Acts 19:28-41\u00a0<\/b>–\u00a0When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting: \u201cGreat is Artemis of the Ephesians!\u201d\u00a029\u00a0Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius\u00a0and Aristarchus,\u00a0Paul\u2019s traveling companions from Macedonia,\u00a0and all of them rushed into the theater together.\u00a030\u00a0Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples\u00a0would not let him.\u00a031\u00a0Even some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, sent him a message begging him not to venture into the theater.\u00a0 32\u00a0The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another.\u00a0Most of the people did not even know why they were there.\u00a033\u00a0The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander to the front, and they shouted instructions to him. He motioned\u00a0for silence in order to make a defense before the people.\u00a034\u00a0But when they realized he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: \u201cGreat is Artemis of the Ephesians!\u201d\u00a0 35\u00a0The city clerk quieted the crowd and said: \u201cFellow Ephesians,\u00a0doesn\u2019t all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven?\u00a036\u00a0Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to calm down and not do anything rash.\u00a037\u00a0You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples\u00a0nor blasphemed our goddess.\u00a038\u00a0If, then, Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen\u00a0have a grievance against anybody, the courts are open and there are proconsuls.\u00a0\u00a0 They can press charges.\u00a039\u00a0If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be settled in a legal assembly.\u00a040\u00a0As it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of what happened today. In that case we would not be able to account for this commotion, since there is no reason for it.\u201d\u00a041\u00a0After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cThe Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander to the front, and they shouted instructions to him. He motioned\u00a0for silence in order to make a defense before the people.<\/i>\u201d\u00a0 In those days many confused Jews with Christians.\u00a0 It is easy to see why.\u00a0 They believed in the same God.\u00a0 Christianity has its roots in Judaism.\u00a0 Paul would go to the Jewish Temple to preach.\u00a0 So it was easy for the pagans to think that they were the same.\u00a0 But when it looked like big trouble was brewing the Jews (who to this day are falsely accused of being the cause of just about every woe known to man) wanted to make sure that it was known that they were not part of Christianity.\u00a0 How sad.\u00a0 But this mob was at a fever pitch and as soon as they recognized that Alexander was a Jew they wildly chanted all the more.\u00a0 Even if the Jews were not the same as Christians they understood enough to know that both the Jews and the Christians did not believe in idol worship so the mob thought neither group was a friend to their goddess Artemis, or to their trade.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut when they realized he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: \u201cGreat is Artemis of the Ephesians!\u201d<\/i>\u201d\u00a0 The mob shouted for two hours.\u00a0 Wow, that is a long time to yell without stopping.\u00a0 Yes, they were hot!<\/p>\n
\u201cThe city clerk quieted the crowd and said: \u201cFellow Ephesians,\u00a0doesn\u2019t all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven?\u00a036\u00a0Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to calm down and not do anything rash.<\/i>\u201d\u00a0 This city clerk was the not some lowly administrative clerk, but actually the town leader whom they voted in.\u00a0 Even for him, he needed to be careful what he said to the mob.\u00a0 The last thing he wanted was to ignite this powder keg to explode.\u00a0 So he appealed to them to remember what they were confident of.\u00a0 He told them that no matter what this sect of Christians said, they knew that they had been officially named by Rome to be the guardians of the temple of Artemis.\u00a0 To them it was the most powerful earthly endorsement they could think of.\u00a0 Not only had Rome endorsed them as being the official place to worship Artemis, but in their temple they had what they believed was an image delivered to them from heaven itself.\u00a0 So in their minds, even Artemis has selected them to be the keeper of her image in their temple.<\/p>\n
Now we recognize that it was likely a meteorite that had fallen and they, in their limited knowledge, thought it was sign form heaven.\u00a0 It would seem to not be any more ludicrous than a modern cult who believes that their founder had tools of divination from God delivered to him.<\/p>\n
