The Last Voyage of the Emir

by David Riley

  And broke their chains in pieces.

  At this, they glanced at the chains some of the prisoners still wore and smiled. Others began to gather and listen, thinking it strange at first for there to be singing in such circumstances, but the music had a calming effect on those in the hold. Even the soldiers leaned closer to listen.

  Fools, because of their transgressions,

  And because of their iniquities, were afflicted.

  Their soul abhorred all manner of food,

  And they drew near to the gates of death.

  Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,

  And He saved them out of their distresses.

  Those gathered realized the truth of these words. Many were prisoners, here because of their transgressions. None desired food and most felt that they were near the gates of death.

  Those who go down to the sea in ships,

  Who do business on great waters,

  They see the works of the Lord,

  And His wonders in the deep.

  For He commands and raises the stormy wind,

  Which lifts up the waves of the sea.

  They mount up to the heavens,

  They go down again to the depths;

  Their soul melts because of trouble.

  They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man,

  And are at their wits’ end.

  At these words, all in the hold were soberly considering the words that were written so long ago but yet so accurately describing their current situation. The song continued with its refrain that had been repeated three times already, but now they were eager to hear the words again:

  Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble,

  And He brings them out of their distresses.

  This time it was in the present tense, being even more pertinent to their time of need.

  He calms the storm,

  So that its waves are still.

  Then they are glad because they are quiet;

  So He guides them to their desired haven.

  At these words, all those listening felt a glimmer of hope, longing for the storm to calm and the waves to be still.

  Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,

  And for His wonderful works to the children of men!

  Let them exalt Him also in the assembly of the people,

  And praise Him in the company of the elders.

  Paul finished, quietly quoting the end of the psalm:

  Whoever is wise will observe these things,

  And they will understand the lovingkindness of the Lord.8

  It was quiet in the hold other than the sounds of the storm and the creaking and banging of the ship. There were tears in the eyes of some of the men around, and they sniffed and quickly turned aside to regain control of their emotions.

  Paul cleared his throat and said, “Men, these words were written by King David almost a thousand years ago, and yet God has appointed them for us today. God is not ignorant of our circumstances, and He can bring us out of our distress whether the storms stop or not. I hope all of you will ‘understand the lovingkindness of the Lord,’ as the psalmist wrote.”

  There were a few murmurs of agreement and words of thanks as the group quietly turned back to their own activities, contemplating what they had heard.

  Temeros stood quietly, lost in thought, amazed at what he had witnessed. Luke noticed his expression.

  “What are you thinking about?” he asked him quietly.

  Temeros looked around as he considered how to answer this. “I’m not sure how to say all that is on my mind. I am surprised at the singing when the situation is so bad, but somehow it has helped to relieve the worries I have been feeling. I am amazed that this song was written so long ago and yet seems to exactly describe what we are going through today. I am still new to this belief in God’s power and goodness, and yet you and Paul and the others seem so sure He is good, even when this is happening. That gives peace but I wonder what will happen. Paul just said something about being rescued from our distress even if the storm continues. I am trying to figure out how that could be. And how could this show God’s lovingkindness?”

  Luke chuckled. “Wow, you have a lot going on in that head of yours!” He paused as he considered how to answer. “Paul has been in a lot of troubled spots and yet God has never forsaken him or any of us who believe. There was one time he and I were in Philippi together along with Silas, another one of our brothers in ministry. Paul and Silas were thrown in jail after casting out a demon. While they were in jail, they were singing and praying much like today. At that time, God showed his power in a mighty earthquake that caused the prisoners’ chains to break and the prison doors to open.”

  “I imagine the jailer was severely punished at having his prisoners all escape!”

  “Actually, they stayed put and ministered to the man, and he along with his entire family came to know the Lord that night!” Luke smiled at the memory.

  Temeros considered this. “Do you mean that God will rescue us just like He opened the jail for Paul?”

  Luke shook his head. “I’m afraid not. It just means that God is always aware of our troubles and He will not leave us. Even Paul has come close to death many times. In fact, he has been shipwrecked three times before, spending all night in deep water before someone rescued him. It really is amazing that he has survived to this day. God has never failed to rescue him but that does not mean life is not hard. God’s goodness is not something we believe because life is easy. On the contrary, God’s lovingkindness is seen in the way He is with us when we go through trials of many kinds. Our Lord promised never to leave us or forsake us. It is hard to see sometimes but our faith is strengthened by every one of the trials we face.”

  Temeros pondered this. “I have a lot to learn. I must admit, I would rather learn in a nice safe environment,” he said with a smile.

  Luke chuckled. “You and me both!”

  —————

  About the time Paul started singing, Demetrius decided he had had enough. Being on deck in the storm would be better than being forced to hear more about how god was good. Surely they could see by now that there was no god! No one was helping them and they were going to die on the open ocean, never to be seen again! If there was a god, he was either too weak to do anything or did not know what was happening to them or, worse yet, wanted them to suffer. It was too much to bear!

