The beloved physician Luke wrote how he, Paul and others were sailing to Rome, and “Julius”, “a centurion of Augustus' band”, “courteously entreated Paul, and gave him liberty to go unto his friends to refresh himself. And when we had launched from there, we sailed under Cyprus, because the winds were contrary. And when we had sailed over the sea of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lycia. And there the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing into Italy; and he put us therein. And when we had sailed slowly many days, and scarce were come over against Cnidus, the wind not suffering us, we sailed under Crete, over against Salmone. And, hardly passing it, came unto a place which is called The fair havens; near whereunto was the city of Lasea”, and in chapter twenty-seven and verse nine of the book of Acts Luke wrote, “Now when much time was spent … Paul admonished them” where we read:
Now when much time was spent, and when sailing was now dangerous,
because the fast was now already past, Paul admonished them,
The verse begins, “Now when much time was spent, and when sailing was now dangerous, ...” Luke began with the words, “now when much time was spent” which means “moreover at the time and moment a sufficient, fit and meet amount of time was expended, used, elapsed and passed”, “and when sailing” or “and at the time and moment that setting sail or voyaging by ship” “was now dangerous” which means “was already prone to fall and be insecure” the following occurred. Luke shared how the time for sailing safely had now passed because the contrary winds caused them to be delayed for a long period of time.
The verse goes on to say, “... because the fast was now already past, Paul admonished them, ...” Luke continued with the words, “because the fast” which means “since and on account that the public fast as prescribed by the Mosaic Law and kept yearly on the great day of atonement, the tenth of the month of Tisri (the month Tisri comprises a part of our September and October); the fast accordingly, occurred in the autumn when navigation was usually dangerous on account of storms” “was now already past” or “was at that time averted, passed by or transgressed”, “Paul admonished them” which means “Paul, whose name means small or little, warned, exhorted and advised the captains and directors of the ship” with the words in our next verse. Luke shared how the time for sailing was expended, and “Paul” began to advise those who were in charge of the sailing the ship.
When we think through Luke's words in this verse, we learn not only how the sailing voyage for him, Paul and the others with them was delayed, but also that the time spent actually carried them past the best time for sailing. Winds were certain to be more dangerous during that time of year which was just after the fall public fasting around September or October of the year. “Paul” knew the conditions were not favorable for sailing at that time, and we shall see how he warns those in charge of the ship in our next verse. For now, let us be mindful that God was overseeing all these operations, and because He loves people, He was sending “Paul” to “Rome” to proclaim His good news of salvation through His Son Jesus. “Paul” was along for the ride, and even though he knew best in this situation, the obstinance and unwillingness of others to listen to him never prevented God from offering forgiveness of sins and eternal life to everyone who trusts and believes in His Son Jesus.
Next time Luke shares how Paul says, “Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
No comments:
Post a Comment