Acts 19:21-27\u00a0<\/b>–\u00a0After all this had happened, Paul decided\u00a0to go to Jerusalem,\u00a0passing through Macedonia\u00a0and Achaia.\u00a0\u201cAfter I have been there,\u201d he said, \u201cI must visit Rome also.\u201d\u00a022\u00a0He sent two of his helpers,\u00a0Timothy\u00a0and Erastus,\u00a0to Macedonia, while he stayed in the province of Asia\u00a0a little longer.\u00a0\u00a023\u00a0About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way.\u00a024\u00a0A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in a lot of business for the craftsmen there.\u00a025\u00a0He called them together, along with the workers in related trades, and said: \u201cYou know, my friends, that we receive a good income from this business.\u00a026\u00a0And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus\u00a0and in practically the whole province of Asia.\u00a0He says that gods made by human hands are no gods at all.\u00a027\u00a0There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited; and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cAfter all this had happened, Paul decided\u00a0to go to Jerusalem,\u00a0passing through Macedonia\u00a0and Achaia.\u00a0\u201cAfter I have been there,\u201d he said, \u201cI must visit Rome also.\u201d\u00a022\u00a0He sent two of his helpers,\u00a0Timothy\u00a0and Erastus,\u00a0to Macedonia, while he stayed in the province of Asia\u00a0a little longer.<\/i>\u201d\u00a0\u00a0The Holy Spirit was leading Paul to where He would next minister at.\u00a0\u00a0Paul was being led as we are often led. We may know in general where the Lord leads, but not all the details.\u00a0\u00a0If we knew all the details then it would not involve faith and the just shall walk by faith (Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, Hebrews 11:6<\/b>).\u00a0\u00a0Besides, people being people, if God told us all the details then we would likely try to advise God that another way is better, or perhaps become frightened in what was coming and become tempted to not be obedient.\u00a0\u00a0Likewise, Paul did not give his helpers all the details he had planned, but rather a broad overview.\u00a0\u00a0Besides, Paul did fully know what tomorrow held (James 13-15<\/b>), just as he did not know that his arrival in Rome would not be him and his disciples marching or entering it in freedom, but as a prisoner being brought to stand before Caesar, as he would demand his right as a Roman citizen. (Acts 25:10-12<\/b>).\u00a0\u00a0Yes, Paul would eventually get to Rome, and it is there he would be martyred.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way.\u00a024\u00a0A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in a lot of business for the craftsmen there.\u00a025\u00a0He called them together, along with the workers in related trades, and said: \u201cYou know, my friends, that we receive a good income from this business.<\/i>\u00a0\u00a0What we have previously seen is that it was the Jewish leaders who opposed Paul and had him mistreated and run out of town.\u00a0\u00a0Here we see not Jewish leaders but pagans who are opposing and slandering Paul and his work.<\/p>\n
Demetrius was making big money in Ephesus making silver idols of the goddess Artemis (Roman goddess Diana).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Artemis was the goddess of the hunt, and though said to be a virgin, was also the goddess of fertility.\u00a0\u00a0There were festivals dedicated to her and the temple to her, which was in Ephesus, was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Ephesus was the center of Artemis worship.\u00a0\u00a0So, Demetrius and his fellow silversmiths and other artisans who made their living from this religion, were making, as he states \u201cgood income from this business<\/i>.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0So we see that Demetrius primary reason for calling the meeting was what he first addresses, the business end of the worship of Artemis.<\/p>\n
\u201c26\u00a0And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus\u00a0and in practically the whole province of Asia.\u00a0He says that gods made by human hands are no gods at all.\u00a027\u00a0There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name,<\/i>\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Demetrius reveals his concern, that what Paul is successfully preaching to the large numbers of people is causing them to turn from their occultism to Christianity.\u00a0\u00a0Demetrius points out that Paul taught was that God was not made with human hands (we might add human minds) and that would mean, as Paul\u2019s message was believed, that these who profited from making idols of the goddess were either already having their businesses negatively impacted, or soon would be.\u00a0\u00a0Demetrius was, so to speak, reading the writing on the wall and accurately projecting what was in store for their business if Paul and his companions and so the Gospel, was not stopped.\u00a0\u00a0To him it was purely business.\u00a0\u00a0Unfortunately for him, his opposition was God, the true God, Himself. And the sovereign will of God cannot successfully be opposed.<\/p>\n
