May 9 - God Is In Control
By Audrey Bauman
Acts 19: 23 - 41 NLT
“The Riot in Ephesus
23 About that time, serious trouble developed in Ephesus concerning the Way. 24 It began with Demetrius, a silversmith who had a large business manufacturing silver shrines of the Greek goddess Artemis (also known as Diana). He kept many craftsmen busy. 25 He called them together, along with others employed in similar trades, and addressed them as follows:
“Gentlemen, you know that our wealth comes from this business. 26 But as you have seen and heard, this man Paul has persuaded many people that handmade gods aren’t really gods at all. And he’s done this not only here in Ephesus but throughout the entire province! 27 Of course, I’m not just talking about the loss of public respect for our business. I’m also concerned that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will lose its influence and that Artemis—this magnificent goddess worshiped throughout the province of Asia and all around the world—will be robbed of her great prestige!”
28 At this their anger boiled, and they began shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 Soon the whole city was filled with confusion. Everyone rushed to the amphitheater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, who were Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia.30 Paul wanted to go in, too, but the believers wouldn’t let him. 31 Some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, also sent a message to him, begging him not to risk his life by entering the amphitheater.
32 Inside, the people were all shouting, some one thing and some another. Everything was in confusion. In fact, most of them didn’t even know why they were there. 33 The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander forward and told him to explain the situation. He motioned for silence and tried to speak. 34 But when the crowd realized he was a Jew, they started shouting again and kept it up for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians! Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
35 At last the mayor was able to quiet them down enough to speak. “Citizens of Ephesus,” he said. “Everyone knows that Ephesus is the official guardian of the temple of the great Artemis, whose image fell down to us from heaven. 36 Since this is an undeniable fact, you should stay calm and not do anything rash. 37 You have brought these men here, but they have stolen nothing from the temple and have not spoken against our goddess.
38 “If Demetrius and the craftsmen have a case against them, the courts are in session and the officials can hear the case at once. Let them make formal charges. 39 And if there are complaints about other matters, they can be settled in a legal assembly. 40 I am afraid we are in danger of being charged with rioting by the Roman government, since there is no cause for all this commotion. And if Rome demands an explanation, we won’t know what to say.” 41 Then he dismissed them, and they dispersed.”
Notice that Paul didn't enter the amphitheater even though that was his first reaction. Believers told him to stay away and safe. Paul also had some friends who were officials of the province and they also told him to stay away. I wonder what Paul was thinking when he decided to follow the advice of those people. I'm sure he was praying for the men who had been dragged into the mob uprising. Perhaps God was convincing Paul that he didn't have to worry. Eventually the mayor of Ephesus was able to calm the uproar down. God knew what was happening in that city, and God knew the commotion would end peacefully.
There will be challenges even today to the gospel. In Ephesus, the merchants challenged what was happening. They knew their business would go bankrupt if this continued, and if the temple of Artemis was no longer the most important thing, there would be no possibility of getting their business back. Today, I think the people who will challenge the gospel the most would be people who ‘worship’ education, science and technology. Those areas let us think that we know it all, that we are in control. As believers, we can be smart and educated, and we can be scientists and technologists who explore the way this world was created, but we also know that God knows everything and is in control.
That makes a huge difference. Amen!
Our song for today is Battle Belongs by Phil Wickham.
