Acts 27:18-27

DRIVEN FOR FOURTEEN DAYS BY THE WIND. Acts 27:18-27.

Acts 27:18

And as we labored exceedingly with the storm, the next day they began to throw the freight overboard;

Acts 27:19

and the third day they cast out with their own hands the tackling of the ship.

Acts 27:20

And when neither sun nor stars shone upon us for many days, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was now taken away.

Acts 27:21

And when they had been long without food, then Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have set sail from Crete, and have gotten this injury and loss.

Acts 27:22

And now I exhort you to be of good cheer; for there shall be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship.

Acts 27:23

For there stood by me this night an angel of the God whose I am, whom also I serve,

Acts 27:24

saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must stand before Caesar: and lo, God hath granted thee all them that sail with thee.

Acts 27:25

Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even so as it hath been spoken unto me.

Acts 27:26

But we must be cast upon a certain island.

Acts 27:27

But when the fourteenth night was come, as we were to and fro in the sea of Adria, about midnight the sailors surmised that they were drawing near to some country:

Acts 27:18-25 Following these precautions the ship was driven. For 13 days they drifted on an average of 36 miles in 24 hoursmaking a total of 468 miles.

The day following the frapping of the ship they began to throw overboard the wheat so as to lighten the ship, for in spite of the frapping they had evidently sprung a leak. On the third day as much of the extra gear as could be spared was thrown in the sea. In spite of this effort they contrived to labor exceedingly with the storm. The sun could not be seen in the day nor the stars at night, All hope that they would ever be saved from a watery grave was now gone. It might have been on the fifth day or the sixth or seventh or even later, but sometime in the midst of this dreary, frightening experience Paul gathered some of the sailors about him to give the message recorded in Acts 27:21-26. First of all he was to say, I told you so. If you had harkened unto me in Fair Haven you would not now be where you are. But his main thought was one of encouragement. He said, Be of good cheer for I have a message from God concerning our safety. Not one of you shall perish. There shall be loss -tis true but only of the ship. I know this for last night an angel of God stood by me and said as much. I am a servant of God and belong to Him. The words which he spoke to me were:

-Fear not, Paul. You must stand before Caesar, your prayers have been heard on behalf of those on board and God hath granted them all to you.-'
And so Paul concluded his remarks by saying, Cheer up, for I believe that it shall be, indeed, even as He hath said. And then Paul reveals a bit more insight into the future by adding: But we must be cast upon a certain island.

988.

How far and how fast did they drift?

989.

Why throw overboard the wheat and gear?

990.

What two thoughts did Paul give in his message to the sailors?

991.

What word of the future was given by the Apostle?

992.

How did they know they were near land?

Acts 27:26-27 All this time no one had taken food, much of the provisions being gone and the tossing of the ship making it practically impossible. Let's not forget that Luke was aboard this vessel and is giving an eye-witness account of these events.