At 33,000 inhabitants, Andersonville stood as the 5th largest southern city during the civil war. The only problem was that it wasn’t a city at all. It was a Confederate prison camp, created to hold a maximum of 10,000 union captives.
The crowding, combined with an inhumane warden, turned those 26 acres into one of the greatest killing grounds of that war. They were not given shelter from the elements, nor were they allowed to build their own. Most lived in shallow holes scratched into the hard, Georgian ground, with nothing more than a thin blanket as a covering.
Daily rations consisted of a teaspoon of salt, 3 tablespoons of beans, and a half-pint of unsifted cornmeal. Their only source of drinking water served also as their sewer system. Thousands died of disease in such horrific conditions. Thousands more died of malnutrition. In all, more than 13,000 men perished in Andersonville during the less than 15 months it was open.
Photographs of those that did survive until the end of the war show mere skeletons of men. And so it was with eager anticipation that hundreds of these now-freed prisoners hobbled or were carried onto a great riverboat, named the Sultana, a couple weeks after the Confederate surrender.
So great was the desire to get home again, that more than 2,300 Union soldiers crammed the decks of that vessel - - even shoe-horning themselves into the pilot house - - destined for stops in Illinois, Louisville, and Cincinnati, little knowing that, only days before, the great sidewheeler had experienced dangerous leaks in her boilers that had been very hastily repaired by the ship’s engineers.
So, the over-laden craft pulled out and churned the dark water of the swollen Mississippi. Though it was slow moving upstream against the springtime currents, the mood of the men must’ve brightened with each mile.
Then, about 10 miles north of Memphis, in the black of the morning hours of April 27, 1865, a great fireball awakened the countryside for miles around. The Sultana’s boilers burst in a cataclysmic explosion, spewing hot coals & red-hot metals, and sending the ship’s tall stacks crashing onto the crowded decks.
The paddle-wheeler became a drifting inferno until it finally struck a submerged island and sunk. In all, 1700 of the men perished that morning. They had stepped on board in great anticipation that this vessel promised fulfillment of their most-desired dreams. But they did so, little knowing the fate that awaited them.
My question is this: How many of those men would’ve made a different choice if they’d known the condition of those boilers? If they’d been aware of the instability of the Sultana? If they’d been warned of the perils that threatened any who would board? Though such information was vital, it was undeclared.
Guys, here’s the deal: Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Edition came out last week and most men would say, “What’s the harm?” But today, God has some vital instruction to declare that could save your life. This instruction comes from the wisest of men, Solomon, in the form of a vivid word picture brushed on the canvas of Proverbs 7:6-23. Here’s the abridged account:
I looked out through the lattice.
7 I saw among the simple,
I noticed among the young men,
a youth who lacked judgment.
8 He was going down the street near her corner,
walking along in the direction of her house
9 at twilight, as the day was fading,
as the dark of night set in.
10 Then out came a woman to meet him,
dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent.
13 She took hold of him and kissed him
and with a brazen face she said:
15 …I came out to meet you;
I looked for you and have found you!
16 I have covered my bed
with colored linens from Egypt.
17 I have perfumed my bed
with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon.
18 Come, let’s drink deep of love till morning;
let’s enjoy ourselves with love!
19 My husband is not at home;
he has gone on a long journey.
21 With persuasive words she led him astray;
she seduced him with her smooth talk.
22 All at once he followed her
like an ox going to the slaughter,
…little knowing it will cost him his life.
Solomon paints a portrait of a young man and a temptress. We are the young man, perhaps not so young. And though, perhaps, wise in the ways of our world - - we are so often naïve to the tactics of the Enemy.
The temptress is clothed in varied fabrics. This week the seductress may be the Swimsuit Edition. However, there are harlots beckoning to us every day: riches, gambling, alcohol, drugs, marital infidelity, careers, as well as pornography. And, if we follow, their path will end in the loss of our families, our lives, even our souls.
God is for us and He wants the best for you and me. So He had Solomon identify for us three weaknesses in the metal of the lives of all men. They are:
1. The Weakness of Proximity – Verse 8 tells us the man was “going down the street near her corner.” The wise & faithful man keeps distance from temptation. It’s impossible to avoid it completely. But be vigilant. Be aware. And keep your distance to protect yourself and your family.
2. The Weakness of Path – Verse 8 goes on to say that “He was walking in the direction of her house.” These are images, thoughts, and desires that we allow into our minds. When we consider them, ever so slightly, we are walking in that direction - on that path. SI’s annual temptation probably falls into this category.
3. The Weakness of Privacy – Verse 9 informs us that it was “at twilight, as the day was fading, as the dark of night set in.” His reasoning was “no one will see, no one will know”. Temptation is stronger when we think no one will find out. The truth is: What you do in private does matter.
Verse 22 tells us (facetiously) that “all at once he followed her”. But Solomon, and we all, saw it coming. It didn’t really happen all at once. It occurred incrementally. A step or two at a time. And thus it occurs in our lives.
It’s a challenge in our world. But God is Always Faithful. He has given you His Word on it.
This is Challenge Pointe.
Semper Fidelis!
Doug
