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BOUND TO THE MAST!

In the distant past when great sailing ships traversed the high seas they did so without the advantage of a global positioning satellite system. The ships weren’t equipped with “OnStar” and certainly didn’t have the advantage of having the big picture laid out in front of them. Not surprisingly they occasionally found themselves engulfed by a fierce storm.

When this happened, when a storm sent the ship on a roller coaster ride, sailors would bind themselves to the ship’s mast to keep from being swept overboard by giant waves that threatened to capsize the vessel. In that manner, bound to the mast, they’d ride out the storm. Implicitly, or explicitly, they put their trust in God to calm the wind and the waves.

In a similar manner, God has strengthened us to ride out the storms of life. For the command “be strong” as found in Ephesians 6:10 is in the passive voice. That means, or so I am told, that it is something done for us. Granted, in our English translations it sounds like something we do for ourselves but that is not the sense of the Greek. God has bound us to himself, he has given us the power to be children of God, and in doing so he has strengthened us to “stand firm” in the midst of life’s battles.

It is interesting to note at this point that in knowing the lessons of history in regards to frail humanity, and in knowing himself, he asked the Ephesian believers for prayer on his behalf (vv 19 - 29). In an earlier letter he had warned the Corinthian believers of this very real danger of falling when he told them:
“ So if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall.”

On the high seas of life, it’s easy to become a casualty. Indeed, the list of those who’ve fallen is rather lengthy. It begins with Adam. God knew that it wasn’t good for Adam to be alone, so He gave him Eve. It was love at first sight, and it wasn’t long before Eve became Adam’s greatest treasure. That is, it wasn’t long before Adam valued his relationship with Eve more than he valued his relationship with God. For when the two were tested, blind-sided, Adam sided with his wife.

It is easy to make excuses for the original couple. After all, they were blind-sided by the enemy. After all, there is no indication that they had been forewarned about the serpent. Nor is there any indication that God intervened on their behalf apprising them of the fact that they needed to brandish the sword of the Spirit. They didn’t even know the meaning of the word “sword.” They were ill-prepared, or so it can be argued.

But, they could have stood firm. When confusion entered paradise, when they were presented with a choice, they could’ve stood their ground. They could have recalled what God had said about the tree in the middle of the garden. They could have remembered what God had commanded in regards to that one tree. And, in remembering, in trusting, they could have stood in the day of evil.
They could have stood even though they knew nothing about brandishing he sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. No offensive action was required on the part of Adam and Eve, they simply needed to stand their ground. They simply needed to trust in the One who had said:
“ You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” Genesis 2:16 - 17

The list continues with Cain whose anger got the best of him. In Genesis 4 we read:
In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. 4 But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
6 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."
8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field." And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

Cain was at a crossroads in his life. He was confused and angry about the fact that his offering wasn’t accepted while that of his younger brother was looked upon with favor. He could have talked it out with the Lord. In fact, the Lord engaged him in conversation in an attempt to draw him out of his anger. But, Cain wasn’t in any mood for some stupid conversation.

He preferred to nurse his anger toward Abel. He preferred revenge to dialogue and anger management. He preferred to take his frustration out on his brother, rather then to take his issues up with God. Consequently, he did what angry people always do, he let anger manage him and he hurt the one who was closest to him.

Could he have stood firm in the face of Satan’s attempt to destroy him? Sure! He could have confessed to God that he was angry. He could have admitted that he was angry first and foremost at God for not accepting his sacrifice. He could have shared his hurt that evidently his younger brother was somehow better than he was since his offering was accepted with favor. He could have asked God for help.

But he didn’t do that, instead he took matters into his own hand. Or rather, he played into Satan’s hand by allowing anger to consume his thoughts and actions. He could have stood his ground by cultivating his relationship with God. No offensive action was needed on his part. He just needed to talk it out with the One who cared about him the most. For he was already loved, he just didn’t know it.

The list continues with Aaron. He was next in command as the Israelites made their exodus out of Egypt. When Moses was delayed on Mt. Sinai, when the people worried that he was not coming back, they turned to Aaron, in Exodus 32, and said:
“ Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”

What seemed like an easy job suddenly became difficult. Aaron was called upon as their leader and he had to make some quick decisions. Instead of correcting their thinking, instead of rebuking them, he answered them by saying:
“ Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.”

It is possible that instead of confronting the issue, Aaron attempted to sidestep it. It is possible that he quickly calculated that if he made the price high enough the Israelites wouldn’t be willing to pay it. I mean, who would willingly give up their precious jewels without knowing exactly how they were to be used?

