Dr. E.C. Fulcher, Jr.

A while ago, during a sermon, Dr. E C Fulcher Jr made a statement that got me thinking. He mentioned that while he was a Man of God sent here to perfect the saints as it states in Eph 4:11-12 “ And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:”, that he could save us and yet also be a castaway himself. I thought to myself, how could that be possible. I considered this statement and realized that he was echoing Paul’s famous statement in 1Corinthians 9:27 “But I keep under my body and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”  Reading this scripture only made me think more and I decided that I needed to do some more digging. There must be a deeper meaning.

The word Castaway being translated here in the New Testament is the Greek ‘adokimos’ which means unapproved, rejected (and by implication) worthless.  And it got me to thinking… are the men of God in the Bible castaways of one sort or another?

Let’s take a look at Moses. Moses was chosen to lead his people out of bondage into the promised land, yet… he became unapproved and was rejected from crossing over into it.  His people weren’t any less saved or less chosen because of his mistake.  He became a castaway on the wrong side of the Jordan River.  He was allowed to look into the promised land, but he was not allowed to enter it, Deu 32:52 “Yet thou shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel.” Thus, making him one of God’s castaways.

Then there was Joseph, who began his adventures as a castaway.  He was unapproved and rejected by members of his own family.  His brothers hated him so much because he was loved by his father more than all his brothers, Gen 37:4 “And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.” He was cast out of his family by his brothers and sold into slavery, Gen 37:27 “Come let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content.” Yet, he was able to use the gifts of his dreams and interpretation that God gave him to overcome his castawayness (my word) and rise to the highest position in the land of Egypt. Gen 41:42-43 “And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph’s hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck; And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.”

Not to mention Sampson, another of God’s castaways.  Sampson was gifted strength by God, his command was to never tell anyone the source of his strength. However, Sampson fell in love with a woman named Delilah. He allowed himself to be seduced by her and because of his love for her, told her the secret, Judg 16:17 “That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother’s womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.” This gave Delilah the information that she needed and she turned him over to the lords of the Philistines for payment, who came and cut his hair. His loss of strength was a symbol of his castawayness. 

According to historical records, Isaiah and Jeremiah were unapproved and rejected by the people they were trying to reach.  Isaiah was so rejected that he was murdered, sawn in half, by the people who refused his message.  Jeremiah had to flee Jerusalem and ended up in Ireland and the people who rejected him ended up in captivity in Babylon. 

But the Bible was written for those of us upon whom the end would be and it was written in English (KJV) which means that we also have to look at the English word “Castaway” and derive some meaning therein.  Cast – a – way.  Something that is thrown away.  But thrown by whom? 

Take Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they were “cast” into the furnace by the King’s men, Dan 3:21 “Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.”

Then there wasJonah, he was “cast” into the sea by the sailors for the whale to swallow him, Jon 1:12 “And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea: so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.”  

Now Stephen was “cast” out of the city to be stoned, Acts 7:58-59 “And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”  

In virtually all the verses in which “cast” is used, it means to throw. 

But when you “throw” something, you throw it somewhere.  There is no nebulous place called “away”.  If I throw a wrapper “away”, I have thrown it into the garbage.  Think of all the “away” places you have thrown things and you will see that whatever “away” place has been your target, “away” has been a place.  And a “place” equals a target.

A baseball pitcher throws a baseball away from him but towards the target of the catcher’s mitt.  A quarterback throws the football towards a receiver downfield.  The whole concept of being a castaway depends on who is doing the throwing: man or God.

Now, I live on a boat, so the whole concept of casting something away took on a whole different direction.  I’m a fly-fisherman.  Norman Maclean nailed it in the final paragraphs of his book, A River Runs Through It.  Robert Redford used it as the closing soliloquy for his movie of the same name:

            “Of course, now I am too old to be much of a fisherman, and now of course I usually fish the big waters alone, although some friends think I shouldn’t.  Like many fly fishermen in western Montana, where the summer days are almost Arctic in length, I often do not start fishing until the cool of the evening.  Then in the Arctic half-light of the canyon, all existence fades to a being on with my soul and memories and the sounds of the Big Blackfoot River and a four-count rhythm and the hope that a fish will rise.

            Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it.  The river was cut by the world’s great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time.  On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs.

            I am haunted by waters.“

When Dr. E C Fulcher Jr talked about being a castaway, this statement flooded into my head and took on the form of an analogy.  God is the fly fisherman.  The men of God are the fly (bait) and the fish are the Hagios.  God is not seining netting the river to capture all the fish that are swimming there.  He doesn’t want them all.  He is very particular about which fish He wants.  He casts his fly, the Man of God, to a specific location and the Man of God’s message lures one fish in particular to it.  He is not casting his fly away.  Rather He is casting it to something.  The chosen, the called-out ones, are harvested one at a time, slowly with meticulous care until the creel is filled.  The creel only holds so many.  This many and no more.  Only in the eyes of an unbeliever, can the Man of God be a castaway.  To us fish, he is something to be desired above all else.  He is the direct connection to God and by him, God will reel us in.

Rev 22:1 ” And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.”

Written by Eric B. Ruark and Tanya J. Tillman