¹⁶It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave-girl having a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling. ¹⁷Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, “These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation.” ¹⁸She continued doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out at that very moment. ¹⁹But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the market place before the authorities, ²⁰and when they had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, “These men are throwing our city into confusion, being Jews, ²¹and are proclaiming customs which it is not lawful for us to accept or to observe, being Romans.”

Paul seems to have stayed in Philippi for at least a few Sabbath days, based on the wording about them going to the place of prayer. On one of those days, a “slave-girl” confronted Paul and company. At that time in the Roman world, slavery was ubiquitous; slaves were prevalent in everyday life for Romans. When the unstoppable armies defeated a people group, the captives were sold to slave traders who brought them back to Rome and sold them to the highest bidders. The owners as they traveled to other cities brought their slaves with them. Most affluent households had multiple slaves. The institution was so well-engrained in Roman life and culture that despite some freedom of movement escape was virtually impossible.

One such slave was this young girl who was used for the magic arts. She latched onto Paul and presumed to be his announcer, his forerunner. Her words on the surface seem to be good, but after awhile, Paul became quite annoyed. In contrast to Lydia, whose heart was converted, this girl acted to make money for her slave masters. Maybe she was looking for a new master, or hoping that Paul might pay her for marketing his ministry. Whatever the reason, Paul would have nothing to do with such manipulations, because she was ultimately being driven by a demonic spirit.

So, after Paul exorcised the demon and put a stop to that unwanted effort, her slave masters ignited a firestorm of opposition against Paul and Silas. Their income stream was now dried up since the girl no longer had the demonic powers that made her profitable to her owners. The charges were drummed up, but there was a kernel of truth involved. The Jewish belief in one and only one God cut across the cherished religious beliefs of Roman culture, namely the belief in many gods who were all to be respected. The slave masters were quick to fan the anti-Jewish sentiments for their nefarious purposes.

Lord, help me stand firm in the face of opposition to belief in You, the true God!