A Dark Day
And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know,
and Paul I know; but who are ye?
Acts 19:15
Read Acts 19:11-17
Paul’s objective in Ephesus was to proclaim the Word of God. However, this
message was supported with special signs. Verse eleven tells us that God
wrought special miracles by the hand of Paul. One of those signs was the
exorcising of evil spirits. In those days, some people earned their daily living
by using magical incantations. We also read this about the seven sons
of a certain Sceva. When they saw that Paul was gaining influence in their
area, they also tried to cast out evil spirits by calling upon the name of the
Lord Jesus.
Their efforts failed, for the evil spirits knew who the real allies of the Lord
were and who were not. They knew whom they must obey. You can be
sure that the great Opposer of the powers of darkness certainly knew who
the demons were. The Lord Jesus had gained the victory over their leader,
Satan. Therefore the evil spirit said: Jesus I know. Moreover, the evil spirit
also knew that Paul worked for the Lord Jesus, so when he declared: In the
name of Jesus I adjure you depart, they had no choice but to obey. They
were obeying the Lord Himself.
In the case before us, the evil spirit had no use for the seven sons of Sceva
and their antics. He asked them: Who are you? He knew they were not true
followers of the Lord, and as a result they were powerless against the power
of darkness and his cohorts.
Thought: Do you realize that the devil knows who belongs to the Lord Jesus
and who doesn’t?
Psalter 166:2,3 (based on Psalm 65)
Against us sin had battled hard; For help we look to Thee and pray;
Thou our transgressions wilt forgive, Yea, Thou wilt take them all away.
How blest are they whom Thou dost choose To come and in Thy courts abide;
Communing in Thy holy house, With good we shall be satisfied.