  He climbed up to the deck, tying the lifeline around his waist as he staggered aft. Shortly after him, two soldiers followed. They were the same two he had seen whispering and pointing at Paul. They also moved to the stern but kept a little distance from him.

  There were three sailors on deck huddled together next to the ship’s boat, holding the edge of the canvas covering over them for a little shelter. They appeared to be talking animatedly. As Demetrius and the soldiers came closer, they moved over to give them room to crouch under the canvas as well and then continued their discussion. The newcomers could hear one of the older sailors talking loudly over the storm. His weathered face and leathery skin gave witness to his many years of sailing experience.

  “I tell you, the god’s are angry! We need to figure out who has caused this curse on us and cast them into the sea!”

  The other two sailors appeared appalled at this suggestion. “You’re mad! That would be murder! Why would we do such a thing?”

  “You are too young to know, but for hundreds of years, seagoing men have known that if there is a storm as deadly as this, and if you cast overboard the man who has angered the gods, the storm will cease. I’ve heard the stories all my life. In fact, one man volunteered to be thrown overboard, saying he knew he was the one that had brought catastrophe on them. As soon as they threw him in the sea, the waves became calm and the storm stopped!” he said. His conviction that this was true was evident to the men.

  Demetrius had leaned nearer to hear what he was saying, and the two soldiers, Cassius and Por
cius, were also listening intently.

  “Who are you talking about!? That can’t be true!” the other sailors responded.

  “It is true, I tell you!” the older sailor responded. “In fact, I heard some Hebrews telling the exact same story once, saying it was written in their holy book! His name was Jonah! Of course they added some nonsense about him being eaten by a giant fish and then vomited up on shore alive. That can’t be true, but I know the storm stopped when they did it. I heard the story from many different sailors!”

  The two younger sailors looked at each other, considering this. “Even if it’s true, how can we know who is the one that caused this?”

  At this, Demetrius spoke up, surprising them. “I can tell you that!” he said. There is one of the prisoners in the hold spouting off about god all the time. If he was really such a god follower, I can tell you for sure he would not be a prisoner! He must have done something against god to be punished.”

  Porcius and Cassius glanced at each other, sensing an opportunity. “He’s right!” said Porcius. At this, the sailors and Demetrius all turned toward them. “That man, Paul, has caused nothing but trouble. He must be the one!”

  “Yes,” Cassius joined in. “I hear he even told our centurion that if we left Fair Havens to go to Phoenix, disaster would strike! If that’s not a curse on our ship, I don’t know what is!”

  Sailors tend to be a superstitious group by nature, and at this talk of curses, the issue was decided in their mind.

  “It must be him! I say we grab him and take care of this now!” the old man said. The other sailors as well as Demetrius and the soldiers voiced agreement. “Let’s go talk to the other men and figure out how to get to him!”

  Porcius and Cassius suppressed smiles at this, and they could see Demetrius shared their satisfaction at the way this was going. The sailors made their way toward the hatch to the lower deck to talk to their crewmates.

  Demetrius lingered by the boat as did Porcius and Cassius. The soldiers eyed him warily.

  “Who are you? I don’t remember seeing you around the ship when we left Myra. And why are you so eager to get rid of that rabble-rouser Paul?” Cassius asked him.

  Demetrius glowered at them in return. “It doesn’t matter who I am. The two of you seem just as eager. Why would two upstanding Roman soldiers want something to happen to a prisoner in their charge?”

  They looked at each other trying to judge how much to say. “We have our reasons.” Porcius paused as he considered his words. “Look. We seem to have a common aim. Let’s not turn against each other. If we wanted to, we could report you as a stowaway, and we know that if you chose to, you could report us to our centurion. We won’t say anything if you don’t.”

  Demetrius considered this briefly and nodded, inwardly relieved. “Agreed.”

  “Really, though. What do you know of Paul?” they asked.

  “You first,” he said defiantly.

  “He flaunts his Roman citizenship like he is someone important. We have been loyal soldiers for years but have yet to earn that title. Our centurion seems to be much too easily swayed by him, and for a prisoner to have that much power is never good. We are ready to put a stop to that.”

  At this, Demetrius’ eyes narrowed. He had expected a much stronger reason than petty jealousy. What little respect he had for the soldiers’ position diminished quickly to where he only saw them as weak and self-obsessed.

  “What about you?” Porcius asked.

  “I was the best silversmith in Ephesus when he came and started his preaching. After several months, people were turning away from the temple of the goddess Artemis. They stopped supporting the temple and, along with that, stopped buying my silver shrines. That man ruined my livelihood but would not stop there. He took my wife away from me when she started believing what he preached. Eventually, my house burned to the ground and my wife and boy died.” At this his voice faltered, giving way to grief mixed with anger.

  The soldiers were quiet for moment. “I’d say that is a good reason to want to toss him overboard.”

  “Do you really think that will happen?” Demetrius said with a skeptical tone.

  Cassius laughed. “Not likely! No Roman soldier would let one of the prisoners be taken by someone unauthorized. He would be punished or perhaps even killed.”

