“16 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. 17 She followed Paul and us, crying out, ‘These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.’ 18 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. 19 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. 20 And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, ‘These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. 21 They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.’ 22 The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. 23 And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. 24 Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.“
Acts 16:16-24

“35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written,
‘For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’ 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8: 35-39

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MARCH 5, 2025

Philippi was a Roman colony, and in the Roman Empire, slavery was prevalent in everyday life. Scholars and archeologists have well-documented evidence of slavery. People became slaves in many different ways, the most common being born into slavery, adults and children who were sold into slavery by relatives, adults who sold themselves into slavery, prisoners of war, and abandoned infants. Since slave life was brutal and they often tried to escape, many slaves were forced to wear collars with tags. These collars were almost impossible to remove. The tag usually had an etched message, such as “hold me and return me,” followed by the slave owner’s name and address. Slaves had no rights. They were viewed as the personal property of their owners. They were bought, sold, abused physically and sexually, and were forbidden from owning property, entering into a contract, or legally marrying.

I hope that knowing this will help us to see the slave girl in our passage today with greater clarity and more compassion. This girl had an evil spirit within her, a spirit of divination. Can you imagine? Not only was she enslaved externally by human evil, but she was enslaved internally by spiritual evil.  And yet, she follows Paul, Silas, and Timothy for many days! Days of screaming out the truth of who these men were but unable to do it from a place of God’s truth, she was only able to declare the truth of God from the bowels of her exterior and interior slavery. Can you see how desperate she is? Finally, after days of being relentlessly pursued by this slave girl, Paul becomes greatly annoyed and commands the spirit to get out! And this evil spirit leaves her within the hour, and her owners have no use for her. She is free! Free!!

Jesus has power over evil. Even on weary, soul-butchering days when it completely and entirely appears that evil is winning, and we cry out the words from Psalm 12: “Save, O Lord, for the godly one is gone; for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man. Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak…. Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan, I will now arise, says the Lord; I will place him in the safety for which he longs…”. God will deal with evil. God knows every heart. He knows every thought. He knows every act of sin. Every single one. Please have mercy on us, Father in heaven, creator of heaven and earth.

Questions for reflection and discussion:

  • Where in your heart, your life, your local community, or in the world does it seem like evil in winning?
  • Ask for the Holy Spirit to give you the grace to hear His voice and for the attention span to be still before Him and listen.

 

Church Reading Plan: Exodus 16; Luke 19