Monday, October 06, 2008

The Spirit of Divination

In Acts 16, there is a reference which, I must admit, puzzles me considerably. Perhaps someone else has seen something here that I haven’t, and can clear this up for me. It says that Paul and Silas came across a woman who was possessed by a spirit of divination, and her masters made use of her soothsaying to make a profit. I suppose it is possible that she merely told fortunes, but I get the distinct impression that she was able to predict shortages of certain materials or foodstuffs, and so her masters were able to stock up on such things before they became scarce, and then sell them at a higher price than the norm, thereby making considerable profit. It says that she followed them around for several days, announcing that these men were the servants of God, which show us the way to salvation. Finally Paul became grieved and commanded the spirit to leave her. After that, though, the men who owned this woman got angry at Paul and Silas, and had them arrested and thrown in prison.
What I am wondering, though, is the nature of the spirit. As far as I know, angels don’t go around possessing people, nor would an angel allow itself to be used by men to turn a profit, so that would suggest that this spirit was a demon. On the other hand, if it were a demon, why did not Paul cast it out immediately upon becoming aware of it? I’m also a little concerned at the thought of a demon, apparently of it’s own volition, following around men of God, and telling anyone who would listen that these were, in fact, men who were knowledgeable in the ways of God. I think that if I were a demon, the last thing I would want people to know is how to get saved, or who to talk to about how to get saved.
Of course, if you read through the Gospels, I don’t think that there were any demons cast out by Jesus that tried to deny who He was (some people today could learn from those demons) (see Luke 4:34). I can only assume that those demons were constrained by a mightier Spirit. Perhaps the same mechanism was at play in Acts 16. Don't misunderstand me, I'm not suggesting that demons can't lie about God, or about who is truly serving God, but I do think that demons are only as powerful as God allows them to be. If God does not allow them to lie, then they cannot lie.
That still leaves the question of why Paul waited so long to cast out the demon. Perhaps because it was God’s will to let this demon (known for clairvoyance) speak the truth for a time. There were men that were making a profit off of this demon, and God may have wanted them to have no excuse, because they would have had a chance if they had listened to her. In all honesty, it seems particularly strange that these men ignored what the demon said about Paul and Silas repeatedly for days. These men got angry at Paul and Silas, because she lost her ability to divine the future. If they had kept her away from Paul and Silas, they could have continued to make money off of her. If they had listened to what she said about Paul and Silas, they might have been considerably less concerned about material things. They were worried about making money, and missed the most important thing that ever came out of her mouth.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

The spirit was demonic in nature, so it would not appear to make sense for the demon to advertise salvation by faith in Jesus Christ. The only possible explanation is that the Pharisees and Sadducees were trying to kill him. This would give the demon a motive to proclaim that they are men of God, to get them killed

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BankofLIoyd said...

''For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.'Ephesians 6:12

The best way to witness is to be wise because the devil is patient.

''The Apostle Paul was a ruf and ready preacher!'' Making his point when the the! so called leaders and opponents of this dark world had made thier point not to follow God. Not to follow God but to cause confussion. And reliance without God.

The spirit of Elijah. The Prophet of God deafeted the Priests of Baal on Mount Carmel.
Paul was a Roman Citizen. But for the chrime of witnessing and preaching Jesus he was flogged. It was not lawful for Roman Citizens like the royal familly could not be sued lol! or flogged for that matter. Only Aliens, slaves etc!

Paul waited for a time until he could best present himself as a worker for God and exorsosied the unclean spirit frm the woman. If he had not then it would have given the Devil preminance giving claim and honour to Satan. A bit like measuring
A Metre with a 12 inch ruler, rather that a metre long measuring tape.

God must have the credit for his works. And God is not the author of Confusion.

Anonymous said...

The spirit of divination, among other things, brings confusion because people are unable to discern the difference between God's Spirit and evil spirits. Demonic spirits do counterfeit God's work in the church (Satan is transformed into an angel of light) in order to eventually draw people away from the true and living God. The slave girl was still a fortune-teller in a pagan temple. Had the people begun to listen to her and heed her, the true message of the Gospel would have been mixed in with pagan idolatry and essentially would have been of no effect.

John Big Easy said...

The Bible does not indicate that the (owners) of this woman followed her around so she was free to move about. Like a moth being drawn to a flame she followed Paul, he allowed this for some time knowing the woman had established credence with the people. After listening to her incessant chant for a while Paul simply grew tired of listening and cast the demon out. Since the woman's owners could no longer profit after Paul had exorcised the demon would also prove that Paul's was the more compelling cause. (that's my take)

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