we are on a long and arduous or even perilous journey (as in this case) Jesus who is the Bread of Life (John 6:35) and comes in at just the right moment to nourish and strengthen us to continue the journey. And as I went a little deeper into thought about this, I was reminded of who Elijah was strengthened by the Angel of the LORD (who some scholars would argue is how Yeshua/Jesus appeared to characters in the Old Testament) and this story can be found in 1st Kings 19, when Elijah had fled from Jezebel and her death threats! And as he was wearied from the journey, to the point that he asked God to take his life?! He then at just the right time was touched by the Angel who said to him once and then twice “Arise and eat (for the journey is to great for thee)”, in 1st Kings 19:5 and 7. So then Elijah gains strength from the cake (Bread of Life?) that was baked for him and the water (Living Water?) that was given to him to continue the journey, to the glory of GOD. Just like Paul said to those of the ship, “I pray you to take some meat” and then brake the bread, giving thanks unto God! And they were all of good cheer, all 276 souls, HALLELUYAH! But there was still trouble ahead and then they were shipwrecked, though it came as no surprise.

But then, this chapter ends (and really is throughout) such an amazing parallel to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how merciful and faithful our Father truly is! Because even though the soldier’s proposed course of action was to kill all the prisoners (lest they should swim out and escape, 27:42), which suspiciously sounds like the voice of the accuser who condemns and accuses day and night (Revelation 12:10), I would say…but then comes in the centurion (perhaps a picture of Jesus) and for the life of one (Paul) commands that they all who could swim should cast themselves into the sea first (some on boards and others on broken pieces of the ship) and they were all given a chance to swim to shore and take refuge! So naturally, I see Jesus all over this, as He came to set the captives free and proclaim freedom to the prisoners (Luke 4:18). And it was by the mighty Hand and incredible mercy and grace of God that they escaped all with their lives onto dry land! And so of course, here is Jesus again, even showing up as those boards and broken pieces of the ship as I am reminded of His Body which is broken for us (Matthew 26:26, 1st Corinthians 11:24) so that we may all have Life, even eternally, HALLELUYAH!

Acts 28:

So after the shipwreck, all escaped with their lives (just as the angel of the LORD had prophesied would happen) to the island called “Melita”, which would be current day Malta located in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Italy. The ancient city of Melite (if this is indeed where they landed) is very interesting, historically. If you study the name Melita, it means honey or sweet and I thought this to be fitting as they took sweet refuge in this place and the scriptures say these were greeted by what were called “barbarous” folk, who nonetheless received every one of them showing great kindness (sweetness) and providing much warmth because of the cold rain and because they had suffered much swimming to take refuge there. What I also thought was fitting about this place Melita is that in present day it is known as “Medina” or “Mdina”, in Maltese, which means “luminous city”. And in the time when the island was a Phoenician colony (circa 8th century BC) it was called “Ann” and Ann is a name that has the meaning of “grace” or “graciousness”. So naturally, I began to ponder on these names and thought about this place with a fire kindled for those wearied from a long and arduous journey that ended in shipwreck, would turn out to be a luminous place of warmth and refuge and all by the amazing grace of the Most High GOD of Israel who protects His own. HALLELUYAH! Even if those names were given to this place well before and well after Paul and company had arrived to the island, because God knows the end from the beginning :)

But in typical fashion, then enemy never rests and as soon as Paul began to gather more wood for the fire, a viper came out of the heat to strike! Seeking to devour, no doubt—however to no avail, as Paul was unharmed and simply shook it off and into the fire, with ease. And so I began to see the parallel of how a child of God is always under the shadow of EL SHADDAI, protected from the enemy’s devices, and how in the end the enemy and all the wicked will burn forever (Revelation 20:10; Isaiah 66:24) in a fire unquenchable, all to the glory of GOD! But what a concept—that as soon as one thinks they are safe and the the enemy who lies in wait to deceive comes out in all cunningness and craftiness (I am reminded of Ephesians 4:14), like right out of the fire which was kindled by those with good intent, but nonetheless the enemy was hiding where you’d least expect. And even more interesting in this part of the chapter is also when the people who received Paul begin to question whether or not he was a murderer who deserved such punishment, and quickly decided, after seeing that Paul was unharmed, that he was actually a “god” instead? This spoke to me of a religious spirit, one that is characterized by superstitions without having Holy Spirit discernment between good and evil. This is something that is warned against much in the New Testament, by Paul himself for example in Colossians 2:8, 2:18-23; Galatians 4:8 -11, and 1st Timothy 4:7, to name a few. However, as you read further in the chapter, Paul was not only healed miraculous by the Hand of God, but also performs more healing miracles on others, such as the father of Publius and when the word spread, many more came to be healed, just as it was with Jesus during His ministry. And that is how disciples of Christ should operate, to the glory of God!

Later in the chapter Paul would preach to the Jews after arriving in Rome, as it was the will of the Father that He should appear before Cesar, again, proving that no harm could be done to Paul prior to him fulfilling the perfect will of God, according to His plan and for His purposes. And so he preached morning and night, the Kingdom of God to the Jews, knowing full well that some would believe and some would not. And even so He remained faithful to the call of God upon His life, to preach the gospel to all, to those with ears to hear and eyes to see as well as to the blind and dull of hearing (Isaiah 6:9) with all confidence, and having the immense faith that could only be given though fully trusting in our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ, to the glory of the Father!