Acts

More nifty.

Tuesday, 7 May 2024

Now when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest beat on us, all hope that we would be saved was finally given up. Acts 27:20

Note: You can listen to today’s commentary courtesy of our friends at “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen).

You can also read this commentary, scrolling with music, courtesy of our friends at “Discern the Bible” on YouTube. (Click Here to listen), or at Rumble (Click Here to listen).

A literal rendering would be, “And neither sun nor stars appearing for many days, and no little tempest lying upon, removed all remaining hope of us being saved” (CG).

Luke just noted that the tackle of the ship was thrown overboard. Ellicott noted that the word goes beyond the ship’s own tackle, but to anything moveable. However, even with this drastic measure, the narrative continues with, “And neither sun nor stars appearing for many days.”

Verse 27 will give an overall span of time that the storm raged around them, fourteen days. It was on the third day that they chucked the tackle overboard. Therefore, Luke’s words now indicate a period of another 9-11 days, depending on what he was thinking as he penned the narrative.

Such a span of time, while being completely tossed to and fro,ƒ and hearing the constant noise of the storm and groan of the ship, would wear out the hardiest of souls. Luke notes this was the case with the next words, “and no little tempest lying upon.”

The words “lying upon” are a literal translation of the word epikeimai. It is referring to the storm lying upon the ship (the verb is singular). It is as if the ship itself was bearing the entire burden of the ordeal and those inside were at the mercy of God upon the ship holding together. One can imagine what it would have been like for Noah and his family on the ark.

With this terrifying ordeal upon them, Luke says that this “removed all remaining hope of us being saved.”

In ancient times, there was no such thing as a compass, GPS, etc. Without such devices, they would have no idea at all where they were. The only way to reckon their location was to determine the placement of the sun, moon, and stars.

The overcast had deprived them of this, and so they could just as well have been on the moon as still in the Mediterranean Sea. It would leave them with a feeling of complete helplessness. Adding to the lack of knowing their location, the tempest continued to beat them mercilessly. The throwing over of the supplies and tackle implies that there was probably a leak in the hull that was gaining ground.

The people would be getting more and more tired of bailing and so the leak would be like the sword of Damocles over their heads, little by little gaining the advantage over the situation. Because of this, any hope of them getting through the ordeal and being saved was erased.

The metaphor of works-based salvation is perfectly seen in this verse. The more one works, the more futile the effort. The people on the ship had gone without food, they had given up on their goods, they had worked tirelessly in the midst of chaos, and they were no better off – and certainly worse off – than when the tempest started.

Life application: Life without assurance is the most hopeless place to be. But in Christ, there is always hope, and the promise of eternal life will carry the worn-out soul to assured rest. God did not send Jesus to provide His people with eternal insecurity.

No! He did not send Jesus to save us and then expect us to then keep on saving ourselves. That would mean that His initial salvation was not truly sufficient to save. Instead, Jesus did everything necessary to restore us to life and to continue to do so as long as we are in this body of death. He has promised, and He will deliver us from it.

Lord God, give us the wisdom and the faith necessary to fully grasp what it means to be saved. Jesus has done the work. Our walk after coming to Him is to be one of gratitude, not insecurity and fear. Help us to realize that the battle has been won. Jesus has prevailed, and we are the recipients of His glorious deeds. May we rest in this assurance all our days! Amen.

Cool rocks. Wyoming.

Monday, 6 May 2024

On the third day we threw the ship’s tackle overboard with our own hands. Acts 27:19

Note: You can listen to today’s commentary courtesy of our friends at “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen).

You can also read this commentary, scrolling with music, courtesy of our friends at “Discern the Bible” on YouTube. (Click Here to listen), or at Rumble (Click Here to listen).

A literal reading is much sparser in content, “And on the third, self-handed, the tackle of the ship we cast away” (CG).

In the previous verse, Luke noted that because the ship was exceedingly tempest-tossed, the ship was lightened. Now, his words continue with, “And on the third.”

The storm continued to rage which would have put a great strain on the ship, even with it having been lightened. Therefore, by the third day, more extreme measures were needed to take the stress off the hull. Therefore, on that day, Luke says, “self-handed, the tackle of the ship we cast away.”

Luke again uses a word unique to the Bible, autocheir. It comes from autos, a reflexive personal pronoun indicating self, and cheir, hand. In this case, it doesn’t identify whose hands were involved. That is determined by the corresponding verb.

