Acts 19:21-41
English Standard Version (ESV)
21 Now after these events Paul resolved in the
Spirit (A)to pass through (B)Macedonia and Achaia and (C)go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, (D)I must also see Rome.” 22 And having sent into Macedonia two of(E)his helpers, (F)Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia (G)for a while.
23 About that time (H)there arose no little disturbance concerning (I)the Way. 24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who
made silver shrines of Artemis, (J)brought no little business to the craftsmen. 25 (K)These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades,
and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. 26 And
you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul
has persuaded and turned away a great many people, (L)saying that (M)gods made with hands are not gods. 27 And
there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but
also that the temple of the (N)great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may
even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world
worship.”
28 When they heard this they were enraged and were
crying out, (O)“Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 So
the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the
theater, dragging with them Gaius and(P)Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul's (Q)companions in travel. 30 But when Paul wished to go in among the crowd,
the disciples would not let him. 31 And even some of the Asiarchs,[a] who were friends of his, sent to him and were urging him not
to venture into the theater. 32 (R)Now some cried out one thing, some another, for the assembly was
in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together. 33 Some
of the crowd prompted Alexander, whom the Jews had put forward. And Alexander, (S)motioning with his hand, wanted to make a defense to the crowd. 34 But
when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours they all cried out
with one voice, (T)“Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
35 And when the town clerk had quieted the crowd,
he said, “Men of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of the
Ephesians is temple keeper of the great Artemis, and of the sacred stone that
fell from (U)the sky?[b]36 Seeing then that these things cannot be denied,
you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash. 37 For
you have brought (V)these men here who are neither (W)sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess. 38 If
therefore Demetrius and the craftsmen with him have a complaint against anyone,
the courts are open, and there are(X)proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. 39 But
if you seek anything further,[c] it shall be settled in the regular assembly. 40 For
we really are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no
cause that we can give to justify this commotion.” 41 And
when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.
This scripture is so long today that I won’t write a
lot. I couldn’t see how to separate it
because it was all one story. The verse
that came to mind when I read this was, I Corinthians 14:33a “For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.” (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=I+Corinthians+14%3A33&version=ESV)
As I was looking for the scripture
reference I realized there were 18 scripture passages that spoke of confusion
and it was God who was confusing those unbelievers and causing them
destruction. God brings peace to those
who know Him but confusion to those who deny Him. As in this case no one really knew why they
were there and everyone was saying things that were contrary to one
another.
If we allow other gods, such as money to
rule our lives we will have turmoil and confusion when things don’t go the way
we planned. But rather if we would allow
God to control our lives there will be peace even in the turmoil that surrounds
us.
As you seek Him, remember He is a God of
peace, not confusion. Next time you are
confused remember that confusion comes from the world, from putting other gods
before the One True God. Peace comes from
God. Ask Him to guide you in the way
that He would have for you to go with peace and assurance that everything will
be okay.
Seeking Him with all my heart,
Sheila
No comments:
Post a Comment