\u201cbut also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited; and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty.\u201d<\/i>\u201d\u00a0\u00a0It would seem apparent that if what most concerned Demetrius and his fellow artisans was the dishonoring of Artemis, it would have been the first thing brought up and argued about.\u00a0\u00a0However, the worry about the honoring of Artemis was an \u201calso<\/i>\u201d to them. They were not concerned about her, they had their own selfish interests in mind.\u00a0\u00a0They only bring the honor of Artemis to mind in an attempt to draw others in.<\/p>\n
When we see modern demagogues protesting an occurring change, we ought to consider what selfish interest they really are protecting.\u00a0\u00a0We ought to know that the more the demagogues protest, the more they fight, the louder they are, that they are doing so because they are the ones who would likely suffer the greater loss (usually monetary) because of the change.\u00a0\u00a0Is their cause honorable or base, either one is possible.\u00a0\u00a0But all too often, the old adage \u201cfollow the money\u201d is, although crass, true.<\/p>\n
Demagogues who are in reality only protecting their own interests are not likely to get anyone to help them unless they can get others to think that it is in their best interest to join with the demagogues in their campaign.\u00a0\u00a0So lies are manufactured, or truths twisted, in order to gain support that would come to benefit, or protect, mostly if not entirely, the demagogues.<\/p>\n
There is a way to spot these deceiving demagogues, it is to know the Word of God and to be led His Holy Spirit.\u00a0\u00a0It is a true saying that if we know the truth, then we will be able to spot lies.\u00a0\u00a0Whatever is not the truth is a lie.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Sometimes though it is not clear, in those times let us \u201cbe as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves<\/i>.\u201d (Matthew 10:16<\/b>).\u00a0\u00a0God will guide.\u00a0\u00a0Let us consult our pastors, our teachers, and our elders who are wise in the Word and true in their walk. Though those who oppose us fight hard for us to not consult those we trust in the faith.\u00a0\u00a0Praise our God who will provide if we seek our answers from Him.\u00a0\u00a0We are children of the light and not of darkness (1 Thessalonians 5:5, Ephesians 5:8<\/b>), trust our God to always show us the light (Psalm 32:8<\/b>). Praise our God whom we trust.\u00a0\u00a0Praise God!<\/p>\n
Psalm 150:6<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.\u00a0 Praise the Lord!<\/i><\/p>\n
Micah 7:7<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0But as for me, I watch\u00a0in hope\u00a0for the\u00a0Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear\u00a0me.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n
Micah 6:8<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0He has shown You, O man, what\u00a0is\u00a0good; And what does the\u00a0Lord\u00a0require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Numbers 6:24-26<\/b>\u00a0\u201cThe\u00a0Lord\u00a0bless you and keep you; 25\u00a0the\u00a0Lord\u00a0make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26\u00a0the\u00a0Lord\u00a0turn His face\u00a0toward you and give you peace.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Acts 19:21-27\u00a0–\u00a0After all this had happened, Paul decided\u00a0to go to Jerusalem,\u00a0passing through Macedonia\u00a0and Achaia.\u00a0\u201cAfter I have been there,\u201d he said, \u201cI must visit Rome also.\u201d\u00a022\u00a0He sent two of his helpers,\u00a0Timothy\u00a0and Erastus,\u00a0to Macedonia, while he stayed in the province of Asia\u00a0a little longer.\u00a0\u00a023\u00a0About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way.\u00a024\u00a0A silversmith named Demetrius,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1192],"tags":[82,1841,1969,104,1700,101,94,1874,17,10,757],"class_list":["post-1953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-devotion","tag-acts","tag-ephesians","tag-galatians","tag-hebrews","tag-james","tag-matthew","tag-micah","tag-numbers","tag-psalm","tag-romans","tag-thessalonians"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1953","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1953"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1953\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1954,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1953\/revisions\/1954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}