  “So why bother suggesting it to the sailors?”

  Porcius grinned slyly. “Because, if Paul goes missing later, who do you think would be blamed? It takes the focus off of the three of us! Everyone would assume the sailors got to him after all!”

  Demetrius realized he may have underestimated their cunning. That was a good plan to divert suspicion.

  All three men shivered and decided it was time to return to the protection of the lower level.

  Notes:

  8 Psalm 107 (NKJV)

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Porcius and Cassius were right. The plot to throw Paul overboard to calm the storm was quickly squelched by the soldiers guarding the prisoners. Surprisingly, many of the sailors had been in favor of the idea. Anything that would give hope of lessening the storm would be considered. After that, the soldiers were more watchful anytime the prisoners left the hold, making any attempt by Demetrius and his co-conspirators impossible.

  Day after day, the storm seemed never ending. There were glimmers of hope when the rain decreased for an hour or so and the wind let up, but inevitably it returned full force. Hope was giving way to despair.

  One day late in the afternoon during a lull in the storm, those on deck were suddenly shocked to see actual sunlight filtering through the clouds. It was only a short distance off their port side. Their shouts of excitement quickly brought others out to see what was going on and soon all the men of the ship were out on deck. All were hoping this signaled an end to the storm.

  Captain Sahaq and Rayiz were as excited as everyone else to have even a short respite from the storm, but they also knew it was only temporary.

  “It’s just the eye of the storm, I’m sure of it,” Rayiz said quietly to the captain.

  “Aye, I know you are right,” Captain Sahaq responded. “But if we can get far enough into the eye, we may have a glimpse of the stars in a few hours and be able to get some idea of where we are! All I can tell is that we are still heading west, now that I see the direction of the sun’s rays.”

  “Yes, I wish we had a way to steer this cursed ship! Our rudders are no match for the wind and waves.”

  “One good thing about it, if the eye is to our south, that means the wind should be coming up from the south and east to circle around the center of the storm. Maybe they will keep us off the Syrtis sands. No telling how far south we have traveled with those terrible north and east winds, we had the first several days!”

  For the next couple of hours, they were treated to lighter winds and rains, but they never got any closer to the sunlight. The deck was filled with people craning their necks and hoping by sheer force of will to make the ship move that direction but to no avail. The sunlight moved further to the south, and the clouds became steadily darker as the wind picked up and the rain intensified.

  During this break, with the ship’s company so focused on the port side, Demetrius, Porcius, and Cassius thought they may have their chance. They had been watching Paul as he made his way aft. He and his companions went toward the doctor’s cabin and they followed at a distance. After a few minutes, Paul re-emerged with Aristarchus, followed by the doctor and his apprentice.

  Demetrius had seen this apprentice a few times, always wearing a head scarf. Every time, he could not shake the feeling he had met the man somewhere, but he was not able to place him. He thought it may be the same man that was talking in his sleep the night he had come aboard and crept down to the hold. After a moment of consideration, he shook his head and focused on Paul. The men moved toward the port side at the aft of the ship.

  Demetrius pulled his accomplices aside. “I have a plan.” He said. “You two call f
or the doctor. That should at least get two of them occupied elsewhere. I may be able to sneak up behind Paul and get him over the side before anyone else notices. If one of his other friends is there too, well he may just have to join him in the water.”

  The two soldiers liked this plan and moved further away before implementing it. Demetrius took a circuitous path to station himself behind Paul a little further to the starboard side. No one was looking aft since the eye of the storm was the other direction. Demetrius nodded to the soldiers and they approached Paul and the others.

  “Doctor Luke, they are calling for you on the forward deck. They wanted you to check on someone,” Cassius said, feigning concern.

  Luke turned to respond. “Certainly! Any idea what the trouble is? Do I need to get some of my instruments?”

  This caught them off guard. Porcius spoke up. “Uh, I don’t think so. They just wanted to have you check on someone who slipped on the wet deck.”

  “Ok, I’ll head that way.” He turned to Temeros. “Would you like to come help me?”

  “Sure!” Temeros responded, eager for more experience.

  The two headed toward the other end of the ship as the soldiers withdrew. Paul and Aristarchus watched them walk away and then turned back to the railing.

  Porcius and Cassius waited until Luke and Temeros were out of sight and then turned to come up behind Paul and help Demetrius finish him off. Just then, Gaius called out to them from the other side of the deck.

  “Hey! You two, Porcius and Cassius. Get over here. I need you to help watch these prisoners!”

  The two soldiers glanced at each other, disappointed, but hurried to obey their commanding officer. They figured Demetrius could handle this.

  Demetrius watched them go, in some ways relieved they were gone. He did not feel he could fully trust them and felt more confident doing it himself. He walked slowly toward the two men leaning on the railing. He caught snatches of their conversation over the increasing wind as he got closer but was not really paying much attention to what they were saying. He was preoccupied with making sure no one was watching. He was considering the best way to subdue both of them quickly but knew he did not have much time.