The Snare Of The South Wind

Acts 27:13-20 KJV And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, loosing thence, they sailed close by Crete. [14] But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon. [15] And when the ship was caught, and could not bear up into the wind, we let her drive. [16] And running under a certain island which is called Clauda, we had much work to come by the boat: [17] Which when they had taken up, they used helps, undergirding the ship; and, fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands, strake sail, and so were driven. [18] And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship; [19] And the third day we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship. [20] And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away.

l. The Setting of Acts 27

-This is literally Paul’s last journey. He has spent much of his life in the last 12 years on three missionary journeys (46-58 A.D.). Paul is not alone in this final passage. He has Luke and Aristarchus of Thessalonica with him (Acts 19:29; 20:4).

-Paul is now going to make a final appeal in Rome with the intent of appealing his cause before the Caesar. Paul is the most important of all the prisoners who are on board. This weather-beaten missionary of the Cross will have to endure one more final storm on the high-seas before he is to stand before Caesar.

-Most historians are in agreement that this ship probably originated in Alexandria, Egypt and was loaded with corn in route to Rome.

-Luke gives us an idea of the time of the year that it is with the phrase “because the fast was now already past” (Acts 27:9). This is a reference to the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). The time of their sailing would be around October 1. The most dangerous time to sail this particular part of the high seas was from mid-September until mid-November.

-Imagine for a moment that you are on a wooden ship that might be 150 feet long if that and every turn or roll of the ship causes great creaking noises throughout. Imagine trying to weather a storm with waves running 10 to 20 feet high and maybe higher. This was certainly not a ride on a summer skiff.

-It would soon spell disaster for those who were involved. The course of the ship begin to sail south of Crete and once the ship sailed out into the main waters a cross-wind caught them and they begin to have a terrible time of it. To complicate matters, they found themselves battling a full-fledged typhoon.

-The ship began to weaken and was showing signs of damage from the buffeting of the waves. In the days of the ancient mariners, they would take cables that were already fitted into place around the ship’s frame and hull and tighten them down to give the ship more support. This was a process called frapping.

-This fight with the storm went on for three days. Imagine what it must have been like to have been on that ship trying to ride out the storm. Wind howling, spray flying, the shipping rolling from one side to the other, and much of this occurring in the dark or with very poor visibility.

• The first day they literally “battened down the hatches.”

• The second day they begin to get rid of the cargo.

• The third day they begin to toss equipment over the side.

-The phrase “we let her drive” is applicable, at some point, to most of our lives. There are moments in life when we are driven, no matter how difficult it may seem, it is driving us toward our destination.

-The result of this particular moment during the storm was that they could not “bear up into the wind.” This means that the ship could not look into or face the wind. Because they could not face the wind, the huge troughs created by the waves simply rolled the ship from crest to valley to crest of the wave.

-It is in moments like these that the entire ship can literally be broken into pieces. Sometimes life is exactly like that. . . . There is no way to face into the problem. It is too large. . . . It is too steep. . . . It appears that the storm literally has you by the neck.

ll. The Storm Principles

-What does Paul do in this situation now? He had heard from God and had warned these men but they went ahead and did not heed his warnings. Now, because of their foolhardiness, Paul is in trouble.