2 Chronicles 35
Key Passages
17 The Israelites who were present celebrated the Passover at that time and observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days.18 The Passover had not been observed like this in Israel since the days of the prophet Samuel; and none of the kings of Israel had ever celebrated such a Passover as did Josiah, with the priests, the Levites and all Judah and Israel who were there with the people of Jerusalem. 19 This Passover was celebrated in the eighteenth year of Josiah's reign.
What an amazing event and day that must have been really to see an entire nation return to the God who chose, loved, and delivered them. What would that look like in our nation? I'd love to see this happen here in our nation.
Hosea 3
Key Passages
1 The Lord said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.”
“Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites....” How difficult is it to love an adulteress spouse? I am blessed that this is not something my own marriage relationship has fallen into, because I can't imagine what it must feel like to have a person you love, trust, and cherish turn their back on you and seek someone else to share their most intimate of relationships with.
Acts 18
Key Passages
9 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent.10 For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.”
The Lord is with me as he was with Paul. The difference is that I have literally nothing to fear because no one is going to attack me for talking about God. So why am I still silent?
Acts 19
Key Passages
1 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?” “John's baptism,” they replied. 4 Paul said, “John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.”5 On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
Paul asks them if they received the Holy Spirit when they believed, and it seems to me that he is eluding to the question of whether they had shown signs of filling of the Spirit... speaking in tongues and prophesying... They say they have received the baptism of John which Paul then calls a baptism of repentance. My question then becomes how many have received the baptism of repentance, but not the baptism of the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist himself says in Matthew 3:11 that “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” I have a desire to have this baptism of the Holy Spirit, and I want to receive it as the people here received it. They had no idea what was going to happen. They were not privy to debates about tongues and prophesy as we are today. They simply received this baptism of the Holy Spirit and things started flowing out of them that they couldn't explain other than to say that the Holy Spirit had invaded them. I want the Holy Spirit to invade me as He did here.
11 God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them. 13 Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon possessed. They would say, “In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.”14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.15 One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” 16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. 17 When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.18 Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds.19 A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.
This story is comical and amazingly powerful at the same time. I think its hilarious how the evil spirit just decimated these 7 guys who were using Jesus' name as some sort of tinker toy power tool. Then we are told what happened immediately after this... the hearts of the people were revealed as well. They had all been treating His name in the same way. They all made little of him as if the could wield the power of the Holy Spirit anytime they wanted to accomplish their goals and glory. At this event it says they were seized with fear, because they were all thinking the same as these 7 sons. When they realized the power they were up against and that Jesus' name was really the only thing powerful enough to defeat it, they began to genuinely believe and cling to the truth of who Christ was. He wasn't just another trinket for them to throw in their purse and pull out to bring about some glory and recognition for themselves. He was the real deal, and the only thing that could save them from the power of evil and deliver them from their sin.
23 About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way.24 A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in no little business for the craftsmen.25 He called them together, along with the workmen in related trades, and said: “Men, you know we receive a good income from this business.26 And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that man made gods are no gods at all. 27 There 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.” 28 When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”29 Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul's traveling companions from Macedonia, and rushed as one man into the theater.30 Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples would not let him. 31 Even some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, sent him a message begging him not to venture into the theater. 32 The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there.33 The Jews pushed Alexander to the front, and some of the crowd shouted instructions to him. He motioned for silence in order to make a defense before the people. 34 But when they realized he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 35 The city clerk quieted the crowd and said: “Men of Ephesus, doesn't 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?36 Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to be quiet and not do anything rash.37 You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess.38 If, then, Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a grievance against anybody, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. They can press charges.39 If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be settled in a legal assembly.40 As it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of today's events. In that case we would not be able to account for this commotion, since there is no reason for it.” s41 After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.
I gotta say the first thing that struck me in this story is that the Ephesian people who were rioting still seemed more reasonable than a lot of other people the apostles had encountered. They did riot, but at least when reasoned with and confronted on what they were doing, they calmed down, the crowd left, and no one was hurt.
I also have to wonder how much these silversmiths and workmen in related trades actually cared that Artemis was being “dissed” by Paul and the message coming from the apostles, or if it was all just that they were losing money and livelihood.
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