Whole City in an Uproar

Acts 19:26-31
He rounded up his workers and others similarly employed and said, “Men, you well know that we have a good thing going here—and you’ve seen how Paul has barged in and discredited what we’re doing by telling people that there’s no such thing as a god made with hands. A lot of people are going along with him, not only here in Ephesus but all through Asia province.

“Not only is our little business in danger of falling apart, but the temple of our famous goddess Artemis will certainly end up a pile of rubble as her glorious reputation fades to nothing. And this is no mere local matter—the whole world worships our Artemis!”

That set them off in a frenzy. They ran into the street yelling, “Great Artemis of the Ephesians! Great Artemis of the Ephesians!” They put the whole city in an uproar, stampeding into the stadium, and grabbing two of Paul’s associates on the way, the Macedonians Gaius and Aristarchus. Paul wanted to go in, too, but the disciples wouldn’t let him. Prominent religious leaders in the city who had become friendly to Paul concurred: “By no means go near that mob!” (The Message)

This scripture reminds me of listening to the news or reading the newspaper. People are screaming about the people that are against whatever they are for. They are sure that if they don’t scream or beat the other side into submission the world will end. Some of those screaming may be us. The world is out of control, and we don’t understand what is happening. As you can see from this scripture, this is not something new. Paul and his followers were caught up in an uproar about economics. The local merchants saw this new religion as something that could ruin their business. We see things going on today that are messing with our money through our 401Ks, the price of eggs, or our job prospects.

God doesn’t promise that we will always be comfortable in the present, but He does promise that He is in control. God took care of Paul. He wasn’t always comfortable or happy in the situation. In this case, he didn’t confront the mob. Remember that. We don’t always have to stop the screamers. We aren’t going to agree with them or they with us. Just keep moving forward. Do what you need to do.

Paula Heiney