So the City Clerk reminded them that they were well aware of the earthly and heavenly authorization to be the home of Artemis worship.\u00a0 The City Clerk was basically saying \u201cWhat are you worried about?\u00a0 Why are you so stirred up?\u00a0 We know what the truth is no matter what these people are saying.\u00a0 Don\u2019t let them disturb you.\u00a0 We know what is right.\u00a0 Calm down.\u00a0 Don\u2019t do anything rash!\u201d\u00a0 All the populations that Rome ruled knew that they did not want to poke the sleeping bear that was Rome.\u00a0 The City Clerk was giving them wise counsel that would benefit them all.\u00a0 He told them that they knew the truth so why let someone else rile them up.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples\u00a0nor blasphemed our goddess.<\/i>\u201d\u00a0 The City Clerk was clarifying the situation.\u00a0 Whatever had been said to this mob, these Christians have done nothing wrong.\u00a0 Besides they had been looking for Paul and since they didn\u2019t find him they brought these two innocent men.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf, then, Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen\u00a0have a grievance against anybody, the courts are open and there are proconsuls.\u00a0\u00a0 They can press charges.\u00a039\u00a0If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be settled in a legal assembly.<\/i>\u201d\u00a0 Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen were the troublemakers and they were making claims that Paul and his fellow disciples were going to ruin their business because people were leaving cults and the worship of Artemis to worship Jesus.\u00a0 These converts were burning their occultist books.\u00a0 So there would be less people to purchase their idols.\u00a0 Really, Demetrius and the craftsmen were afraid for their selfish interests and riled up the people for the benefit of themselves and not the people.\u00a0\u00a0 The City Clerk told the people that if Demetrius and company had a legitimate claim then they could take these people to court.\u00a0 Again, wise words from the clerk.\u00a0 Funny things, there is nothing known of them actually taking Paul and associates to court.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of what happened today. In that case we would not be able to account for this commotion, since there is no reason for it.\u201d\u00a041\u00a0After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.<\/i>\u201d\u00a0 The City Clerk reminded them that if Rome were to come in and demand a reason for this tumult they would have no valid reason for it and Rome could punish them.\u00a0 It was better to move on.\u00a0\u00a0 Having pacified the mob by reminding them what was best for them was to disperse and leave this behind, he dismissed the calmed down group.<\/p>\n
God uses even the ungodly for his purposes.\u00a0 He knows the hearts of all men and he knows their plans.\u00a0 He will use anyone to accomplish His will.\u00a0 God used the mighty Persian King Cyrus the Great to free the people of Israel to rebuild the temple.\u00a0\u00a0 Cyrus was not a good man but God used him for a good purpose.\u00a0 God used the wrong in the brothers of Joseph to put Joseph in a place for the preservation of Israel.\u00a0 And God used this City Clerk to save His missionaries, Paul and the others.\u00a0 Family, God, who knows all before it happens (Isaiah 42:9<\/b>) knows how to keep us and save us (2 Peter 2:9<\/b>).\u00a0 The evidence of it is throughout the Bible (Psalm 12:7<\/b>).\u00a0 When man was hopelessly lost Jesus came to save us, just as He kept saying He would (Romans 5:8<\/b>).\u00a0 Let\u2019s not worry, but have confidence in our God who is always good and who loves us endlessly.\u00a0 Praise our good and loving God who knows all.\u00a0 Praise 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 19:28-41\u00a0–\u00a0When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting: \u201cGreat is Artemis of the Ephesians!\u201d\u00a029\u00a0Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius\u00a0and Aristarchus,\u00a0Paul\u2019s traveling companions from Macedonia,\u00a0and all of them rushed into the theater together.\u00a030\u00a0Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples\u00a0would not let him.\u00a031\u00a0Even some of…<\/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":[82,103,94,1874,90,17,10],"class_list":["post-1962","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-devotion","tag-acts","tag-isaiah","tag-micah","tag-numbers","tag-peter","tag-psalm","tag-romans"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1962","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=1962"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1962\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1963,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1962\/revisions\/1963"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}