Luke next uses the word skeué to describe the tackle. It is akin to the word skeuos that was used in verse 27:17. It signifies the tackle, fittings, equipment, etc. As for the verb, there is a difference in the texts. Some say “they,” while others say “we.”

If the translation of we is correct, then it means that even the passengers were enlisted to assist in the lightening of the ship. If not, then only the crew did, and Luke simply made a note of the dire straits that would lead to such an extreme choice being made.

Either way, after three continued days of danger, they needed to again lighten the ship in hopes of finding some relief from the terrifying ordeal. Because of this, it says the ship’s tackle was cast overboard.

As just noted, the word is skeué. It is found only here in the New Testament. Ellicott notes that in Greek it “is wider in its range than the English, and includes the beds and personal luggage and movables of all kinds. Even the sailors were ready to sacrifice for the chance of safety.”

Life application: To some extent we all hold onto the things of the world. Our attention may be focused a bit too much on people, pets, or possessions, consuming what should be our main devotion, which should be to the Lord.

Quite often, we hold onto things that are actually of less importance than we would otherwise realize in a time of true catastrophe or deprivation. A few examples from Scripture are Lamentations 4:1, Ezekiel 7:19, James 5:3-5, or 1 Peter 1:18. Also, the story in Matthew 19:16-22 gives us a good insight into how we hold onto that which is worthless. Psalm 119:37 is a good verse to redirect us from this.

This is a physical world, and it is a world where we need fellowship with others, food to keep ourselves going, clothing to protect us from the elements, and so forth. However, any of these (and so many more things!) can cause us to be misdirected in our thinking. We begin to put trust in them and in our thoughts, they become some sort of lifeline that we feel we must have.

However, Scripture reveals that what we need above all else is the Lord. If He is our main hope, desire, and focus, the things of this world will not hold sway over us as they are inclined to do. So, let us remember the Lord in all things and at all times. In doing so, everything else will find its proper place.

Lord God, how faithless we can be toward You. We get consumed with the things of this world and lose our focus and attention. Help us to remember You at all times and place You as the highest joy in our lives. With this, we will then rightly place all other things as we interact with them. May it be so, to Your glory. Amen!

After driving for a long time and seeing nothing, this was pretty exciting.

Sunday, 5 May 2024

And because we were exceedingly tempest-tossed, the next day they lightened the ship. Acts 27:18

Note: You can listen to today’s commentary courtesy of our friends at “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen).

You can also read this commentary, scrolling with music, courtesy of our friends at “Discern the Bible’ on YouTube. (Click Here to listen), or at Rumble (Click Here to listen).

A more literal rendering of the Greek would be, “And we, being tempest-tossed violently, the following day they made a jettisoning” (CG).

In the previous verse, it noted that the crew had run ropes under the ship to hold it together and then lowered the tackle so that they would be driven. Now, Luke continues with, “And we, being tempest-tossed violently.”

Luke continues with new and rare words in this verse. The first is the adverb sphodrós, meaning “exceedingly.” It is found only here and is closely connected to the adverb sphodra which is much more common.

The word translated as tempest-tossed, cheimazó, is also found only here. It means tempest-tossed or storm tossed. A single English word would fail to get both senses, and so a hyphenated word must suffice. Because of this terrifying state of things, it next says, “the following day they made a jettisoning.”

The word translated as following, hexes, is actually an adverb meaning subsequently or successively and signifying the next day. This is the last of five times it is seen in the New Testament. Also, the word translated as “a jettisoning” is a noun found only here, ekbolé. It signifies a throwing overboard and, thus, a jettisoning.

With the violence of the storm, the heavy rains, and the high seas, the weight of the ship needed to be lessened, or it was possible they would sink. Further, the chances of hitting a rock, reef, or the sands needed to be reduced.

In order to do this, they did their jettisoning. However, the verb is imperfect. It means that they started to throw and continued to do so. As we will see, the wheat was not thrown over in hopes of at least saving the owners from suffering a complete loss. This will be seen in verse 38.

Life application: Some people are good at getting rid of unneeded things. Others hold onto them tightly, never wanting to part with a thing. Those who constantly toss things will often find they did so a bit too soon and wind up spending more time or money to get back what they actually needed.

Those who hold onto things forever often get so cluttered in their lives that they lose track of what they have and can’t find what they need. Thus, they have to spend more time or money to obtain what they need, even though they already have it somewhere. If there is a perfect time to toss or keep, most people have not yet found it. However, it is something that Solomon says is necessary. He says there is –

“A time to gain,
And a time to lose;
A time to keep,
And a time to throw away.” Ecclesiastes 3:6

If you are going to toss, at least see if someone else can use what you no longer need. There is no point in wasting things when someone else may benefit from what you have. You may save them some money, make a friend, or just help someone out of a difficult time.

