Acts 16:16-24 (ESV)

As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.

But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.” The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

Picture the scene. It starts as they were going to the place of prayer; that’s where they met Lydia. This slave girl starts following them around crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.”

She has a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. That spirit of divination is a demon. Being possessed by a demon is the most unpleasant experience imaginable. Every moment is sheer terror right out of a horror movie. Yet her owners are perfectly happy to let this go on as long as they can make money off it. The scene is just dripping with evil.

Yet Paul ignores her, for a while. But the slave girl’s owners have her follow Paul’s entourage around for many days. Not surprisingly, this gets under Paul’s skin, so he decides to put an end to her torture. He said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.

What happens next is pretty predictable; her owners lie about what Paul did. No surprise there, given their willingness to engage in this uniquely creepy form of human trafficking. If they had a shred of decency, they’d have asked Paul to cure her. Instead, when Paul ends her nightmare, they seek revenge.

And as usual, the crowds are easily riled up and the magistrates are easy to dupe. So Paul and Silas get beaten and tossed in the can. We aren’t told why Luke, Timothy and the rest are left alone.

Is it any surprise that Christians are persecuted around the world? Today let’s pray, yet again, for them. Evil has shown its face rather clearly lately. The images in the news leave little room for doubt.

Ask the Lord to protect the persecuted Christians, especially in the Middle East and in Africa.

May they feel the comfort of His hand.

The weekly study guides, which include discussion questions, are available for download here:

https://www.ailbe.org/resources/itemlist/category/91-deep-studies