Well, if this is what happened, and it is a big “if,” Aaron underestimated what people are willing to give in order to fulfill the wicked desires of their heart. The people readily gave Aaron their gold jewelry and he felt compelled to do something with it.
You see, all Aaron had to do was to stand his ground by reassuring the people that Moses would soon return. Or, he simply needed to remind them of what the living God had already done on their behalf. Instead, he tried to outwit Satan with a rather weak maneuver designed to counter the devil’s schemes. It didn’t work then and we have no reason to expect such tactics to work today.
We stand firm by standing in the truth of what we know about our past with the one who saved us. We stand firm by standing up for truth instead of backing down before the maddening crowd. Sometimes, and this is what Aaron wasn’t prepared for, that means standing alone when it seems like the whole world has gone mad.

The list continues with David in regards to his affair with Bathsheba. One evening, unable to sleep, he got up and walked around on the roof of his palace. When he should have been listening to the heavens declare the glory of God, he was using his telescope to spy on a woman bathing; a very beautiful woman. Instantly, his mind, heart, and in particular, his imagination, was captivated by her beauty.

In looking upon Bathsheba, he was enchanted, bewitched, hypnotized, spellbound, charmed, mesmerized, enraptured, and captivated by the pleasures awaiting him. Tantalized by the fantasy of what it would be like to have her, and having the resources to gratify his desires, he gave absolutely no thought to standing firm against the devil’s schemes.

In fact, it didn’t even occur to him that Satan was using his private world to bombard his mind with the possibilities of erotic pleasure. David wandered, intentionally or unintentionally, into an area that allowed him to be hit with the full force of temptation and Satan took full advantage of it. After all, flesh and blood is no match for the likes of Miss Nisan (that’s Hebrew for Miss March/April) as found in the Hebrew Playboy calendar.
Proverbs 22:3 says:
“ A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it.”

In this case, David never saw the danger until he was up to his eyeballs in sin. And as you know, he suffered greatly for it. What he should have done is simply take refuge in the work gone had given him. He was created to subdue the enemies of Israel and that is what he should have been doing instead of taking his leave at the palace. In this way, he could’ve stood firm in the day of evil. You see, sometimes we simply stand firm by doing the righteous acts that God has prepared for us.

The list continues to this day with names that are all too familiar to us. The list itself is a testament to the fact that “the thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy.” For all who are on the list suffered greatly in one way or another.

But the thing to note is that in each of the four examples it wasn’t a matter of going on the offensive. It was simply a matter of standing. We get into trouble when we interpret this “word” in terms of contemporary warfare where a good defense in a good offense. A good offense being an aggressive one that attempts to destroy the aggressor’s ability to wage warfare. But in Paul’s day, in the days of the Roman empire, the first duty of a line of soldiers standing side by side with large rectangular shields was to simply stand their ground. They were to stand firm so as prevent the enemy from making any inroads toward the ultimate target.
In our case, the ultimate target is twofold. It your heart and my heart, it is the seat of our affections. And, collectively it is the kingdom of God. Either way, individually or collectively, it is the Lord who is hurt when we fail to stand our ground. He is hurt for he is discredited within the world. And the work of His kingdom suffers since the laborers are discouraged when they feel like all they are doing is stepping over bodies.

On the other side of the coin, we need to note what happens, when people do stand firm. A great example is found in Exodus 14:5 - 14 where we read:
5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, "What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!" 6 So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. 7 He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. 8 The LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly. 9 The Egyptians--all Pharaoh's horses and chariots, horsemen and troops--pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon.
10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. 11 They said to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn't we say to you in Egypt, `Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians'? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!" 13 Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."

You might argue that the Israelites really did not have a choice for they were between a rock and a hard place. To the west was Pharaoh’s powerful army, to the east was the Red Sea. But, they did have a choice. They could have fled in all directions. Yes, in all likelihood that would have meant their death.

Or, they could have killed Moses and Aaron with the idea of offering their dead bodies up as a sacrifice of appeasement. Nothing may of worked, of course, but there were options available to them. They didn’t have to stand their ground. They could have done something to try and save themselves. For you see, when people are between a rock and a hard place they can be pretty creative in coming up with a solution to their problems!

But, they stood firm and saw God exercise his mighty power on their behalf. The last paragraph of the chapter, before the camp broke out into song, reads:
29 But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. 30 That day the LORD saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. 31 And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.

When we stand firm three things are delivered on behalf of God’s Kingdom. First, a major victory is delivered to the Lord. Satan and his cohorts are defeated in the spiritual realms. His name is lifted up among the angels and within our sphere of influence on earth. Our friends, coworkers, and associates may not be able to verbalize what they’ve witnessed but they can see that we’ve handled life well.

Second, a healthy dose of encouragement is delivered to God’s people. Having seen his power exercised on their behalf, they are strengthened for the days that lie ahead. They become convinced that in the Lord’s mighty power they can handle whatever the future has in store for them.

Third, God’s leaders are vindicated. Yes, they have battle scars but they are scars that tell a wonderful story of how God used them in the heat of battle.

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