Lord God, help us to use wisdom in the use of our possessions so that they don’t control us or bog our lives down with that which is ultimately unnecessary. And yet, help us to be wise and discerning and not wasteful as well. We are to save for our children’s children. We can’t do that if we are always buying stuff and tossing things away that have value. So, Lord, give us wisdom in the conduct of our lives in this regard. Amen.

Oh dear. Wyoming.

Saturday, 4 May 2024

When they had taken it on board, they used cables to undergird the ship; and fearing lest they should run aground on the Syrtis Sands, they struck sail and so were driven. Acts 27:17

Note: You can listen to today’s commentary courtesy of our friends at “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen).

You can also read this commentary, scrolling with music, courtesy of our friends at “Discern the Bible” on YouTube. (Click Here to listen), or at Rumble (Click Here to listen).

A literal rendering would be, “Which, having lifted, they used helps, undergirding the ship. And fearing lest they fall into the Syrtis, having lowered the tackle – thus they were borne” (CG).

The last verse revealed that the ship ran under Clauda and, at that time, they were able to secure the skiff, but with much difficulty. Now, concerning the skiff, it next says, “Which, having lifted.”

Once the skiff was brought near, they next lifted it onto the ship. The reason this was necessary was after lifting the skiff, “they used helps.”

The NKJV translates this verse using the word “cables.” Others say ropes, supports, under-girding, and so forth. Cables, or ropes, are exactly what was used, but the term is boétheia which literally means “assistance” or “help.”

HELPS Word Studies says, “It is a brand of help, especially critical assistance that meets an urgent situation.” This word is used just twice, here and in Hebrews 4:16, where we are told –

“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help [boétheia] in time of need.”

The process of undergirding the ships in this manner is known as “frapping.” According to Albert Barnes, Falconer’s Marine Dictionary describes the process, saying, “To frap a ship is to pass four or five turns of a large cable-laid rope round the hull or frame of a ship to support her in a great storm, or otherwise, when it is apprehended that she is not strong enough to resist the violent efforts of the sea.”

Barnes also cites an instance of frapping which was recorded in Lord Anson’s voyage round the world, “They were obliged to throw overboard all their upper-deck guns, and take six turns of the cable round the ship to prevent her opening.” The reason for the frapping of the ship is that, without it, the ship would literally come apart at the seams in such a tempestuous storm.

Therefore, they used these helps in the process of “undergirding the ship.” This is another unique word in Scripture, hupozónnumi. It is a compound word coming from hupo, under, and zonnumi, to gird. Just as one might gird himself up to run, the ship is undergirded to keep from splitting apart and sinking. After this process was complete, Luke next notes, “And fearing lest they fall into the Syrtis.”

This was another anticipated problem that they feared. The Syrtis is described by Thayer’s Greek Lexicon –

“…the name of two places in the African or Libyan Sea between Carthage and Cyrenaica, full of shallows and sandbanks, and therefore destructive to ships; the western Syrtis, between the islands Cercina and Meninx (or the promontories of Zeitha and Brachodes), was called Syrtis minor, the eastern (extending from the promontory of Cephalae on the Winers Grammar, to that of Boreum on the E.) was called Syrtis major (sinus Psyllicus); this latter must be the one referred to in Acts 27:17, for upon this the ship in which Paul was sailing might easily be cast after leaving Crete.”

The sands shift over time. Therefore, their exact location remained unknown from voyage to voyage. Should they hit the sands, the ship would stick fast and be torn apart in the waves and sand. Because of the danger, it says, “having lowered the tackle – thus they were borne.”

The NKJV says, “they struck sail and so were driven.” Ellicott notes that “The English fails to give the sense of the original. Had they struck sail altogether the ship would simply have drifted in the very direction which they were anxious to avoid. Some sail was absolutely necessary to keep the ship steady. What is meant is that they ‘lowered the ship’s gear,’ the spars and rigging, and especially, perhaps, the heavy yard and ropes which the ancient ships carried, and which would, in such a gale, make the ship top-heavy.”

Because of this, it would be their aim to sail as close to the wind as possible and head northwest. In doing so, they would be able to avoid the sands.

Life application: There is the normal routine of life, and then there are times when things seem to be bursting at the seams and that pressures and forces around us are beyond our ability to withstand.

It is at such times that sailors take drastic emergency methods to hold things together, even employing those passengers on the ship to assist. We should be no different. When it comes to trying times, we should be prepared to go into emergency mode. We can seek assistance from others that we would not normally dare ask help from, lest we inconvenience them.

We can gird ourselves up and prepare ourselves mentally for what lies ahead. And we should not fail to stop and pray for the Lord’s kind hand to be on us during our trials. No life is without trial, and none of us will safely navigate every journey we take. We should remember this and have our emergency kits of life ready to keep things together at all times.

Let the Lord be your Helps as you pass through the deep and stormy waters of affliction. No matter what the earthly outcome, He will be with you at the end. So, trust Him at all times.

Lord God, may we be willing to place our lives in Your hands at all times. And when things get beyond our control, may we remember that You are there with us. You will safely carry us to fair shores of eternal peace. Even if this life gets tossed about, we are forever safely in Your hands. Thank You for this comforting reassurance. Amen.

Some type of deer, I guess. Wyoming.

Friday, 3 May 2024

And running under the shelter of an island called Clauda, we secured the skiff with difficulty. Acts 27:16

Note: You can listen to today’s commentary courtesy of our friends at “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen).

You can also read this commentary, scrolling with music, courtesy of our friends at “Discern the Bible” on YouTube. (Click Here to listen), or at Rumble (Click Here to listen).

A literal rendering would be, “And having run under a certain islet called Clauda, scarcely we were able to become controllers of the skiff” (CG).

The previous verse noted that the ship could not head into the wind and so those on board simply let it be borne along. Now, a verse filled with new and rare words is given. In it, Luke says, “And having run under a certain islet called Clauda.”

The first rare word is hupotrechó, signifying “to run under.” It is found only here in Scripture. Instead of running into this island, they were able to get the ship to sail past it by running under it. What they ran under is described by a word, nésion, that is translated as “islet.”  This is the diminutive of nésos, an island. Thus, this is a little island, meaning and islet. It is also found only here in Scripture.

As for the islet, it is called Clauda. This is the only time it is mentioned. This name, Clauda, is one of various spellings found in different manuscripts. There is an island about 149 miles southwest of Crete that is today known as Gandos. This could possibly be the island that is referred to by Luke. There are a few other very small islands between these as well, such as the sister islands known as Paximadia Ena and Paximadia Duo.

Whichever island Luke is referring to, he says, “scarcely we were able to become controllers of the skiff.”

The word perikratés, an adjective which is again only found in this verse, signifies “having full command of.” Being an adjective, it would signify “controllers.” What they were attempting to control was the skaphé, or light boat. Hence, it is the ship’s skiff, a small landing boat. The obvious etymological connection between the words skaphé and skiff can be seen. This is the first of three times the word will be seen. All will be in this chapter.

The words show the united effort of all available hands. The word “we” appears to be all-inclusive, as any free person on the ship did his best to assist the crew in securing the skiff and helping out in whatever way he could.

The terminology Luke uses indicates that they had immense difficulty bringing in this little ship that was used for getting to shore when docked in an open harbor. The wind would have been raging and the boat itself was probably filled with a great deal of water. The challenge, which is seen in Luke’s words, was a great one.

Life application: One can almost sense the tension of those on board who worked to bring the skiff aboard the ship. But with the help of others besides the crew, the task was completed. There are times when we may be called, even if not verbally, to assist in a situation. It takes a truly uncaring person to idly sit by while others are carrying the weight of the moment.

Even if a person isn’t physically able to help, there is something he or she can do. For example, a person seeing others struggling at a task can go to the galley and get something for those who are working to eat after they are done.

Standing around and gawking, in whatever situation one finds himself in, just adds to the clutter of the situation. If nothing else, words of encouragement or congratulations can be heaped upon those who are doing the hard work. Whatever it is you can do, don’t be a bump on a log. Instead, be a person who is active in participating in the events that unfold before you. As it says in Ecclesiastes –

“Because of laziness the building decays,
And through idleness of hands the house leaks.” Ecclesiastes 10:18

Do your best to not let the house around you (real or otherwise) decay because of slothfulness. Industry and hard work, even if it is mere moral support, is something that is needed in the world. A pat on the back or a letter or email of support from time to time is always appreciated.

Lord God, may we be willing to share of ourselves in whatever way we can in the circumstances in which we find ourselves. Help us, Lord, to be productive and helpful in this life we have been given. May it be so with You as the One who receives the glory for our efforts in living sound, productive, Christian lives. Amen.